A brooding romance with a compelling, gothic setting.
After surviving an apparent gas leak that killed 25 other people on the New York City subway, including her parents, a 17-year-old moves in with her estranged aunt in a castle in northern Spain.
Estela Amador has spent the seven months since the tragedy in a mental health facility, but upon learning the truth about her origins, she has little choice but to travel to the place her parents actively lied to keep her away from. Beatríz Brálaga, her maternal aunt, is brooding and remote, just like castillo Brálaga, the family’s ancestral home. Beatríz, who’s a doctor, gives Estela shriveled black pills instead of her usual medications. Estela learns about the history of the castle and nearby town from Felipe, her Spanish language tutor. Desperately curious to learn more, she experiences nighttime hauntings by a shadow beast as she explores the castle against her aunt’s express orders. After a menacing first encounter, Estela and the beast, Sebastián, form a partnership to uncover more of Estela’s past—if her past doesn’t destroy her first. Elements of Dracula meet “Beauty and the Beast” to create a dark, engaging atmosphere. While the romantic moments with Sebastián often interrupt the story’s genuine tension, and some of the family revelations veer into melodrama, the intriguing setting with its well-wrought details will keep readers engaged.
A brooding romance with a compelling, gothic setting. (author’s note, mental health resource, link to content warnings) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250863898
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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
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
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