A striking and inventive fantasy that will leave readers wanting more.
A debut fantasy offers elements of intrigue, suspense, and romance.
The Ringlands is a world divided into four seasonal realms. But Jädrich, the Winter king, has broken the ancient pact that ensured the progression from one season to another, wreaking havoc on the people of every realm. For more than a century, there have been regular cycles of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Aveline—a unique, shape-shifting Summer-Winter hybrid called “the Glass Witch” for her icy appearance and magical ability—barely survives alone in a cave atop Summer’s only snow-capped mountain. Then the rulers of Spring, Summer, and Autumn demand her help to restore the natural progression of the seasons by dealing with Winter’s cruel king once and for all (“Winter needs a new Lord”). In order to get close enough to assassinate him, she becomes a contestant in a reality TV type competition to be his bride and Winter’s queen. But while the people of the three warmer realms—and Aveline—are creatures of flesh and blood, Winter folks are made of pure ice animated by magic. Aveline’s cover story is flimsy; her independent spirit and lack of familiarity with Winter customs make her behavior seem outlandish; and her feelings toward the enigmatic Jädrich become increasingly complicated as they get to know each other. Will she be able to carry out her mission before her true form is discovered? Raztresen’s original tale delivers a richly imagined fantasy world, intriguing characters, and lush, descriptive writing. Aveline’s cat-and-mouse relationship with the king plays cleverly on romance tropes, but here the stakes are life, death, and the fate of the world. Most of the story is told from Aveline’s point of view, with shifts to the perspectives of other characters as the various plot threads intertwine. The weather factors could be construed as climate change metaphors, and the Winter people’s origin story and religion include quasi-Christian and mythical symbolism, with a sacrificed goddess, ritual meals, and prophecies of resurrection. A few questions are left unanswered, such as why a species that doesn’t sleep has bedrooms and beds? In addition, the ending seems abrupt, with significant plot points left unresolved but no clear hints of a sequel.
A striking and inventive fantasy that will leave readers wanting more.Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 377
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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