Singh explores power, love, and redemption with her typical consummate skill.
When an archangel disappears, it becomes clear there’s more at stake than just power.
After years of war, Archangel Raphael and his once-mortal consort, Elena, have experienced a period of relative peace in New York, but Raphael must attend to global affairs when Zhou Lijuan, the Archangel of China and self-professed Goddess of Death, fails to make an appearance for two years and her lands begin to show signs of distress. The Cadre—the archangelic rulers of Earth—must decide what to do with her territory and are summoned by the Luminata, an ancient, neutral sect of angels charged with bringing the Cadre together when an archangel hasn't been seen in some time. Once Elena and Raphael join the rest of the archangels in the remote Moroccan Luminata compound, everyone agrees that things are not as they should be in a region ruled by people who are supposed to be seekers of “luminescence"—a sort of spiritual enlightenment—and perhaps it’s not only the question of Lijuan they should be deciding, but also that of the Luminata themselves. Things get personal when Gian, the charming but somehow creepy sect leader, develops a distinctly unnatural interest in Elena. Spending time in the nearby mortal village, Elena realizes the residents have been terrorized by the Luminata. After she meets an elderly couple who tells her stories of a woman who disappeared decades ago and who shared Elena’s unique coloring, she uncovers an abundance of disturbing secrets, some of which have directly and horrifically affected her own family. Singh's Guild Hunter novels are known for their darkly intense worldbuilding and for their exquisite romanticism, especially between the couple at the heart of the series, Raphael and Elena. This eighth novel highlights the author’s ability to weave threads of devastation and hopefulness together; it is emotionally jarring and at times grim yet ultimately fulfilling, resonating with the conviction that love is the strongest force in the universe.
Singh explores power, love, and redemption with her typical consummate skill.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-451-48800-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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