A disappointing ending.
The crew of the Royal Rose return for their third and final voyage across the seas.
Friends-turned-lovers Emme and Arn have been forcibly separated, and as the story opens, a newly healthy Emme believes Arn has willingly left her, while Arn is meanwhile desperately trying to find Emme. As Emme has embraced a life sailing the seas together with Emric, her brother, and Ontario, their mutual friend, and has plans to entrap her mother, the once-infamous pirate Arabella the Ruthless, Arn finds himself in the service of a merciless king, becoming the terror of the seas he never wanted to be. Life at sea really is not easy, and Emme’s and Arn’s ways back to each other are full of danger, death, and deception. While this closing chapter in the Royal Rose Chronicles trilogy still features in spades the adventure, back-stabbing, and twists that readers have come to expect, the story falls short of the promising earlier volumes in presenting a tale full of parallel stories that don’t quite merge into a cohesive whole and character arcs that sadly do not feel fully fleshed out. A late introduction of technology feels out of place in the otherwise whimsical, magical worldbuilding, and while this is the official end to the trilogy, some threads are left wide open for future swashbuckling exploits.
A disappointing ending. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9798886050622
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Enclave Escape
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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