If you enjoy the Shadow and Bone series, I think you will enjoys this as I noticed quite a few similarities between the two stories. I found this to be an enjoyable story, reminiscent of a magical fairytale. There was magic and adventure with a good balance of drama and heartwarming moments throughout.

Luminous is yet another wonderful book by Rutherford. I really enjoyed the Crown of Coral and Pearl duology and I was unsurprised to find that I really enjoyed this one.

Luminous really tells the story of being unafraid of who you truly are and the duality of darkness & light, that without one you cannot have the other.

Rutherford has a way of writing strong, flawed, and kind female characters, of which their strength not only comes from within but from the connections made with others.

- realisation of self
- "the friends you make along the way"
- friends to lovers

This was a DNF at 50% for me. After slogging through a painfully slow start it appeared that the FMC was finally about to embark on a quest - this after 100+ pages of running around not doing much, and I just didn’t care enough to keep reading. Her skin literally glows yet she doesn’t realise she’s magical, she’s in love with her friend yet doesn’t do anything about it, supposedly loves her sisters but seemingly only thinks of herself.
The villain was comically overdrawn and I just wasn’t onboard with the world building - it was strangely flimsy and a touch inconsistent. I liked Rutherford’s previous books but this one was simply not up to par.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall I enjoyed this book. The plot was good, I liked most of the characters, and the worldbuilding was interesting. The reason why this was a three-star read for me and not a four-star one is that I felt like the story became less and less cohesive from about the mid-point of the book up to the end. It never fell apart completely, but the plot became less tight as it progressed.

Otherwise though this was a reasonably enjoyable book that I think would be a good introduction to fantasy for younger readers.

I will keep this short as I don’t think it fair to give a full review when I wasn’t overly involved in the story.

I think this is definitely more suited to 12-16 year olds. It’s a great early introduction into fantasy reading.
As an adult who has read many fantasy novels now, I struggled to relate or feel emotionally invested in the story.
That’s not to say, it won’t appeal to the age groups it’s aimed at.
Therefore, I won’t give a negative review, I’ll just say I got through it and immediately recommended it to my friends teenage daughter.

Thank you for the ARC.

If you loved the Shadow & Bone trilogy, then you will love this book. I don't like Shadow & Bone so if you squint real hard and tilt your head, its actually my own fault for not liking this book. I should have known better.

It is a great standalone for younger YA readers (13+) and deals with themes of belonging, hiding and becoming who you are, and juggles the topic of destiny vs personal autonomy.

Liora has spent her life in hiding. Hiding from the townspeople, from the king and his advisor Darius and the king's spies. Hiding from herself. She believes she must hide in order to feel safe and valued. She holds the weight of guilt and feels she is a burden to all those she loves, simply for being herself.

"I had known for quite some time that the beast Father feared most lived inside me."

Her fears come to fruition when Darius discovers her powers, and instead of taking her, he takes her sister. She must protect everyone she loves by doing as Darius says. Unfortunately, Darius plans are even more dangerous than Liora ever thought was possible and if she follows through, even more people will get hurt by her actions, or even worse, her inactions.

Darius power stems from oblivion. One touch and you cease to feel anything. No pain, no joy or fear. No emotion. Simply, nothing. His plan is for everyone to feel as empty as he does. He believes it is when they all feel nothing, will they all be at peace. A utopian kingdom.

Darius collects magic users. Regardless of the type of magic they hold within them, he will collect people with magical abilities and use them until they dry up. He scoured the land, and if you have some form of magic, you are either obtained (usually unwillingly) or... death.

Liora's ability is seemingly small. She simply glows, like a star, or moonlight. Her skin is bathed in a soft glow that can pierce the darkest of nights. Liora believes her worth is tied to her appearance. She has been told again and again she will be a prize to be collected by Darius if he finds her.

I wanted the second half of the book to just be about Liora on her journey to save Evran. It was intense, atmospheric and you felt the claustrophobia. The dark can hide so much and to successfully make the reader feel the dark and be afraid of what's in the dark was well executed. When Evran's mother made the decision to save Evran by putting Liora in danger, my heart fell into the pit of my stomach. I was shocked she would be so ruthless. I understand her motivation but there was definitely a better way, and it was not that.

