A compelling mythology-based fantasy.
When the treacherous Shayla murders King Lohar, she becomes the Queen of Ambarvadi—and none of her subjects feel safe.
According to prophecy, the only ones who can end Queen Shayla’s brutal reign are Gul, the famed Star Warrior, and Cavas, Gul’s lover. Under the guidance of Subodh, a Pashu king dedicated to justice, Gul and Cavas train to use their magic together against Queen Shayla. But before they can hone their craft, Shayla sends her army to attack Gul, Cavas, Subodh, and the Legion of the Star Warrior, a group of women faithful to Gul and Amar, the rightful king of Ambarvadi. Cavas is captured, and Gul and her army are forced to flee through the dangerous desert. While Cavas is imprisoned in Shayla’s castle and tortured, Gul and her army remain determined to fulfill the prophecy and return Ambarvadi to its rightful owner—but can Gul do it without Cavas, who is her magical complement, lover, and best friend? The story is told through alternating perspectives, the most satisfying of which is Shayla’s, whose voice is the most distinctive. The final third of this novel offers the fastest pace and the most reveals. The richly built, South Asian–inspired world will be best appreciated by readers familiar with Hunted by the Sky (2020), the first book in the duology.
A compelling mythology-based fantasy. (map, glossary, author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-31311-1
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
