Promise of Shadows

January 6, 2014
As in Ireland’s first novel, Vengeance Bound, her sophomore offering brings creatures from Greek mythology into the modern world. After failing her Harpy trials, Zephyr Mourning was looking forward to a low-key life in the Mortal Realm. Unfortunately, she accidentally killed a god, which landed her in Tartarus with an emotionless but oddly protective girl named Cass. The book moves along at a brisk clip once Zephyr’s childhood friend Tallon frees her and Cass from Tartarus, sweeping Zephyr toward confrontations with both the goddess Hera and her own reluctant destiny. Ireland’s foreshadowing is sometimes so heavy that the information feels stale by the time Zephyr realizes it, as when the truth of her parentage comes to light, but that’s a minor quibble in an otherwise solid book. Zephyr’s emotions, whether rage at a seer who holds back the whole truth or squirmy adolescent insecurity when she starts falling for Tallon, feel all the more real for her tendency to overreact, and the mythos Ireland creates strikes the right mix of familiarity and invention, and is well worth exploring. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elana Roth, Red Tree Literary.

June 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-After murdering her sister's killer, Zephyr Mourning lands herself in Tartarus-a section of Hell-serving an eternal sentence. Feces rains from the sky and the Centaurs on guard have a tendency to kill unruly prisoners, but Zephyr has a few things going for her: she's a Harpy, which is a half-human, half-god warrior vaettir, and she only recently discovered she can unwittingly control and use dark magic. The teen used this forbidden power to avenge her sister Whisper's death, and it is this same ability which identified Zephyr as the much-revered and prophesied Nyx. Legend has it that the Nyx will protect and save all vaettir from the AEthereals-gods who subject the vaettir and other lesser mythical creatures to indiscriminate terror. With the help of her handsome childhood friend Tallon and his brother, Zephyr escapes Tartarus, along with fellow inmate Cass. This motley crew goes on a quest to discover if the reluctantly heroicized Zephyr really is the Nyx, and how she can stop the megalomaniac goddess Hera from wreaking havoc on the mortal and immortal realms. Though Ireland relies on preexisting knowledge of Greek mythology and doesn't spend enough time explaining complicated terminology, the fast pacing and dynamic plot will engage readers. An underdeveloped romance between Tallon and Zephyr is just enough to tantalize them. The snappy, hilarious dialogue between the protagonist and her friends balances the ominous apocalyptic story line, which will also attract fans of "The Hunger Games" (Scholastic), "Divergent" (HarperCollins), and underdog heroines.-Amy M. Laughlin, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
A reluctant Harpy discovers her destiny in an elaborate Greek-mythology-based fantasy. As the book opens, readers learn that Zephyr's sister, Whisper, was killed for her forbidden romance with Hermes; Harpies are vaettir--partly human, therefore lesser--and are not permitted to intimately fraternize with full gods, called aethereals. In retaliation, Zephyr killed Whisper's aethereal executioner--a supposedly impossible act--and has been sentenced to eternity in the worst part of the Underworld, Tartarus (where the weather is crappy--literally). Zephyr's forbidden, dark power enabled the kill and, she learns, marks her as the prophesied Nyx, a champion of "shadow vaettir," who maintains balance and protects vaettir from aethereal tyranny. Knowing the aethereals will surely kill her soon, Zephyr escapes Tartarus with the help of Cass, her enigmatic friend and protector (who everyone they meet says is a liar and betrayer), Tallon, an attractive childhood friend, and his brother, Blue. They form a ragtag team to keep her alive so she can thwart a terrible plot against the vaettir. The romantic plot is the least successful element of this character-driven story. Far more compelling are Zephyr's struggles to accept herself as a hero, considering she's failed her Trials to become a Harpy warrior. The complicated worldbuilding piles on the jargon, but Zephyr's narration hooks readers with snappy, hilarious one-liners. A dark, slyly funny read. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

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