More atmosphere than substance.
The lead dancer of a renowned ballet troupe fights to save her fellow dancers from a destructive curse.
The Marionettes of New Kora are preternaturally talented ballet dancers, known for their beauty and skill. They are also horrifically cursed. Troupe leader Malcolm Manrow, who turns on the charm when he wants to get his way, collects girls and makes them his puppets, controlling everything from their movements to their memories and making himself rich from their talents. But the curse is also slowly killing the girls. Lead dancer Emberlyn, nicknamed the “Princess of New Kora,” who has pale skin and “hair like fire,” is desperate to save her Marionette sisters from Malcolm’s control and the terrible fate that awaits them all. When the troupe leaves New Kora for a performance in the city of Parlizia, Emberlyn thinks the unfamiliar terrain may offer them an opportunity to escape, but she’ll need to understand more about the curse and its limits. With the help of a mysterious boy, she delves into Malcolm’s past, but breaking the curse may mean her own undoing. The curse, which robs the dancers of their memories, also limits the narrative; there’s little sense of a world beyond the dancers, whose personalities blend together, and necessary worldbuilding comes too late in the story. Potentially compelling elements are lost under thin characterizations, awkward pacing, and cartoon villainy. Characters are diverse in skin tone.
More atmosphere than substance. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9780593812105
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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