The background may leave readers wanting, but the love story will keep romance fans enthralled.
A thief and an Archduke find themselves first at odds, then as allies in the fight against the crown’s enemies in Shaffery’s fantasy/romance.
Adelaide is on her way to Castle Belmont with forged letters of reference and a task: She aims to steal the Eye of Behelwer, a powerful magical object (“[a]n artifact that could amplify the magic of its user”), from Archduke Gavin Hughes. When her mother first got sick, Adelaide was able to make some extra money as a pickpocket—until she tried to steal from the Master of Thieves herself. Now, as long as Adelaide steals whatever the Master of Thieves (more commonly known as Mistress Scrabs) wants, Adelaide’s mother is able to continue to receive the expensive treatment that she needs. But there’s something appealing about working undercover as a maid in Castle Belmont while she’s searching for the Eye; the other servants are nice to her, Gavin the Archduke is always kind, and the castle is close enough to her family to enable her to visit. Adelaide starts to think she might be able to just stay on at this job and not steal the artifact from the Archduke’s collection. But it transpires that Gavin didn’t actually need a new maid—he was laying a trap for a woman suspected of stealing from various noble households. Can he and Adelaide stop her from using all of the artifacts she’s stolen to threaten the crown? In this fantasy romance, the author pens a thrilling tale of enemies-to-unsure-allies-to-lovers. While Adelaide and Gavin both feel a connection in the beginning, the awkward “Can I trust them?” phase is well paced, with nothing rushed—their feelings seem genuine. The story’s main flaw is some lackluster worldbuilding—a previous war, the deaths of many in the royal family, and even the way the magic system works aren’t given as much of an explanation as one might like.
The background may leave readers wanting, but the love story will keep romance fans enthralled.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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