This engaging epic fantasy makes effective use of the tension built up in previous volumes.
In this fourth installment of a YA series, a group of heroes confronts the Wild King.
In Tir na nÓg, the Faery Realm, the Wild King hosts his army in the Dead City. With a mark from his antlers, the monarch can mutate fae beings, turning them savage and loyal. One person in the Dead City not directly affected by the Wild King’s magic is Feya. She uses her healing skills to help fae, like Ivy, who suffer from painful mutations. Elise, meanwhile, is a Seer from the Mortal Realm who’s been recruited by Sirius, leader of the elves, to help end the Wild King’s reign. But the Summer Queen believes that the Wild King is “an elf who had glamoured himself to look like a monstrosity,” despite countless missing fae. Sirius plans to visit the Seelie Court to summon Galahad, the Golden Knight, to battle. Galahad is willing to commit soldiers to the cause only if Sirius can learn the Wild King’s exact location in the Dead City and the size of his army. As Galahad joins Sirius’ expedition, Elise hopes to clarify her feelings for Finch, a female elf. Finch, being pure of heart, wants Sirius to tell Elise “that you love her.” Ridge unleashes chaos on her beloved cast in this Faery Realm fantasy, ensuring that characters who have starred in other adventures, like Lark, Alexis, and Jaxith, make appearances. The battles feature grisly moments, as when a Wild fae, already impaled by one arrow, has a second “explode through its eye.” The author does balance the gore with humor, as when the heroes encounter a Wild fae with a duck’s bill. A solid backstory humanizes the Wild King and layers deeper emotions onto Feya’s arc. During the momentous final third of the narrative, Ridge uses Lark to set up a further adventure that may or may not fold in events from the finale. Though the cast is diverse, readers may need patience as characters shuffle tumultuously between the foreground and background, Game of Thrones–style.
This engaging epic fantasy makes effective use of the tension built up in previous volumes.Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-359-90880-6
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Lulu.com
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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