A supernatural mystery with a well-developed protagonist, hit-or-miss humor, and a swoon-worthy love interest.
In this contemporary fantasy series starter, Kelly offers a humorous portrait of a lonely witch (or “wicche”) facing pressures from her family, romantic tension with a werewolf, and unsettling visions.
Twenty-eight-year-old Arwyn Cassandra Corey, the owner of an art gallery/tea bar in Monterey, California, called The Sea Wicche, is a wicche herself. Her relationship with her family is fraught: Her mother, Sybil Corey, and grandmother, Gran, want her to join the Corey Council, a governing triad that “oversaw all disputes, heard pleas for help, and granted magical aid” to family members. But Arwyn’s goal is simpler: to spend time with creatures she considers her friends, including a starfish she calls Charlie and Wilbur, a seal who plays fetch. She’s always experienced upsetting visions—a normal part of being a wicche—but lately, their intensity has increased. She meets Declan Quinn, a steadfast and dreamy werewolf who’s affectionate toward her, but she’s sworn off sex and dating; wicches have sensory issues, and “dating sucked when touch meant picking up every stray thought and emotion.” Her painful psychic visions could help the Corey Council, but they take a serious toll on Arwyn’s health and well-being. Sybil’s and Gran’s repeated attempts to get Arwyn to join it make her believe that, although they love her, they “love what I can do more.” Although the protagonist narrator’s often humorous tone sets a light mood for the story, Kelly sets serious stakes; Arwyn sees a vision of a woman’s death early on, who turns out to be her 21-year-old cousin, Pearl. This launches a mystery investigation involving another Quinn werewolf, that werewolf’s angry vampire husband, several other supernatural beings, and Corey wicches. The book’s humor is quick-witted and punchy, although readers may find some jokes a bit corny, as when Arwyn scolds her mother about werewolf etiquette: “Don’t use the word fetch. It’s rude. He’s not a dog.” Overall, Arwyn’s conversational voice creates the charming effect of hearing a story from an eccentric—and unlucky—friend.
A supernatural mystery with a well-developed protagonist, hit-or-miss humor, and a swoon-worthy love interest.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781641972345
Page Count: 339
Publisher: NYLA
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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