A compelling blend of gothic fantasy and romance.
Beauty and the Beast meets Twilight in Crozier’s debut historical romantasy.
Twenty-five-year-old Clara Wagner, daughter of the mayor of Orlfen, has managed to find a modest amount of happiness despite the grim realities of her famine-stricken town. Engaged to the local baker, Yann, whom she’s known since childhood, Clara tries to ignore the ever-present shadow of death that lingers. People are not only dying of starvation, but also from vampire attacks—the same fate that claimed her mother years earlier. Everyone is convinced that the culprit is Raleigh Linford, the Prince of Rostenburg and a 300-year-old vampire who returned to his castle 14 years prior after a long period of time abroad; as Clara sees it, he has caused nothing but misery since. When Raleigh arrives in Orlfen and demands her hand in marriage, she is livid when her father complies, trading her off in order to keep his own secrets (“What had father done?”). Eventually, the prince offers Clara a deal. If, by the end of the year, she can find a way to turn him human again, she’ll be free to go wherever she wishes—however, if she fails, she will become his vampire bride for all eternity. As she and the prince spend more time together, Clara begins to uncover hidden truths about both of their pasts that force her to question everything she thought she knew—and to determine what she truly wants. Clara stands out as a determined and compassionate protagonist, balancing defiance with vulnerability as she navigates her new reality. The romance is endearing, though it develops unevenly, falling short of its full emotional potential. The novel’s atmosphere is a highlight, particularly in descriptions of Castle Rostenburg, whose enchanted hallways make the architecture feel like its own character. Supporting characters, especially Moira and Enrique (a gruff yet endearing dhampir chef), add charm. Readers will find this to be an entertaining addition to the vampire romantasy genre.
A compelling blend of gothic fantasy and romance.Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9781682816981
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.
In this long-awaited fifth installment of Shannon’s Bone Season series, the threat to the clairvoyant community spreads like a plague across Europe.
After extending her fight against the Republic of Scion to Paris, Paige Mahoney, leader of London’s clairvoyant underworld and a spy for the resistance movement, finds herself further outside her comfort zone when she wakes up in a foreign place with no recollection of getting there. More disturbing than her last definitive memory, in which her ally-turned-lover Arcturus seems to betray her, is that her dreamscape—the very soul of her clairvoyance—has been altered, as if there’s a veil shrouding both her memories and abilities. Paige manages to escape and learns she’s been missing and presumed dead for six months. Even more shocking is that she’s somehow outside of Scion’s borders, in the free world where clairvoyants are accepted citizens. She gets in touch with other resistance fighters and journeys to Italy to reconnect with the Domino Programme intelligence network. In stark contrast to the potential of life in the free world is the reality that Scion continues to stretch its influence, with Norway recently falling and Italy a likely next target. Paige is enlisted to discover how Scion is bending free-world political leaders to its will, but before Paige can commit to her mission, she has her own mystery to solve: Where in the world is Arcturus? Paige’s loyalty to Arcturus is tested as she decides how much to trust in their connection and how much information to reveal to the Domino Programme about the Rephaite—the race of immortals from the Netherworld, Arcturus’ people—and their connection to the founding of Scion, as well as the presence of clairvoyant abilities on Earth. While the book is impressively multilayered, the matter-of-fact way in which details from the past are sprinkled throughout will have readers constantly flipping to the glossary. As the series’ scope and the implications of the war against Scion expand, Shannon’s narrative style reads more action-thriller than fantasy. Paige’s powers as a dreamwalker are rarely used here, but when clairvoyance is at play, the story shines.
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781639733965
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling, sexy, and modern take on forbidden fruit.
A cardiologist falls for an enigmatic stranger in Obuobi’s seductive paranormal romance.
When it comes to matters of the heart, Sean Sullivan prefers operating tables over heartbreak. Her job as an interventional cardiologist in Chicago keeps her busy enough, and at 38, she doesn’t feel any burning desire to find “the one.” Almost all her male colleagues are on their second or third wives, anyway—including her best friend Winny’s ex, Brandon—which leaves Sean with little faith in the existence of true love. But at Brandon’s wedding to his new, much younger wife, Leila, the bride’s man of honor piques Sean’s interest. Julian Conrad is younger, ethnically ambiguous, and devastatingly handsome, and he appears to have taken an interest in Sean as well. After they share a heated moment at the wedding, Sean can’t get Julian out of her head—and then he starts showing up in her dreams. Even after going over all the reasons she should avoid dating a man 11 years her junior, she feels an undeniable urge to give in to him. When they’re together, Sean can’t get enough of Julian, to the point that she starts exhibiting flulike symptoms when they’re apart. The withdrawal she feels is slightly terrifying, and the ever-present air of mystery and sadness surrounding Julian soon makes Sean question whether she really knows the man she’s fallen in love with. Obuobi’s latest is a sleek and gripping tale of temptation and seduction that begs to be finished in one sitting. Obuobi puts her own twist on a classic monster romance, with an older, more formidable heroine who is neither clumsy nor simpering but entirely relatable. She dedicates her book to “Black girls who squinted at the pages of the paranormal romances of the early aughts, wishing to see themselves there,” breathing new life into a well-trodden genre.
A thrilling, sexy, and modern take on forbidden fruit.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9780143139188
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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