Luminous (Lucid #2) by Kristy Fairlamb + Guest Post

Luminous by Kristy Fairlamb is a YA Paranormal story and the sequel to Lucid!

“It was meant to be a good decision.
Lucy Piper used her dreams to irreversibly change the life of someone she loved. It was a heartbreaking choice, but the right one. Now she’s alone, wading through a life she can no longer remember.

What if you made the wrong choice?
As Lucy bears the full weight of her decision, she discovers her actions have had far-reaching consequences beyond anything she could’ve imagined. When she’s faced with a betrayal that makes her question everything she thought to be true, she becomes even more determined to make everything right.

How do you know when you’ve gone too far?
Afraid of an uncertain future, Lucy must work to repair everything she’s destroyed. But there’s something else she must mend, the infinite chasm between her and the one person who always made everything right – Tyler. But what if it’s too late? And what if fixing things only does more damage?”

Please note that this book is a part of a duology, and the first book, Lucid, needs to be read first.

If you enjoyed the first book, you’ll need to see how it all ends in this packed, emotional conclusion that brings the whole thing together. But, it’s not just a typical sequel, but instead expands on the other half of the story.

If the idea of dreams, time, powers, and a hint of romance intrigues you, this series would be a great addition to your shelves.

As I enjoyed the initial story a little more than this one, I gave this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. The world combines a paranormal/fantasy magical system within a contemporary world. There are even hints of action-packed, suspenseful mysteries which create a well-written, page-turning story.

Published: 25 May 2020

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Pages: 306

How I Read It: eBook from the Author

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review. All of my reviews contain my honest opinions only and are not influenced I any way.*

Guest Post with the Author

“Writing my own death in my novel” – Kristy Fairlamb

“All of the dreams Lucy has in Lucid & Luminous are completely fictitious, except for one. Most of them came from listening and watching the news, or simply imagining worst case scenarios. From those tragic stories we hear and immediately think ‘if only’, or ‘what if?’

I didn’t originally put this event into Luminous, any of my early beta readers won’t have read a version where this scene (this dream) was in it. I included this during one of my edits, when I knew I needed to place another dream into a particular section of the book. I did what I’d done for all my dream ideas, tried to think of something incredibly tragic to turn into words and make Lucy’s life miserable. This time I pulled something directly out of my own life.

There was an incident from when I was younger that stuck with me long after the night it occurred and was probably one of the threads that helped weave the idea of this story into being.

When I was about fourteen, I came within inches of being hit by a car and potentially being thrown over the side of a bridge onto train tracks below. I don’t know how the car missed me, I just know how incredibly lucky I was that it did. Was there some higher being at work that night? An angel nearby? Or perhaps a sixteen-year-old girl named Lucy saw it in her dream and redreamed me an alternate ending.

But before Lucy can redream anything, she needs to see the tragedy. And so before I could be saved, I had to die. It was kind of bizarre, but kind of fun, to write the death of a character written directly after myself. I’m not sure what kind of person that makes me, but there you have it.

Here’s part of the dream where Lucy is standing on the bridge watching a tragedy that was almost my own once upon a time.

The blast of the horn pierced the silent night, and the silver light gained on us, growing, blinding me. The freight train flew under us, the rush of wind throwing my hair behind me. Adrenaline pulsed through me, a grin taking over my face, fully understanding the
desire to come out for this.

The four teens whooped and squealed with laughter. I shifted my attention to the woman behind us, her shoulders shaking as she joined in the merriment.

My hair blew in front of me and as I collected it up to return my face to the blowing wind, I caught sight of a car stopped in the middle of the road a short distance away, its headlights lighting the road in front of it. I stepped away from the side of the bridge to get a better view. It hadn’t parked, it’d just stopped. How weird. What was it doing?

The last of the train rumbled under the bridge and the wind died down, the laughter still spilling into the night. The group turned and spread out as they lazily made their way across the bridge back to the car. I balled my hands into fists, planted to the spot. Everyone else too high on adrenaline to detect any imminent danger.

The stopped car sped forward, gravel spinning as the accelerator hit the floor, the car aiming straight for the group. The mother turned toward the light and back to the kids. ‘Look out!’

They scattered all over, and the car veered left, toward the edge of the bridge, where the long-haired girl had darted for her escape. She widened her eyes and tried to jump away, but she had nowhere to go. I lurched forward, sprinting to reach her as the car slammed into her body, flung it onto the bonnet and, threw her over the crumbling edge of the barricade. I rammed my chest into the stone wall as she landed with a thwack onto the tracks below.

I shook my head, anguish twisting in my guts. ‘Oh God, no.’

The car sat immobile as wails sounded around me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her disjointed and unmoving body. The car groaned to life again, and I spun as it kicked up the dirt and reversed away, as if removing itself from the guilt of what it’d done. Two black shadows sat in the front seats, and before anyone had a chance to stop them, they drove
away.”