An entertaining time-travel romance with intricate worldbuilding.
Desperate to find her missing sister, a girl in Seoul, South Korea, who possesses time magic risks everything to discover the truth.
Yang Mina, in the guise of an 18-year-old American exchange student, just wants the cute boy from her calculus class to kiss her. It wouldn’t simply be a romantic moment: A kiss would earn Mina infiltration points, which would help her get promoted to associate agent. Mina isn’t human—she’s a descendant of the Japanese dragon god Ryūjin, whose daughter Otohime brought time magic to Earth. With a promotion, Mina could finally have some stability instead of constantly having to move around with her floating agent parents (she has a Japanese mom and a white American dad). She also believes her sister, Hana, who was erased from existence, is still alive somewhere in the timeline. When Mina meets Kim Yejun, a handsome rogue traveler who’s also lost someone, she decides to work with him to fix the timeline that has been affected by corruption within the Korean dragon families’ organization. Working with Yejun means she’ll become a traitor and risk being neutralized herself. Together, they traverse timelines, searching for a solution. This charming love story combines humor, action, magic, and a touch of darkness. The complex explanations of time travel and the butterfly principle can be confusing at first, but everything is ultimately untangled and revealed. Baker effectively integrates facts about Korean history, culture, and landmarks into the fantasy.
An entertaining time-travel romance with intricate worldbuilding. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781250381989
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A delightfully autumnal small-town romance buoyed by strong characterization.
Ellis Mitchell has her whole life planned out.
Heading into senior year, Ellis plans to study hard and crush it at the journalism internship her media executive dad got her, paving the way for her acceptance to Columbia University. But then Ellis’ parents announce they’re separating—and that Ellis and her mom will be heading to Bramble Falls to stay with her aunt and cousin. Furious that her careful plans have been upended, Ellis struggles to settle into the small, charming Connecticut town even as everyone around her gears up for the annual Falling Leaves Festival. Ellis runs into Cooper Barnett—her long-ago summer friend from visits to Aunt Naomi and cousin Sloane—who’s grown up to be very handsome. But Cooper isn’t pleased to see Ellis; he’s cold and curt, and she has no idea why. Wilson’s YA debut is chock-full of charm. Readers will swoon at Cooper’s and Ellis’ developing feelings following their frosty reunion and sympathize with Ellis’ difficulties even as Bramble Falls grows on her. She must choose between small-town community ties and big-city ambitions—between what her dad wants for her and what she really wants. Ellis’ relationships with her mom, aunt, and cousin are lovely and aspirational. The depiction of Bramble Falls is evocative, and the book contains enough seasonal delights to satisfy even the most devoted pumpkin spice latte lover. Main characters are cued white.
A delightfully autumnal small-town romance buoyed by strong characterization. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665975209
Page Count: 352
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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
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