A tepid, formulaic fantasy that fails to sufficiently interrogate the issues it raises.
Following duology opener The Great Hunt (2016), Princess Aerity and her people face another brutal threat in the form of angry Lashed citizens, who are tired of being punished for their ability to do magic.
The royal family of Lochlanach is shocked and dismayed when another bloodthirsty beast appears after the first one was killed with so much effort. Before any plans can be made to defeat the monsters and their creator, Princess Aerity flees for one last goodbye to the man she loves but cannot marry. However, the rebellion is larger and more complicated than she ever suspected, and soon she finds herself face to face with the true enemy—Rozaria Rocato. Rozaria is working with Prince Vito of Kalor, who wants the magic-working Lashed to rise up and defeat all who have oppressed them. The suppression of the Lashed by others provides a template for an exploration of the uses and drawbacks of civil unrest, though the story stays very much on the surface of the topic. Instead, a slightly predictable plot and characterizations keep the book at a superficial simmer. Higgins’ world is a mishmash of tropes, the faux British Lochlans juxtaposed against the exotic Zandalee and Kalorians, who are dark-skinned “tribesmen.” Both maidens and those who have chosen to eschew maidenhood are both chivalrously protected and bravely participatory in the battle.
A tepid, formulaic fantasy that fails to sufficiently interrogate the issues it raises. (Fantasy.13-18)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-238136-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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