Engaging enough to keep Kate’s legions of fans happy.
The long-standing Fallen series continues with bad boy fallen angel Cam trying to win back his lost love from ancient Israel, entering into a deal with the devil to do it.
In 1,000 B.C.E. Cam and Lilith fell in love, but Cam broke Lilith’s heart. Now he learns something he has been unaware of for millennia: Lilith has been in Hell all this time. He meets with Lucifer, who shows him via endless snow globe–style worlds how Lilith has been in one Hell after the other for millennia. Cam accepts a deal: if he does not win Lilith’s heart in two weeks, he will become Lucifer’s slave for eternity. The difficulty is that Lilith hates Cam, so he will have to break through that hatred to turn things around. In her current Hell, Lilith lives in poverty and attends a horrible high school that runs seven days per week with no holidays and where she is bullied by students and teachers alike. Cam joins in as a new student and uses Lilith’s deep musical talent to try to win her love. However, Lucifer turns up in the form of Luc, a music promoter, to deceive Lilith into believing that Cam is untrustworthy. Nevertheless, Cam continues his efforts to win her over, despite the fact that Lucifer is aging him from a handsome boy into a dumpy, balding, unattractive guy. Will Lilith be able to see through Lucifer’s deceptions and regain the love she felt for Cam so long ago? It’s all pretty soapy, but Kate delivers for her fans, her snow-globe world plausible if not entirely original, and keeps suspense high enough to keep readers turning pages.
Engaging enough to keep Kate’s legions of fans happy. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-74263-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
