Monday, September 14, 2015

Lumiere by Jacqueline E. Garlick

Eyelet's world changed the night of the Great Illumination.

Not only did she lose one of the two people she could trust not to betray her but, following the great flash, her world was plunged into a seemingly eternal twilight.

Now, years later, Eyelet's world changed again as her mother is sentenced to die for a crime of which she is innocent while Eyelet finds herself convicted for the crime of being her daughter. On the run with dangers inside and out, will Eyelet find the safety she seeks?

Actually I'm not sure on that last one because - Trilogy alert! On a side note, am I the only one who finds discovering recently published trilogies bittersweet? Sweet as you get the joy of devouring a book without spoilers and bitter because answers are in yet to be found books 2 and 3 (okay, okay I may be a bit impatient).



Lumiere  is book 1 of 3 in The Illumination Paradox series, written by Jacqueline E. Garlick. Focusing on the characters of Eyelet and Urlick the mysterious man Eyelet meets while escaping from the upper class Brethren.

What I liked:

I found myself increasingly drawn to Garlick's characters - especially as the supporting cast allowed readers access to different facets of Eyelet and Urlick.

Urlick's initially offsetting manner was tempered by Iris who quickly became a personal favourite once she revealed her surprisingly feisty and loyal personality where as C.L and Pan helped soften Eyelet and give her depth where it was needed. Actually, upon reflection I think Pan was a brilliant addition to the cast and I'm excited to see how she plays into the next two books (since I hate spoilers and Pan has a doozy that's all I'll say).

The world was also fascinating in its potential. The ranked society has always proven a fabulous playground for my imagination and the contrast between the Brethren, the Gears and the follies not to mention the secretive Limpidious. Garlick did a great job setting up the later two areas to be potentially important plot points that I would love to see revealed.

I think that's one thing I appreciated the most in this book. Garlick has hinted and wonderfully teased out clues for which features will be important later in the series. Where some trilogies I've read feel barely connected, Lumiere feels almost sadly incomplete at times as characters and mysterious are (hopefully) temporarily discarded until the characters catch up to wear the reader's knowledge has allowed them to go.

Things I didn't like:

I was sad not to see more of Sebastian. He seemed like a great little character and had a lot of potential as an ally for Eyelet in an area where she has few. I would easily revise Sebastian to a plus if he reappears later :)

My only other question with the book was the turned. Now, admittedly Lumiere does not allow us to go beyond the characters understanding of the vapours. However, the criminally while the criminals were a suitably creepy foe and the Brigsman were a natural foe from the Brethren. The Turned just didn't hit me in the same way. They seemed almost too fantastical for their preferred method of dealing with their prey.

In the end, I found Lumiere to be a solid introduction to Garlick's world and will be interested to see how this story unfolds

4 out of 5 stars

I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for my honest opinion.


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