Despite the amount of YA novels I read each year, this is
only my second YA compilation post in 2022. This is because I have published
multiple solo posts to balance the number of inspirational fiction solo posts
on The Reading Rutabaga.
*This is the first
novel in a series.*
The previously-destroyed-by-Buffy Hellmouth may be leaking …
residue. And there’s a new Big Bad in New Sunnydale called the Countess, and
she has a penchant for virgins’ blood. Buffy can take her out, right? Maybe, if
Frankie Rosenberg (daughter of Willow) knew if Buffy was alive. After a bombing
at Slayerfest, the fate of all Slayers is in question, except for the dead
Slayers that were actually found. Frankie finds her Slayer abilities awakening,
but she isn’t any regular Slayer, as she also possesses some magical ability
thanks to her mom. The new Scoobies include fellow teens Jake Osbourne
(werewolf), Hailey Larsson (whose Slayer half-sister, Vi, hasn’t been seen
since the bombing) and Sigmund DeWitt (a Sage demon, but only half, as his
father is human). (Also, Sigmund DeWitt isn’t his real name, but it’s “the
closest thing most people can manage.”) Her Watcher is the vampire, Spike, and
Jake’s uncle-cousin, Oz, is there to help fight, too. (Oz is his cousin, but
Jake calls him uncle because he’s “too old to be my cousin.”) Don’t count out
Willow just because she hasn’t used magic since before Frankie was born and
Grimloch, the Hunter of Thrace, may show himself to be an ally despite his fondness
for eating hearts. Hailey hasn’t given up hope that Vi is alive as Frankie
wonders how she can be a Slayer the likes of Buffy. That’s what she must learn,
though, that she isn’t like Buffy. She’s the first of her kind, the
first Slayer-witch.
As someone
who never got into the Buffy the Vampire series, I was skeptical about
this book. I purchased it because I’m a steady fan of Blake’s stories, and I’m
glad I did. While I’ve heard of some of the key characters, I’m not familiar
with the Buffyverse, so I greatly appreciated the background and additional
context which those already familiar might find redundant. The amount of
quipping and humor gave the YA novel comic relief to balance the grimness of
death and the intensity of suddenly having the world (or at least New
Sunnydale) on one’s shoulders. The story sets a fast pace right away with lots
of action, a wicked villain with an equally vicious right-hand henchman in Anton
(who’s obsessed with hot pokers) and that cheeky banter. The story ended on a
satisfying note while also setting readers up for future installments. I expect
that Buffy aficionados and supernatural fans alike will enjoy the start of this
new series. I may not know the original Buffy series, but it sure reads
like a worthy successor to me!
Once Upon a Broken
Heart (Sept. 28, 2021) by Stephanie Garber.
*This is the first
novel in a trilogy (originally marketed as a duology).*
Does the broken heart belong to Evangeline Fox when the love
of her life, Luc Navarro, betrays her by abruptly proposing to her stepsister,
Marisol Tourmaline, or to the Prince of Hearts (a.k.a. Jacks), a Fate whose
wicked heart toys with the hearts of others, even as he’s rumored to have a
true love who isn’t reciprocating? For forever, Evangeline has believed in
“love at first” and happy endings. So when Luc suddenly proposes to another,
Evangeline is desperate to stop the impending nuptials. She’s so desperate that
she makes a bargain with a Fate. Fates won’t break bargains, but they often
hurt those they’re supposedly helping. The Prince of Hearts is
immortally alluring and gracefully charismatic, but he’s also the wicked
bad boy one’s parents should never want their daughters to fall for (or sons).
In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be granted at the time
and place that he chooses. He will also choose the three she kisses,
because while the kisses may be somehow for Jacks, they aren’t with him
(to kiss him is lethal to anyone but his true love). When Evangeline and
Marisol venture from their home in the Meridian Empire to the Magnificent
North, where her late mother grew up, and she sees Jacks, she soon
realizes that Jacks has plans. Will Evangeline get her happy ending? Or
will she be led along a deliciously exquisite tragedy orchestrated by the
Prince of Hearts?
Set in the
world of the Caraval trilogy, Garber returns readers to a magical
land of enchantment, heady romance and messy choices with a heroine with
rose-gold hair and a heart for happy endings. Reading Garber’s stories is like
wandering through a richly-imagined fairy tale of charm and danger, lush
world-building and a roiling plot, twists and tangles, deceit and wishes.
Although the writing is decadent and shimmers with magic and the author’s
sparkly imagination, it’s at times verbose, like a dessert that contains too
much sugar. It can also read as sometimes frothy, but with themes of
family influence and holding onto one’s beliefs, it also contains depth.
Overall, it’s a well-paced story of romance, adventure and bewitching mystery,
though I wish there was some diversity amongst the major characters.
Caraval Book One: Caraval
Caraval Book Two: Legendary
Caraval Book Three: Finale
Six Crimson Cranes
(July 6, 2021) by Elizabeth Lim.
*This is the first novel in a duology.*
The youngest of seven and the only daughter of Kiata’s
emperor (Emperor Hanriyu), Princess Shiori’anma is a 16-year-old who has the
gift of magic in a world where magic is forbidden. On the day of her betrothal
ceremony to Bushi’an Takkan, Shiori tries to prevent the ceremony from
happening in an unexpected way: she follows her enchanted paper bird, Kiki,
into the Sacred Lake, coming face-to-face with a small dragon as she almost
drowns. In human form, the shape-shifter is 17-year-old dragon prince Seryu. He’s
arrogant, but offers Shiori magic lessons, having been drawn to her magic.
Unfortunately, Shiori’s magic also captures the attention of Raikama, her
stepmother. Raikama is secretly a sorceress, and she’s a powerful woman,
banishing Shiori and turning her six brothers into cranes (Andahai, Benkai,
Reiji, twins Wandei & Yotan and Hasho). She forewarns Shiori that she must
never speak, for if she does, she’ll lose a brother with every word she utters.
Without voice, without money and with naught but a bowl that is so
enchanted to her head it might as well be fused to it to hide her face, Shiori
leaves Kiata alone, intending to find her brothers. With her brothers as cranes
and Shiori banished, Kiata appears to have zero heirs, and a conspiracy to
seize the throne is uncovered. She’ll have to find a way to keep the
kingdom she can’t currently be in with the help of a little paper bird, a
mercurial dragon and the boy whose letters she ignored and has fought hard not
to marry.
“Six
Crimson Cranes” blends story elements from East Asian lore (like the legend
of Chang E) and European fairy tales (like Cinderella)
in a wonderfully crafted YA mash-up that feels original in a sea of
twisted fairy-and-mythology-based tales (and I happen to be a fan of
both). The first novel in a duology of the same name, Lim crafts a richly
embroidered story of interwoven tales and mythology, an intricate plot that
challenges the evil stepmother cliché, magic, adventure and a protagonist who
has grit and determination despite the odds that are stacked against her.
This duology takes place in the same world as the Blood of Stars
duology. It explores complicated family dynamics and the story sweeps readers
along with every turn of the page.
Regarding starstroke: “Dragons had not
always been omens of good fortune.” When they answered to no one, not even the
gods, the gods came together to temper their strength and “forged starstroke
from a trio of magics: strands of fate from the goddess Emuri’en’s hair; the
blood of stars from Lapzur, the source of an enchanter’s power; and demonfire
scoured from the Tambu Isles, birthplace of demons” (pp. 149-150).
The Blood
of Stars Book One: Spin the Dawn
The Blood
of Stars Book Two: Unravel the Dusk
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