A cozy and atmospheric Christmas romance.
Seventeen-year-old Emma Sherman returns home from her Manhattan boarding school for the holidays and faces her estranged childhood best friend, Aiden Cooper-Gallo.
Aiden and Emma, inseparable since kindergarten, grew up in the quaint town of Briar Glen, six hours by train from New York City. Emma dreamed of traveling and one day, over their traditional peppermint hot chocolates at local cafe Cup o’ Jo, she excitedly announced her interest in Easton Academy, a prestigious boarding school on the Upper East Side. Aiden didn’t get a chance to tell Emma about his feelings for her before she left in June, without even saying goodbye. In the intervening six months, their contact has been limited to cursory texts—“One-word replies. Thumbs-up emojis”—but now Emma is returning for Christmas with Sam, her new boyfriend from school, who matches her academic drive. Neither boy knows anything about the other, and tensions rise as the three are inevitably thrown together. Being in Brian Glen brings out Sam’s overbearing and snobbish big-city ways, and forces Emma and Aiden to stop avoiding uncomfortable conversations. The chapters move backward and forward in time, allowing readers to understand the teens’ decadelong friendship. The small-town festivities form an enchanting backdrop for the unfolding of love triangle and boy-next-door romance tropes. The story is peppered with charm, humor, a dog with a big personality, and plenty of sweetness (that never crosses over into being saccharine). The leads present white.
A cozy and atmospheric Christmas romance. (Romance. 12-17)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798225003241
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
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