The Lantern's Ember

July 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-This plot-driven, supernatural romantic thriller injects the moodiness of the "Sleepy Hollow" legend into a wild and seductive adventure. Jack made a deal with the devil 500 years ago and is serving a sentence guarding the portals to the Otherworld. When the stubborn, 17-year-old witch Ember O'Dare ignores Jack's warnings not to cross into the forbidden plane of the underworld, chaos ensues. Jack must do everything in his power to return Ember to the mortal world as the fates of the earthly and unearthly realms hang in the balance. Readers will find Ember brave, courageous, sexually confident, and independent. Likewise, secondary characters-like the mysterious and debonair vampire, Deverell-add to the emotional impact of Ember's journey into the dazzling futuristic, yet dangerous Otherworld. This epic, heart-pounding paranormal love story contains a little bit of everything-black cats, cauldrons, ghosts, trolls, spiders, mad scientists, werewolves, jack o' lanterns, vampires, pirates, skeletons, and more. VERDICT Recommended for fans of the author's "Tiger's Curse" and "Reawakened" series and a must-have for YA collections.-Angelina Bair, Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, OH

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
Houck's (Tiger's Dream, 2018, etc.) new adventure offers a fresh spin on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."..and a few more tales besides.Jack, once mortal, is a lantern, conscripted into service by a devil 500 years ago, who watches over one of the crossroads leading from the human realm into the Otherworld. Now his soul resides in the pumpkin that is constantly by his side. He's kept an eye on the village witch, Ember O'Dare, since she was a girl, because witches are very sought after by those in the Otherworld, which is powered by witchlight. When Ember, now 17, meets Jack, it's instant sparks, and he's desperate to keep her safe. When Ember is offered a trip to the Otherworld by the charming, and not quite trustworthy, vampire Deverell "Dev" Blackbourne, she jumps at the opportunity, but she may be in over her head, and Jack, with Ember's friend Finney in tow, heads into the Otherworld to find her. What follows is a race through a world technologically light years ahead of the human realm, full of all manner of supernatural beings, skyships, and plenty of swashbuckling derring-do. A love triangle adds tension, but the real fun lies in spotting Houck's inventive riffs on a ton of monster myths (and other stories) along the way. A bit overstuffed but fun nonetheless, with some genuine surprises in store. (Fantasy. 12-17)

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July 30, 2018
This standalone fantasy from Houck (the Tiger’s Curse series) focuses on 17-year-old witch Ember O’Dare and Jack, an immortal “lantern” whose soul resides inside a pumpkin and whose job it is to guard the crossroads linking the Otherworld to Ember’s sleepy village of Hallowell. Lanterns mustn’t leave their posts, but when roguish vampire Dev sneaks into the mortal realm and charms the witch into returning home with him, Jack follows—less to punish Dev for trespassing than to protect Ember, for whom he’s developed feelings from afar. Jack and Dev aren’t the only ones with designs on Ember: the Otherworld runs on energy derived from witches, making the powerful girl a priceless commodity. Houck’s adventure, a take on the legend of Sleepy Hollow, suggests alternate origin stories for Halloween and various monsters. Regrettably, capable female characters are forced to share the page with moody, macho suitors and over-the-top villains—and the book’s strengths (elaborate costumes, swoony romance, and a sumptuous, steampunk-inspired backdrop) fail to compensate for leaden pacing and murky stakes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group.

August 1, 2018
Grades 7-10 In a sleepy little New England town, as fall arrives, a witch wind blows. Jack knows what it means: a Lantern, he sold his soul to the devil half a century ago and now sits at a crossroads, guarding a portal to the Otherworld and watching for witches, whose natural energy is valued by denizens of all kinds. When he meets Ember, that witch whose arrival was heralded by the wind, Jack has his hands full; Ember feels a pull toward the Otherworld and is determined to enter, even as Jack tries to protect her. Eventually, with the help of a roguish?and not entirely unselfishly motivated?vampire named Dev, Ember gives Jack the slip and sets off into the steampunk-influenced Otherworld, leading Jack on a merry chase. What begins as a riff on Sleepy Hollow soon turns into a vast collage of Halloween tales as werewolves, vampires, and a Dr. Frankensteinesque scientist all get their due. Tropes and love triangles abound, but for readers after that sort of thing, there's fun to be had. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Jack guards the crossroad between the ordinary world and the Otherworld, but his fondness for young witch Ember leads to irresponsibility. When Ember slips into the Otherworld in the company of a debonair vampire, Jack chases after her. Barton effectively mixes fantasy and steampunk to generate a story about friendship, family, love, and reunion, the whole powered more by wit than by narrative tension.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)