A wild but inspiring read will leave readers looking forward to a sequel.
A supernatural coming-of-age YA adventure in which teen warriors battle demons that lurk among us.
High schooler Henry Murphy excels in baseball, focuses on his scholarship prospects, and has a complicated relationship with his friend Charlotte “Charley” Scott. However, when a classmate experiences an apparent breakdown at school, desperately imploring Henry and Charley to run from an unseen presence, their own understanding of reality begins to unravel. Together, the teens discover that the world is occupied by creatures known as Nekura: deceitful demons who thrive amid the distraction and confusion of modern life. The creatures manipulate their environment as they seek to harness the power of the Light—the essential life force of all things—and plunge humankind into turmoil. Henry also discovers that he’s the son of a Salient, descended from Celestial beings and a military commander of Nekura heritage. Charley, too, shares a special connection to the Light, which transforms her from a frightened young girl to a whip-wielding warrior. With the encouragement of Henry’s formidable parents, Henry and Charley help to vanquish the evil in their midst, but a new plan is emerging to give an evil being absolute power. Over the course of this novel, Humphrey offers an imaginative, fast-paced tale that’s sure to please both teen and adult readers. The work is never gratuitous or graphic in its depictions of violence, which makes it suitable for adolescents. However, it is full of exciting action scenes, and it also has its share of scary moments. Moreover, the book’s central story of a struggle between good and evil also delivers an important message for readers of all ages: that one should be wary of the numerous distractions of modern life, which can lead to a loss of one’s identity if one isn’t careful.
A wild but inspiring read will leave readers looking forward to a sequel.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-955729-04-8
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Intrepid Pen Publishing, L.L.C
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Dark magic, romance, and divinity.
What do you do when the voice in your head is real?
Lore, Bastian, and Gabe are all still alive following the events in The Foxglove King (2023), despite a ritual meant to take Lore’s life and usher in a new age for the god Apollius. But Lore, determined to live despite—or perhaps because of—her deep and unyielding connection to the magical death force Mortem, is unwilling to be used as a tool. Now that Bastian is no longer prince but Sainted King, Gabe is Priest Exalted, and Lore is the king’s deathwitch, her safety should be secure. The court, however, distrusts Lore and her uncanny powers, and even more dangerous are the gods, leaning ever closer and perhaps not so separate from the world as a thwarted ritual might imply. Bastian has been changing, able to control Spiritum, Mortem’s mirror image, in new and powerful ways, but also acting more erratic and strange. Meanwhile, the voice in Lore’s head is growing louder. To make matters worse, Gabe and Bastian can hardly look at each other, while Lore feels torn between the two of them and in need of both. In the second volume of the Nightshade Crown series, things go from bad to much worse, while a familiar gothic atmosphere looms oppressively around the characters. As Lore strives to keep as many people as safe as possible, others scheme with sinister forces and powerful magic. In a tense and atmospheric installment, Lore moves quickly between heart-pounding romantic encounters and adrenaline-filled moments facing danger and death.
Dark magic, romance, and divinity.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780316435291
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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