Steamy, suspenseful, and sensuous.
In an extravagantly gothic follow-up to House of Salt and Sorrows (2019), Verity, 17, is snared in both a romantic dilemma and a hideous research project.
Prompted by a commission to paint the portrait of 19-year-old Alexander, scion of the refined ducal house of Bloem, Verity defiantly escapes the cloistered life forced on her by overprotective big sister Camille—only to find herself caught up in a web of secrets and lies complicated by the tried-and-true conflict of having to choose between kind, gentle, Alexander, who uses a wheelchair, and a dangerous but excitingly hot rival for her interest. Along with providing a lavishly decorated country house stocked with lush floral gardens, secret passages and stairways, and a hidden library of erotica for a setting, Craig lavishes her doorstopper with lurid elements, including references to a curse, madness, and feelings of dread; mysterious screams in the night; and encounters with ghostly apparitions. More disturbing still are eventual revelations that Alexander’s seemingly rational botanist father’s research hasn’t entirely been confined to the greenhouse. Overall, the tale well serves both readers who thrill to bloody, onstage murders and visions of body parts in jars as well as those left breathless by watching relationships heat up. Alexander’s mother has brown skin, and his father is White; Verity reads White.
Steamy, suspenseful, and sensuous. (Gothic fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593482544
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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