A visually appealing but shallow romp.
Two boys who are ready to dive into a summer of partying instead find themselves in over their heads, cleaning up a beach polluted by a mysterious toxic sludge.
Leo promises Ben a wild summer full of hunky “unsupervised perverted beach maniacs,” but when they arrive in Port Dorian, the beach is closed. Instead of lifeguarding and partying, they’re stuck cleaning up the rotting sea life littering the shore. One glimpse of a cute boy gives them hope that maybe the hotties are just “hiding away like hermit crabs.” If they can clean up the beach fast enough, maybe they can save their “sexy summer.” However, their summer soon turns from stinky to suspicious when they drag a man with glowing eyes out of the water. The danger escalates when tentacled creatures emerge from the waves and start possessing the locals. The illustrations’ dramatic color palette effectively conveys the atmosphere and foreshadows the shift in tone as the story veers into a supernatural mystery. The art is vivid, dynamic, and emotionally expressive, but the characters as written lack depth and development and are insufficiently differentiated, so the buildup of romantic potential loses wind. Apart from some background characters, most of the cast is depicted with pale or lightly tanned skin. Although the plot moves at a fast pace and has suspenseful appeal, overall the story is underwhelming.
A visually appealing but shallow romp. (character designs, cover gallery) (Graphic fantasy. 16-18)Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781637156445
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A very full mixed bag.
In the sequel to Furyborn (2018), Rielle and Eliana struggle across time with their powers and prophesied destinies.
Giving readers only brief recaps, this book throws them right into complicated storylines in this large, lovingly detailed fantasy world filled with multiple countries, two different time periods, and hostile angels. Newly ordained Rielle contends with villainous Corien’s interest in her, the weakening gate that holds the angels at bay, and distrust from those who don’t believe her to be the Sun Queen. A thousand years in the future, Eliana chafes under her unwanted destiny and finds her fear of losing herself to her powers (like the Blood Queen) warring with her need to save those close to her. The rigid alternation between time-separated storylines initially feels overstuffed, undermining tension, but once more characters get point-of-view chapters and parallels start paying off, the pace picks up. The multiethnic cast (human versus angelic is the only divide with weight) includes characters of many sexual orientations, and their romantic storylines include love triangles, casual dalliances, steady couples, and couples willing to invite in a third. While many of the physically intimate scenes are loving, some are rougher, including ones that cross lines of clear consent and introduce a level of violence that many young readers will not be ready for. The ending brings heartbreaking twists to prime readers for the trilogy’s conclusion.
A very full mixed bag. (map, list of elements) (Fantasy. 17-adult)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5665-4
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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