Those looking for fantasy with diversity may find themselves bewitched.
Reminiscent of Practical Magic, this sensory-rich debut and series opener highlights the mysteries of life, death, and love for modern twin witches.
Produced from their Eastern European mother and a Japanese father they’ve never met, mixed-race fraternal twins Iris and Malina know they are also witches born with “the gleam,” a magical way to bring forth and manipulate beauty. Raised in the medieval town of Cattaro in the Balkan country of Montenegro and isolated from other witches, abrasive Iris has had less and less practice with summoning the beauty of fractals, particularly through flowers, and tender Malina, with eliciting emotions through her beautiful voice. Narrator Iris has resigned herself to making flowers only through glassworks and helping her gruff mother, Jasmina, in her confectionery until there are strange occurrences and visitors in town. When Jasmina is the victim of a possible murder attempt and left in a state between life and death, it’s up to Iris and Malina to find the culprit. The real mystery, however, becomes discovering their complex coven background and connection to generations of strong women with varying gifts of gleam and breaking a deathly family curse. This deliberate narrative is not for fans of the quick, adventurous whodunit but for readers who enjoy detailed descriptions, particularly ones that evoke sights, sounds, and smells.
Those looking for fantasy with diversity may find themselves bewitched. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243683-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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