A lush, captivating blend of The Phantom of the Opera and fresh, new magic.
In a world where men dominate the stage, Kallia is determined to win a magicians’ contest.
Kallia is the showgirl magician star at Hellfire House, descending each night from a chandelier and inspiring awe in patrons. It’s the only home she’s known; she was left in the cursed Dire Woods as a baby. Club master Jack favors her above all others and acts as her mentor. Despite this, Kallia feels called to Glorian, the city beyond the cursed woods surrounding them, where she’s learned of a competition for magicians. Jack won’t hear of it, but when Kallia discovers he has been lying to her, she can no longer stomach staying put. She arrives in a city that’s colder and less friendly than she’d imagined and barely makes it into the competition. Soon she’s a controversial star, wowing the audience and inspiring ire in the judges in equal measure. But as her confidence grows, so does her fear of Jack’s returning and taking all of it away. When horrible things begin to befall competitors, Kallia’s caught in the middle. Glorian is awash with stunning scenery and spectacle, and Kallia enchants as a flawed and fiery lead, armed with tricks and witty banter. As the romantic tension ratchets up, so deepen the mysteries. Readers will ache for the next installment. Most characters seem to be White; Kallia is brown skinned.
A lush, captivating blend of The Phantom of the Opera and fresh, new magic. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20435-6
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling, climactic storm with an abrupt conclusion.
In this much-anticipated trilogy closer following 2019’s Children of Virtue and Vengeance, an enemy from a land across the sea carries out conquests to fulfill a prophecy that threatens the entire world.
The war between the maji and the crown of Orïsha ends when the Skulls, a tribe of masked, pale-skinned invaders, interrupt the pivotal battle, abducting Zélie, Tzain, Amari, Inan, and dozens of maji from their homeland. Caged on a ship and cut off from their magic, they have no choice but to set aside their bitterness and distrust to fight for their freedom. Ruthless and empowered by the volatile magic of bloodmetal weapons, the Skulls hunt for Zélie, “a girl with the blood of the sun,” at the command of their king, Baldyr, who prepares for his ascension to godhood during the Blood Moon. As much as she longs to return home, visions and an intertwined fate pull Zélie, along with her companions, to the land of New Gaīa in search of a girl with russet-brown skin and eyes that glitter like diamonds. United goals, fresh conflict, and impending doom provide invigorating gusts of momentum that push the story out of the doldrums of the previous book. On its own, this installment is a suspenseful and compelling expansion of the world, but as a series finale, the conflict seems disconnected from the first two books, and the resolution feels rushed.
A thrilling, climactic storm with an abrupt conclusion. (guide to clans) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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