An interesting premise hindered by too many subplots, underdeveloped characters, and a resolution that fizzles.
A fever dream of a story offering more questions than answers.
Sixteen-year-old Ben is growing up in small-town Pennsylvania, but he recently journeyed to a distant land. After waking from a coma following a serious accident, Ben struggles with feeling like “a nobody—just another kid in high school.” Although he was unconscious for about three months, he spent just over a year in Halastaesia, a land where he was a popular hero who “even got the girl.” His psychiatrist, however, believes that the trauma is causing “mild schizophrenic episodes” and that his memories were just coma dreams. The book’s intriguing setup falters when it comes to the central question of whether Ben truly experienced two different worlds. The story flounders without a cohesive vision driving it in a single direction and is impeded by a plot that is overly complicated and character development that relies heavily on tropes and cliches. The two central conflicts in the book—Ben’s being torn between two girls (one in this world and one in Halastaesia) and a battle between good and evil—aren’t built on firm enough foundations to be compelling and, as a result, the cliffhanger ending is more confusing than dramatic. Main characters are coded white.
An interesting premise hindered by too many subplots, underdeveloped characters, and a resolution that fizzles. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781958051757
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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