The Empyrean juggernaut rolls on.
Violet Sorrengail and friends go on a quest to find allies in the war against the terrifying magic of the evil, soulless venin.
After the events of Iron Flame (2023), Violet’s lover, the brooding but romantic Xaden Riorson, is in danger. By channeling magic from the earth, Xaden has possibly compromised his very soul, but Violet refuses to give up on finding a cure and preventing Xaden from becoming a full venin. Meanwhile, Violet has another mystery to contend with: Andarna, her second bonded dragon, appears to be part of a lost dragon species. As the nobles of various nations negotiate the terms of an alliance to fight against the venin threat, Violet and her friends journey to the various island nations off the coast of their continent, hoping to enlist more allies in the war, locate Andarna’s long-lost dragon family, and find a solution to Xaden’s compromised soul. Somehow, Violet is kind of, sort of still a student at Basgiath War College. If that seems like a lot going on, even for the third book in a series, know that many plot points don’t serve much narrative purpose so much as provide opportunities for Violet and Xaden to romantically comfort each other, or for various interchangeable side-characters to exchange less-than-snappy dialogue. Given the hefty page count, it’s hard to understand why there wasn’t room for genuine character development or more than a gesture toward worldbuilding.
The Empyrean juggernaut rolls on.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649377159
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A book about revenge that’s more punishing than purposeful.
A woman from a matriarchal society kidnaps a prince from a neighboring kingdom, planning to force him into marriage.
Five hundred years ago, the wife of the abusive king of Amarra prayed to her goddess for mercy; in return, the goddess granted every woman in the country the ability to rule over men. Amarra’s queens have governed with vengeance ever since, creating a fiercely violent matriarchy. Now, 21-year-old Olerra Corasene, a gifted military strategist and powerful general, is competing with her cunning and devious cousin, Glenaerys, to be the next queen. Since Glen is trying to secure the throne by currying favor with the wealthy nobles, Olerra decides on a different tactic, the time-honored Amarran tradition of kidnapping a husband. Her target is a good-looking younger prince from the neighboring country of Brutus, but she accidentally and unknowingly nabs Sanos, the king’s eldest son and heir to the throne. She drags Sanos back to Amarra, where he’s treated with all the contempt for men that is normal in her society: He’s dressed as a sexual plaything, forced to shave his beard and body hair, leashed and restrained for bad behavior. Olerra can’t understand Sanos’ objections to this treatment, and the ensuing power struggle makes up most of the plot. Marketed as romantasy, Levenseller’s first adult novel falls flat as both romance and fantasy. There is little connection or chemistry between Olerra and Sanos, and since both are more caricature than character, neither experiences the kind of growth that creates challenging or interesting romantic relationships. In addition, the worldbuilding is paper thin. Amarra is a world built on reverse misogyny, but the motifs, imagery, and scenes often read more like a brainstormed list (a penis guillotine!) than a fully realized attempt to say something meaningful about women’s rage.
A book about revenge that’s more punishing than purposeful.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250379375
Page Count: 368
Publisher: FEIWEL
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.
After the events of Book of Night (2022), Charlie Hall is forced to hunt down the perpetrator of a terrible massacre.
Charlie Hall is the Hierophant: It’s her job to be tethered to a powerful, independent shadow—a “Blight”— and hunt down other Blights for the Cabals, the heads of their respective shadow-magic specialties. The Cabals use the difficult job of Hierophant as a punishment, but Charlie agreed to take it on so she could be the person tethered to Vince, aka Red, the Blight who posed as a human and ended up dating and falling in love with Charlie. The Cabal leaders used magic to steal the part of Red’s memory that contained his relationship with Charlie, and so Charlie is determined to steal Red’s memories back. And she needs to move fast, because if Red doesn’t remember loving her, he just might be OK with Charlie being killed if it means his own freedom. Meanwhile, Mr. Punch, a terrifying Cabal leader who specializes in using shadow magic to possess other people’s bodies, has a job for Charlie: He wants her to find the culprit behind a terrible massacre that was attributed to a cult. He suspects that the people were actually killed by a Blight, and he doesn’t want the Cabals to face the blowback if the truth becomes public. Mr. Punch could do terrible things to Charlie if she fails, but if she succeeds, he’ll help Charlie and Red be free of the Cabals for good. The sophomore novel in a series is always tough, but this sequel proves that the second book can be even better than the first. Black turns the screws on the magical world she set up in Book 1, creating complicated political motives between Charlie and the Cabal leaders and making the question of what it means for a shadow, like Red, to have their own consciousness more interesting. Veteran con artist Charlie makes some truly brilliant moves, especially toward the end, where the last few chapters have one terrific surprise after the other.
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250812223
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
© 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.
