After a slow beginning, a swoonworthy fantasy romance.
Caught between two brothers with magical abilities, a thief competes in a tournament to gain her freedom.
Four years ago, Magnolia St. James was rescued from her father’s enemies by the Thief, one of the crime brothers called the Devious. Enzo offered a bargain: He’d help her escape, but she’d have to share her heart’s soullight to ease the curse his brother, the Liar, inflicted on him. Magnolia has since become a thief under his tutelage, feeling his emotions through their tethered hearts and assuming the name Lola. If they can find and destroy the moonshard that Enzo and his estranged brother stole, it will break the curse. But Enzo’s brother is the only one who knows the moonshard’s location. Lola enters the Liar’s Dice Tournament, a competition held at the Liar’s casino in which contestants gamble away their secrets to “win a single die with the power to sow one untraceable deception.” Once inside, she’ll have to find the vault holding the location of the moonshard. But she can’t deny the magnetism between her and the Liar—or the truths she uncovers about her past. Lola will have to determine which brother she can trust while keeping secrets from both. The Liar’s romance dazzles more than the slightly over-the-top glitz of the casino, and while the mystery takes time to ramp up, it’s a thrilling ride once it does. The three leads present white.
After a slow beginning, a swoonworthy fantasy romance. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250329721
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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