by Laura Powell ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2013
Smart, suspenseful and delicious.
In this largely successful sequel to Burn Mark, Lucas and Glory, trained in the use of their considerable fae powers to fight witchcrime, pose as students to investigate Wildings, an elite Swiss boarding school believed to have terrorist ties.
Each is restless, conflicted and awkwardly aware of their growing mutual attraction. Connected to a leading coven/crime family, Glory’s not entirely happy to be working for a government whose centuries-old Inquisition once terrorized witches and continues to marginalize them. Her tough working-class demeanor masks vulnerability and pain from her mother’s abandonment. Unlike Glory, reserved, upper-class Lucas considers his fae, which ended his father’s Inquisitorial career, more liability than gift. Remote and well-guarded, Wildings is where the rich and powerful discreetly park offspring who’ve developed fae powers. (One has ties to Glory’s family.) While Glory’s risk-taking pushes Lucas out of his comfort zone, it advances their investigation, which leads to a South American country whose brutal government tolerates witchcraft. Immensely likable, Lucas and Glory are major assets, along with vivid settings and Powell’s wry political savvy. But explaining what’s gone before in this complex world slows the opening chapters (making the case for restoring synopses to series fiction). That duty discharged, the pace accelerates and the plot grips.
Smart, suspenseful and delicious. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-6196-3006-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More by Laura Powell
BOOK REVIEW
by Laura Powell
BOOK REVIEW
by Laura Powell
BOOK REVIEW
by Laura Powell
Awards & Accolades
Likes
11
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
11
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
More About This Book
by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2023
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.