A well-developed romance-fantasy about determination, loyalty, and duty.
In Rose’s fantasy romance novel, a young woman sheds the constraints of her noble status to join a hunt for a malevolent creature.
As the daughter of the Comte de Grecy, 20-year-old Claris knows that her expected role in life is to marry a fellow noble, become the new Comtesse, and give birth to an heir. However, as a passionate practitioner of the impalement arts, Claris yearns to be like the blade-maidens in the neighboring country of Suevia: “fierce in battle and beholden to no man.” When a man named Brahim comes to her father’s estate with news of a demi-lich entering their domain, the opportunity to shake off her constraints presents itself. Demi-lichs are former mages who’ve traded their souls for immortality, spread death and destruction, and steal their victims’ souls. Demi-lichs only can only be killed by a specific type of blade thrown directly into one vulnerable spot. Claris, a highly skilled knife-thrower, successfully convinces her ill father to allow her to go. With her pet lynx Pepin by her side, Claris sets forth with Brahim and six garde from Grecy: Sigibert, Flore, Roul, Dalfin, Odo, and Torsten. However, the monstrous demi-lich isn’t her only challenge. Claris must prove herself to her male companions (and to herself), further hone her blade skills, and contend with marauders, faieries, goblins, and dangerous corpse crawlers. The growing, mutual attraction she and Torsten share may further complicate matters. Over the course of this novel, Rose weaves a compelling story that explores loyalty, duty, and love. The worldbuilding stands out, featuring well-developed magic systems and inspiration from global folklore. Although common romance-genre tropes (“She was glad to unburden her back as she removed her pack, but there was only one bed. A bed large enough to share….”) render some parts predictable, readers will appreciate the diversity of the characters, including LGBTQ+ characters Torsten and Odo, and disabled garde Dalfin.
A well-developed romance-fantasy about determination, loyalty, and duty.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9781764251501
Page Count: 380
Publisher: Rose Quill
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A strong start to an exciting new fantasy series.
A young woman embarks on a treacherous quest to save her town from a cursed forest in Peckham and Valenti’s fantasy novel.
Ferris Creed knows her hometown of Arringfall is running out of time. For decades, the cursed forest of Taking Trees, which surrounds Arringfall and other nearby towns, has spread and devoured everything in its path. The only way to break the curse: find and retrieve the amulets belonging to the 13 spirits of the forest. The one who collects the most amulets and returns them to the Great Elm will receive a boon for breaking the curse and restoring harmony. Every 50 years, a group of well-trained Champions search for the amulets in a dangerous quest called the Great Hunt. On the eve of the 13th hunt, Ferris secretly joins the group of 25 Champions. She is not the only one determined to claim the boon at all costs; deep within the woods, she meets Hendrix Draven, a 652-year-old prince with a very personal motive to win the prize. As the hunt intensifies, Ferris and Hendrix find themselves drawn to each other; however, a shocking discovery threatens Ferris’s life and what remains of Arringfall. This first installment of Peckham and Valenti’s Crown of Hearts and Chaos series is a twisty and sprawling dark romantasy replete with appealing characters in a lush and descriptive narrative. The authors’ prose is haunting and poetic: “The spirits were calling to us from within the cursed forest and I could almost believe there was something more than death awaiting us at the sound of that cry.” Ferris Creed is a well-developed protagonist whose journey anchors the novel as she grows from a young woman determined to save her sister from the woods into someone whose connection to the forest may be deeper than she realizes. Her compelling relationship with the mysterious Hendrix starts slowly but builds in intensity as their attraction deepens. In addition to a map at the beginning of the novel, the text includes detailed drawings between the chapters.
A strong start to an exciting new fantasy series.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781916926585
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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