Aptly introduces characters and relationships, while merely teasing the story’s fantastical qualities.
A teenage girl yearns for the guy next door, even when it turns out he’s immortal, in this first installment of Walters’ (Demons, 2015, etc.) YA paranormal romance series.
Raine Cooper, nearly 17, has been best friends with Eirik Seville ever since they were kids. But just when romance develops between the two, Raine attracts the interest of dishy new neighbor Torin St. James. And there’s something special about Torin beyond his looks: he somehow scratches her Sentra without anyone seeing him near it. Raine scoffs at his claim of magic, but when cracked ribs impede her breathing, Torin’s there, and her pain inexplicably vanishes. As it happens, he’s an Immortal, and Raine’s caught the attention of a few more: Andris and sisters Maliina and Ingrid, Norwegian exchange students in Kayville, Oregon. Far from a run-of-the-mill Mortal, Raine can see the Immortals’ magical runes drawn on skin or walls. It’s clear that Maliina hates Raine (having provided her with the rib-cracking), but there may be another threat to the teen, who’s too scared to drive her car, which someone covered in runes. Even if Torin’s intent on protecting Raine, he’s not exactly forthcoming, refusing to explain precisely what Immortals are. Once Raine finally gets answers, she’ll make a decision that will change her life forever. Like any effective series opener, this novel brims with mystery. There’s a hint, for example, that Raine’s father, missing since a plane crash only months before, may have a connection to Torin and the others. The plot centers on romance, a mutual attraction (primarily Raine ogling Torin) that deepens as the two stay on each other’s minds constantly. It’s melodramatically enticing—and perhaps a little cruel—that, despite Torin’s undeniable appeal, Raine keeps Eirik around. The devotion of so much of the narrative to the love triangle unfortunately sidelines the supernatural elements. Nevertheless, a stirring final act clarifies the Immortals, not only their purpose, but their plan as well, putting more than one person in danger. There’s plenty left unresolved for future books, including Eirik, who seems to know more about Torin than he lets on.
Aptly introduces characters and relationships, while merely teasing the story’s fantastical qualities.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 245
Publisher: Firetrail Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes...
In a riveting novel from Myers (At Her Majesty’s Request, 1999, etc.), a teenager who dreams of being a filmmaker writes the story of his trial for felony murder in the form of a movie script, with journal entries after each day’s action.
Steve is accused of being an accomplice in the robbery and murder of a drug store owner. As he goes through his trial, returning each night to a prison where most nights he can hear other inmates being beaten and raped, he reviews the events leading to this point in his life. Although Steve is eventually acquitted, Myers leaves it up to readers to decide for themselves on his protagonist’s guilt or innocence.
The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve’s terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers’s point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a “positive moral decision” was not made. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: May 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-028077-8
Page Count: 280
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
PERSPECTIVES
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
© Copyright 2026 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.
