An enjoyable light fantasy.
After Princess Eliza de Loegria’s father banishes the boy she loves, she runs away to find him and discovers an unlikely, life-altering bond.
Nineteen-year-old Silas Bennett, who’s no fan of arrogant royals, has a plan: secure a professorship in Pravusat by proving his hypothesis about magic stealing and flee Loegria, where he could be killed for being an Animal Affiliate with shape-shifting magic. But the best-laid plans oft go awry, and an ill-fated bargain throws Eliza and Silas into each other’s paths. They end up bound together by gold bracelets given to them by a Stone Caster—and the only way to break the spell is to “fall madly in love” and engage in “a passionate kiss.” Can they overcome their mutual prejudices and antagonism and weather their inner storms to get what they want—and do they even know what they truly want? This sequel to Casters and Crowns (2024) is propelled by classic genre tropes, although some of the emotional beats feel rushed. The story alternates between the leads’ third-person points of view. Eliza, plagued by self-doubt, high emotions, and action-hero impulses, is refreshingly idealistic; snarky and cynical Silas is an effective foil, although the enemies-to-lovers storyline comes across at times as forced. But the core themes—balancing love and fear, connection and betrayal, and unlearning the dehumanization of others—resonate deeply, and the storytelling is warm and sincere. Eliza has pale skin, and Silas has dark eyes and “honey-brown” skin.
An enjoyable light fantasy. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781639934355
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© 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.
