A sexy supernatural fantasy powered by a complex, albeit confusing, love/hate/love relationship.
This first installment of a romance and fantasy saga revolves around a centuries-old vampire and a sorcerer who vows to defeat her only to become entangled in unanticipated amorous adventures.
Although Kamaria is a powerful fire sorcerer in her own right, she’s been living in the shadow of her heroic mother, Arkemi, a beloved sorcerer who protected the surrounding towns and villages for years from a myriad of monstrosities. But her mother has been dead for four years, and the only semblance of family Kami has left is her best friend, Alice. So when a legendary villain named the Crimson Queen suddenly returns to the region and her legions begin attacking and killing villagers—Alice even gets bitten by a vampire and barely escapes—Kami is forced to take action. Vowing to kill the queen and the vampire who attacked Alice, Kami sets out with two hunters chosen by the mayor to aid her in her perilous task. Yet unbeknown to the hunters, Aradia, a vampiric temptress, has been visiting Kami at night and ruthlessly attempting to seduce her with her supernatural wiles. Delicious sexual tension ensues. But the catchy title and stunning cover art are a bit misleading here. Readers may expect, for good reason, a same-sex romance, but because of a strange twist involving the queen, the relationship isn’t quite what it seems. Some readers may find this turn of events disappointing. That potential issue notwithstanding, there’s a lot to like in Moore’s novel. The overall character development is strong (although Kami does come across as woefully too naïve in places); the worldbuilding is solid; and the sexually charged scenes, while not explicit, are well done and emotionally compelling: “Kami tried to get up, but Aradia had her arms pinned down on the bed. Now she was kissing her neck, moving down to her breasts.”
A sexy supernatural fantasy powered by a complex, albeit confusing, love/hate/love relationship.Pub Date: July 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-578-94426-5
Page Count: 295
Publisher: Tethys Night Sky Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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