A fire starter.
A fugitive witch from an oppressive fae kingdom plots to free himself from his past when his unwanted fiance, heir to the throne, forces him to return home under the threat of a life-or-death blood contract.
The fae of Asalin abuse and abandon witches, children born with no wings or horns and fewer limitations on their magic, like 17-year-old White transgender boy Wyatt Croft. Before he escaped the flames of his traumatic past and found a new life for himself in the human world, Wyatt’s family only valued him for his potential to produce heirs with the prince, who is bound to him by an inherent magical connection and a contract of marriage. When Prince Emyr, a Black fae with healing powers, demands Wyatt return so they can ascend the throne and stop an insurgency, all Wyatt wants at first is to escape again, but he’s swept up in unresolved feelings and a revolution. This romantically charged, anti-fascist fantasy presents a diverse cast of queer characters, including Wyatt’s best friend, who is bi, asexual, Seminole, and Diné. Fat characters are presented with no less power and beauty than those with chiseled muscles. Although Wyatt’s relationship with Emyr is fraught with tension, consent remains a central theme, resisting the romanticization of co-dependence and Stockholm syndrome. The page-turning resolution promises an irresistible duology closer to come.
A fire starter. (author’s note) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-335-21279-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
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 light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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