Likely to be popular despite the pressing flaws, and—pleasantly surprising for a duology opener—a satisfying tale on its own.
Ciccarelli’s debut checks all the boxes for teen high fantasy.
Asha, the Iskari (a ceremonial warrior named for “a deadly” god) and a princess, believes in the new order of her homeland: dragons should be killed, not worshipped; skrals deserve their enslavement—collared, penned, not allowed to look at draksors, members of the ruling caste. As a child, Asha rebelled and told stories to dragons until the First Dragon, Kozu, burned her and half the city. Now she mostly toes the line. But a rule-breaking (and attractive) slave, the return of Kozu, an allegiance with the scrublanders, and Asha’s impending wedding to the sadistic commandant lead Asha to rebellion. Ciccarelli has clearly poured care into both the creation of her world, which rests on a religious foundation without a real-world analogue, and her complex but well-managed plotting. The limited characterization and curious lack of physical descriptors (the enslaved skral seem to be fair-skinned) detract a bit from the worldbuilding, and readers may find the princess-slave love story inherently problematic. Even if destined by the Old One and although slavery is clearly positioned as not OK, this is an inherently unbalanced relationship, something the text acknowledges but resolves largely through a fairly literal deus ex machina. However, the underlying theme of strong females making change and the interesting setting will carry the day for many.
Likely to be popular despite the pressing flaws, and—pleasantly surprising for a duology opener—a satisfying tale on its own. (Fantasy. 13-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-256798-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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