Fans of the genre will be happy to overlook this series opener’s occasional lapses of style.
Dragons dwell among us in this contemporary romantic fantasy.
Sixteen-year-old Ember and her twin brother, Dante, are dragon shape-shifters living in a world oblivious to their existence. Raised in secrecy and isolation by the ruthless dragon organization Talon, they’ve come to Crescent Beach for a summer of relative freedom to learn how to assimilate into human society. Restless and rebellious, Ember has been anticipating this summer for years, but it proves to be anything but carefree when she meets Riley, a dangerously appealing rogue dragon, and develops very undraconic feelings for Garret, a human boy she meets on the beach. Little does Ember know that Garret is a veteran soldier from the dragon-slaying Order of St. George, and his mission is to identify and assassinate any dragons hiding in Crescent Beach. Ember and Garret’s star-crossed romance is par for the course for teen paranormal romances, as is Riley’s role as a jealous rival, but readers swooning over the kisses are unlikely to complain about the familiarity. Kagawa rotates the first-person, present-tense narration among the three leads. Though the prose is often repetitive, the insight into their respective experiences is welcome, and Ember’s and Garret’s outsider perspectives on teen social rituals are reliably amusing.
Fans of the genre will be happy to overlook this series opener’s occasional lapses of style. (Paranormal romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-373-21139-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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