A spirited and compulsively readable paranormal-romance series entry.
A fantasy romance featuring two superpowered lovers in Victorian-era England.
This new installment in Sumner’s League of Lords series takes a secondary character from its predecessor, The Lady Is Trouble (2020), and puts him center stage. In 1855, Finn Alexander, the adopted son of a viscount, has the paranormal ability to read people’s minds, and he’s set up a gambling den that’s become wildly popular among the well-to-do. But his special talent comes with a price, as his mind is constantly filled with the background noise of others’ thoughts. This, in part, leads to his deep interest in the engaged Lady Victoria Hamilton, whose own powers allow her to erase people’s short-term memories and block others’ powers from working. He experiences the latter power firsthand, and the experience is a first for him: “Added to the bizarre circumstance of not being able to read her, being close to her obscured his ability to read others, like she’d dimmed the flame on the gaslamp of his mind, leaving only his thoughts to contend with.” Finn finds himself truly intrigued by her on multiple levels, and he soon introduces her to a clandestine group of similarly superpowered men and women. As in the previous volume, Sumner seamlessly blends gaslight-era fantasy and conventional historical romance. She also perfectly incorporates detailed supernatural elements into her well-researched setting. Her two central characters are compelling and believably damaged; each comes from a radically different segment of society, and each finds themselves in a relationship that they weren’t expecting. Finn, in particular, is a highly rewarding fictional creation—a well-drawn combination of roguery and vulnerability. Readers may be initially drawn to the book for its exciting paranormal aspects, but they’ll stay for the electric dialogue between Finn and Victoria, which includes plenty of comic banter. (Those expecting X-Men–style superheroics, though, won’t find it here.) Overall, it’s a sparkling addition to this promising series.
A spirited and compulsively readable paranormal-romance series entry.Pub Date: May 23, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.
Tess Covington is a talented, successful contractor who just learned that she’s a late-in-life omega wolf shifter. Her new boss, surly innkeeper Hunter Barrett, is an alpha who’s opposed to the remodeling she’s there to do.
Tess hasn’t made it public that she’s being considered for her own HGTV makeover show, but she runs her career like a well-oiled machine. She posts a lot of her remodels on social media, granting her a certain level of celebrity, and leans on her brothers to help run the business she took over after a stroke made it impossible for her father to keep working. Hunter’s last serious relationship with an omega 10 years ago left him deeply wounded, ending when his parents were killed in a car accident and he moved back home to take care of their lodge—hence his resistance to change. With few exceptions, Tess keeps her newly diagnosed omega status to herself. Unfortunately, as an alpha, Hunter sniffs her out and seems to be the only person capable of helping her with her sudden heats, so there’s a lot of very smutty caretaking. The specificity of omegaverse hierarchy might be new to some readers, but Ferguson’s worldbuilding is quick, easy, and deeply horny. General romance readers might enjoy the grumpy-meets-sunshine and stranded-in-a-snowstorm tropes, although for a book about shifters, the characters spend surprisingly little time in wolf form. There’s not much danger of character development or surprising plot elements here, but for fans excited to read about animalistic mating, that might be enough.
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780593953693
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A strong start to an exciting new fantasy series.
A young woman embarks on a treacherous quest to save her town from a cursed forest in Peckham and Valenti’s fantasy novel.
Ferris Creed knows her hometown of Arringfall is running out of time. For decades, the cursed forest of Taking Trees, which surrounds Arringfall and other nearby towns, has spread and devoured everything in its path. The only way to break the curse: find and retrieve the amulets belonging to the 13 spirits of the forest. The one who collects the most amulets and returns them to the Great Elm will receive a boon for breaking the curse and restoring harmony. Every 50 years, a group of well-trained Champions search for the amulets in a dangerous quest called the Great Hunt. On the eve of the 13th hunt, Ferris secretly joins the group of 25 Champions. She is not the only one determined to claim the boon at all costs; deep within the woods, she meets Hendrix Draven, a 652-year-old prince with a very personal motive to win the prize. As the hunt intensifies, Ferris and Hendrix find themselves drawn to each other; however, a shocking discovery threatens Ferris’s life and what remains of Arringfall. This first installment of Peckham and Valenti’s Crown of Hearts and Chaos series is a twisty and sprawling dark romantasy replete with appealing characters in a lush and descriptive narrative. The authors’ prose is haunting and poetic: “The spirits were calling to us from within the cursed forest and I could almost believe there was something more than death awaiting us at the sound of that cry.” Ferris Creed is a well-developed protagonist whose journey anchors the novel as she grows from a young woman determined to save her sister from the woods into someone whose connection to the forest may be deeper than she realizes. Her compelling relationship with the mysterious Hendrix starts slowly but builds in intensity as their attraction deepens. In addition to a map at the beginning of the novel, the text includes detailed drawings between the chapters.
A strong start to an exciting new fantasy series.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781916926585
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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