A well-crafted fantasy marked by tenderness and optimism.
A woman with elemental powers finds love while taking on the devil in this debut romantic fantasy.
Writer Katya Anders moved to Venice, Italy, three years ago. She lives with her best friend, Nina, and after a tragic upbringing in the United States, Kat finally feels as if she belongs. But while researching local myths for her next book, she gets the sense that Venice hides something. “People were afraid,” she notices, “and they obviously had been for a very long time.” One day, she bumps into a musician named Matteo with “expressive chocolate eyes.” She feels instantly bonded with him, and they agree to meet the next day at the San Nicolò festival. At home, she discovers a tattoolike mark on her wrist with red and blue strands intertwined. This is a “soulmark,” which should be impossible for her to possess. Kat is secretly a Daski, born to a human and a frost jotun from Norse myth. Her people have been denied soul mates by the fate-controlling Norns. Nina, a hopeless romantic and an Undine (water elemental), helps Kat prepare for the date nevertheless. Matteo woos Kat with a lovely night out and also possesses the soulmark. Then, near a stone bridge on the island of Torcello, a portal opens. The devil emerges, demanding the souls of seven children. Ruhl’s series opener focuses on Kat and Matteo’s romance while offering a detailed fantasy backdrop featuring the Vaettir, or Norse supernatural beings. Research helps the couple and their cohorts, including Matteo’s hotheaded brother, Leo, learn about a woman’s deal with the devil two centuries ago that still haunts Venice. Tension builds as readers wait for Kat’s special “kedja” necklace to break, which will unlock her dangerous ice powers. That Matteo is a fire-powered “Salamander” adds to the impossible odds of their happiness together. The cast expands to include arrow-shooting twins Arun and Janara and even Hela, “goddess of the Underworld,” who promises to cause the protagonist and her circle further trouble. Kat and Matteo’s romance is explored with the youthful enthusiasm inherent to new love. The audience will be interested to see if the author rocks their boat in the sequel.
A well-crafted fantasy marked by tenderness and optimism.Pub Date: March 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63988-258-8
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An emotionally charged and passionate farewell to an invigorating fantasy series.
Godhood is close at hand for Séverin and his crew in the epic conclusion to the Gilded Wolves trilogy.
Immediately following the devastating events of The Silvered Serpents(2020), Séverin, now separated from his friends, possesses the divine lyre. It’s a legendary instrument that, when played within the sacred temple beneath Poveglia, or Plague Island, could grant godly powers—and Séverin’s lineage renders him its sole player. Ruslan, the diabolical patriarch of the Fallen House, is the key to finding said temple, and Séverin must tread carefully if he wants to rescue Laila, Enrique, Zofia, and Hypnos, who have lost faith in him after his seeming betrayal at the Sleeping Palace in Russia. With a single clue, they traverse Venice to reunite with Séverin because Laila’s days are numbered and Séverin’s fantastical desires may hold her last chance at living. Chokshi crafts a final magnificent adventure infused with exhilarating perils and diverse mythologies, characters, and languages. While Séverin’s undying love for Laila and fear of losing his friends are at the forefront of this story, every character is beloved and worthy of praise, each possessing unique gifts, drives, and histories, although comedic-relief Hypnos deserves more opportunities to shine. There is no question that this is the end, and readers invested since the first installment will hold this last story close to their hearts.
An emotionally charged and passionate farewell to an invigorating fantasy series. (Historical fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-14460-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of gothic classics like Rebecca will be enthralled as long as they don’t mind a heaping dose of all-out horror.
Moreno-Garcia offers a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror, set in 1950s Mexico.
Inquisitive 22-year-old socialite and anthropology enthusiast Noemí Taboada adores beautiful clothes and nights on the town in Mexico City with a bevy of handsome suitors, but her carefree existence is cut short when her father shows her a disturbing letter from her cousin Catalina, who recently married fair-haired and blue-eyed Virgil Doyle, who comes from a prominent English mining family that built their now-dwindling fortune on the backs of Indigenous laborers. Catalina lives in High Place, the Doyle family’s crumbling mansion near the former mining town of El Triunfo. In the letter, Catalina begs for Noemí’s help, claiming that she is “bound, threads like iron through my mind and my skin,” and that High Place is “sick with rot, stinks of decay, brims with every single evil and cruel sentiment.” Upon Noemí’s arrival at High Place, she’s struck by the Doyle family’s cool reception of her and their unabashed racism. She's alarmed by the once-vibrant Catalina’s listless state and by the enigmatic Virgil and his ancient, leering father, Howard. Nightmares, hallucinations, and phantasmagoric dreams of golden dust and fleshy bodies plague Noemí, and it becomes apparent that the Doyles haven’t left their blood-soaked legacy behind. Luckily, the brave Noemí is no delicate flower, and she’ll need all her wits about her for the battle ahead. Moreno-Garcia weaves elements of Mexican folklore with themes of decay, sacrifice, and rebirth, casting a dark spell all the way to the visceral and heart-pounding finale.
Fans of gothic classics like Rebecca will be enthralled as long as they don’t mind a heaping dose of all-out horror.Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-62078-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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