Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre.
“Late bloomer” Irene Park had an uneventful social life in high school, but things are different online.
With over a million followers for her @irene.loves.love.books social media channel, she’s a popular romance novel reviewer. She’s even eyeing an impressive, potentially life-changing brand sponsorship from a South Korean dating app, which might help her stand out in her family as more than just the “the awkward middle child.” At Brighton College in Southern California, Irene feels closer to her dream of becoming a book editor. But Aiden Jeon, or @aidentheguyreadsromance, who’s also Korean American, arrives on the online romance book scene and starts criticizing her reviews. She grudgingly admits that he has cute dimples, but his loyal and vocal followers make her question her own credibility as a romance expert, possibly threatening the dating app deal. Irene decides she needs to fall in love and experience real romance, using her favorite tropes to help her plan come to fruition. But she immediately hits some speed bumps, including the discovery that Aiden attends Brighton too—and that their literature professor has paired them as project partners for the semester. The leads’ banter is witty, charming, and amusing, and Irene’s fresh narration incorporates vocabulary from the online book reviewing lexicon. Lee adds to the fun by using popular romance tropes as chapter titles and interspersing excerpts from Irene’s and Aiden’s book reviews throughout.
Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre. (romance glossary) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781335012876
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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