A grand epic that delivers exceptional characters, magic, and romance.
A young woman in a convent falls for an elf in a world rife with fiendish sorcerers in this debut fantasy.
Nineteen-year-old Kalea Thridmill, a novice vestal in the Hallowill convent, is devoted to the One Creator. One day, she witnesses residents of the town of Tintilly attacking an elven thief. On the Kaihals continent, elves are prohibited from most places outside of the elven country of Norr, though this mob punishment is severe. Kalea helps him escape but the elf, Dorhen Sufferborn, has no home to return to. Sixteen years ago, his father, Daghahen, seemingly murdered his mother, and fairy Arius Medallus has acted as Dorhen’s surrogate father. Kalea’s religion makes her wary of the elf’s physical attraction to her, especially because it’s mutual. While Dorhen sticks close to the convent and Kalea, Daghahen searches for a way to kill his hated twin brother, Lamrhath, kingsorcerer of the Ilbith faction. This group of sorcerers ultimately attacks the Hallowill convent and abducts the novices while Dorhen disappears. Luckily, Kalea was not at the convent during the assault. As she believes a mysterious sword will lead her to her elf, she hunts for this weapon that Daghahen stole from his brother long ago. Hartcarver undoubtedly aims her fantasy series opener at adult readers, with concepts like Lamrhath’s unquenchable lust and instances of men forcing themselves on women. But the author loads her tale with ingredients that genre fans will savor, from pixies and magic spells to romance and strange, unknown lands. The story’s swift pace comes courtesy of myriad subplots and characters, including Gaije, an elf from a clan in Norr, and Chandran, a sorcerer Lamrhath sends to recover his sword. Despite the final act introducing additional players and clearly setting up a sequel, there’s still some resolution before the cliffhanger ending. The proficient author also provides illustrations—stark, boldly lined renditions of notable scenes, such as Kalea and Dorhen’s first meeting.
A grand epic that delivers exceptional characters, magic, and romance.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9982104-5-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dorwik Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2020
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
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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