This imposing introduction to a magic-laden world has epic potential.
A recently deceased teen searches for an ancient relic that can bring her back to life in Mavis’ fantasy.
Thalia Eichel awakens somewhere unfamiliar with only fleeting memories. She soon runs into Alistair, the God of Protection, who reluctantly tells her she’s dead. He doesn’t know how it happened, and Thalia doesn’t remember. With help from Alistair, Thalia returns home to Druin, a labor town in a medieval-like fantasy realm, only to discover that her parents and twin brother are likely dead as well. Signs point to her family’s probable murderer: King Vitalis of the royal city of Varedon. In fact, Thalia’s brother Demetrius is alive and looking for her—as far as he knows, she is just missing. A reunion between the two is possible if Thalia and Alistair can track down a legendary medallion that can allegedly restore life. All the while, an underground organization plots a rebellion against the royals, stirring up mortals, gods, and goddesses. The author masterfully handles an extensive cast, shifting narrative perspectives between Thalia, Alistair, Demetrius, and others. Individual character arcs shine, from Alistair’s father, the King of the Gods, objecting to his son “mingling with the mortals” to Thalia’s best friend Torin Lehr fighting in bouts for a mysterious company promising info on Thalia’s whereabouts. Much of this first installment in Mavis’ series follows Thalia hunting the titular jewel while hinting at a secret involving an Eichel ancestor that may explain why someone has apparently targeted her family. Mortals and immortals alike wind up imprisoned and in peril, offering plenty of opportunities for Thalia to prove she’s capable in physical confrontations. The author portrays richly drawn environments, including the gods’ home planet where a luxurious palace sits near a crashing waterfall, and an “ethereal” forest housing such magical creatures as pixies and a lilac-colored stag.
This imposing introduction to a magic-laden world has epic potential.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781999405960
Page Count: 390
Publisher: Sunflower & Snow Print Co.
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.
Kova offers a fantasy novel set beyond the Nightgale Mountains in the walled fortress of Vinguard where citizens live in fear of the next deadly dragon attack.
Vinguard’s residents are always on guard against the threat of dragons, but they must watch more than just the skies. Living among them, hiding in plain sight, are the “dragon cursed”—people who, at any moment, may transform into terrifying winged beasts and destroy the city from within. For most of Isola Thaz’s life, she’s been told she’s the reincarnated savior of Vinguard. But just as she begins to suspect that she may be dragon cursed, she’s tossed into Vinguard’s Tribunal—a contest in which every 18-year-old competes in tests of skill and might to separate loyal citizens from the dragon cursed. As she’s sequestered for this rite of passage, Isola hesitantly allies herself with a handsome fellow competitor named Lucan. However, as the teens face such trials as fire-breathing automatons (“The silver beast comes to life with a swing. Its claws shear through the dim light”), starvation, and actual dragons while unarmed, Isola begins to feel that Vinguard’s traditions come at a cost that’s too steep. Meanwhile, Vicar Darius, Lucan’s father and the leader of Vinguard’s shadowy theocracy, the Creed, is desperate to take Isola’s powers for himself—and, to that end, he puts her into increasingly tortuous situations. However, neither he, nor Isola’s teenage rivals, are very compelling antagonists; instead, they come across as caricatures of cruelty. Still, the novel is fast-paced and action-oriented with a punchy prose that prioritizes movement over fantasy aesthetics. A sometimes-fraught romance between Isola and Lucan slowly blooms, but Isola’s relationship with her family forms the true emotional core of the narrative. Although the worldbuilding in fairly simple, the story sets up a massive mystery that promises big payoffs in a potential future installment.
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781649377838
Page Count: 448
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
