Dynamic characters fuel a rousing tale of magic, erotic longings, and faraway lands.
A young woman may pose a threat to a country’s trio of powerful rulers in McDermott’s debut fantasy novel and series launch.
In the country of Thasia, Cyra, orphaned as an infant, has grown up with a couple that took her in. By the time she’s 22, it’s just her and her loving brothers running the family’s vineyard. As a perimortal, Cyra has a long lifespan and wields magic. She draws upon her elemental abilities (fire and water) sparingly, since magic is frowned upon in her small town and all of “the outer lands.” But when she saves herself from a sudden menace, she catches the attention of the Triumvirate, who rule over Thasia. Imposing emissary Samhail shows up to take Cyra to Callanus (whether she agrees to go or not), where she’ll meet the Triumvirate. A seer’s vision shows Cyra’s magical display and implies that she will be responsible for the impending deaths of two of the three ruling lords. Meanwhile, Cyra grows close to both the well-muscled Samhail and the impossibly handsome Lord Bressen. McDermott builds a solid foundation upon which to build a series. Cyra’s relationship with her brothers is endearing, especially with the older Jaylan, who’s taken on the role of parent. Her journey to and arrival in Callanus give rise to various engaging backstories, from Thasia’s past conflict with another country to what exactly Samhail is (he’s more than just a demi-human). Cyra oscillates between suppressing the urges she feels for Samhail and Bressen and succumbing to them, which leads to quite a few explicit sex scenes (“I planted a light kiss in the center of his back, savoring the feel of his smooth skin under my lips”). These are more scintillating than romantic, though someone along the way forms a deeper emotional connection. Cyra, who gradually develops more powers, is an indelible protagonist capable of defending herself and others. The final act delivers several plot turns that, while occasionally predictable, make for an exciting close to this opening installment.
Dynamic characters fuel a rousing tale of magic, erotic longings, and faraway lands.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798989811700
Page Count: 516
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Who is victorious? The author and the readers.
The conclusion to the Villains trilogy asks, In a world where there are no heroes, what does victory really mean?
Schwab’s world is one where violent near-death experiences can engender ExtraOrdinaries, people who come back to life with a new superpowered ability, but lacking empathy, patience, and a variety of other, gentler qualities. In this installment, Victor Vale is becoming increasingly desperate; ever since Sydney Clarke used her power to bring him back from the dead, control over his own ability to cause and dampen pain has been slipping. Sydney herself is chafing against her life on the run with Victor’s protective ex-cellmate, Mitch Turner, and struggling with missing both Victor and her dead sister, Serena, whom she might not be able to resurrect—and definitely shouldn’t. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist, Dr. Gabriel Gray, discovers the existence of ExtraOrdinary people and seeks to harness their power for himself with tragic consequences for himself and many other people. Because the narrative skips around in time, it becomes clear fairly early that a final conflict is looming at EON, a high-tech facility where ExtraOrdinaries are imprisoned and experimented upon. This series has really lived up to its title; while antiheroes and villains have been popular protagonists for quite some time, not every writer is willing to lean into the darkness as hard as Schwab does. Some of her characters were psychopaths even before their near-death traumas, which means they didn’t have much moral fiber to begin with. And even the people who are basically good do a lot of bad and often foolish things when faced with a crisis…and there are a lot of crises. The strength of this series lies in Schwab’s ExtraOrdinary power to make you care for many of these incredibly rash, ethically dubious—some verging on irredeemable—characters anyway. As a result, the story rises above the usual grimdark cynical slog; instead, this is a gripping and nuanced saga with an ending that feels both inevitable and well earned.
Who is victorious? The author and the readers.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781250192233
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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