(4) YA Shattered Realms series. In this sweeping penultimate series entry, an epic cast of mages, pirates, royal heirs, and spymasters scheme to unite the warring Seven Realms against invading Empress Celestine, who uses zombie-like bloodsworn soldiers to enforce her will. An overabundance of plot lines, characters, and backstories may leave even devoted fans confused, but the plentiful supply of romance, magic, and palace intrigue will keep them turning pages.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA Shattered Realms series. A captain in the war against Arden, heir Princess Lyss finds herself drawn to prisoner-of-war Halston Matelon. But someone wants to assassinate Lyss, and Breon, the busker used to distract her, might hold the only clue to the assassin's identity. Grand forces clash in Chima's second romantic epic, and despite occasionally confusing backstory, pieces are lining up for a top-notch third.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA Shattered Realms series. Ash, the son of a queen and a former street lord, has a gift for healing, but he turns to revenge after his father is assassinated. Undercover in the enemy king's palace, Ash falls in love with Jenna, a captive rebel with a mysterious magemark. Magic, romance, and intrigue drive this page-turning series-opener set in the same world as Chima's Seven Realms books.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA Heir Chronicles series. A spate of murders threatens the fragile truce engineered among the five "Weirs" (magical guilds divided by talent) and the "savants" (those with non-traditional talents) in previous volumes. Chima excels at placing multifaceted characters in situations that make black-and-white morality impossible. Prejudice, redemption, star-crossed romance, unmasked secrets, and long-deferred closure on previous generations' tragedies get their due in this impressive series resolution.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) YA Chima adds two new players to her magical underworld, both with a connection to a mysterious massacre that upset the balance of power among the magical guilds and to a new threat: ghost-like "shades." Tangled conflict lines, secret identities, besieged protagonists, and nonstop action make this a thrilling and thought-provoking Heir Chronicles volume, despite dropped plot threads and a truncated resolution.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(2) YA Seven Realms series. In this concluding volume of the series, Han longs to marry Queen Raisa, but she's committed to a political marriage to save her quarreling queendom. Betrayal, war, and the faith of lovers all come around to a glorious conclusion as Chima weaves together her geopolitical, magical, romantic, and even mythical themes on an epic scale.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(2) YA Seven Realms series. With her mother's unexpected death, Raisa's life and throne depend on her swift return to the Fells, before the wizards crown her younger sister and the hostility between the Spirit Clans and flatlanders tear her country apart. Chima's tour-de-force world building keeps readers rapt, with cutthroat action sequences running parallel to the political ones. Unresolved issues galore point toward a crackerjack concluding volume.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(2) YA Seven Realms series. Princess Raisa, accompanied by bodyguard (and love interest) Amon, seeks anonymity at the military academy at Oden's Ford. Meanwhile, former gang lord Han Allister also travels to Oden's Ford to enroll in the wizard's academy. This sequel to The Demon King advances the story to a crisis point, where it leaves readers poised in eager anticipation of future installments.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(2) YA Seven Realms series. Former street lord Han Alister finds a magical amulet. When gang members are murdered, Han realizes the killers are after the amulet. Meanwhile, heir-to-the-throne Princess Raisa's sixteenth name-day approaches, when she becomes eligible to be courted. Readers follow the highly likable characters in plot strands that touch and separate and re-form, creating an ambitious web of politics and intrigue.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2010

(4) YA A showdown between power-hungry proponents of tradition and idealistic champions of free will is at the center of this trilogy ender (The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir) about a feudal magical society existing within our own. Underdog wizard Jason and wannabe-normal-girl Madison are well developed, but too many characters vie for the spotlight, and the lack of focus blunts the story's impact.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) YA Abandoning (for the moment) Jack (The Warrior Heir), this sequel follows Seph, an untrained wizard who enters an international magical-political dispute when an unscrupulous faction leader tries to recruit him. The feudal structures and modern upheavals of this world within our own are well delineated, and though relationships tend toward the tepid, adrenaline flows freely from both action and intrigue.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross