Witty, romantic and filled with personality—after the slow start.
With Audra off dealing with fallout from revelations in Let the Sky Fall (2013), Vane is stuck by himself figuring out how to be a sylph king on the verge of war.
The sylph army known as the Gales desperately wants to use Vane and his Westerly winds as a weapon against power-hungry, one-note Raiden, but Vane knows the Westerly nature is too peaceful. Luckily, the Gales don’t know that Audra also speaks Westerly, a result of the forbidden romance and magical bond between the two—another secret. They still hope Vane will fall for the last of the previous royal family and would be furious to know that the reason Vane broke off that arranged engagement was Audra. Meanwhile, Audra learns the dark secret to Raiden’s strength. Conveying so much information causes the first act to progress slowly, resulting in weak tension until the vague stakes become specific and immediate. Tasked with many expository reveals, Audra’s narration doesn’t shine as brightly as Vane’s chapters. Vane is a bundle of charming contradictions—protective yet pacifistic, nobly loyal yet unable to hear “haboob” (a type of dust storm) without boob jokes. Once characters deal with the ends-justify-the-means idea of sinking to Raiden’s level to fight him and reach the fight scenes, the story becomes a page-turner right to a cliffhanger.
Witty, romantic and filled with personality—after the slow start. (Paranormal romance. 12-17)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5044-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
A grand finale, presented with a touch light enough to buoy all the self-actualization. Also: giant space worms!
Hotshot pilot Spensa Nightshade completes her apotheosis in this series closer, as human rebels and their alien allies mount a climactic assault on the galactic empire.
Having progressed from eating rats to being a cytonic superwarrior, Spensa is bonded by ties of loyalty and lust to former Skyward Flight leader, now Defiant Defense Force admiral, Jorgen—and also to a traumatized, planet-killing, interdimensional delver named Chet. Spensa would be well on her way to full-blown pacifism if the Superiority’s war of extermination against humans were not ramping up to a newly active phase. Nothing for it but a massive space battle, complete with dogfights, huge explosions, feints, betrayals, and tragic sacrifices…not to mention a swarm of ravenous, vacuum-dwelling vastworms eager to chow down on both sides. Though slowed by Spensa’s and others’ wrestling with conflicting impulses and weighing moral imperatives, the plot features more than enough large- and small-scale action set pieces to please space-opera fans. Better yet, the deliciously expansive cast includes not only humans and AIs but a broad array of aliens and semi-aliens from blue-skinned humanoids and a furry, haiku-reciting, fox-gerbil samurai with a (wait for it) laser sword to sentient crystals and empathic slugs. “The more different types of people we got into the flight, the stronger it would be,” Spensa reflects, and indeed, it’s collective action that proves decisive in the end.
A grand finale, presented with a touch light enough to buoy all the self-actualization. Also: giant space worms! (Science fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9780593309711
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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