A light, lovely read that leans heavily on genre truisms.
Stefi’s summer in Barcelona involves romance, surprises, blackmail—and an entanglement with Spanish royalty.
Her time abroad in Spain is a chance for 17-year-old Stefi, who has an American dad and a Catalán mom, to start over. Leaving the U.S. on the heels of a bitter breakup, the aspiring pastry chef follows her passion for baking to a course at a culinary institute. She meets handsome Xavi at La Buena, his mother’s food stall in the city’s famous La Boqueria market. Xavi is the secret heir to the Spanish throne, a bona fide prince. As blond Stefi and blue-eyed “hot Viking warrior” Xavi get to know each other, his secret identity hangs between them. Readers will delight in the many romance tropes Freitas includes: tragic misunderstandings, awkward moments that endear lovers to each other, and vile exes who threaten to break up a blossoming romance. Spain, with its rich culture and summer heat, is fully developed as a setting thanks to the inclusion of details such as its Mediterranean beaches and the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Xavi’s undercover bodyguard, Santiago, has a swoonworthy romance with Xavi’s friend Diego. Though the story starts off slowly and would benefit from faster pacing, it will satisfy romance fans.
A light, lovely read that leans heavily on genre truisms. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780062662149
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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