No glamour is needed to make readers fall for this one.
A practical painter meets a tortured fairy prince, and layers upon layers of magic and intrigue engulf them in this debut.
In Regency-esque Whimsy, where time seems suspended and it’s always summer, humans practice Craft (making) for the pleasure of the capricious fair folk. Fair-skinned human Isobel, 17, is a portrait painter of unsurpassed talent who has mastered the art of wrangling practical enchantments from her clients. When she paints sorrow into the eyes of the autumn prince, she becomes embroiled in a complex web of fairy-court intrigues. Golden-brown, beautiful Rook (autumn and summer folk are darker skinned; spring and winter lighter) kidnaps her in retaliation; in their uncomfortable flight they fall for each other, dooming themselves to death. The occasionally busy first-person narration blossoms with unexpected humor (appealing-but-alien Rook consider tears “leaks”); rich, detailed descriptions of the beautiful but dangerous world of the folk will seduce readers, while the unexpectedly action-filled flight (there’s a wild hunt, a ball, magic battles, and extreme painting) keeps the pages turning. Rogerson draws on fairy lore while changing myriad details to suit her story, and in Isobel she provides a strong, confident heroine who may lose her heart but never her head.
No glamour is needed to make readers fall for this one. (Fantasy. 12-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9758-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre.
A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
SEEN & HEARD
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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