This delightfully brisk, magical story thrives with an indelible cast.
A young man’s return to his magic-infused home country may put the entire land in peril in Cunningham’s fantasy novel, one in a series.
Mick Dairner, head cook at the Governor’s manor in Iptin Province, dreams of visiting his homeland of Kartha. His beloved great-uncle Dimitri provides incentive when he gives his nephew a mysterious blue-green stone and tells him it’s time he went back (“Kartha is where you belong, and you know it as much as I do”). Mick hasn’t been to Kartha since he was a baby. His parents moved away because his secret magical ability ties him to a prophecy foretelling Kartha’s descent into a catastrophic “sickness.” After the corrupt governor coerces Mick into staying on as the cook indefinitely, Mick strikes a deal that sends him across the sea to Kartha. He quickly makes friends, but some underhanded individuals recognize him, as he’s the spitting image of his grandfather (Dimitri’s twin). Some want his power, or the gifted stone he carries; they threaten and assault Mick and even throw him in a dungeon. When it seems the prophesied sickness has reached Kartha, Mick and his new allies fight to protect their land. Cunningham, in this standalone follow-up to Blood Bound (2023), drops readers into the midst of this swiftly-paced tale. The plot turns keep coming—Mick has no choice but to make alliances with dangerous people, undertake precarious tasks, and suffer double-crossings. He’s just learning his magic capabilities and is, despite studying Kartha maps, unfamiliar with the landscape, so this naive 20-something becomes a virtual punching bag for villains. Fortunately, Mick is surrounded by reliable (and vibrant) characters, from the elderly Dairner twins to the charming Boone, who longs to meet Kartha’s alleged Witch, to Laila, the powerful Witch in question. They all face off against formidable foes, igniting an exhilarating final act and a worthy ending.
This delightfully brisk, magical story thrives with an indelible cast.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781068955822
Page Count: 410
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 3, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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