Book Review: Illuminate by Aimee Agresti + Giveaway!

Series: Gilded Wings #1

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Genre: Paranormal

Page count: 531

Source: Received ARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release date: March 6 2012

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.     As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel? 

My Review

In the spirit of Dorian Gray, Illuminate by Aimee Agresti is an enchanting and mysterious look into the battle between good and evil in oneself.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I found that there was a lot of mystery and intrigue. Although some facts were obvious (Outfit = bad, Haven = good), many other things were more ambiguous and allowed for more than a few surprises along the way. I also loved the action in this book. Some actual butt-kicking takes place and I loved it! What can I say I'm an action movie fan – I like to see the good guys stickin it to the bad guys.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my review this book is very much in the spirit of Dorian Gray. I'm a huge Oscar Wilde fan so this was another big plus for me. Haven has a special ability to expose what's in a person's soul (particularly when she takes a photo of them). This skill is unbeknownst to her at first and she takes a series of portraits of the Outfit. What happens to the pictures is quite gruesome and if you've read Dorian Gray the similarities won't be lost on you.

Weighing in at 531 pages this is one hefty book. I know a few people have thought it is too long but I was grateful for the amount of detail put into it. Because of its length we get to see more of Haven's training, we get to see more of the inner workings of the Outfit and we get to see more Lance. Seriously, I love this boy. He's sweet, smart, likes to read. At one point he's compared to Clark Kent. Definitely a winner in my books.

I had a lot of fun getting lost in this book so if you're a fan of YA paranormal and/or fantasy books I definitely recommend you check this one out.

About the Author

Aimee Agresti is an entertainment journalist with ten years of experience writing, editing, and chatting up celebrities. A former staff writer for Us Weekly magazine, she has interviewed everyone from Angelina Jolie and George Clooney to the stars of The Hills, and even penned the magazine’s coffee table book Inside Hollywood. In addition to Us, her work has appeared in People, Premiere, DC Magazine, The Washington Post, Boston magazine, Women’s Health, Mademoiselle, and the New York Observer. She lives in Washington, DC.

Similar Titles

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Giveaway!

Thanks to the lovely people at Thomas Allan Canada I have one finished copy of Illuminate to give away. (It's so shiny!!). All you have to do is answer the following question and fill out the Rafflecopter:

"Haven's biggest desire is to become a doctor and cure cancer. What would you ask for if tempted by the Outfit?"

*Sorry this giveaway is Canadian only.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway