Book Review – ‘Luminous’ by Mara Rutherford

TITLE: Luminous
AUTHORS: Mara Rutherford
GENRE: YA Fantasy
WORD/PAGE COUNT: 384 pages (paperback)
PUBLICATION DETAILS: by Harlequin Australia on January 5th, 2022
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

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.

A witch who must learn to harness her power–or risk losing her loved ones forever.

If you’ve read Mara Rutherford’s Crown of Coral and Pearl duology, you know she has a knack for charismatic scene-stealing villains and her newest book LUMINOUS is no different. We’re introduced to Darius, a powerful mage and the king’s right hand who rules the land by proxy, who is super compelling and I have to admit I was rooting for him throughout the book. Sure, he’s the bad guy, but I really enjoy when an author makes them understandable (not by trying to justify what they’re doing, but giving them believable motives than just ‘born evil’) plus I’m a sucker for the ‘Friendly Enemy’ trope. 

Our heroine Liora has spent her life hidden away in a small village in the middle of nowhere to keep her safe from Darius, who collects magic-users for his own purposes. Liora’s repressed her magic as much as possible, but after she’s revealed to be a witch, she’s drawn into danger as a diabolical plan unfolds that threatens everyone she loves and the only way out is to rely on her magic. 

In a lot of ways, I found her to be a pretty typical YA fantasy lead – sheltered and naive, in love with her best friend, low on self-esteem yet recklessly overconfident. However I did like her self-awareness in recognizing her selfish tendencies at times when she wanted to be special, hoped to be noticed and prioritized her magic over a quiet dull life because that felt relatable. 

I also liked Liora’s dynamic with her sisters and that she stood up to her father when he tried to stifle her, but the romance with Evran fell flat for me. His lack of communication and unwillingness to trust her even when he knew that she was hurting because of his abandonment made it seem toxic. PSA: don’t ghost people for their own good, that’s nonsense! There are two minor female characters introduced that I enjoyed and wished played a bigger role, but the major focus is on Liora’s coming-of-age arc. 

This fast-paced standalone fantasy is a fun read with a bunch of entertaining plot twists. It had enough material to fill a duology and felt a bit too easily resolved at the end, but it kept me engaged all the way through. 

Disclaimer: physical copy provided free from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review – ‘Defending The Galaxy’ by Maria V. Snyder

TITLE: Defending The Galaxy
AUTHOR: Maria V. Snyder
GENRE: YA, Sci-Fi
WORD/PAGE COUNT: 544 pages
PUBLICATION DETAILS: by Harper Collins Australia on December 2nd, 2020
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Year 2522. Oh. My. Stars.

Junior Officer Ara Lawrence here, reporting for duty. Again. It’s situation critical for the security team and everyone in the base – including my parents – with a new attack from the looters imminent, a possible galaxy-wide crime conspiracy and an unstoppable alien threat. But this all pales in the face of my mind-blowing discovery about the Q-net. Of course, no one believes me. I’m not sure I believe me. It could just be a stress-induced delusion. That’s what my parents seem to believe…

Their concern for me is hampering my ability to do my job. I know they love me, but with the Q-net in my corner, I’m the only one who can help the security team beat the shadowy aliens from the pits we discovered. We’re holding them at bay, for now, but the entire Milky Way Galaxy is in danger of being overrun.

With battles on too many fronts, it’s looking dire. But one thing I’ve learned is when people I love are in jeopardy, I’ll never give up trying to save them. Not until my dying breath. Which could very well be today…

First things first, this book has the most stunning cover I’ve ever seen. ❤ I adore the color scheme and composition, so all the awards to whoever designed it! 

As the final entry in the Sentinels of the Galaxy trilogy, this book neatly ties up loose plot threads even as it delves deeper into the mind-blowing revelation from the previous book to create new obstacles and threats. But fear not, everything is tidily wrapped up by the ending which is uplifting and satisfying for fans of this series. If you loved the previous two books, you should find this one to be immensely enjoyable as well. 

ARC Review – ‘Night of the Dragon’ by Julie Kagawa

Title: Night of the Dragon
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy
Word/Page Count: 400 pages (paperback)
Publication Date: by Harper Collins Australiaon March 31st, 2020
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Master storyteller Julie Kagawa concludes the enthralling journey into the heart of the fantastical Empire of Iwagoto in the third book of the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. As darkness rises and chaos reigns, a fierce kitsune and her shadowy protector will face down the greatest evil of all. A captivating fantasy for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Sarah J. Maas and Marie Lu.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.

Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko and their companions to stop a madman and separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that had trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.

But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.

Last year I had nothing but effusive praise for Shadow of the Fox (review here), which was one of my top favorites of 2019. The shocking twist at the end of the second book, Soul of the Sword, left me pining desperately for the final book and now that it’s here, the question is whether or not it serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series…does it go out with a bang or a whimper?

Very pleased to report that this book is made up of 1000% FIREWORKS AND GLORY, you guys!

ARC Review – ‘Chasing The Shadows’ by Maria V Snyder

Title: Chasing The Shadows
Author: Maria V Snyder
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Word/Page Count: 448 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Harper Collins Australia on November 18th, 2019
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns with the next page-turning instalment of the new sci-fi series: Sentinels of the Galaxy

Year 2522.

Lyra Daniels is dead.

Okay, so I only died for sixty-six seconds. But when I came back to life, I got a brand new name and a snazzy new uniform. Go me! Seriously, though, it’s very important that Lyra Daniels stays dead, at least as far as my ex-friend Jarren, the murdering looter, knows.

While dying is the scariest thing that’s happened to me, it morphed my worming skills. I can manipulate the Q-net like never before. But Jarren has blocked us from communicating with the rest of the galaxy and now they believe we’ve gone silent, like Planet Xinji (where silent really means dead).

A Protector Class spaceship is coming to our rescue, but we still have to survive almost two years before they arrive – if they arrive at all. Until then, we have to figure out how to stop an unstoppable alien threat. And it’s only a matter of time before Jarren learns I’m not dead and returns to finish what he started.

There’s no way I’m going to let Jarren win. Instead I’ll do whatever it takes to save the people I love. But even I’m running out of ideas…

I read the first book ‘Navigating The Stars‘ back in January this year (review here) and overall enjoyed the book, praising its heroine in particular. Second time around, the plot is just as fast-paced and constantly keeping the reader on their toes, Lyra (now called Ara) is still irrepressibly snarky and endearing, and the author succeeds in crafting an exciting second book that invigorates the reader rather than artificially stretching out a series that should’ve concluded already.

ARC Review – ‘The Lost Ones’ by Anita Frank

Title: The Lost Ones
Author: Anita Frank
Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller, Horror
Word/Page Count: 464 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Harper Collins Publishers on October 21st, 2019
RRP: $32.99 AUD (paperback)

Some houses are never at peace.

England, 1917

Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion.

Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house.

Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side…

The Lost Ones takes the typical haunted house trope and elevates it to the next level with an atmospheric historical setting, smart lyrical writing, refreshingly unexpected plot developments and compelling characters that the reader will invest in.

ARC Review – ‘The Eyes of Tamburah’ by Maria V. Snyder

Title: The Eyes of Tamburah
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Word/Page Count: 512 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by HQ Young Adult (subsidiary of Harper Collins) on June 17th, 2019
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Treasure hunting has never been more dangerous… Tomb Raider meets Poison Study!

New York Times bestselling author Maria Snyder begins an action-packed new fantasy series.

‘He thinks you are the thief…’

Shyla is a researcher who resides in the underground desert city of Zirdai, which is ruled by the wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Even though Shyla is sun-kissed – an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess – she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents. Her quiet life is about to change when Banqui, an archaeologist, enlists her services to find The Eyes of Tamburah: legendary gemstones that bestows great magic to its wielder. These ancient objects can tip the balance of power and give whoever possesses them complete control of the city.

But chaos erupts when The Eyes are stolen soon after they’re found – and Shyla is blamed for the theft. Forced to flee, with the Prince’s soldiers and the Priestess’ deacons on her trail, Shyla must recover the jewels and clear her name. A quest that will unearth secrets even more valuable than The Eyes of Tamburah themselves…

The last book I read by Maria V. Snyder was a sci-fi romp starting a new series set in the future where humanity has migrated out into the stars and is uncovering the meaning behind alien artifacts. And now here is the start of a brand new fantasy series filled with intricate world-building, non-stop action and a refreshingly unique premise! I’m in awe of authors who can swap genres effortlessly like this. ❤