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 compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
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