A well-calculated blend of paranormal romance and genuinely innovative story.
A fast-paced steampunk adventure features a band of paranormal teammates who search Victorian streets to find their abducted friend.
Set in 1897 London, this story gets off to a suspenseful start with mechanically gifted Emily escaping a squidlike Kraken that’s attacking her submersible in the Thames; friends Griffin, Sam and Finley come to her aid. Readers of Cross’ series (The Girl in the Steel Corset, 2011, etc.) will recognize her signature blend of kickass-yet-tenderhearted heroines (Emily’s and Finley’s superhuman abilities don’t keep butterflies from their stomachs when around certain males), mechanical contraptions (like automatons and velocycles) and intriguing side characters (meet Mila, a rapidly evolving, more-than-machine creation enriched with the team members’ own genes). When Emily is kidnapped by automatons, her friends must plot her rescue while warding off their own demons, whether in the form of wraiths populating the power-giving Aether or more complex psychological challenges posed by their pasts. Emily, meanwhile, discovers a surprising ally in Mila; their relationship raises provocative questions about where the soul resides and where humanity begins and machinery leaves off. Frequent references to Sam’s broad shoulders and Griffin’s swoon-y properties may irritate some readers, but all will appreciate the gritty, original surrealism of Cross’ steampunk world.
A well-calculated blend of paranormal romance and genuinely innovative story. (Steampunk. 13 & up)Pub Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-373-21085-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention.
A duology opener that revisits the world of Divergent (2011).
Beatrice “Tris” Prior is Divergent. But before she can select Dauntless, her Choosing Ceremony is interrupted by a group of factionless rebels, and her good friend is killed. Amid the chaos, Tris sees Evelyn, the wife of Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton—but Evelyn supposedly died years ago. And, shockingly, she’s an Amity woman who’s holding a gun. Tris doesn’t tell anyone, even her father, when he later questions her. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite—the faction that’s most critical toward the Abnegation and their practices—and Tris feels pressured to stay in Abnegation. But when her father tries to erase her memories, she knows she’s unsafe. Tris’ mother helps her escape to the factionless, where Tris meets Four, a Dauntless boy. Their relationship shows her that she was right to leave Abnegation—and that maybe the rebels are correct to want the death of the faction system. As Tris becomes friends with the other “faction failures,” she realizes that no faction is as it seems, and that power is a corrupting influence they can’t escape. This exciting work revisits beloved characters, offering a new understanding of them and of what happens when we stand up and ask questions. Returning fans and those new to this world will appreciate the witty banter, slow-burn romance, and heartache stemming from betrayal and complicated familial love. The leads are cued white.
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention. (Dystopian. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063462595
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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
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