Magical mysteries, action and adventure, and ruminations on grief, all in one enchanting package.
A young woman finds herself transported to a magical world of talking animals in King’s YA novel.
Lorette “Lore” Deodarán is an awkward 18-year-old whose life is in upheaval: A new home in the town of Hazel Borough, a new school just a month from graduation, and court-ordered therapy only add to the familiar, crushing anxiety of her fraught family life. A job at a neighborhood bakery and time spent with her grandmother Mamó promise some measure of reprieve—until a big-eared, golden-eyed creature searching for a particular charm bracelet inadvertently causes Mamó’s death. When Lore attempts to catch the beast, she tumbles down the blue brick well behind her grandmother’s cabin. She lands in the town of Charmsend, in another world called Thimbleton, where humans have long been extinct. It’s a magical place, full of talking animals who wield mystical powers. Lore receives aid from an adventurous mouse named Mathilde who is working to solve the murder of her adoptive father, Gannon, a gentle giant of an alligator. The author’s prose is whip-smart and laced with poetry, regularly returning to themes of precious gems and flowers. Chapters are short and fast-paced, and the characters exchange fun, snappy dialogue (“ ‘Human, I am this size because I am a mouse, not because I am a child.’ Lore sucked on the inside of her cheek and quietly sat back down. ‘You could have just led with that, you know,’ she grumbled”) that makes the exposition go down easily. The novel excels at establishing settings; Charmsend is as bewitching as its name implies, a fully formed society with unique customs for everything, from preserving their history to burying their dead. While there’s plenty of action (including an exciting fight with a giant librarian snake), the way the story captures grief, both in how Lore recalls her grandmother after her death and how Mathilde honors her father, is equally impactful.
Magical mysteries, action and adventure, and ruminations on grief, all in one enchanting package.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781958607718
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Inimitable Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