Unfortunately, the story didn't end when Liora and Evran were out of the intense situation. The story went downhill from there. I was checked out and wasn't invested in any of the characters journeys. I was intrigued by Darius backstory and his relationship with Liora but the plot wasn't strong enough, nor the other relationships between the characters for me to be continually interested. The themes of this book felt very heavy handed, with little subtlety. The progression of character arcs of the side characters had no substance and felt hollow.

The last plot twist was interesting but not enough to make up for the last 50% of the book. I would love an epilogue but I doubt I will think about this book again after this. I'm unfazed and unaffected and that's probably the worst thing a book can do to you.

As the author says in her acknowledgements, "It takes a lot of bravery to accept the parts of ourselves we fear the most". Liora goes on a journey of acceptance but the journey felt incomplete with rushed moments and an uncanny resemblance to the Shadow & Bone trilogy. I have no idea if the author was to have a deliberate influence or if it was accidental. It's very possible I am seeing something that doesn't exist but the few similarities were enough for me to stop and reflect on them.

Would I recommend this book?
I think this book can appeal to people between the ages of 13-15, but it will read to old if someone 16+ reads it.

Will I re-read this book?
I don't think it's a book I will want to re-read in the future.

To say I enjoyed this would be an understatement and a half. What started out as a simple tale of magic, turned into so much more.

First off the magic system is weird but amazing at the same time. Each person has their own type of magic but they all sort of come back to some physical manifestation of emotion or ability. There's a weaver who brings her tapestries to life, a boy who can fold darkness so as to remain unseen, our protagonist gently shimmers and spreads light wherever she goes, while the villain of the piece can take it all away with a single touch.

Coming off the back of Kingdom of Sea and Stone, I was a little worried as to how this one would play out and whether I would be left demanding justice. Thankfully, it didn't turn out that way. The pacing was fairly spot on, although I do feel like it had that 'play in 3 acts' type feel - think Red Queen with its peaks and valleys, screenwriting vibe.

The characters were very loveable, including the villain who kind of reminded me of The Darkling but instead of being able to create shadows, he simply felt kinship with them. Liora, our main protagonist, seems very naive ( and kind of is due to being hidden away for most her life) in the beginning but fairly quickly catapults towards an understanding that her life is on the line once the reader hits what can only be described as the second act. She is both strong and vulnerable, a combination that could have come across as 'simple' but instead reads as a young woman finding her way in the world.

While I realise this is a standalone novel, I quite enjoyed the ending and how Rutherford has left it open should she ever wish to continue the narrative. Despite this openness, Luminous also manages to tie up the majority of loose ends throughout its overarching plot.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, quite a bit more than I expected. It's the perfect read for those who love Shadow and Bone, Starlight and basically any fantastical tale with strong heroines.

Luminous by Mara Rutherford is a magical fantasy story that unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy. It didn’t weave any magic for me and I found it a bit hard to finish.


Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for a copy to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me an eARC to review!

After enjoying Crown of Coral and Pearl (and Kingdom of Sea and Stone less so), I was looking forward to Rutherford's next book - and it helps the cover is gorgeous! It had some interesting elements - like the weaving magic - however I felt like Luminous didn't do anything I hadn't seen before in YA.

The elements were all there, but I was having a hard time connecting to the protagonist or the story in general. I felt like her relationship with Evran wasn't very fleshed out as they were already kind of together before the start of the book, so we missed out on falling in love with him with the protagonist, and I felt I never really saw what she saw in him? Both of them complained a lot about the possibly devastating impact of their power, however nothing ever really happened to make this fear justified for either of them. The villain Darius was underwhelming too, and I never felt like he was truly a threat as he was given a sad-boy backstory which undid all the terrible rumours about him. He never seemed like the cunning, powerful man who had been ruling the country under the King's nose for years (if not decades). I also felt the sister element which had been a big part of why I liked Crown of Coral and Pearl had been missing from this - even though there was content with the protagonist and her sisters, at times I felt she hated Mina and was frustrated with her childish nature, even though the protagonist wasn't very worldly (or much older) herself.

