Bloody brilliant!
A girl who can see ghosts takes on a deadly challenge.
Everyone knows the tale: Wealthy Count Bastien Saphir, aka Monsieur Le Bleu, married and murdered three unsuspecting women before the fourth got away. They say Le Bleu was still laughing as his last wife’s brothers cut off his head. A century later, Mallory Fontaine gives tours of House Saphir and knows more than anyone about the family and their history. Count Armand Saphir, heir to the estate, seeks out Mallory and her elder sister, Anaïs, to assist at the family’s country estate, where Le Bleu’s ghost has returned to threaten the inhabitants. Armand hopes that the Fontaine family’s reputation as gifted witches means they can aid in this exorcism. Unfortunately, the sisters aren’t entirely truthful about their magical talents; their mother was renowned for her elixirs and talismans, but Mallory and Anaïs don’t possess her powers and make a living selling fake charms and spells. Still, Mallory agrees, betting on her legitimate ability to talk to ghosts and her affinity with the macabre. But as the gory sacrifices add up, it seems there may be more than a ghost that’s haunting the estate. Meyer takes the classic French folktale “Bluebeard” and expertly sprinkles in ghosts and otherworldly creatures to create an eerie tale with a side of steamy romance. The characters are full-bodied, possessing either winsome or terrifying auras, while the setting beautifully conveys a bewitching ambiance. Mallory and Armand present white.
Bloody brilliant! (guide to monsters) (Supernatural mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250320957
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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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