Gr 9 Up--As a child, Renata was kidnapped and taken to the palace of Andalucia, where she was used by the kingdom to inflict pain and death on thousands of her own people. When she became one of the Whispers, though, she actively worked against the king in an effort to bring justice and freedom to her compatriots, though they mistrusted her motives and considered her a traitor at best and a saboteur at worst. When the commander of her unit, Dez, is captured and taken to the palace to be executed, Renata must decide where her true loyalties lie--with Andalucia or Dez, the boy she has come to love. Córdova has written a saga of treachery, violence, and lust for power that will enthrall some readers. Unfortunately, others may be left cold as this novel is also long, repetitive, convoluted, and difficult to follow. Readers may find themselves skipping ahead in search of more action and plot. VERDICT Córdova weaves a tale of betrayal, revenge, and lust for power, but some judicious editing would have helped move the story along considerably.--Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage Public Library, AK

A powerful young woman struggles to save her kingdom from a megalomaniac and redeem her past mistakes. Renata is a Moria--a person with magical powers--in an Inquisition-type world where people with these abilities are persecuted and killed. When she was a girl, Renata was taken from her parents and used to steal memories from the king's enemies. Now, years later, she's a member of the Whispers, a secret group working to overthrow the royal family and rescue the Moria from genocide. After a tragic turn of events, Renata must go back to the palace to fight the enemy from within. There, she struggles with her loyalty to the Whispers and falling back into old habits. With a faulty magical system and a mishmash of tropes, this incoherent fantasy never quite finds its footing. The dialogue is wooden, the prose is overwritten, and the characterization lacks nuance. Renata is a querulous protagonist who simultaneously acts helpless while also taking on the mantle of saving her world with her excellent fighting skills and quick thinking. Córdova (A Crash of Fate, 2019, etc.) tries to do too much--a historical setting, spycraft, a doomed romance, a plot to cure the Moria of their powers, and even a Stockholm syndrome thread--and doesn't quite succeed at any of them. Most characters are brown skinned and have Spanish surnames. A jampacked, overly plotted series opener that fails to coalesce. (Fantasy. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this duology opener from Córdova (the Brooklyn Brujas series), King Fernando of Puerto Leones conquers neighboring Memoria and its magically gifted people by kidnapping seven-year-old Renata Convida, a Moria memory thief, and using her to extract tactical knowledge from prisoners. Two years later, Moria rebels dubbed the Whispers rescue Ren and train her as one of their own. Now 17, Ren knows many Whispers think her a traitor for the bloodshed she unwittingly facilitated as a child. Consequently, when she accidentally endangers her boyfriend and unit commander, Dez, during his mission to destroy a weapon that could eradicate the remaining Moria, she flees camp without telling anyone and resolves to save Dez herself--even if doing so means returning to the palace where she was a prisoner. This Spanish Inquisition--inspired fantasy beguiles with evocative prose, organic worldbuilding, and an ethnically diverse cast. Córdova does little to establish Dez and Ren's romance, diminishing the story's emotional heft, and the mechanics of the characters' assorted powers feel murky and convenient, but ample intrigue propels the tale to a gripping close. Ages 14--up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. (Apr.)

Renata is a Robari, a memory thief, cursed and feared by all, including her own magic-wielding people, the Moria. Abducted from her parents at a young age, she is forced to work for the King's Justice until the Moria rescue her. When Dez, the commander of her rebel unit, is captured, she naturally decides to avenge him by going back into the belly of the beast, becoming a member of the palace once again and completing the mission that Dez could not. Hand this dark and twisting fantasy to readers who love subterfuge in a royal court or a heroine who, like Graceling's Katsa, chooses to fight for a side that doesn't necessarily want her. Because the story is loosely inspired by the Spanish Inquisition, many of the names of people and places in this world are Spanish. This historical allusion blends a bit of familiarity with the magic, drawing readers right into the adventure. Incendiary serves up a satisfying plate of revenge garnished with secrets and surprises along the way.