A well-realized fantasy with strong action and romance.
Allegra Saldana, from Assassin’s Heart (2016), is full-grown and plunged into new dangers.
An invitation comes from the king of Lovero, summoning the Saldana presence out of exile, to swear fealty as one of the nine clipper Families to his daughter now that the princess has come of age. Allegra’s especially excited at the chance to finally learn more about her parents, whose fates were covered in the first book and whom Allegra’s aunt Lea refuses to speak of. When Allegra learns the truth, however, she’s devastated, and her whole sense of identity is undermined. The repetitive prose from the first book is more effective here when read through the lens of a conflicted character who’s replaying what she knows to try to make up her mind. She also throws herself into the arms of a handsome traveler boy, Nev, for comfort in steamy hook-ups that feel like a deep connection—until Nev spots Allegra’s pendant, a gift from her half-traveler uncle, Les: it’s sacrilege when the singura’s worn by a nontraveler. Thematically, love and freedom are set in compelling opposition. The climactic battles thrill. Allegra’s a blonde, white woman, and, borrowing further from Romani tropes, Nev’s olive-skinned, a traveler characteristic; otherwise both racial and sexual diversity are common and unremarkable in this fantasy.
A well-realized fantasy with strong action and romance. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-236383-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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