Seasons of Flesh and Flame is the second book in A.G. Howard’s duology. The first installment, Shades of Rust and Ruin, was dark, gothic, confusing, and disorienting, but this book passes more firmly into fantasy and sheds some of the darker vibe while answering so many, many questions from the first book. (That said, it is still essential that readers read the first book.) The reader learns what is going on through alternating views of the sisters and through flashbacks from Lark; it all starts to make sense and coalesce. The author writes with rich language, complex vocabulary, and in-depth descriptions of the external settings and events–and of the internal emotions and conflicts of the characters.

The artwork for the covers of this series is particularly noteworthy, as it is not only artistically striking and captivating, but perfectly and symbolically representative of the story on the pages within. Cover artwork from another of Howard’s series, Splintered, favors a similar style.

This series is highly recommended for Tim Burton fans and for YA readers who adore dark fantasy. It is also a fabulous holiday read for the fall and Christmas seasons, especially if the two books are read back-to-back.

Review Copy Provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 3 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory name; 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore: Destruction of property, no injuries; reference to events in first book in the series; imprisonment; references to blood; character grabbed and knife welded to cut off gloves and force her to do bidding, but another stabs with knife in the heart (does not cause permanent death); cut on hand bleeds; brief descriptions of macabre characters; character bites lip and it bleeds; hand is cut with a tool and it bleeds; hands are slit to make a pact between two characters; character is frozen so that a physical examination can be made, no description of examination but character finds it invasive; magic is causing damage to body part; discussion of a person’s impending demise; verbal threats; scrapes and minor injuries; magical entity is squashed; magical bird splats on window; magical creature sucks blood from a character; extended battle scene between magical creatures, burning and destruction, injuries, creatures are crushed but re-assemble; description of puncture wounds, mention of blood; character holds a parent at sword point and threatens with death, draws blood; sibling turns against a sibling; description of massive destruction of property; extended battle between magical creatures, general descriptions/non-detailed, injuries but no specific mention of death; character is frozen in place.

Sex/Nudity: Girl is attracted to a male and vice versa; thoughts/noticing of the attractiveness for member of the opposite sex; male and female, kiss and touch stomach; a female is pregnant with twins, unclear if parents were technically married; references to being naked; discussion about getting a mate for a teenage girl so she can have children and reference to breeding; female imagines a male bathing and briefly thinks (in general terms) of what it would be like to join him; male and female kiss, put arm around, hold hands; passing reference to a girl and her girlfriend.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of parents (reference), abduction, arson, revolt.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Reference to the mood-enhancing effects of goblin blood and flowers on humans.