Easily the best book in the trilogy.
Left powerless and near death in Reaper (2012), Wendy must unravel the mysteries of her Reaper family before the Lady Walker’s evil plans reach fruition.
While physically comatose, Wendy joins her ghost friends in a desperate attempt to thwart her family’s schemes and stay alive. These plots now come from two angles, as her cousin Jane isn’t working with Reaper leader Elise anymore. Also, there’s the Lady Walker, who, in between reaching out to invite Wendy to join her side, opens pathways to the Never for the terrifying creatures that live in the space between worlds. These grotesque creatures are a welcome addition to the story, as horrifying as they are fun. To defeat Elise’s manipulation and the Lady Walker’s destructive plans, Wendy must uncover her mother’s history with Elise as well as Piotr’s past and history with Reapers (and surprising Reaper mythology). The expository flashbacks and dream sequences occasionally disrupt the story rhythm, but the action scenes are exciting and mostly believable. Some of the awkward dialogue that plagued the trilogy’s previous installments is minimized by the faster pace and near-constant action. Wendy’s siblings, drawn into the fray, join the cast of side characters endangered to raise stakes. The conclusion drops a few plot points entirely, but it ends on an emotionally complex, satisfying note.
Easily the best book in the trilogy. (Fantasy. 12-17)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61614-771-6
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Pyr/Prometheus Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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