THE ROMEO CATCHERS

In this sequel to The Casquette Girls (2013), teen witches Adele and Isaac grow closer while fresh evil descends upon flood-ravaged New Orleans.

It’s been five months since a mammoth, unnamed hurricane destroyed New Orleans. Sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne, a white witch with French heritage who can manipulate fire and metal, has started a coven with Désirée Borges, her Creole, voodoo-practicing classmate, and Isaac Thompson, a white 18-year-old who can change into a crow. Together, they’ve magically trapped a clan of murderous vampires in the attic of a French Quarter convent. Adele, however, remains drawn to Nicco Medici, charismatic leader of the vamps. Author Arden tangles the lives of her teen protagonists gleefully, adding secrets that Adele and Isaac keep from each other even as they fall in love. Adele’s secret—that her mother is one of the trapped vampires—drives her to peer into Nicco’s dreams, glimpsing his life in 17th-century Florence and searching for clues to save her. Throughout, the author continues to woo culture and history mavens, adding vivid New Orleans color (the funeral procession) and plenty of post-hurricane detail (such as Isaac’s grim recovery work, so similar to that carried out after Katrina). While the vampire action is minimal, warm, carefully drawn characters are the story’s main attraction.

A meticulous blend of witchery, New Orleans lore, and teen angst.