Once-human Feyre and her faerie lover Tamlin bested the wicked Amarantha in A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), but a happy ending this is not. Feyre, traumatized and guilt-ridden over all she experienced, struggles to regain her sense of self, while Tamlin grows both more protective and more constricting. Making matters worse is the bargain Feyre made with enigmatic Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court: one week every month, Feyre must go to Rhysand's home, where, in a Hades-and-Persephone variation, she finds that the Night Court might not be such a place of nightmares. But a greater threat is looming e that may affect even the human family Feyre left behind. At times, this straddles the line between YA fantasy and adult romance yre is almost 20, and her sexual encounters are many and detailed. But the world is exquisitely crafted, the large cast of secondary characters fleshed out, the action intense, and the twist ending surprising, heartrending, and, as always, sure to guarantee readers' return. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: When has Maas not churned out a best-seller? Her ongoing Throne of Glass series is enormously popular, and this sequel in an equally devoured new series is primed for similar success.

After the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), Feyre struggles to pull herself back together while imminent threats loom. In the months after defeating Amarantha and escaping hellish captivity Under the Mountain, Feyre hasn't been doing well. She's drowning in guilt over the prices she paid and unable to escape the feeling that she's trapped. Tamlin is perhaps coping even worse—he's consumed by the fear of failing to protect her and in denial. While their physical relationship is mutually pleasurable—and graphically hot—their happily-ever-after fairy-tale wedding is further derailed by Rhysand, the High Lord of the dreaded Night Court, who demands that Feyre fulfill their bargain by coming with him (one week a month). Rhys believes war is coming, and he needs Feyre for his dangerous scheme to win it. As Feyre travels between courts and explores the consequences of her resurrection, she learns more about Prythian, its history, and peoples (including its darkest sides: misogynistic cultures and tensions between High Fae and lesser faeries). Occasionally the characters fall too neatly into wholly good or completely bad boxes, which at its least subtle comes across as manipulative of readers, but the large cast provides relief from Feyre's deep psychological wounds. The erotically charged lead-up to the romantic storyline's climaxes (pun intended) adds stakes to the cliffhanger. Hits the spot for fans of dark, lush, sexy fantasy. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Maas broadens the world she created in her bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses with a new enemy that threatens both the seven Fae Courts and the mortal world her heroine left behind. After having escaped the sadistic Amarantha, Feyre-s return to the Spring Court isn-t the happily-ever-after she imagined. Feyre no longer knows who she is or where she belongs, and she is grappling with her body-s strange new powers after the seven High Lords resurrected her as a Fae. She and her lover, Tamlin, are wracked with nightmares from their time -Under the Mountain,- and Tamlin-s concern for Feyre-s safety has become stifling. Worse, she-s still beholden to the Night Court, and Rhysand, its High Lord, calls in their bargain at the most inconvenient time. Fans may be frustrated by Feyre-s shifting romantic allegiances, but Maas lets the relationship dynamics change organically, and her talent for creating chemistry between her characters (including some fiery sexual encounters) is as strong as ever. Maas gives Feyre the space to regain her agency and prove herself the equal of any High Lord, resulting in an immersive, satisfying read. Ages 14-up. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Laura Dail Literary Agency. (May)