Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Fun action scenes with compelling characters and tragic consequences make for a thrilling fantasy brawler.
A series built on battles is ready to go all out for its tournament arc.
Are you ready to rumble? Reksha the Breaker is, with her bout in the Citadel’s tournament matching her against a massive, armored foe. It’s the first of several fights in this third volume, all of them serving flashy, hyperkinetic attacks that returning fans will have come to expect by now. As familiar as characters like Reksha, Grom, and Agni may seem, this book shows that they still have mysteries yet to be uncovered. Flashbacks reveal motives and revelations, usually at the most dramatic possible moment, so that both sides of each lethal matchup end up being sympathetic to some degree. Agni, who serves as the heart of the story, searches for a way to win the tournament without having to kill anyone. There’s still plenty of room for humor, such as in the running gag of tournament advertisements (“Have stray harpies taken roost on your roof? Get rid of them now with the help of…”) that hide an important detail in plain sight. Gaming logic continues to apply, from job types to hit points and damage totals that actually matter in combat. Caballes is more than inspired by shōnen manga and fantasy game tropes; they are his tools to twist and subvert, and he’s using them to build a series that’s worth following.
Fun action scenes with compelling characters and tragic consequences make for a thrilling fantasy brawler. (Graphic fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781524892463
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointingly underdeveloped.
A teen is torn between a friend and the boy she’s destined to be with.
Eighteen-year-old Piper Hadley doesn’t feel like she belongs in her family. The Hadley women share a Blessing from Fate: the ability to instantly identify true love. But Piper’s mother contradicted the Blessing by divorcing Piper’s father, something her family finds unacceptable. Piper worries that her genetic disability—which left her with scoliosis, a missing finger, and only one kidney—caused her parents’ divorce and indirectly ruined the Blessing. To gain matriarch Aunt Helena’s favor and someday take over the family jewelry store, Piper must get her parents back together and cement her own fate by kissing her one true love. When Fate tells her that handsome Forest MacIntosh is her person, Piper seeks dating tips from her estranged best friend, Leo…and in the process falls for Leo, too. If she makes the wrong choice, will her aunts ostracize her? The relationships between Piper and her parents are movingly portrayed, realistically illustrating the complex feelings surrounding divorce and its aftermath. Unfortunately, the rest of the story falls flat. While Piper’s desire to fit in with her family is sympathetic, her expository narration blunts the emotional impact. Her respective love interests feel two-dimensional, weakening the romantic tension, and Leo and Forest’s objectifying “game of tug-of-war” over Piper strikes a jarring note. Most characters read white; Piper and some secondary characters are cued queer.
Disappointingly underdeveloped. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250892188
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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