Enlightened, Volume 2

Book Two of The Light Tamer Trilogy

By: Devyn Dawson

Narrated by: Julia Thomas

Jessie Lucente, a Light Tamer, has started her junior year at Parca Academy in New Bern, NC. She has a new boyfriend, Caleb Baldwin. He is beyond good looking, he is her mate for life. They've been bound by the light and will rule and heal with it too. Her new classes aren't what she expected. Finding out the school is filled with 'gifted' kids is almost too much to comprehend. She finds out what it really means to be a Light Tamer. Some of the assumptions she had are debunked and now everything is crystal clear...well, clear as mud. Now that she is enlightened with the facts, she struggles with the truth.

Thorne Woodson has all of the girls swooning. His Doc Martens and hoodie stand out against his school uniform. He might be the guy to heal Amber's broken, grieving heart. What's his story, and why does he appear everywhere Jessie is? He has a secret that will change the game for everyone. Who is he in cahoots with?

Amber starts her junior year with a bang and a huge crush. She has a point to prove on the first day of school. She refuses to let everyone believe she went soft over summer break. Her shenanigans end with detention on the first day. The anniversary of her brother's death has her making dumb decisions but her friends have her back. Jessie will struggle to help Amber deal with the grief.

The secrets that have been revealed by Fate will leave Jessie in a new role. It will all come down to bloodline versus logic. She must step up and embrace her new title, and life on the other side of the shimmer. With her small army together, they promise to vanquish Nyx back to the Underworld and seal the portal she came through.

The second book in The Light Tamer trilogy will answer the questions that are burning in your head. A beautiful tale of first love and friendship. Be prepared to be amazed at the twist in this story. You didn't see it coming, but you'll be glad it did!

©2012 Stefanie Dawson (P)2013 Stefanie Dawson

Review: Enlightened, by Devyn Dawson

Having finished book 1, The Light Tamer, recently, I was compelled to check out Enlightened, as well. As with the first book, there was an intrigue to see what Dawson has in store for these characters and for the light tamer mythology.

In Enlightened, there’s more time given to reveal more about the light tamers and the way things work, than in book 1. Eventually, the explanations get more complicated by throwing in some other things (which I won’t spoil), shedding new light on what’s really going on for Jessie and her friends. I can feel that there’s a conflict building up for book 3, though, there wasn’t really a main conflict in this book at all.

In a way, with reading book 1 and 2 so close together, I get the feeling that they could be put together in one book, and possibly the 3rd (not released as of writing this review) might fit into that combination as well. There’s a bit more to this book than the first, but still I felt there was enough for there to be just one stronger more fleshed out book.

The reader will need to suspend their beliefs to a higher extent than I’m used to for some aspects of this book. For reasons, that I won’t reveal, I was again left with the feeling that these 15 and 16 year old characters are written as if they are young adults (in the real world sense of 18 & 19 year olds, not the literary world’s definition) and not like more realistic 15/16 year olds. I understood that this series was written for a YA audience, yet, I felt as if, while the writing suites the genre well, the characters and situations didn’t fit the ages well.

As mentioned just above, this book is most likely to please a YA reader. I think the style would to be a younger reader’s liking and they’ll be able to relate to it well. Again, the insta-love didn’t sit well, as it’s explained away with the wave of a hand. But it still fits the rest of the book’s flow. All-in-all it was another enjoyable, fast, read. I’m sure I’ll grab book three when it’s released so I can finish the story, that’s only in its infancy with book 1 and 2. I have a feeling more will take place throughout the next book, and it might help me appreciate the previous books, as well.