An entertaining diversion into queer witchcraft and dark magic marred by ignorance of its setting.
A coven of modern witches seeks power from ancient Celtic gods.
Dayna Walsh may be a witch, but magic is just one of the ways she’s othered in her small Irish town: She struggles with OCD and was just outed as bisexual—an especially painful revelation given that her father is the reverend of the local church. Dayna has more than enough trouble to deal with even before a group of rival witches shows up. Chemistry sparks between Dayna and the group’s quasi-leader, a girl named Meiner; their romance blooms with charm and realism. The vivacious, twisty plot brims with satisfyingly dark magic supported by a diverse and well-developed cast of characters, including Dayna’s friend Reagan, who is dark-skinned and whose Nigerian mother attends mosque. The Irish setting, however, reads as bizarrely unresearched; on every level, from the linguistic to the cultural, this is a North American small town transplanted in whole to another country. North American references and slang abound, but the descriptions of religious life ring most hollow: Dayna’s father is leader of a formerly Catholic church yet is called “reverend” and, of course, is married and has a child. Modern-day Ireland is still haunted by a dark history of sectarian violence; ignorance of that history feels especially offensive in a story of clashing magical traditions such as this.
An entertaining diversion into queer witchcraft and dark magic marred by ignorance of its setting. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-05225-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Freeform/Disney/LBYR
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing.
In this thriller, a flyer on the cheer team at her small-town Texas high school is dragged back into the awful events that claimed her best friend and her boyfriend.
Senior Iris Henley was horrified when her boyfriend, Rocky Koenig, and her former best friend, Lynette Zeiger, were found dead in a presumed murder-suicide the previous school year. She and Lynette, whose drug use was spiraling out of control, had already fallen out, but Iris had no idea Rocky was cheating on her with Lynette. But when anonymous social media posts claim that Iris herself is responsible for their deaths, her life becomes a nightmare of accusations and betrayal. Employing first-person, present-tense narration that feels immediate and anxious, this mystery builds steadily over the course of 25 days during which Iris feels increasingly desperate and unsure whom she can trust. Her troubled relationships with her friends and family are multidimensional and render her a sympathetic and likable narrator, who worries about her own reliability as she was drunk and high the night of the deaths. In particular, a subplot involving Iris’ growing understanding of her younger sister, Noelle, lends emotional depth to this whodunit. The central cast is white, and surnames suggest that some members of the supporting cast are Latine, including Iris’ best friend.
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781250323835
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
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