Illumine (Illumine #1) by Alivia Anders

Synopsis (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 Thoughts: While there were a few parts of this book that felt a little jumbled and could have used a bit more explanation, the overriding story arc of a girl who has been kept in the dark as to who she is or what she can do and has to seek advice from a creature that has tormented her nightmares is compelling. Essie has no idea what she's capable of. She has no clue what the future holds for her as her odd powers begin to manifest. She's haunted by visions of death and the very creature that butchered her boyfriend in front of her is the only one willing to give her answers.

Essie's confusion over this sudden power she has is understandable. Part of me was a bit confused about how she went from terrified of Kayden to trusting him to help her. While I admittedly can see that he's the only one offering up any answers, I don't think I could ever trust someone who had devoured someone in front of me in a very messy and brutal manner (as opposed to those that eat people daintily and entirely humanely, right?). Still, he does come through when the chips are down and he finds a way to show her what she is, so there is that.

The events at the end of the book took me by surprise and I'm curious as to how Essie will work her way out of the situation she finds herself in.

More books by Alivia Anders

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Illumine was provided for review.