Supernatural beings propel this intricate, intriguing, and surprisingly energetic tale.
In this paranormal sequel, a teenage angel/demon hybrid and her family clash with hell’s power-hungry queen and her famous dad, Lucifer.
With her father, Lucifer, supposedly dead, Queen Lucinda aspires to be the most powerful figure in hell, tormenting and consuming demon and human souls. World domination is also in reach if she can turn the tide in the imminent Red War between heaven and hell. It seems odd, then, that Lucinda focuses her attention on Crighton, Lucifer’s former soul seeker and a Nephilim (an angel/demon), whom the queen loves. Crighton lives in Middle Earth, a place that’s neither heaven nor hell, with his guardian angel soul mate and their 17-year-old daughter, Samara. But Lucinda has a diabolical plan; she abducts someone in Crighton’s family who’s reputedly the key to destroying heaven in the war. Meanwhile, Lucifer, an angel once more, hijacks a “meat suit” and returns to hell. He aims to seize the throne back from Lucinda while his disturbing obsession with Samara slowly brews. He may be an even bigger threat than his daughter, as he’ll likely use his power to annihilate everything—heaven, hell, and Earth. McFarren’s epic follow-up to Soul Seeker (2020) brims with vivid characters and subplots, fueling the sequel’s impressive pace. For example, Samara’s demon-filled school days culminate in a murder mystery, and disappearing members of Crighton’s family spur several rescue missions. In addition, the author’s pithy details don’t linger excessively on scenes of brutal torture and explicit sex. Much of the cast is gleefully complex, harboring unexpected connections to others, and rarely trustworthy, though Samara is a consistently appealing young protagonist. While Lucinda’s thirst for power drives the story, the lengthy final act swerves drastically, introducing myriad new characters and twists aplenty involving Samara and a weirdly specific prophecy. Still, the doozy of a cliffhanger will surely leave readers yearning for a third series installment.
Supernatural beings propel this intricate, intriguing, and surprisingly energetic tale.Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-68564-056-9
Page Count: 523
Publisher: Creative Edge Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
FANTASY | PARANORMAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT DYSTOPIAN FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | ACTION & ADVENTURE FANTASY | PARANORMAL FANTASY | GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | GENERAL FICTION
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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