Dynamic supernatural characters fuel a riveting tale.
Sam Quinn finally reopens her San Francisco bookstore/bar after wolves had decimated it. Everything is looking up until her mother’s sister, Abigail— possessing one of the store owner’s friends—tries to kill Sam. Abigail believes her niece has “bespoiled” their wicche lineage, as Sam’s father was a werewolf. Luckily, Sam may already have a way to battle her powerful aunt. As a necromancer, she can commune with the dead as well as sense, mind-read, and even control vampires since they’re “kind of dead.” But it’s a rare skill that she must first hone, so Sam needs someone to train her. Meanwhile, her vampire fiance, Clive, and his “nocturne” of vamps are in danger as well. A fellow vampire, after betraying Clive, has now seemingly targeted him. Sam has the know-how to track this hard-to-find rogue bloodsucker. But the werewolf/wicche already has her hands and paws full, as Abigail incessantly possesses those close to her niece. Sam has no choice but to defend herself against friends she struggles not to hurt. Kelly packs her gripping novel with mythological beings, from pixies and dwarves to a selkie. Though the scarcely seen Abigail “keeps to the shadows,” plenty of vicious baddies stir up trouble, sparking action scenes like Sam’s exhilarating fight with an Orc. In addition, there’s the perpetual threat of Sam’s allies turning on her while under Abigail’s influence. These supernatural heroes and villains form a dense, colorful cast that the author masterfully handles. The supporting characters stand out the most. For example, bickering Gorgon sisters Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, along with half-demon cook Dave, steal nearly every scene they’re in. Kelly rounds out her story with vivid details, including Sam’s lethal claws and Dave’s “black, shark-like eyes.”
Dynamic supernatural characters fuel a riveting tale.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 380
Publisher: NYLA
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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