A fast-paced fantasy adventure in which an Elven warrior comes to question everything about her world.
An Elven commander faces a new war in this first installment of Smith’s fantasy series.
As the story opens, 50 years have passed since the great Elven warrior Selenna and her allies fought and routed the forces of the Necromancer and brought peace to the land of Belissia—and 50 years since both Selenna and the Necromancer vanished in the course of their final confrontation (no bodies were found). The Elves are long-lived beings, most with some kind of mastery over the “five elements” of mancery (including Aquamancy, Electromancy, and Pyromancy). Others, called Truthseers, are trained in the art of mind-reading, and a tiny handful of Elven Inquisitors have the rare ability to shift between the dimension of Belissia and the mysterious Shadow Realm. As the book’s main action begins, Selenna’s daughter Selouteau is the captain of an airship in the Elven Armada when violence again threatens Belissia. After a massive force of Humans invades and establishes a beachhead on Belissia, Selouteau is tasked with shoring up the Elven position in the coming conflict by making overtures to Ezell, the self-exiled prince of the Ez people. At her side on this mission will be young Ensign Perch, a Truthseer who’s far more than he seems. The situation is likewise more complex than it looks: Ever since the Necromancer’s War, ruling Elven factions have been high-handed toward and dismissive of the Ez and other groups they call “Lesser Races”—a fact that the invading Human Alliance, under the cultlike control of a “Divine-King,” is only happy to exploit. Selouteau’s orders are “to gain allies, not start another war,” but long before the fast-paced action of the book’s climax arrives, readers will know that another war is inevitable.
Smith’s prose is occasionally verbose and overdramatic (“The words hit Selouteau like a physical blow,” reads one passage; “her head swam, and her mind reeled”), and the author sometimes gives his characters groan-worthy dialogue (“If I ever see your ugly, scarred face again, it will be the last thing you remember,” snarls Ezell after a barroom brawl, adding, “ever”). But he has an unfailing knack for conveying gripping action scenes, and, despite the fact that the various sorceries give his Elven characters (particularly Selouteau herself) the equivalent of comic book superpowers, Smith manages to invest confrontations with the feeling of real tension and stakes. By far the book’s most fascinating element is its steady thread of subversion: Readers will instinctively like Selouteau, but they’ll quickly wonder if they’re rooting for the wrong side. The Human Alliance might initially seem boorish and malevolent, but by the time Prince Ezell speaks about “the curfews and mandatory camps imposed by the Elves during the war” that resulted in “tens of thousands of deaths,” readers will be looking at Selouteau and the other Elves in a harsher light, which is refreshing to find in a supernatural epic. This is first-rate fantasy in the Tolkien vein, with future volumes sure to deepen the story.
A fast-paced fantasy adventure in which an Elven warrior comes to question everything about her world.Pub Date: June 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781923163690
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Clark & MacKay
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A beautiful meditation on queer identity against a supernatural backdrop.
Three women deal very differently with vampirism in Schwab’s era-spanning follow-up to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020).
In 16th-century Spain, Maria seduces a wealthy viscount in an attempt to seize whatever control she can over her own life. It turns out that being a wife—even a wealthy one—is just another cage, but then a mysterious widow offers Maria a surprising escape route. In the 19th century, Charlotte is sent from her home in the English countryside to live with an aunt in London when she’s found trying to kiss her best friend. She’s despondent at the idea of marrying a man, but another mysterious widow—who has a secret connection to Maria’s widow from centuries earlier—appears and teaches Charlotte that she can be free to love whomever she chooses, if she’s brave enough. In 2019, Alice’s memories of growing up in Scotland with her mercurial older sister, Catty, pull her mind away from her first days at Harvard University. And though she doesn’t meet any mysterious widows, Alice wakes up alone after a one-night stand unable to tolerate sunlight, sporting two new fangs, and desperate to drink blood. Horrified at her transformation, she searches Boston for her hookup, who was the last person she remembers seeing before she woke up as a vampire. Schwab delicately intertwines the three storylines, which are compelling individually even before the reader knows how they will connect. Maria, Charlotte, and Alice are queer women searching for love, recognition, and wholeness, growing fangs and defying mortality in a world that would deny them their very existence. Alice’s flashbacks to Catty are particularly moving, and subtly play off themes of grief and loneliness laid out in the historical timelines.
A beautiful meditation on queer identity against a supernatural backdrop.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250320520
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.
A reluctant princess is thrust into deadly political intrigue in Perry’s sweeping, high-stakes romantasy.
Odessa is the overlooked and underestimated princess of Quentis, whose life takes an unexpected turn when a deal is struck between her father and the formidable Turan warriors force her into an arranged marriage with their enigmatic prince, Zavier Wolfe. Intended as a mere formality to secure trade routes and military alliances, the betrothal spirals into something far more dangerous when ancient magic, a ruthless Guardian, and a looming war threaten to upend everything she knows. Finally emerging from the shadow of her seemingly perfect half sister, Mae, Odessa must navigate court politics, monstrous creatures, and her own uncertain place in a world where survival often depends on strategy rather than strength. As tensions rise, she finds herself entangled with the dangerous, enigmatic Guardian—a man whose silver eyes hold secrets of their own. Perry’s worldbuilding is lush and immersive, crafting a kingdom rife with old magic, deadly beasts, and political machinations that add depth. The pacing is relentless, carrying Odessa from one life-altering event to another as she grapples with duty, defiance, and a destiny she never chose. Her internal conflict is compelling, torn between the expectations placed upon her and the fierce independence that threatens to make her an outcast in her own kingdom. Romance simmers as Odessa struggles to reconcile her obligations with her growing attraction to the Guardian, whose past is as shadowed as his reputation. Mae is introduced as Odessa’s political foil, and although her presence drives much of Odessa’s internal drama—being constantly overshadowed or underestimated—she’s mostly seen through Odessa’s perspective. Her motivations, ambitions, and political maneuverings might have benefited from deeper exploration to give more nuance to the power dynamics. However, Perry’s evocative prose and intricate plotting make for a gripping tale. Readers looking for a slow-burn romantasy with rich political intrigue and a protagonist forced to create her own fate will find much to enjoy.
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378514
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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