Monday, October 11, 2021

#Review - Luminous by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural

From the author of Crown of Coral and Pearl comes an immersive new fantasy about a witch who must learn to harness her power—or risk losing her loved ones forever.

Liora has spent her life in hiding, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to.

To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos—and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him.



From the author of Crown of Coral and Pearl comes an immersive new fantasy about a witch who must learn to harness her power—or risk losing her loved ones forever. Thanks to her glow, Liora Duval has spent her life in hiding in the village of Sylvan, part of the Kingdom of Antalla, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power and may also control the King and Queen. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister Mina return to the capital with him.

To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to. To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared while also investigating what powers her mother had before she disappeared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos—and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him. Liora learns about others who have magic and are, of course, on Darius's radar.  

After she begins working for Evran's mother the weaver, she discovers that those closest to her have been keeping more secrets than she could have imagined, including her father who once worked as the King's treasurer. Is she strong enough to set to rights what Lord Darius has set in motion without destroying her only chance of happiness with the boy who holds her heart? Liora has been sheltered from the world by her father for a long time, so she is a bit naive at times, but you can't fault her bravery. 

She frequently disregards her own safety in order to protect her loved ones. Whether it's her best friend Evran or her sister Mina, she puts herself in harms way in life or death situations in order to try to save them. However, because of being sheltered, she often seems a tad reckless in her actions. She has absolutely no knowledge of what she is capable of magically because she thinks she is a danger to other people and doesn't try to learn. There are a variety of special abilities by those who have magic such as teleportation, "weaving" things into creation, fire starting, and the ability to see in the darkness.  

The author throws in a sort of devilish twist at the end of the story and since this is allegedly a standalone, readers might not ever know what happens next for Mina, or Evran. Will Mina find the truth about her mother? Will she find happiness in a far off country that is a safe space for magic users? Will she ever forgive her father for keeping a lie that's been hidden from Mina since the day she was almost killed by a fallen star? In all fairness, I can understand Darius and even though he is the villain of the story, he could have easily been the hero had he chosen a different path, or found Mina's abilities sooner. 

 



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