An adventure not to skip, told with enchantment and heart.
In an oppressive society, a mage and a guard struggle with secrets.
In the nation of Hesperid, mages—those who utilize spellfire—undergo a binding rite by age 13 that fixes them to a patron and “tempers wild magic.” Insubordination has a penalty of death, except for Ingenues, who have special privileges. New Ingenue Pandora Small is invited to summer at Palace Hill, home to Queen Maud. Unbeknownst to everyone, Pandora is an extremely powerful mage, who has already been bound to a patron—one she’ll stop at nothing—even murder—to cut ties with. Ellis Beacon joins the Queen’s Guard to fight hellions, monsters formed from the abundance of excess spellfire. Ellis’ secret is his keen magesense; if anyone discovers how well he can sense magic, he’d be forced to become a magefinder, one of the ruthless guards who find and punish noncompliant mages. Due to a shortage of guards, Ellis is tasked with testing the incoming Ingenues. His discovery of the extent of Pandora’s power surprises them both. But he’s unwilling to expose her, and a friendship develops, putting both their lives in danger. Rule follower Ellis and ferocious Pandora come together in the most pleasing ways, and their introspective relationship slowly evolves. An especially delightful twist brings additional warmth to the narrative, and (coupled with an artfully depicted magic system) makes this work a success. Most characters read white.
An adventure not to skip, told with enchantment and heart. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781665959759
Page Count: 320
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans.
Romantic complications between a trained killer and one of her captors drive this sequel to Watch Me (2025).
Appealing to readers who prefer their romantic dramas to be light on action and heavy on long passages of banter, bitter sibling arguments, and tortured reflections, Mafi continues the tale of Rosabelle Wolff, the flaxen-haired assassin from the dystopic Reestablishment, and magnetic, “impossibly stunning” James Anderson, her nemesis-turned-lover who’s still trying to take down the regime. Now desperate to accomplish several secret missions, Rosa easily escapes from one of The New Republic’s prisons, where she was left in the series opener, and, dressed in “a little kid’s cat onesie,” eludes all pursuers except for James, who can seemingly find her at will. Enigmatic Rosa responds unpredictably to many human contacts—including with violence, temporary death (one of her abilities), or a sudden panic attack. Along with the central pair of rivals and lovers, James’ older brother, Aaron, shares the narration. Bestseller Mafi tucks in several subplots, including, notably, a cameo from Juliette Ferrars, the protagonist of the original Shatter Me series, who’s undergoing a scarily difficult pregnancy. Amid the slowly simmering rising action, the author delivers a revelation and a twist that set up a potential series climax. Some ethnic diversity is present in the supporting cast.
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans. (Dystopian. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780063419056
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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