Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre.
“Late bloomer” Irene Park had an uneventful social life in high school, but things are different online.
With over a million followers for her @irene.loves.love.books social media channel, she’s a popular romance novel reviewer. She’s even eyeing an impressive, potentially life-changing brand sponsorship from a South Korean dating app, which might help her stand out in her family as more than just the “the awkward middle child.” At Brighton College in Southern California, Irene feels closer to her dream of becoming a book editor. But Aiden Jeon, or @aidentheguyreadsromance, who’s also Korean American, arrives on the online romance book scene and starts criticizing her reviews. She grudgingly admits that he has cute dimples, but his loyal and vocal followers make her question her own credibility as a romance expert, possibly threatening the dating app deal. Irene decides she needs to fall in love and experience real romance, using her favorite tropes to help her plan come to fruition. But she immediately hits some speed bumps, including the discovery that Aiden attends Brighton too—and that their literature professor has paired them as project partners for the semester. The leads’ banter is witty, charming, and amusing, and Irene’s fresh narration incorporates vocabulary from the online book reviewing lexicon. Lee adds to the fun by using popular romance tropes as chapter titles and interspersing excerpts from Irene’s and Aiden’s book reviews throughout.
Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre. (romance glossary) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781335012876
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
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
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