Luminaire

by Ciye Cho

[Angie]

Florence Waverly is to mermaids, what Unearthly is to angels for me: the exception in a lackluster genre. Seriously, Luminaire has restored my faith in mermaids. While I thought the first book was fun and cute, this one was even better! Even though it's been awhile since I read the first book, I was never lost or confused. The author does an amazing job of reminding us of the important points without them feeling out of place or info-dumping. He also fills us in on some of the events that happened between books, but aren't necessarily important, just cute to see.

At the beginning of Luminaire, Florence is still struggling to find her place in Niemela. Many of the merfolk don't think she belongs, while others believe she's a magnet for the Darkness. Despite this, Florence is determined to stay and fit in. Her best friend Princess Yolee is also having trouble finding where she belongs, but the upcoming Life Path Tournament may just solve both of their problems. If they can pass the qualifier challenges, and Prince Nolan would rather have Florence return to the surface than enter.

Speaking of Rolan...gosh he's a jerk this time around! He blows Florence off at every possible moment, even when she's planned him a spectacular Hatchday (mermaid equivalent of a birthday) celebration! She just wants to talk to him, but he can't spare her a single moment. Then he has the audacity to try to stop her from finding a life path! Thankfully we get a few interludes from his perspective that give a little clarification to his abrupt personality shift. I'm totally rooting for this these two, despite the whole soul stealing thing.

Now back to the plot. The Life Path Tournament is awesome. Florence, Yolee, and the other novices all enter a maze full of challenges related to the life path that they wish to enter. There's also lots of danger lurking in each of the chambers that the novices must fight their way through. Florence had been having visions of Darkness to come and the only way to fight it is within the maze. I was very proud of how brave Florence was, and how she took a kind of leadership role during the tournament. There's a few new creatures introduced, the most memorable being the Mermidors. Holy crap, they are creepy! I wouldn't want to cross one!

Luminaire is an awesome sequel to Florence. It has more action, a little romance, and lots of world building. I am absolutely in love with this world, and Luminaire gives us so much more information. We of course get to see the amazing Oceanarium, plus the different Life Paths are explained, and new characters are introduced. One of my favorite scenes involves a simple, yet slightly insulting, explanation as to how Florence is able to speak Meridian! The ending was very cute and happy, until the last page. I was like "no way!" Now I cannot wait for the third book!