Totally entertaining.
Yes, it’s another novel about exotic paranormal hybrids, but this one’s written with wry humor that seeps into nearly every sentence, making it constantly entertaining no matter its subject.
Layla is half Warden, gargoylelike creatures aligned with angels who roam cities slaughtering demons. She’s also half demon. Layla has been crushing on Zayne, a Warden who lives in their communal home, but knows she can’t ever kiss him for fear of sucking out his soul. Instead, Layla spends her after-school hours on the streets of Washington, D.C., marking demons so that Wardens can easily find and kill them later that night. However, Layla misidentifies a demon that turns on her, whereupon she meets Roth, who shows up to protect her. As an upper-level demon, Roth can’t be tagged and would prove a difficult target for the Wardens. However, Layla finds herself strongly attracted to him and reluctantly begins to trust him. It doesn’t hurt that Roth is a great kisser. Layla’s problem with divided loyalties doesn’t interfere with the stopping-Armageddon plot, and the narrative sizzles with as much tension as romance. Armentrout’s sophisticated, layered humor keeps the narrative bubbling all the way through, and she delivers a terrific character in Roth, the unrepentant demon. Of course, both Zayne and Roth fit the chiseled-abs, drop-dead-gorgeous mold, but this is a romance.
Totally entertaining. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-373-21110-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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 heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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