An often-thrilling fantasy with memorable characters.
A young woman must learn how to control her magical powers before they end up controlling her in Manus’ fantasy novel.
Twenty-year-old Clare Brighton escapes desolate, treacherous Renault County with only a guitar and the clothes on her back. She hitches a ride to Veralna City, the capital of the Faelhorn Provinces, with Lord Verol Arrendon and his husband, Marquin. Desperate to escape the trauma of her past, Clare is determined to make a name for herself as a singer. But even as a talented Songweaver—a type of mage whose magic comes in the form of music—she faces a steep uphill battle. She must not only contend with stifling regulations and an exploitative Musicians Guild, but also register as a mage and start an apprenticeship, as is required by law. The Arrendons take her into their home as a new apprentice of Verol, a mage who’s gifted with a form of magic called Kinthing, which compels him to protect certain people. And although Clare is fiercely independent, she needs protection, as she’s possessed by an ancient power that gives her the preternatural ability to sway others to her will. Clare calls the entity “the Song” and tries to contain it so it doesn’t control her, but the Song is constantly fighting back, and she may have even more latent abilities lying within her. She must learn to harness her powers before she attracts the attention—and wrath—of scheming, tyrannical warlord King Alaric. In this epic fantasy, Manus presents an emotional story about overcoming trauma, learning to trust others, and reclaiming one’s agency. The story is told through multiple perspectives, and all the major characters are fully developed and complex. The author expertly explores Clare’s arrogance and reluctance to be vulnerable, making her an intriguing and compelling protagonist. However, the book’s greatest strength lies in its extensive, well-crafted worldbuilding. The novel also features enjoyable, action-packed battle scenes, as well as wry humor, as when Numair, a prince and Clare’s love interest, “contemplated the new and fascinating ways in which he was an idiot.”
An often-thrilling fantasy with memorable characters.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781954400368
Page Count: 514
Publisher: Seclusion Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© 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
