A cathartic novel of royalty that emphasizes strong leadership.
This fantasy series installment showcases the downfall of a despot and the long struggle toward normalcy for his survivors.
Lord Alfred has escaped the battlefield chaos wrought by his mad brother, King John, in the previous series entry, Pestilence (2020). He awakes in a cottage on Lake St. Anne in the Kingdom of Lakes, where his loyal horse, Star Dancer, carried him. There, Lady Gwendolyn, Alfred’s wife, reveals that the cottage belongs to her—a gift from her father to help in the event that her marriage goes irreparably sour. As Alfred recovers from the illness that’s swept the kingdom, Gwen prepares to give birth to their fourth child. After baby Alicia arrives, Alfred receives word from his friends Samuel and Richard that King John has been murdered—stabbed 12 times in his bed. Alfred and his family return to the castle, greeted by lords whom John had spurned during his horrible reign. At Alfred’s coronation, Lady Gunhild disputes Alfred’s claim to the throne, proclaiming that her young son, Gunderik, is John’s biological child. If Alfred is crowned, he’ll have to take creative measures to finance a kingdom that’s nearly broke, due to John’s carelessness. Taylor’s fourth Second Son novel revels in domesticity after the previous volume’s upheavals. John’s death occurs offstage, which helps to maintain a softer tone in a story that often places Alfred’s children in the foreground. As always, careful emotional details distinguish Taylor’s narrative; for instance, Alfred seeks to protect his son, young Prince Geoffrey, from knowing too early the royal weight that he’ll someday carry. Still, despite the relative calmness, Alfred must address several major problems, such as rogue priests, about which he says, “There’s a vast difference between a man speaking his mind and someone urging people to do harm to their fellow man.” These rabble-rousers, and the pestilence subplot, will seem timely to modern readers, particularly in the United States. The possible hidden location of John’s personal fortune adds mystery to the tale, and a kidnapping brings action. A clean-slate finale leaves room for fresh challenges.
A cathartic novel of royalty that emphasizes strong leadership.Pub Date: Dec. 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68433-606-7
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A somewhat uneven novel that will nevertheless charm readers of cozy fantasies.
A Cambridge professor specializing in the study of faeries gets more than she bargained for when she goes meddling in the Folk's business.
Emily Wilde arrives in the Scandinavian country of Ljosland with a singular goal: to become the first scholar to confirm and formally document the existence of Ljosland's legendary faeries. As a dryadologist—a sort of anthropologist specializing in the fae—Emily has spent a lifetime studying these nigh unknowable creatures. She receives a cold welcome in the village of Hrafnsvik, however, and a troublesomely handsome and infuriating colleague named Wendell Bambleby soon shows up to offer help, leaving her with no choice but to accept it. Emily and Wendell's relationships with the locals grow even more strained when they begin investigating the courtly fae—that is, the "tall ones": humanlike fae who bewitch humans and replace their children with changelings—and she accidentally blows Wendell's cover as a fae prince exiled from his court. The tall ones have plagued Hrafnsvik for years, returning their children as empty husks when they deign to return them at all. The kidnapping of a local woodcutter and her girlfriend spurs Emily to action for not altogether altruistic reasons. After all, what better way is there to report on Ljosland's courtly fae than by going to their lands herself? Rescuing the women buys Emily and Wendell some grace with the locals but creates a domino effect that eventually turns Emily into the unwitting heroine of a fairy tale very much like those she records. Emily's first-person account of her story tends toward purple prose, which may turn off some readers. Once Wendell enters the story, however, the fae prince's charm radiates both on and off the page, and his conversations with Emily give the novel some much-needed jaunt.
A somewhat uneven novel that will nevertheless charm readers of cozy fantasies.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780593500132
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fantastic duology ender.
“Hope is as slippery as memory.”
In the aftermath of a devastating betrayal by the rebellious Whispers, Renata Convida—a magic wielder with the power to steal memories—chooses to leave everything behind to travel alongside the infamous Prince Castian, her oldest friend and her greatest enemy. Together they go in search of the Knife of Memory, a mystical weapon they hope will be the answer to defeating Castian’s father, the tyrannical King Fernando, and bringing peace to their kingdom, which has been torn apart by the oppression of Renata’s people, the magical Moria. The more the duo traverse the world, over land and across seas, making enemies and friends along the way, the more they realize that the bonds between history and memory are intrinsically connected but hopelessly severed. As Renata’s mental clarity starts to fall apart under the weight of so many minds whose memories she has stolen, her turmoil increases: If she loses herself, can she accomplish what needs to be done to save her people? Adventure, romance, and magic entwine in this fierce sequel infused with assured writing, lovable characters, and a taut plot that merges multiple threads about accountability, surviving trauma, and building a new life as well as a new nation. A breathtakingly romantic plotline that speaks of survival, forgiveness, and friendship is the cherry on top of a story full of brown-skinned people in a world inspired by Spain.
A fantastic duology ender. (map) (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5603-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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