One Blood Ruby

November 15, 2016
Marr (Seven Black Diamonds, 2016) continues the story about tension among various factions of the fae and their fight against humans.This sequel absolutely requires knowledge of the first book if readers are to make any sense of it. In rapid succession, the author presents a bewildering array of variously human and magical characters--so many that it is difficult to discern a plot. Each of these characters appears to be involved in a one-true-love type of romance with another character. Protagonist Lily is in love with a musician called Creed, Alkamy loves Zephyr, Eilidh loves Torquil, and Will loves Roan. (Marr treats the last, gay romance equally although not as fully as the others.) And there's also Violet, Erik, Rhys, and Leith, the third-person perspective alternating among these different characters in turn as they ponder their emotions and occasionally act. Adding to the confusion, most of these characters speak in identical voices, with the notable exception of the Queen of Blood and Rage, who rages rather well. Each of the magical characters has some kind of affinity to water, air, earth, or fire, and the author spends large portions of the book explaining these affinities, continuing to explain them even after 200 pages have elapsed. When action finally occurs, attacks tend to happen suddenly and without warning, out of the blue. The ruby of the title finds only a single, brief reference. What a mess. (Fantasy. 12-18)

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November 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 Lilywhite Abernathy returns, though now she goes by the name LilyDark, allying herself with neither Seelie nor Unseelie courts. It is up to her to make peace with the human world, now that she's the heir to the Hidden Lands of the fae, but with faeries regularly attacking humans in terrible and vengeful ways, the end to this centuries-old war will be hard won. Ex-heir Eilidh is caught between her royal parents, and the remaining Black Diamonds, a highly trained group of warriors, are always aware of their precarious place between human fame and fae power. Meanwhile, the queen and her assassin Diamonds make dark and sinister plots. Marr's writing is lush and beautiful. There are context clues littered throughout the text, but unlike the Wicked Lovely series, it's best to read this proposed trilogy from its beginning (Seven Black Diamonds, 2016). A must for faerie fans who are already hooked on Marr and her captivating worlds.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A new installment in a series from the ever-popular Marr? They're already lining up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)