LUMINOUS by Mara Rutherford

Rating: 4 / 5

LUMINOUS by Mara Rutherford arrived in my YA Unplugged Book Box! It isn’t one I knew a lot about but the cover is gorgeous and I chose this for one of my advent calendar picks!

LUMINOUS follows Liora, a young woman who has had to hide her whole life. After a star fell on her home, killing her mother, Liora has glowed with a light that can’t be concealed. In a world where the magical are forced into servitude to the king, she must hide away. In spite of her best efforts, she and her sisters draw the attention the king’s warlock Darius, a man known for doing horrifying things. He enlists her sister to work at the capital, leaving Liora with no choice but to embrace her magic and go to get her sister back.

I really enjoyed the somewhat fairy tale feel of this one and the unique magic that Liora had. I really enjoyed Darius as the villain character as well because he had extra layers as we learned how he came to be the way he was.

As the story evolves, we learn more about the world around Liora and the magical abilities of others. Given that Liora begins with only one friend outside of her immediate family, the boy next door she’s crushing on, I liked the way the author gradually introduces more to the story. Like Liora herself we don’t know a lot about it in the beginning of the book, but she continues to grow in power and understanding as the story unfolds.

This likely isn’t a book I would have sought out on my own, but I am glad that I received a copy because I really enjoyed it! Kylee absolutely insisted on being in this picture, because clearly she’s more luminous than the candle I had planned on using!