Skillfully balances angst with fairy-tale romance.
A secret romance between a piano prodigy and a crown princess forces them both to confront difficult choices.
Daniela Blythe, a “shockingly pale,” blond teen from Boulder, Colorado, will be attending Bramppath, a girls’ boarding high school in the fictional Western European country of Henland, on a music scholarship. She’s anxious to fit in with her wealthy peers and even more terrified to play piano in front of anyone, especially after being targeted by a group of bullies at her old school who circulated videos of her performances online. Fortunately, Molly Kwon, who’s of Korean descent, is quick to take Danni under her wing. Soon Danni joins a social group that includes the inscrutable Princess Rosemary of Henland. Rose, who’s cued white, is running from the trauma of a tragic accident that damaged both her public image and her friendship with Molly. The desire to salvage her reputation puts extra pressure on Rose to be the model princess her parents and publicist want her to be. As Rose, who’s lesbian, and Danni, who’s bisexual, grow closer and reveal their true feelings for one another, they must choose who they want controlling the narrative of their love and their lives even as threats of exposure loom. The story, which has no shortage of heart-fluttering moments, effectively builds in suspense that will keep readers guessing along with an unflinching look at the effects of past trauma.
Skillfully balances angst with fairy-tale romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9781250352491
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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