by Jackie Morse Kessler ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
Death and his riders strive to bring balance, and Kessler (Loss, 2012, etc.) begins to achieve it in this series conclusion.
Death speaks, and Xander Atwood listens in this conclusion to a gripping, if uneven series.
Xander has been accepted to colleges, welcomed a baby brother and finally worked up the courage to ask out Riley Jones. Or has he? The day after an alcohol-fueled party, Xander wakes up to find Death on his balcony. Xander hates heights, but he leans out to coax Death off the ledge to tell his story. Neither Death nor Xander is a reliable narrator, but Death’s cinematic celebration of human evolution and Xander’s booze-induced memory loss make for a riveting read. Unlike the other self-harming teenage horsemen—a cutter War, anorexic Famine and bullied Pestilence—the Pale Horseman is a deity. He recounts the creation and the evolution of mankind and confesses his loneliness and suicidal impulses. If Death dies, this world might too. Suicide, binge drinking, anorexia and other destructive behaviors are still a focus, and the tidy conclusion mimics an after-school special, but ironically, Death is a more fully realized and human character than his fellow Horsemen ever were.
Death and his riders strive to bring balance, and Kessler (Loss, 2012, etc.) begins to achieve it in this series conclusion. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97043-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Graphia
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
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New York Times Bestseller
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2023
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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