Review by Booklist Review
Devlin and Lochlan are both spies working under the Whisperer of Aris. Their job is to infiltrate camps of rival countries, stealing plans that reveal upcoming attacks and uses of a magic called filigree. Complicating the job is the fact that the Whisperer is also Devlin's mother. Their relationship, never the best, now leaves Devlin feeling more like an employee than a daughter. Nonbinary Lochlan, a former caster who can no longer perform magic, learned spy tricks from Devlin, and the two became friends. On their latest mission to Cerena, they escaped through the strange pale land of the Mists, haunted by terrifying phantoms made of lightning. As both the Mists and Cerena creep closer to Aris, Devlin is sent on a very public mission: to infiltrate the court of Cerena and steal filigree magic. This is Victoria's (The Golden Flame, 2021) sophomore outing, and her well-wrought world of spies and suspicion will intrigue fantasy readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Feuding kingdoms Aris and Cerena must unite to defeat a common evil in this ethereal fantasy by Victoria (This Golden Flame). Aris is partially swallowed by the Mists, a corrupted enchantment inhabited by terrifying creatures, which separates the two countries and has been eroding Aris residents' innate magic, leaving them weakened and fearing impending attacks from both the creatures and Cerena. Spy Devlin, 16, is sent by Aris's spymaster--her emotionally distant mother, the Whisperer--to Cerena to kidnap the kingdom's strongest magic user, Alyse, planning to use her power to build up Aris's defenses. Undercover, Devlin inserts herself into Alyse's inner circle, and the two develop an earnest friendship. As Devlin assists Alyse's research into the Mists, they slowly reveal startling truths, including that Cerena is not as safe from the Mists as it seems. While there is minimal physical character description, Victoria's worldbuilding is broadly queer inclusive--Devlin's best friend is nonbinary, gay marriage is normalized, and Devlin reads as asexual. Low-stakes subterfuge leads to a slow-paced plot, but the central friendship--in which timid Alyse and reserved Devlin help each other grow beyond external expectations--makes for an emotionally layered read. Ages 13--up. Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DeFiore & Co. (Nov.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Devlin dives into the opulent Cerenian court to save her home. Once united, the two monarchies of Aris and Cerena are now locked in bitter hatred thanks to a shared history of betrayal. While the citizens of Aris live in fear of the next attack, with their magic casters' dwindling ability to produce the enchanted, silvery filigree that holds the encroaching Mists and phantoms at bay, the people of Cerena live in fearless luxury, wasting filigree on ornamental uses. When Devlin is sent into Cerena to kidnap Layde Alyse, their strongest magic caster, she sees it as a chance to save her country and prove herself, both as a spy and as the daughter of the Whisperer of Aris. Going undercover as a Cerenian, Devlin learns about her enemy's reality: the beauty of filigree art, social inequities, court politics, the true history of their world, and the nature of Alyse herself. The discussions of resource disparities between the countries, the importance of art, and the impact of societal trauma offer realistic parallels to modern societies. Asexual Devlin's internal struggles with self-image--understanding her strength, dealing with failure, subsuming her own thoughts beneath her mother's, and recognizing her own value--are contrasted with her budding friendship with trusting, optimistic Alyse. This work contains a hopeful message about pushing through self-doubt to make changes to your world. The cast is mostly assumed White. Remarkably grounded in realism while displaying a fantastic and imaginative nature. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
