A gorgeous fantasy novel perfect for readers seeking dark romance, mystery, and magic.
In Foley’s fantasy novel, a troubled young woman unexpectedly travels to ancient Ireland, where her destiny is determined by her prodigious magical abilities.
Clíona Murphy has been crippled with guilt since the death of her brother Fionn, which she accidentally caused with magical abilities she calls her “curse.” When her curse claims another victim (this time, the mayor), Clíona flees and is on the verge of being arrested when she is suddenly transported to ancient Ireland—a world once known to her only through stories and folklore is suddenly real and filled with ever-present danger. Two warrior brothers, Rían and Caolann, begrudgingly take Clíona under their protection, and she and Caolann grow attracted to each other despite mutual suspicion. From him, Clíona learns that magic is quite common in their world (called Saoirse), and that her abilities could carry great power if she learns how to control them. Saoirse is haunted by a mysterious creature stealing young children by night. When a child Clíona has befriended is the next taken, Clíona decides to enter the Tuatha Dé Danann’s trials. If she claims victory, the gods will grant her one wish, and she intends to ask for their aid in finding the missing children. But is she prepared for the toil and bloodshed necessary to achieve her goal? This is a dark epic fantasy, rich with folklore and fascinating characters. Clíona’s combative demeanor and traumatic past are distinctive—she is no ingenue, but her deep (unacknowledged) compassion and courage make her journey a powerful one to follow. The trials are not introduced until the second half of the story, shifting the tone from brooding and character-driven to action-packed, but Foley handles the transition well. The world she creates is so well developed that it seems to live and breathe with the characters, highlighting Clíona’s growth: “Strange things were happening in this world. And yet something louder than a whisper or inkling told me I was only standing on the precipice of more than I dared to find out.”
A gorgeous fantasy novel perfect for readers seeking dark romance, mystery, and magic.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781963029086
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Alex Parker Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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