A distinctly Appalachian-themed iteration of a classic fantasy premise.
A nurse discovers she possesses ancient mountain magic in O’Quinn’s West Virginia-set fantasy novel.
Afton Sullivan works as a prison nurse, but her strange powers make it difficult to do her job. When she lays hands on her patients, she feels a shock and is able to see into their thoughts—the memories of their crimes and their future intentions. Sometimes, when her revulsion is too great, her power seems to kill the patient. When an older nurse recognizes Afton’s abilities as a form of ancient magic (and then warns her not to trust the new assistant director of nursing—a woman who recently appeared in one of Afton’s dreams—before dying mysteriously), Afton questions the source of her powers. Using a number left by the dead woman, Afton contacts Miss Betty, a folk healer who introduces Afton to the concept of the Cunnin’ Folk. Though from the outside they appear to be mere “Appalachian Grannies,” the Cunnin’ Folk “tend to know things that most don’t. These people protect the mountains roundabout and those who belong here. They go to great lengths to keep the secrets of the mountain people.” Miss Betty is one, and apparently Afton is, too. What’s more, Afton is a special case, so special that she was hidden away so that she would not be murdered, like her parents, by enemies of the Cunnin’ Folk. Whether she likes it or not, Afton is now involved in a struggle between light and dark magic, and there’s no guarantee that she will make it out of the hollers alive. O’Quinn’s breathless prose succeeds in evoking the romance and magic of the Appalachians, mountains “that seemed scarcely touched by the outside world, and somehow remained unchanged for many generations. The battles in the modern world hadn’t tainted or influenced this place.” The premise is a familiar one for fantasy readers, and the plot unfolds at a pace that some may find too leisurely, but many will enjoy the locale-specific spell O’Quinn weaves in this fantastic tale.
A distinctly Appalachian-themed iteration of a classic fantasy premise.Pub Date: June 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781963355291
Page Count: 237
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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