Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: April 29, 2014
Blurb: Within the walls of a centuries-old building lies the magical Library of Illumination, a place where books literally come to life. 17-year-old Johanna Charette is the youngest curator ever chosen to oversee the day-to-day operation of the library and she knows, in case of trouble, having an assistant can be invaluable, so she hires 16-year-old Jackson Roth to give her a hand. Jackson gets off to a rocky start, but manages to prove his mettle. Besides, he’s kind of cute and a lot of fun.
Johanna is charming and brilliant—and a natural born leader. She keeps the library operating on an even keel. Jackson is clever and intrepid. He relies on his wits to keep them out of danger when trouble arises. Unfortunately, his derring-do is one of the reasons why they sometimes find themselves in awkward situations. So it shouldn’t be any surprise when his wanton curiosity sparks a journey to a distant realm, where they end up with front row seats in a battle against an ancient foe.
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Review: A library where an open book can come to life and illuminate your imagination, who wouldn't love that! Johanna is stuck in a dead-end job, the only good thing is that she gets to work with books. When she is asked to make a special delivery to the strange Library of Illumination, she sees way more than she bargains for. Since Johanna seems to be the only one to gain entrance to the Library, she gets more deliveries to the library and gets to know the curator, Mal. Mal trains Johanna to take care of the abundance of books and all the wonders that they contain. As Johanna gains confidence as the new curator and begins to work with curator-in-training, Jackson, she will find plenty of adventure within the books themselves as well as the magical library.
I absolutely loved the concept of The Library of Illumination! Who wouldn't want a chance to see some of their favorite scenes from books spring to life? Or have a chat with some famous (or infamous) people and characters? Johanna's character is intelligent, loyal and most of all, a lover of books. For a woman of eighteen, her character is very mature and shows great problem solving skills whenever she or Jackson gets into a bind. I'm on the fence a bit about Johanna and Jackson's romance right now, it seems a little forced, but it might grow on me. The adventures that can take place in the Library of Illumination are limitless, Cassanova was my favorite and I wish he could have stayed in the Library longer, despite his womanizing ways. I also loved the ideas of the portals, eleven more Libraries of Illumination in different realms. I wish they all could have been explored.
C. A. PACK, author of Code Name: Evangeline, Evangeline’s Ghost, and the Library of Illumination novelettes, is an award-winning journalist and former television news anchor/writer from Long Island, New York.
Website: www.chroniclesthelibraryofillumination.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/libraryofillumination
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohannaCharette
Blog: www.carolpack.com/blog/index.php
Any Others: www.pinterest.com/carolpack/library-of-illumination/
“What’s this? Jackson asked, picking up a book that sat by itself on a bottom shelf. A thick layer of dust obscured the cover. “Did you leave this book down here?”
“What book?”
He opened the book to a random page to see what it was about. Dracula suddenly loomed over him, blood dripping from his mouth. “Uhhh ...!” Jackson’s scream did not get past his throat.
Dracula moved in for the kill. The teen managed to slam the book shut just as the vampire’s teeth made contact with his skin.
“What are you doing?” Johanna poked her head around the corner of the shelf and spotted the blood on Jackson’s neck. She looked down and recognized the volume of Dracula by Bram Stoker and winced. “We must have missed that one. Are you all right?”
Jackson swiped at his neck.
“Come with me.” Johanna led him to the circulation desk. She took out a first-aid kit and cleaned away the blood with an antiseptic wipe.
“Am I ...?”
“It’s just a surface wound.” She wrapped the bloody wipe in a tissue and threw it in the wastebasket. “You’re going to live ... but not forever.”
Jackson sighed with relief. “You know, when my mother used to patch me up, she would kiss it to make it better.” He raised his eyebrows and grinned at her.
“If you got hurt working for Larry at Once A-Pawn A Time, would you ask him to kiss it to make it better?”
“You really know how to hurt me.”
Johanna laughed. She leaned in and lightly kissed Jackson’s neck.
He could feel the hairs along his nape tingle.
“All better?” she asked.
He merely nodded, too stunned to answer.