An interesting frame for a story that ends up spinning its wheels.
A girl runs away from her wedding and meets the Angel of Death.
Seventeen-year-old Sorel Kalmans, motherless and wealthy, does not want to marry the rebbe’s son. For one, the young people’s fathers arranged the match to strengthen both their business relationship and the Jewish communities of the (likely) 19th-century Russian town of Esrog and its surrounding shtetlach. More importantly, Sorel doesn’t recognize herself as a blushing bride—when she looks in the mirror, she sees a stranger. So she steals a stableboy’s clothes and runs away. A mysterious young man named Sam helps her survive her new vagabond life, but Isser Jacobs, the false name she chooses at random, also belongs, unfortunately, to a local boy who’s deeply embroiled in Sorel’s father’s licit and illicit business interests. Lamb’s sophomore novel contains fascinating magical elements drawn from Ashkenazi Jewish lore, such as dybbuks, angels, and demons, but confusing timelines and a muted and anticlimactic ultimate reveal weaken the story. Relatedly, Sorel herself is a blank cipher at the center of this slice of Yiddishkeit life, a character who plays others so much that readers never quite learn who she is, what she wants, and what is at the root of her motivation to leave.
An interesting frame for a story that ends up spinning its wheels. (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781646144563
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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