A well-characterized fantasy that’s best suited to patient readers.
Demons conjured by original creations plague the kingdom of Wisteria.
Even a dream can unleash a demon. Eighteen-year-old Aurelie Blake knows her secret inventions, which ease her loneliness, are risky, but she believes they’re worth the reward: progress for society. When Mr. Everard, a stranger, arrives at the university where Aurelie lives with her uncle, who’s the dean, he offers her a lucrative but dangerous proposal: He wants her to build something that’s “near impossible” but would create a world in which “invention is welcomed, not feared.” Mr. Everard’s presence draws the attention of the Iron Guard, a demon-hunting military force, and soon Aurelie is caught in their sights as well. Des Whitlow, a stoic Iron Guard member, is assigned to follow her. At first, Des and Aurelie clash, their personalities and appearances seemingly at odds: He’s a towering soldier, gray-eyed with “ridiculous muscles” and skin that’s tanned from time in the sun; she’s doll-like—so small her feet dangle in midair when she sits in chairs—pale-skinned, green-eyed, and bookish. Rutherford repeatedly emphasizes their physical contrast. As they’re forced together, Aurelie and Des discover shared histories of loss and isolation that draw them closer. The initially slow pacing lingers on the pair’s mutual irritation before their relationship turns romantic. Still, the book features a cast of engaging main and supporting characters who are worth rooting for. The open ending clearly sets the stage for the duology closer.
A well-characterized fantasy that’s best suited to patient readers. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781335013880
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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