Star Magic in Luminous | Review

【 LUMINOUS 】

Another delightful fantasy story from Mara Rutherford.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Author: Mara Rutherford
Published: October 2021
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Pages: 368 (paperback)

I’m a big fan of the simple yet enthralling way Rutherford pens a fantasy tale. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Crown of Coral and Pearl duology, I was so excited to see what she would do with this new story. Aside from having one of the most stunning YA covers, this is a great little read that I would definitely recommend.

I do think that Rutherford has a simple storytelling style, so you’re not going to find excessive world-building in this, nor deeply fleshed out characters. This is a shorter read that introduces you to world of forbidden magic and the signature almonst-love triangle we have come to expect from this author. It’s the perfect kind of storytelling to scratch a fantastical fantasy itch, without needing to over-tax your brain to keep up.

I really liked Liora’s character. She’s cooped up and kept away from society, to hide her magic from those who would take her away because of it, which means that everything that happens in the book is a new experience to her and a very steep learning curve. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Evran’s character. That boy really needs to learn some communication skills and I feel a lot of the drama in this book was sparked from his pig-headed determination to not tell Liora why he was doing anything and causing her serious amounts of stress. Men *shakes heads in dismay*.

I thought Darius was interesting and he’s been compared a lot to the Darkling. He’s quite a conflicted character however and a fun one to bet on as to whether there is any good left in him or if he’s too far gone. He’s the part that makes up the almost-love triangle. As with her other series, we have the good boy, and the boy who once was good, both with a keen interest in the girl. And it’s a nail-biting time watching Liora learn more about them both and try to make the right decision every time one of them tries to trip her up, accidentally or not.

So if you’re looking for some light fantasy with some really interesting magic and a complicated love story, this is absolutely the one. The evil side of this story is really cool and I loved the objective of the characters that they followed throughout. You can’t go too far wrong with a Rutherford book.