by Rebecca Schaeffer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
A gory, thought-provoking sequel mixing Dexter and John Wick and not for the faint-hearted.
Continues the violent misfortunes of two teens on the run for their lives.
Picking up right after Not Even Bones’ (2018) cliffhanger ending, Nita finds herself facing Fabricio, the boy who betrayed her to the black market, and revenge is all Nita thinks of. But Nita has even bigger problems now, as a video of her self-healing ability is on the dark web, marking her as a vulnerable target. When she realizes that to ensure her freedom she needs to send a message to her enemies not to mess with her, Nita turns to Kovit, the monstrous boy she both fears and likes. But even the best-laid plans have flaws….While the setting moves from Latin America to Canada, the story is still very much concerned with ongoing questions of nature, nurture, and accountability when it comes to one’s humanity—or one’s monstrosity, as the case may be. As Nita and Kovit grow closer to one another, the book never shies away from its characters’ psychopathic tendencies, with little respite from the graphic violence that they both endure and induce. Although there is little actual plot progression (the characters start and end the book in the same kind of danger), there is undoubtedly a strong character arc toward self-knowledge and self-determination for both protagonists. Both Nita and Kovit are brown skinned; Nita has a Chilean father and a nonhuman mother.
A gory, thought-provoking sequel mixing Dexter and John Wick and not for the faint-hearted. (Fantasy. 15-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-86355-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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by Alexa Donne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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by Kerri Maniscalco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2016
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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