An intriguing tale of love and repentance.
Teen heirs realize they share a present-day zeal for social justice and a tragic past-life love story.
Seventeen-year-old Blanca Montes is passionate about Indigenous rights and potable water for communities in need. But neither her longtime boyfriend nor the godfather who’s raised her in Nevada and managed her estate since her parents’ deaths feel the same way. Increasingly disappointed by these entitled men, she’s drawn to rich, handsome Gregorio Chan, 18, a mysterious Mexican transfer student from a Swiss international school. Written in straightforward, page-turning prose, the novel follows Blanca’s and Greg’s sympathetic alternating perspectives as they discover secrets about their identities. Blanca was Lady Iztac, who, according to Aztec and Nahua tradition, killed herself after being deceived into thinking her love, the warrior Popoca, was dead. When Popoca found Iztac’s body, his reaction and ensuing bloodshed triggered a 1,000-year-old curse involving the lovers and people whose souls are intertwined with theirs. Greg—who’s Popoca—has just awoken with amnesia and the supernatural ability to wield heat. With the help of goddess guides, Greg must piece together lessons from flashbacks of all his failed attempts to find Iztac and also help Blanca to remember her past life and embrace her newfound power to control ice as the two try to identify and defeat the reincarnated power-hungry traitor in their midst. While some elements are initially confusing, the interesting premise will keep the pages turning until everything comes together at the end.
An intriguing tale of love and repentance. (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781547610044
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
© 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.
