A diverting tale of magic, divine destinies, and young female heroes uniting.
Owens’ debut fantasy novel centers on four girls who are avatars for goddesses.
In this whimsical fictional universe, we meet 14-year-old Sophie Griffin, who belongs to the Aurorium Clan, which administers justice in the expansive world of the Seven Kingdoms. But when Sophie takes on the role of bodyguard one day, suddenly “glowing” menaces start targeting her. Shortly thereafter, she receives a letter from the mysterious Brother Albert, who’s part of an Order that’s been watching her and three other girls her age: privateer Annabelle Salazar, scholar Regina Fournier, and academy student Lisa Nozaki. It turns out they’re avatars for goddesses (one apiece), though four avatars chosen at once is unusual. While each of the girls will garner some godly power, they must connect with their respective goddesses and fight diabolical villains. They take refuge on Order Island, where they’re surrounded by allies, most notably their guide, Brother Marcus. But that doesn’t mean the girls are safe from the fiends hunting them. This novel, which kicks off a series, is brimming with colorful characters. The Seven Kingdoms, for starters, comprise diverse locations, from Laminae, the land of libraries (and Regina’s home), to Magitekopolis, a kingdom of magic and technology. All the girls display an even mix of admirable traits and discernible flaws. The four engage in blistering action scenes showcasing weapons and magic (which some of the teens already wield). Owens, however, is more invested in easing readers into the series, with the girls channeling mana, learning about the goddesses who’ve “touched” them, and gradually bonding with one another. The formidable villains introduced in this first installment will surely await them in sequels.
A diverting tale of magic, divine destinies, and young female heroes uniting.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9798993224015
Page Count: 353
Publisher: Bowker
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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