LUMARA

Talia seemingly has it all: She’s homecoming queen and valedictorian and has a rich, handsome boyfriend...but all that means little when you have a life-threatening congenital heart problem.

Talia Morris wants to live—so desperately that she’s using every penny she’s saved to attend Mystic Con and have a private audience with Legendary Madame Hector in hopes that magic can mend what modern science could not. To Talia’s frustration, Madame Hector says there’s absolutely nothing wrong with her, souring her on Mystics. A year later, she’s gotten #BoycottMysticCon trending, and her dreamy boyfriend, Nathaniel Wood, wants to bring her home from their boarding school to meet his family. However, this comes with a dramatic revelation: Nate is a Mystic. Talia is understandably upset that he’s lied to her for the past year. Still, she eventually agrees to visit Lumara, his family’s private island and the only place where he’s able to do magic. Maybe his mother, the Grand Lumara, can heal her? But after arriving on Lumara, Talia has visions and passes out. Then a beautiful boy no one else can see starts appearing to her. This begins the unraveling of a long-buried family history. Readers quickly jump into this story, gaining a basic understanding of the magic; the author doesn’t go into much detailed worldbuilding. The writing is strong, although seasoned genre readers will likely figure everything out well before the dramatic ending that neatly ties up all the loose ends.

An enjoyably light and exciting read.