The third installment of the Midnight Dragonfly series barrels along at breakneck speed, a paranormal thrill ride from start to finish.
Gifted teenage psychic Trinity Monsour is still reeling from the death of her boyfriend at the hands of a clairvoyant psychopath and finds that the emotional trauma has blocked her premonitions. She has feelings of impending doom connected to a boy named Will, but try as she might, she can’t get the fully formed vision that might help her protect him. When Trinity faces threats and assaults from someone who clearly doesn’t want her digging into the matter, she finds herself rescued yet again by the enigmatic Dylan Fourcade. While she struggles to sort out her complicated feelings for him, the two work to unblock Trinity’s visions and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Will. Moving along at a breathless pace, this installment in the series exists almost entirely in the realm of visions, psychic connections and near-death experiences, forsaking much of the firm grounding in the ordinary and the character development that made the initial volumes so engrossing.
Nonetheless, fans of the series will devour this offering and look forward to the promise of additional titles, perhaps ones that crank up the paranormal factor even higher as the powers of other characters are increasingly revealed and explored. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-64704-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
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New monsters terrorize Shanghai amid political upheaval and the reignition of the blood feud between the Chinese Scarlet Gang and the Russian White Flowers.
The death of Marshall Seo unleashed a new wave of violence, but when a mysterious figure wielding control over more deadly-insect–releasing monsters begins extorting money from both gangs, their leaders agree to temporarily cooperate in the interests of eliminating a mutual foe. They order their respective heirs to find the blackmailer, and so, once again, Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai must work together for the benefit of those under their protection. But their feelings for each other—complicated by hidden truths, lingering love, and unforgiving duty—prove difficult to repress. Meanwhile, the time of revolution draws near: Workers continue to organize protests decrying both foreign occupation and gangster rule as the Nationalist Army marches toward Shanghai in its campaign to unite and reclaim the country. Secrets abound and loyalties are tested in this tightly plotted sequel featuring a multinational cast and told through multiple third-person perspectives, including those of supporting characters introduced in These Violent Delights (2020). Stubborn Rosalind, obliging Kathleen, and grief-stricken Benedikt all return to play vital roles that blend seamlessly into Roma’s and Juliette’s storylines as they each are forced to consider what it is they truly want and the lengths they will go to protect it.
Star-crossed lovers carve their own paths in an explosive conclusion that lives up to its title. (Historical fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-534-45772-0
Page Count: 512
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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Four reimagined fairy-tale heroines must confront their inner demons to break a curse.
Ella, Yuki, and Rory attend the prestigious Grimrose Académie for Elite Students in the Swiss Alps. They are currently grieving the death of one of their best friends, and while Ari’s death by drowning has been deemed either an accident or suicide, her closest friends have their doubts. When they find an old book of fairy tales hidden in Ari’s things, full of strange annotations in her handwriting, the girls start working—along with new student Nani—to investigate Ari’s suspicious death. As they put together the pieces and discover other deaths that happened at Grimrose, they start to wonder if there was magic involved in Ari’s death—magic that may also be at the core of their very lives, cursing them to unhappy endings. Grief, identity, and friendship intersect in this enthralling mystery with dark magical undertones that ingeniously plays with fairy-tale tropes to tell a feminist story about empowerment and grappling with how to break away from the confines of societal expectations of girls. Reminiscent of the works of Anna-Marie McLemore and Elana K. Arnold, this book ends with the promise of more to come. The main cast is queer and features diversity in disability and mental health. Rory and Ella default to White; Yuki’s name cues her as Japanese, and Nani is Black and Native Hawaiian.
Fans of empowering feminist fairy-tale retellings will love this. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72822-887-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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