Tag Archives: Courts and Courtiers

YA – Forging Silver into Stars

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Kremmer, Brigid. Forging Silver into Stars. Bloomsbury, 2022. 978-1547609123. $18.99. 560. Grades 9-12.

Callyn and Jax live in the small village of Briarwood. Callyn runs her family’s bakery while taking care of her younger sister, and Jax works for his abusive father as a blacksmith. These two best friends care for each other in any way they can, especially since Jax lost a leg in an accident and Callyn and her sister are on their own after the death of their father. When Jax agrees to hold secret messages for payment, he puts his life, and Callyn’s, in danger. In addition to these secret correspondences, two strangers enter their small town and threaten to turn the friends against one another. As Jax grows close to Lord Tycho, the King’s courier, Callyn befriends Lord Aleck who is fiercely loyal to his queen, and suddenly the friends find themselves on opposite sides of brewing rebellion against a magic wielding King. When the fight arrives in Briarwood, loyalties and friendships will be tested, and magic may save or destroy them all.

THOUGHTS: Forging Silver into Stars is a spinoff of Kremmer’s Cursebreaker series. I did not read the original trilogy and didn’t realize it was a spinoff until I got into the story. They provide a lot of background to the original trilogy, so I wasn’t confused at all, but it did spoil some key plot points of the original. That being said, this story hooked me from the start, and it’s a fantastic start to a new fantasy series. There is quite a bit of romance with two love stories mixed into the plot, but I didn’t find the scenes to be overly descriptive (instead typical of a YA novel).

Fantasy          Emily Hoffman, Conestoga Valley SD

YA – Rivals

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McGee, Katharine. Rivals. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2022. 400 p. 978-0-593-42970-9. Grades 9-12. $19.99.

Returning from what would have been their honeymoon (had they gotten married), Beatrice and Teddy are back after spending a few blissful weeks in the Caribbean. Teddy hopes to define his role as king consort to give the unprecedented position meaning and purpose. Beatrice has a lot of work to do to prepare for the League of Kings conference. For the first time, Beatrice is hosting the conference as Queen of America, and she plans to bring her father’s climate accord to vote, despite the uphill battle she’ll face as a powerful woman. Princess Samantha went on the Royal tour at Beatrice’s request and convinced her best friend Nina to go along. In love for the first time, Sam is figuring out who she is and how to be the heir her family needs. And with the League of Kings taking place in Orange, Sam is looking forward to spending some time with Marshall. Meanwhile, Jeff filled in as Regent (with Daphne by his side) at the capital during his sisters’ absence. As the royals settle into their roles, friendships and old rivals are put to the test. No matter where the Washington family goes, drama seems to follow. Spoiler alert, the League of Kings conference will be no different.

THOUGHTS: Tackling some tough topics like gender roles, privilege, and racism, the characters take on more dimension in this title than the past two, and readers will find themselves rooting for each rival as they get to know them. They also desperately will hope for another title in this series!

Romance          Maryalice Bond, South Middleton SD

YA – My Contrary Mary

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Hand, Cynthia, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows. My Contrary Mary. Harper Teen, 2021. 978-0-062-93004-0. 496 p. $18.99. Grades 8-12. 

For readers who like their historical fiction a bit more on the fiction side, the trio of authors known as the Lady Janies offer their fourth rollicking rewrite of history, this time turning to Renaissance France for felicitous fodder. Mary, Queen of Scots has been engaged to Francis, Dauphin of France since they were tiny tots. They are best friends, and Francis keeps Mary’s deepest secret: she is an Eꝺian, a shape shifter with an animal alter ego. In a country ruled by Verities, this is a death sentence. This story returns to the highly enjoyable world of the trio’s first book, replacing religious warfare with Eꝺian/Verity strife. While historical events form the basis of the plot, the authors never let facts get in the way of a good story, and certainly not a happy ending. When King Henry suddenly dies, (possibly probably with an assist from Mary’s uncles), and Francis is placed on the throne, the maneuvering begins to gain control of France. Ari, the daughter of the court prognosticator, Nostradamus, finds herself thrust into the middle of the messy machinations, as her skill as a potion maker is in demand on all sides. Can Mary save Francis, save France, save Scotland, save her mother, save Eꝺians, and save her marriage? Of course she can! This is history as it ought to have been, and far more fun than anything you were taught in school. All characters are presumed white, but Ari develops a romantic relationship with one of Mary’s ladies-in-waiting.

THOUGHTS: This is a delightful, giggle-inducing romp through history, containing just enough facts to send readers to Wikipedia to discover what really happened. A steady stream of asides from the authors adds to the hilarity.

Fantasy (Historical)          Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD