AimeeKay's Reviews & Other Awesome Randomness!: L is for Lumiere by Jacqueline E. Garlick

Lumiere

Amazon Summary:

One determined girl. One resourceful boy. One miracle machine that could destroy everything.

After an unexplained flash shatters her world, seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth sets out to find the Illuminator, her father’s prized invention. With it, she hopes to cure herself of her debilitating seizures before Professor Smrt—her father’s arch nemesis—discovers her secret and locks her away in an asylum.

Pursued by Smrt, Eyelet locates the Illuminator only to see it whisked away. She follows the thief into the world of the unknown, compelled not only by her quest but by the allure of the stranger—Urlick Babbit—who harbors secrets of his own.

Together, they endure deadly Vapours and criminal-infested woods in pursuit of the same prize, only to discover the miracle machine they hoped would solve their problems may in fact be their biggest problem of all.

A young adult coming of age steampunk fantasy, steeped in myth, filled with action and adventure, magic and romance, and swashbuckling historical intrigue.

My Review:

So I have to apologize. Not for the book, but for the fact that I've had so many awesome books to review for the A to Z challenge so far. I know weird reason to apologize right? Well from my point of view it just seems that I've started to sound like a broken record.

"OMG! I LOVE THIS BOOK!"

"I LOVE THE CHARACTERS!"

"I LOVE THE STORY!"

blah, blah, blah. I really am starting to feel guilty that I say the same things over and over. But in my defense it's not my fault that there are so many great authors out there these days and I just happen to be lucky enough to read them.

Why am I saying this now? Because once again I've found an awesome author that did an amazing job. So if any of my review sounds repetitive I apologize in advance. Just please understand that when I say I loved a book it means I loved the book! And there are only so many combinations of words that I feel comfortable using to say what I loved. Also trust that if I didn't love a book or if I loved it but there were issues or things I didn't love I won't shy from saying so. Feel free to look through my other reviews on my blog. Not all of the books I've reviewed have hit it out of the park for me. I've had my share of 3 star novels. Heck I've even had my share of 1's and 2's. But fortunately for my brain, and unfortunately for my reviews because they tend to become repetitive, the majority recently have all been 4's or above. So please don't hate me. Instead, look at it this way, at least you have a chance to find some awesome authors and books. Which is honestly way more enjoyable for me than having to tell you that a book you just spent money on is only going to disappoint you.

So without further ado here is my review of Lumiere. (And if the above wasn't enough of a warning, yes I loved it!)

I really enjoyed Lumiere. I literally wouldn't put it down and finished it in one sitting. The book pulled me in from the first and I didn't want it to end.

Let's start with the characters. Although sometimes their actions made me want to scream it was only because I could see what they both could not since the story is told from both Eyelet and Urlick's perspectives. I just wanted to lock them both in a room and not let them out til they admitted the truth to each other. The fact that I wanted to do that is a good thing though. It means the author got me to actually care about her characters.

Then there's the world that Garlick has put her characters in. Yes, I will say right now that not all of it's mysteries are revealed by the end. *SIGH* If there is any flaw it's that this is a series so the book had to end without that happening. But I forgive the author that flaw simply because I know I will get to dive right back in with the next book. Also I love all the intricate inventions she has had her characters create. Some are completely mechanical, like the crows that guard the gate to the school, while others have a soul of their own. But that is the beauty in having magic be a part of a steampunk world, the most amazing things can happen. The fact that one of my favorite characters is also an invention with it's own soul....yea that's definitely a win. ****Spoiler Alert (and yes it's kinda a big one)**** That bike also broke my heart! But that says a lot about the authors writing ability. Seriously she got me to fall in love with a character that doesn't even actually talk!! She made me cry because of that stupid bike. Really not fair! IT's a friggin' bike!!! And yes I needed to put in that fact if only to convey exactly how far into the story that Garlick dragged me. I became attached to a bike. ****End Spoiler Alert****

The story itself was great too. I read A LOT. That being said there are some things I come to expect. Sorry it's not anything against any authors out there but it's the truth. I'm not saying it's a bad thing either. It's just the truth. Yes, there were some things that happened in Lumiere that I kinda saw coming. But not in a bad way. Somethings you want to happen in a book and it's a good thing when they do. On the other hand there were a few things I didn't expect. However even if I didn't expect them that doesn't mean that I didn't like them. Ok except for that part about the bike making me cry. Nope didn't like that. But I do get it was part of the story and without it the book wouldn't be the same so I won't hold it against the book or the author.

Overall Lumiere had everything. Romance, Action, Adventure, Suspense, and a whole lot of mystery.The author did a great job of weaving it all together. I laughed. I cried. I cried even harder when I realized the book was over and I didn't have the next one on hand to start reading!!! Ok...so I didn't literally cry when the book ended, but I really was sad that it did. I definitely recommend picking this one up. It's a solid start to what looks to be a really interesting series. I can't wait to see where the author takes it.

Also as an interesting side note....If you happen to have a kindle copy of Lumiere go check out the cover. I noticed what one might call an Easter Egg at the beginning of the book. Or maybe it's just my copy and my kindle is haunted. I had it on the cover so I could get the spelling of the authors name right and I tapped the screen to go to the next page and instead of the next page it showed the cover again....But I swear, SWEAR!, that it did one of those optical illusions and you could see Eyelet's skeleton... I even had other people look at it and they said they saw it too. (No I didn't tell them what I saw before I did it.)

Now this makes perfect sense if you've read the book. So if it's an Easter Egg put in there by the author I have to say WAY COOL!!! I mean that takes a lot of dedication to do that for the cover on an e-copy. If it were a holographic thing on a print copy, yea that's something everyone sees...but the e-copy...I have to say that I rarely go to look at the cover of a book on my Kindle once I've started reading it. So to put that in I'd have to give the author mad props for it. Cause it's really neat.

If it's not...yea well...then my kindle is messing with me, probably because I have so many books on it that every time I open it I get that little pop up message saying it doesn't even have room to take any notes or anything AND I probably shouldn't let it connect to the internet anymore....yeah....kindle takes over the world...so don't want that blamed on me.

But if you happen to have a copy of Lumiere go check it out and let me know if you see it too. I'd love to know if I'm the only one!