Dark, spectacular, and tragic.
After Emanuela and Verene escape from their underground cell, they form a grudging alliance in order to control six of the eight ring cities.
Occhia and Iris, their respective homes, are forfeit: There is no one left in Occhia since Emanuela lost control of her magic and slaughtered the population, and the citizens of Iris have lost their faith in Verene. The girls don’t speak of the past, avoiding in particular any mention of Theo, Verene’s twin brother who trapped them underground, and Alessandro, Emanuela’s best friend, whom she abandoned in the catacombs. When Emanuela kills the last of the watercreas—the old rulers of the cities—she inadvertently triggers the destruction of her world. The veil surrounding the cities descends and consumes everything, but then Emanuela wakes up in a previously hidden ninth city that serves as the afterlife. She and Verene are whisked away by the murdered watercreas, who task them with capturing the ninth city’s ruler, a powerful and insatiable magic user. Emanuela’s conviction that she is a savior figure despite so much evidence to the contrary adds to the already heightened tension in a novel filled with secrets, betrayals, and disasters. Her attraction to Verene, hinted at in Beyond the Ruby Veil (2020), is undeniable here despite Emanuela’s best efforts to hide it, and Verene’s eventual reciprocation offers brief moments of sweetness. Characters follow a White default; Verene has brown skin.
Dark, spectacular, and tragic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5775-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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