Good flapper fun, if a bit rough around the edges.
One bruja—a witch—takes on the underbelly of 1920s Kansas City.
Luna Alvarado leads a double life; when she visits her family’s boxcar, she’s Luna, half-bruja with only the gift of charm, but in the city, she’s Rose Lane, reporter by day and proprietress of the speak-easy the River Rose by night. Luna’s abuela has powerful earth magic, and some of that power has passed down to Luna—enough to influence men through a kiss, but nothing more, possibly because of her White father. If his blood has diluted her Mexican magic, it has also granted her the ability to pass as White, an opportunity her mother insists she seize, even if it means growing apart from her family. Luna also has ambitions of her own: She wants to manage a thriving jazz club, no husband necessary. As Luna takes chance after chance in pursuing her dreams, she becomes ever more entangled with mob factions, rich men who keep secrets, and even the Ku Klux Klan. Tense action and scheming inside and outside the bedroom are interspersed with reflections on Luna’s identity and the inequities of the time that leave so many in the shadows. While the plot and characters are engaging, some dialogue is hampered by overwritten accents that, rather than establishing the setting, verge instead toward parody. Clunky voices aside, the friends and family surrounding Luna are a joy to meet—if she can find it within herself to let them in.
Good flapper fun, if a bit rough around the edges.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305608-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A satisfying, powerful conclusion.
The conclusion to the Raven Rings trilogy sees the brewing of a war 1,000 years in the making.
Hirka crossed over from contemporary Earth into Dreysíl and hopes to finally meet her blood family in the land of her father, Graal. In the place where the deadborn live in a strict, hierarchical society, she must once again carve a place for herself while her relatives plot an invasion of her home world in search of the Might. Meanwhile, Rime makes his way back to Ym only to find everything changed, his position as Ravenbearer compromised, and his few allies diminished in number and power. As Rime struggles to stop Graal and his invading horde and Hirka seeks a peaceful solution as well as a way to save Rime’s life, they desperately forge a path toward one another. This fantastic follow-up to The Rot (2021), translated from the original Norwegian, delves further into the mythology of its parallel worlds, the power of the Might, and a character-driven exploration of the intersections of power, identity, and belonging. Moments of repetitive internal monologue seep into an otherwise strong narrative in which the two protagonists experience significant growth as they find their footing in an unforgiving world during their search for answers, peace, and, ultimately, love. The main characters are White.
A satisfying, powerful conclusion. (glossary) (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64690-002-2
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
A bloody, intriguing bildungsroman with a fascinating plunge into the mythology of Mexico’s original inhabitants.
A gender-flipped Zorro figure with magical powers struggles to find her path in an alternate Mexico a few decades after Cortés’ conquest.
Lady Leonora is the illegitimate daughter of the late viceroy of New Spain and a Nahua woman of the Mexica people. As a child, she stumbled into the realm of the gods known as Tamoanchan, where she was known by the Nahua name Tecuani and trained in martial arts and sorcery, including the ability to shapeshift into a panther. Evicted from paradise after 10 years, she dons a black mask, calls herself Pantera, and uses her powers to help the Nahua fight Spanish rule. Now, Lady Leonora is betrothed to Prince Felipe of Spain, unexpectedly shipwrecked on their shores, and trading barbs with the annoyingly attractive Andrés de Ayeta, a Nahua man attached to the Spanish military. Like Leonora/Tecuani/Pantera, neither Felipe nor Andrés is entirely whom he appears to be, and a variety of dark secrets will be revealed once the loose confederation of Nahua rebels known as La Justicia move toward open warfare with the Spanish. In these challenging times, Leonora needs to figure out who she is and what she owes to herself and to others on various sides of the conflict. The book soon darts away from merely being a reimagining of the Zorro story, which is both a strength (because it allows the plot to travel into much more original territory) and a weakness (in that we never actually learn about the feats that gained Pantera her reputation). Pantera is mostly there as an established part of Leonora’s identity crisis and a source of conflict; she mainly has the best of intentions, but her need to keep secrets and defend herself in a hostile world, as well as some entirely understandable mistakes she makes, have devastating consequences that she’s forced to reckon with. Despite her fantastical circumstances, the resulting character is not a stereotypical high fantasy hero but a real person whom readers can believe in.
A bloody, intriguing bildungsroman with a fascinating plunge into the mythology of Mexico’s original inhabitants.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780063254312
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
