Poorly constructed but also a breathless, fun crawl through a maze of twisty passages
A tormented, snarky girl quests through a magical house full of traps in this series opener.
Ever since Jane Doe appeared in Bluehaven on the Night of All Catastrophes 14 years ago, a babe in the arms of her nonresponsive father, the villagers have called her the Cursed One. Jane, they are sure, brought the earthquakes that plague them and somehow closed off the Manor that once offered gateways to the Otherworlds. On the annual holiday during which Jane and her father are burned in effigy by the townsfolk, Jane is rescued from a near murder only to be thrust through a secret Manor entrance on a quest to save all the worlds. The Manor’s filled with corpses, gas mask–bedecked soldiers, and B-movie traps. With the help of a few potential allies—or are they enemies?—Jane (who, along with every other character, has no obvious racial identity) hopes to find her newly vanished father. Lachlan’s worldbuilding is utterly incoherent, with a blend of technology levels, idioms, and foods that make no sense together, and he makes liberal, casual use of ethnic and disability tropes. Still, for those readers who want a video game–style race against time (if Jane doesn’t press the right glyph on the floor tiles, or duck the giant swinging axe, or escape baddies on top of a rushing train, she will die gruesomely), there’s plenty of bloody, fast-paced adventuring. A romance between Jane and a female friend seems likely to spark in Volume 2.
Poorly constructed but also a breathless, fun crawl through a maze of twisty passages (. (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-3921-1
Page Count: 372
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
There’s some originality here, though it’s hard to unearth amid all the melodrama
An illegitimate girl who hopes to find her creative passion may be connected to another kingdom’s magical history.
At 10, white, orphaned Brienna was brought to Magnalia House. For the last seven years she’s studied to become an arden, an apprentice passion, with the goal of finding her patron. The arden-sisters study art, dramatics, music, wit, and knowledge; Brienna, who has no true vocation, has eccentrically studied in all the fields. Though she doesn’t truly belong among the talented (and somewhat racially diverse) noble girls of Magnalia House, they are her beloved friends. Perhaps once she’s passioned, she can even act on her romantic feelings for the white knowledge master. But Brienna’s having strange visions lately; could they be ancestral memories of an unknown forbear from the neighboring country? What with romance, jealousy, family drama, betrayals, ancient magical history, and characters with multiple secret identities, there’s a nigh-constant pitch of throbbing…well, passion. A voice is like “tamed thunder,” and hair is like “a stream of silver.” Malapropisms abound (“punctures of laughter”; “her beauty warbled by the mullioned windows”). Oddly, most of the shocking revelations of back story are openly detailed in the lengthy family trees at the novel’s opening.
There’s some originality here, though it’s hard to unearth amid all the melodrama . (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-247134-5
Page Count: 464
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
This sequel to The Dark Divine (2009) falls into the classic Twilight patterns: a blank slate of a heroine and a reliance on sexual tension and vague presentiments of danger to drive the narrative. Grace Divine is a werewolf now, bitten by her rogue-werewolf brother Jude before he ran off. Her family is falling apart, with her mother increasingly unstable at the loss of a child and her father traveling around the country seeking his lost son. Grace’s only joy is her relationship with her boyfriend Daniel, himself a former werewolf but now disturbingly standoffish. Now Grace is receiving mysterious phone calls that appear to be from her brother and that may be connected to the town’s unsolved rash of vandalism. Though the plot drags, Despain’s fans will be pleased by the introduction of a flannel-clad hottie who is more than ready to comfort Grace during Daniel’s mysterious absences. For those who find a surfeit of rippling muscles and naked pecs to be sufficient for an enjoyable romance. (Paranormal romance. 13-15)
Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60684-058-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
