An often-thrilling fantasy with memorable characters.
A young woman must learn how to control her magical powers before they end up controlling her in Manus’ fantasy novel.
Twenty-year-old Clare Brighton escapes desolate, treacherous Renault County with only a guitar and the clothes on her back. She hitches a ride to Veralna City, the capital of the Faelhorn Provinces, with Lord Verol Arrendon and his husband, Marquin. Desperate to escape the trauma of her past, Clare is determined to make a name for herself as a singer. But even as a talented Songweaver—a type of mage whose magic comes in the form of music—she faces a steep uphill battle. She must not only contend with stifling regulations and an exploitative Musicians Guild, but also register as a mage and start an apprenticeship, as is required by law. The Arrendons take her into their home as a new apprentice of Verol, a mage who’s gifted with a form of magic called Kinthing, which compels him to protect certain people. And although Clare is fiercely independent, she needs protection, as she’s possessed by an ancient power that gives her the preternatural ability to sway others to her will. Clare calls the entity “the Song” and tries to contain it so it doesn’t control her, but the Song is constantly fighting back, and she may have even more latent abilities lying within her. She must learn to harness her powers before she attracts the attention—and wrath—of scheming, tyrannical warlord King Alaric. In this epic fantasy, Manus presents an emotional story about overcoming trauma, learning to trust others, and reclaiming one’s agency. The story is told through multiple perspectives, and all the major characters are fully developed and complex. The author expertly explores Clare’s arrogance and reluctance to be vulnerable, making her an intriguing and compelling protagonist. However, the book’s greatest strength lies in its extensive, well-crafted worldbuilding. The novel also features enjoyable, action-packed battle scenes, as well as wry humor, as when Numair, a prince and Clare’s love interest, “contemplated the new and fascinating ways in which he was an idiot.”
An often-thrilling fantasy with memorable characters.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781954400368
Page Count: 514
Publisher: Seclusion Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 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
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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