An often great sequel that maintains the energy and excitement of its predecessor.
In the sequel to Abrey’s YA debut (Blue Sun, 2013), teenage Genny searches for a way out of the underwater world created by her own father.
At the end of the last installment, Genny’s scientist father did something unthinkable, plunging their home, the Isle of Man, underwater in an attempt to reunite with his late wife. Months later, the Isle remains underwater, protected by a force field generated by a magical, blue boy named Mannix. However, it’s becoming clear that life under the dome can’t last forever, as resources run dry and factions develop: the Keepers, dedicated to protecting the secrets of the Isle, seem to want the Isle to remain underwater, but the Free Atlantis movement, led by Darius from the first book, is picking up steam. Genny is now married to Ken Creer, who comes from a family of dedicated Keepers, and she’s pregnant with their first child. She’s determined to right her father’s wrong and return their home to the surface. She wants to make sure that her child grows up aboveground, where he or she will be able to see all that nature has to offer and not worry about fighting over limited resources. To that end, Genny spends more and more time in the lab looking for a solution and becomes increasingly distant from Ken, who, along with his family, seems to be hiding something. As in the first novel, the pace is suspenseful, and there are plenty of surprises as Genny struggles to figure out who’s right and what she really believes. The book offers engaging questions as she finds her beliefs repeatedly challenged and she learns more about the nature of Mannix and the culture in which she lives. However, readers may find the passage of time a bit challenging to determine; for example, the story only reveals in its second half that Genny is now 19 years old. She has more agency this time around, though, and her actions drive the story forward as they deepen its philosophical and moral questions.
An often great sequel that maintains the energy and excitement of its predecessor.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5121-9020-5
Page Count: 258
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A very full mixed bag.
In the sequel to Furyborn (2018), Rielle and Eliana struggle across time with their powers and prophesied destinies.
Giving readers only brief recaps, this book throws them right into complicated storylines in this large, lovingly detailed fantasy world filled with multiple countries, two different time periods, and hostile angels. Newly ordained Rielle contends with villainous Corien’s interest in her, the weakening gate that holds the angels at bay, and distrust from those who don’t believe her to be the Sun Queen. A thousand years in the future, Eliana chafes under her unwanted destiny and finds her fear of losing herself to her powers (like the Blood Queen) warring with her need to save those close to her. The rigid alternation between time-separated storylines initially feels overstuffed, undermining tension, but once more characters get point-of-view chapters and parallels start paying off, the pace picks up. The multiethnic cast (human versus angelic is the only divide with weight) includes characters of many sexual orientations, and their romantic storylines include love triangles, casual dalliances, steady couples, and couples willing to invite in a third. While many of the physically intimate scenes are loving, some are rougher, including ones that cross lines of clear consent and introduce a level of violence that many young readers will not be ready for. The ending brings heartbreaking twists to prime readers for the trilogy’s conclusion.
A very full mixed bag. (map, list of elements) (Fantasy. 17-adult)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5665-4
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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