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
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.
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