Thoughtful, scary and captivating.
In an impeccably paced and unusually profound urban-fantasy novel, 16-year-old half-demon Catholic-school student Jael Thompson comes into her powers, explores her heritage and battles a tyrannical Hell beast.
Jael, who grew up on the run with her strict, tight-lipped father, knows little of her history until her 16th birthday. Then, fulfilling a promise to his late wife, Jael's father gives her a gem that allows her access to her demon half. Through flashbacks and visions, Jael finally encounters traces of her mother, once the Phoenician goddess Astarte. She also meets her uncle, a kindly but grotesque (by the mortal realm's standards) fish demon, who helps her harness her newfound ability to influence the elements. Much tension comes from Jael's rebellious and sometimes reckless choices: She experiments with her powers and confides in a classmate despite her father's insistence that the pair stay completely hidden. Refreshingly, Jael is largely proven right: Her actions bring her the intimacies, romantic and familial, that her human half craves, even while attracting the family's sinister and powerful enemy, the demon Belial. Alongside joyous exploration, heart-pounding action and inventively horrifying imagery is a complex set of metaphysical questions: Does reality define belief or belief define reality? What is the nature of Hell? What makes a family?
Thoughtful, scary and captivating. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0021-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A sexy, swoony, action-packed duology opener.
Teens from different social spheres collaborate, investigating magical mysteries while navigating their shared attraction.
When 18-year-old Wren Hayes doesn’t receive a magical gift from the three Fates—Dawn, Day, and Dusk—she’s shunned by Aurilian high society. Unbeknownst to Wren, 19-year-old Damien, a thief from the Void (a part of the city she’s forbidden to visit) has taken the locket that should have been her gift from the Fates. He’s shocked to discover a photo of himself inside. Using his own Fates’ gift—a mirror with powers of invisibility—Damien infiltrates a party and steals a silver watch from a guest. But his gift isn’t fully functioning, and Wren tackles him, sending them both tumbling into the mud. They tussle and exchange flirty barbs before Damien makes off with his prize, losing Wren’s locket in the process. Unsure why someone from the Void would possess such a gift and determined to uncover why hers was “unjustly kept” from her, Wren tracks down Damien. Seeking answers of his own, he agrees to work with her. Their well-crafted dance of desire and restraint is on point (“She stifled a stunned noise as I placed a menacing kiss—a mere graze of my lips—on the back of her hand”), melding seamlessly with the plot. The story addresses sexism, privilege, and wealth while hurtling the characters into a whirlwind of action and disturbing revelations. Wren presents white, and Damien has tanned skin.
A sexy, swoony, action-packed duology opener. (map) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798217117215
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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