Sweet, exciting, and immersive: This exceptional fantasy has it all.
A demon and a hero forge an unlikely association.
Once a peaceful pastoral kingdom overseen by a benevolent monarch, Valcrest is now ruled by the villainous Lady Renova, Mother of Evil, and her demon son and heir, Maelstrom, who has limited magic but can shape-shift. Valcrest’s denizens live a miserable, impoverished existence, suffering at Renova’s hand and waiting for the prophesied Hero of Virtue to arrive with the aptly named Sword of Virtue to end Lady Renova’s nefarious rule. Brown-skinned Twigs, a new Hero, seeks to assassinate Maelstrom, but it all goes awry, Maelstrom infiltrates the resistance (claiming to be on their side), and the two end up on the run from Renova’s soldiers together. As fate would have it, the improbable pair become close during their journey, which is replete with a glamorous ball (and the lush accompanying costuming), thrilling battles, double-crosses, and heart-fluttering romance. As feelings—and secrets—grow, Twigs and Maelstrom, who has pale peach-toned skin and blue hair, must confront their own truths before the kingdom disintegrates under Renova’s command. Fans of ND Stevenson’s Nimona will adore Merriman’s graphic novel debut, which is a sheer delight that mixes a wholly original and cleverly wrought fantasy with deeper issues of self-acceptance, friendship, found family, and identity. The book’s illustrations are striking, with a muted palette using splashes of color for dramatic, cinematic effect.
Sweet, exciting, and immersive: This exceptional fantasy has it all. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781250822840
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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