A delightful otherworldly story with a zingy assortment of characters.
In Haynes’ debut comedy novel, the demon Beelzebub tasks his trusty handyman with ensnaring two of Hell’s souls that have fled to Earth
Abel Freeman’s gig in Hell isn’t so bad. He handles repairs when needed and makes sure everything in the underworld runs smoothly. He even likes his boss, Beelzebub, who prefers to be called Mr. Beel. Suddenly, there’s trouble afoot: Two souls have absconded from The Cells, the first time Hell has seen such an escape. Mr. Beel sends Abel, his “Number One,” to retrieve the souls from Earth. Getting their specific locations requires a trip to Heaven (“They’re sticklers for paperwork up there”), and Abel must stay incognito so God doesn’t get wind of the escapees. He then teams up with Maren, a soul-catching “reaper,” to track down the fugitive shades, who’ve taken up residence in human vessels—one in Las Vegas, the other in Melbourne. Releasing these souls necessitates killing the human vessels; that’s outright murder as far as Abel is concerned, and his understandable reluctance may prevent him from completing his job. The author’s amusing tale paints curious portraits of Heaven and Hell. They’re both akin to places on Earth; Heaven is essentially a giant corporation with technology superior to that of the “old-fashioned” Hell, which still uses pneumatic pipes. Abel is an appealing, easygoing protagonist with an astounding backstory explaining how he wound up in Hell. He stands out in the underworld—he’s human, unlike the grayish and often nameless and genderless demons. The narrative amusingly showcases Abel’s laid-back lifestyle in Hell and his espionage in Heaven, where he poses as a new employee to take a peek at the computers. The earthly scenes, while entertaining, aren’t quite as comedic, as Abel focuses on finding the vessels and faces an unanticipated hurdle. Nevertheless, Maren keeps the fun going—she boasts a welcome bubbly personality, drapes herself in snazzy dresses, and uses such endearments as “luvvie” and “darling.”
A delightful otherworldly story with a zingy assortment of characters.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781956615128
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Literary Wanderlust
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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