A popcorn read that fans of the first will eat up.
After The Babysitters Coven (2019), Esme and Cassandra must host a Summit of demon-fighting Sitters.
Given only three days’ notice for planning and prep to host the Sitters and the Synod for the Summit (a once-in-a-decade conference), Esme and Cassandra have other worries. Cassandra’s having episodes where she disconnects from reality (causing Esme to worry she’s been cursed like Esme’s mother) while Esme’s dad is acting strangely—extra-stressed and less responsible than usual. The Summit brings new struggles, as all of the other Sitters started training earlier and know each other from Sitter gatherings; there’s an uncomfortable gulf between them and the local duo. Delightful chaos blooms as the Summit goes on, from inexplicable demonic activity outside the hotel (which yields fun action scenes, though the town’s mild reaction undercuts its impact) to unintentional Summit gate-crashing by both Janis and Pig (and everything that goes wrong while hiding them). Though the storylines themselves tend to be easily guessed (and with stakes that could use a little more clarification), the jokes and clever banter land easily (barring the occasional too-dated reference), and the story maintains an easy, breezy clip. The expanded cast adds further racial and sexual-orientation diversity (joining Black non-Sitter Janis and Esme and Cassandra, described in the previous title as White and Mexican, respectively) and expands the mythos before leaving teases for the next book.
A popcorn read that fans of the first will eat up. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-70741-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Truly fantastic.
This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66591-868-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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