May entice fans of royal dramas but struggles with uneven execution.
In a world where only servants or Americans get to marry for love, three European noblewomen try to control their destinies.
Queen Victoria generally decides who weds whom among her large family—and she wants stunning beauty Alix of Hesse to marry her grandson and heir to the throne Eddy, aka Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward. Alix, however, has fallen for Nicholas, the eldest son of the Russian tsar. Meanwhile, the exiled French princess Hélène d’Orléans has a chance encounter with Eddy during which sparks fly. For her part, Her Serene Highness May of Teck struggles with being poorer and lower in status than her cousins; she’s also desperate to escape her cruel father and hopes to catch Eddy’s eye. Each young woman battles her confines in order to achieve happiness: Hélène owns her desires, but they may be held against her; Alix, though beloved by Queen Victoria, isn’t welcomed by the Russian court; and May leans into manipulative situations. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so readers will need to wait for the next entry to find out how these problems are resolved. The characterization builds over the course of the story, but the timelines can be confusing, and even though the events are loosely based on the lives of real people and the social stakes are clearly defined, the setting doesn’t feel fully immersive. Characters read white.
May entice fans of royal dramas but struggles with uneven execution. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780593710708
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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