A cozy, witchy hug of a book about the power of acting locally and thinking cosmically.
Page weaves benevolent witchcraft, folksy animism, and environmental activism into a fantasy novel that offers practical optimism in the face of relentless evil.
Iris Barnes, a recently divorced middle-school librarian, moves to the town of Cottonwood, New Mexico, to try to rebuild her life anew. Her house comes with surprises, including a mysterious letter from its former occupant, Joan Flores, and a strangely persistent cat, whom she names Xena the Warrior Princess; as it turns out, the feline is more than she seems—and who narrates part of the tale: “I am here as a helper; well, more than a helper. I just got a promotion. Now, I’m a bodhisattva….Kind of like a warrior princess, but no.” Iris soon finds herself embroiled in the town’s biggest controversy: The mayor and other powerful players want to open their namesake cottonwood forest to development. Iris joins with Joan, Joan’s niece Annabelle, and an adorable, kind locksmith named Ezra to resist the deforestation. They’re not alone in their mission; unbeknownst to them, the Fae and the animals are also marshaling forces to resist encroachment. Page’s approach to all these magical elements allows them to be both fantastical and refreshingly familiar. The history and depth of the powers at play are epic, but the scope of the story is intimate and personal. The stakes feel simultaneously global and local, evincing an understanding that the ley lines channeling the powers of good and evil may crisscross the world, but are always encountered on one’s own corner of the earth. The book is not overtly political beyond its clear environmentalist stance, but there’s something timely and empowering about a novel in which the heroes are a librarian and a young girl armed with the powers of research, kindness, and determination. Page’s care for all of her characters, and her clear optimism for the kinds of change they might effect, will carry the reader to the end of the book—and, maybe, into their own lives and actions.
A cozy, witchy hug of a book about the power of acting locally and thinking cosmically.Pub Date: June 30, 2025
ISBN: 9798286039920
Page Count: 280
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.
Four residents of Coopers Chase, a British retirement village, compete with the police to solve a murder in this debut novel.
The Thursday Murder Club started out with a group of septuagenarians working on old murder cases culled from the files of club founder Elizabeth Best’s friend Penny Gray, a former police officer who's now comatose in the village's nursing home. Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. Joyce Meadowcroft is a former nurse who chronicles their deeds. Psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif and well-known political firebrand Ron Ritchie complete the group. They charm Police Constable Donna De Freitas, who, visiting to give a talk on safety at Coopers Chase, finds the residents sharp as tacks. Built with drug money on the grounds of a convent, Coopers Chase is a high-end development conceived by loathsome Ian Ventham and maintained by dangerous crook Tony Curran, who’s about to be fired and replaced with wary but willing Bogdan Jankowski. Ventham has big plans for the future—as soon as he’s removed the nuns' bodies from the cemetery. When Curran is murdered, DCI Chris Hudson gets the case, but Elizabeth uses her influence to get the ambitious De Freitas included, giving the Thursday Club a police source. What follows is a fascinating primer in detection as British TV personality Osman allows the members to use their diverse skills to solve a series of interconnected crimes.
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-98-488096-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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