A thoroughly entertaining tale of royalty, loyalty, and love.
A princess contends with a love triangle while competing with her siblings for the throne in Cammaratta’s fantasy novel.
For generations, the kingdom of Alchos has been ruled by royals who possess the magical power to bend the elements to their will. Traditionally, this ability goes to a single heir, who leaches it from their predecessor. But Queen Elea Exos divided her power equally among her four children: Prince Rylan, Princess Arabella, Prince Marcus, and Princess Nina have command over earth, air, water, and fire, respectively. Rylan, the eldest, is the presumed heir to throne, but before his coronation, Queen Elea tells her children that she has decided that all four siblings will instead compete with each other for the job in a series of trials. “Power to rule came with magic. With the magic split…it’s agreed that each of the four of you have equal claim to the throne,” she explains. Arabella doesn’t want to compete with her siblings. She’s betrothed to Prince Jamys Merrick of the neighboring kingdom Ceraun—meaning that, if she wins, she will be both Queen of Alchos and Queen-Consort of Ceraun, and the prospect of such a responsibility is unbearably overwhelming. Arabella isn’t thrilled about her betrothal, but the marriage would solidify the alliance between the two kingdoms, and she feels a strong sense of duty to both her family and her country. She intends to make the best of it…but her heart belongs to another. Cammaratta’s novel is an exciting blend of fantasy, romance, and palace intrigue. Arabella is a compelling and complex protagonist who narrates with both earnestness and a dry wit. The story is well paced and engaging, with memorable characters and plenty of magical mischief and mayhem. Readers may find some parts predictable, but this doesn’t overly detract from the story.
A thoroughly entertaining tale of royalty, loyalty, and love.Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9798986505367
Page Count: 408
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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