Review: Illumine by Alivia Anders

Illumine by Alivia Anders 

book review



Title: Illumine

Author: Alivia Anders

Source: ebook from author for review

goodreads...

For the past five months Essallie Hanley has been trying to forget about the frightening murder of her boyfriend. Haunted by vivid nightmares and hallucinations of the event she does anything she can to pretend she's like every other normal girl in High School.

Only Essallie is far from normal. Able to conjure blue fire and a shimmering silhouette of wings from her body, she seeks the only known solace left to her name; her first home in Belfast, Maine.

But she soon realizes that her return home is only the beginning of a long and twisted road taking her as far from her humanity as possible, with Kayden, the demon originally summoned to slaughter her, leading the way. Unable to touch her but oddly curious, he joins Essallie in her search to find out just what she is. But neither of them were prepared for the secrets they've begun to unravel, secrets that will change Essallie and everyone around her forever.

My take...

Essallie is back at her family home in Maine, trying to forget a terrifying night that left her wondering if she is following in her mother's footsteps and headed for the sanatorium. The night in question is when a demon who was summoned to kill her, actually consumes her boyfriend in front on her. He tells her he will be back for her. Ok things like this don’t really happen, right? So why does she see him at different times? Is he really there or is it all her imagination?

But soon, everyone at her new school sees the demon, and he has a name…Kayden. And with his sudden arrival at school, Essie begins to notice she produces fire in her hands. For a girl trying to be normal Essie is the poster child for How Not To Fly Under The Radar. What is Essallie and can she trust Kayden to find the answers?

Illumine started out a little rough for me, apparently I was given an uncorrected ARC. But I made the most of it and really enjoyed the whole storyline. I believe the 2nd half of the book was by far my favorite where so much happens and so many secrets are starting to come out. Not everything gets resolved; in fact more questions get raised than answered, making a way for book 2.

I also found myself falling for a certain character that at first comes off as evil, only to start redeeming himself halfway in. Yeah I see hope for him and Essie in the next book of the series, Obumbrate. I am so eager to find out who the stranger is at the end of the book and find out if Essie will be ok. For Anders’ debut book, Illumine was a good read that kept my interest. So if you’re looking for a fast supernatural read, this one is perfect!