by Rosalyn Eves ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
A sequel that serviceably does its middle-volume job; it won’t attract new readers but should please fans of Book 1.
Two surpassingly magical cousins are continually pushed into action during the European revolutions of the 19th century.
How could Anna have naïvely thought that she would destroy classism, racism, and imperialism simply because she had destroyed the magical Binding that reserved spellcasting for the nobility and imprisoned the magical praetherians? Alternating sections reveal the rising chaos that resulted from her actions in Blood Rose Rebellion (2017) from dual perspectives. Anna feels trapped in Vienna both by class and gender expectations and by the demands of the freed magical creatures. Mátyás, Anna’s cousin who was killed when Anna destroyed the Binding, has been reborn to a responsibility he desperately seeks to avoid. Both are appalled by the treatment of praetherians, who, newly freed, are being enslaved, murdered, and forced to wear identifying marks. Anna vows to speak up on their behalf, but as a young woman, her word carries little weight. Mátyás chooses banditry over leadership, but his kindness nevertheless brings more and more praetherians to join his gang. Both protagonists have revolutionary urgings, although their anti-imperialistic nationalism seems awfully selective, an unreconciled contradiction that could possibly be resolved in Book 3. Anna and Mátyás, both white, are exceptionally magical, with phenomenal cosmic powers that everyone wants to exploit, from the ancient Hungarian gods to the Hapsburg Archduchess Sophie. This all boosts expectations of series readers for a conclusion they may worry it cannot meet.
A sequel that serviceably does its middle-volume job; it won’t attract new readers but should please fans of Book 1. (author’s note, character guide, glossary) (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-93607-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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by Ann Aguirre ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2011
A standard post-apocalyptic dystopia with enough rich worldbuilding to appeal to most lovers of the genre. Deuce is a Huntress trainee in the tunnels beneath the long-fallen ruins of New York City. Like the rest of the Hunters, Deuce wants only to provide her city with meat and protect it from the subhuman, zombielike Freaks. So why, oh, why did they need to appoint that weirdo Fade her hunting partner? He's from outside the enclave and never learned how to fit in the way Deuce wants to. With Fade by her side, Deuce can't help seeing cracks in the elders' façade of benevolent protectiveness. Soon the two must embark on a new adventure, to the not-so-abandoned city Topside. Up here, they need a whole new set of survival skills to protect them against everything from sunlight to violent gangs of rapists and thugs—not to mention the ever-present and growing packs of Freaks. The well-developed tension is marred only by recurring inexplicable references to what readers seem to be expected to recognize as one of the more obscure stories of Victorian fantasist George MacDonald, but these are only mild stumbling blocks. All in all, this well-paced zombie-esque adventure in an urban wasteland will keep fans happy. (Science fiction. 13-15)
Pub Date: April 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-65008-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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by Josephine Angelini ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2011
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll...
What if Bella Swan were a demigod?
Helen is the loveliest girl on Nantucket, but until the sexy Delos family comes to the island, she's always tried to stay under the radar. It's not just her looks that attract attention; Helen knows her strength, speed and hearing all approach superpower levels. But she can't stay hidden in the presence of the Delos cousins, Jason, Hector, Cassandra, Ariadne and the sexiest one, Lucas—yes, Lucas. (Some complicated handwaving explains why he is named Lucas instead of—as was intended—Paris.) Readers trained on trendy Greek mythological fantasy won't be surprised to learn both Helen and the newcomers are demigods. In their blonde beauty (really!), they look exactly like their quasi-mythological ancestors and are cursed by the Furies and the gods to replay ancient dramas across history. Lucas and Helen are both drawn together and forced apart by fate and desire. The cousins, meanwhile, help Helen develop her powerful demigod abilities while tutoring her on the massive forces arrayed against her. Though weirdly inconsistent perspective, startling shifts of voice and scenes that feel like they've been copied almost directly from Twilight break the flow, the drama's epic scale complements the love story's pacing. A refreshingly strong heroine carries readers into the setup for book two.
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll be caught up in the we-must-we-can't sexual tension. (Paranormal romance. 13-15)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-201199-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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