A satisfying and atmospheric conclusion.
Mira and her friends return in this conclusion to Greenlaw’s fantasy trilogy.
After the events of Shadow and Tide (2025), Mira finds herself imprisoned in the royal council’s court and forced into a deadly competition along with a boy named Kell, who’s also a captive. Each territory sends champions to the Trials, and victory brings power, alliances, and influence. To ensure Mira’s obedience, the council is holding her best friend, Agnes, hostage. As the trials commence, Mira and Kell, determined to stay alive, make deals with other contestants. Elsewhere, Brielle, separated from the powerful Coven Septern, forges her own path, building a new coven with two fledgling witches. Meanwhile, Lowri, teetering on the edge of burnout, is stranded in another world with Eli. As they unravel Eli’s father’s secrets, they discover the council’s hand in the realm’s ruin and realize they must return to their own world before it meets with the same fate. As the characters’ paths collide, the truth emerges: The council has wicked plans and together, the heroes must stop them from coming to fruition. The series closes with an explosive finale. Readers should be familiar with the earlier entries if they hope to follow the sprawling cast and their tangled relationships. Even returning fans may be challenged by the late reappearance of characters introduced in earlier books. Main characters are cued white.
A satisfying and atmospheric conclusion. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781335009005
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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