An ardent slow burn that will leave readers yearning for more.
Power-hungry, magic-wielding noble houses fight for supremacy in the first installment of Lee’s new romantasy series, which follows a headstrong young woman with a mysterious destiny.
At age 25, Arden Icaros, the eldest daughter of a powerful patron house in the kingdom of Antares, travels to the capital city of Wintour to attend the Kindling ceremony, where she’ll receive her birthright: sacred magic bestowed by the Stars to members of noble families like hers. On the day when she’s fated to receive her inherited magic, a vesper (“part priestess, part oracle, and part scientist”) presents Arden with a golden cage, a jewel-encrusted dagger, and ambiguous instructions to “do what needs to be done.” Weapon in hand, Arden understands that she’s expected to make a sacrifice when she sees a beautiful black bird trapped inside the cage. After deciding to make the merciful yet blasphemous choice to set the bird free, Arden must contend with the consequences, which include the appearance of a raven-shaped constellation mark on her chest, officially marking her as “the harbinger”—a portentous omen that foretells the coming of war. As this news spreads across the continent, Arden attracts the attention of Bishop, one of the highest-ranking officers in Antares’ military order, whose newly appointed duty is to protect Arden from those who want her dead. Readers will quickly find themselves eager to discover what the Stars have in store for Bishop and Arden as the narrative unfolds. Within her realm of celestial magic, Arden Icaros joins the ranks of Violet Sorrengail of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing (2023) and Feyre Archeron of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) as romantasy’s newest tough female protagonist. Overall, Lee has successfully crafted a lively, banter-filled novel with an engaging premise, complex characters, and satisfying erotic scenes that complement rather than overpower the finely woven plot. Although the narrative occasionally relies on familiar tropes of the genre, Lee’s fresh perspective ensures that they don’t feel overly predictable or overdone.
An ardent slow burn that will leave readers yearning for more.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781682816738
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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