A decent but unremarkable addition to the flock of teen faerie tales.
On her 17th birthday, Selkie Stewart learns of her magical heritage, parentage and destiny.
Raised by her great-aunts to be anti-social and secretive, Selkie blurts out her birthdate to her crush, Ben, accidentally unraveling her enchanted and illusory life. She discovers not only that she is half-faerie (and half-ogre) and that Boston was built and is inhabited by other supernatural creatures, but also that she is one of four fay prophesied to overthrow the Seelie Court...and that her mother, the queen, wants to kill her. Trading in a lavishly described Boston for a Carrollian Otherworld, Selkie risks murderous parental wrath to save her sort-of boyfriend, armed only with her newfound powers. Selkie’s relationship with Ben feels both artificial and shallow—as do all her interactions with other characters—and their romance swings from PG cuddling to vows of eternal love. Selkie is an unreliable, if poetic, narrator, first dazed by the enchantments and then disoriented by the bizarre faerie court, but she also wavers between childish frustration and adult astuteness in dialogue and behavior. Dorset excels in physical descriptions but falters with an arbitrary adventure and a clichéd faerie self-discovery/romance/prophecy plot.
A decent but unremarkable addition to the flock of teen faerie tales. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-9253-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
Readers will be ensorcelled by the redemptions, revelations, and reconciliations.
Lines between good and evil blur as loyalties are tested in this trilogy conclusion.
Following the cliffhanger ending of The Camelot Betrayal (2020), Guinevere may have successfully sealed Camelot against its enemies in Arthur’s absence, but that wasn’t enough to save her. Held by Picts (who prefer to be called northern people) and familiar faces—Mordred and Morgana—she’s being taken by King Nechtan’s army to see the Dark Queen. Along with her complicated relationship with silver-tongued Mordred, Guinevere quickly forms a rapport with one of her captors, finding Nechtan’s bold, witty daughter Fina impossible not to like. Taking advantage of her proximity to Morgana—who assures Guinevere that they share a true enemy in Merlin—Guinevere asks her to help untangle the truth of Guinevere’s identity. The hard-fought answers she eventually finds cause her even worse existential angst. Tangled up with Guinevere’s identity issues is her web of relationships involving passion, duty, love—especially love, numerous kinds of love—and the broken trusts that weigh on her heart. Guinevere’s internal war of identity and individuality ends up informing the physical action of the climactic battle in a dramatic, high-stakes way. The conclusion of the story closes the curtain on the mythical elements in a gratifying manner and gives closure to the characters, though not without some bittersweet losses.
Readers will be ensorcelled by the redemptions, revelations, and reconciliations. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-58175-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
May well beguile readers with its mix of magic and political intrigue.
A princess fights to save her kingdom while trying to conceal her magic.
On the eve of her 17th birthday, Princess Jennesara learns of her betrothal to the prince of Turia, an alliance made by her father to secure the neighboring kingdom’s military support in quelling the fighting at his borders. Before she is sent away to safety in Turia, she learns of other worrying developments brewing at home: A burned letter references a search for the mages’ library, illicit magic is being used in skirmishes at the borders, and there is a potential betrayal within her father’s circle of trust. She frets, too, about her own secret magic being discovered, for only her older brother, Ren, is supposed to possess magic. On their way to Turia, Jenna’s party is ambushed and she narrowly escapes. She is forced to fend for herself and find her own way to Turia to discover who betrayed her family and what secrets lie in the rumored mages’ library. Jenna conceals her identity and ingratiates herself with her betrothed’s family as she eludes the threat of a shadowy, sinister foe. Though overflowing with common fantasy tropes and featuring lengthy expository passages, this series opener nevertheless features affable characters and moves at a solid clip that will keep readers entertained. Jenna’s people are fair-haired while Turians are olive-skinned with dark hair.
May well beguile readers with its mix of magic and political intrigue. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11853-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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