The comparison to Shadow and Bone also became stronger the further into the book I got. Girl with light magic + childhood best friend who she pines over are tasked by powerful man with void magic to find magical hoofed creatures in the snowy northern kingdom, and her magic is the only thing that can destroy the voids that threaten to engulf the country. Add more specific scenes like the protagonist having a dream reaching out to touch the creature she's supposed to kill, and Darius telling her that they are the only two who can understand each other and her grappling with whether he just wants her or her power, and it's very hard not to compare this to Bardugo's Grisha books (which I am a big fan of).

As I think it read a bit younger than the Grisha series, I think this might be good for younger YA readers who want a bit of fantasy, magic, and romance but nothing too intense or complex. However I think that readers who are more familiar with the genre may unfortunately find this lacking.

🌟Luminous - Mara Rutherford🌟
🌠 Hidden magic uncovered
💞 Friends to lovers
🕳 Light Vs Dark, Good Vs Evil
🐃 A journey to save the world
🕯From a cruel mage lord
💫 Some great twists

(ARC received in exchange for honest review at www.netgalley.com)

Liora has always had to hide her glowing light, for fear of being found and controlled by the mage Lord Darius. But when she is discovered her family is at risk, her true love is missing and 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. 🕳

I thought Luminous was a fast paced and smooth read - I was immediately drawn in to the world and fell in love with the characters. I enjoyed Liora and the exploration of her powers and her relationships with her sisters. I like that she was paractical and thought things through instead of blindly rushing headlong into things 🤔

Evran was an interesting character but while I enjoyed his relationship with Liora, I felt like we barely scratched the surface with him. I'm keen to know more about him, his powers and how they work. 💞

I liked how different types of magic existed (especially the weaving magic! Heck that was cool) but I would have loved it if this was explored more and the origins of magic explained. 🔮

The tension between magic and non-magic folk cause by a callous lord who hunts, takes their power and kills mages to keep control of them despite being one himself was a compelling if slightly expected backdrop to the story. 🧐

I really enjoyed the Lord Darius's character and thought he was well nuanced - I didn't trust him one iota, but also I wasn't sure he was 100% evil. 👌

This adventure to prevent the end of the world, reach ones potential and protect those one loves was enjoyable, and there were some great twists too. 👀

A really enjoyable young adult fantasy. I felt the book had a nice pace and would read again. I rate it a four out of five stars.

This book just wasn’t for me.
It wasn’t what I thought it was and I wasn’t taken with what I read.
I want to thank you for the chance to review this book and hope to work with you again in the future!

Luminous feels and reads like a classic YA novel. The romance, the action (propelled sometimes a little too conveniently), the terrible doom threat, the protection of the family, and a fight between light and darkness - quite literally despite what the main character, Liora would want. This will make many teens very dreamy, I'm sure.
The story is smooth but for some reason I personally couldn't get into it. I think it started in the wrong place somehow, it would have been much more competing for me if it foreshadowed the rest of the book a little more actively, rather than with thoughts from Liora. The focus is never quite where I would want it to be and halfway through the book I struggled a little to continue. I read a lot of fantasy so I don't look to be surprised anymore, but I want things to be a little different and this felt too conventional, it was missing a little personality spark in its heroes.

Luminous was definitely a captivating read. The characters were enjoyable and it was great to see Liora as a practical protagonist who actually thought about the situations she got into!
It was an easy read and the overall idea wasn’t that complex!
There were some disappointing elements, however.
The magic system and world-building were interesting, but I felt like it needed a little bit more depth.
The characters were interesting, however I do wish the romantic interests had more chemistry on paper. Whilst I do love a dark romance, the love interest was a good choice in comparison to the antagonist, but I found the relationship lacking.
Despite some parts that I would’ve like to see more of, it was still a fun read, and a classic YA fantasy!!