Lumara

by Melissa Landers

Overview

The answers lie within.

Boarding school student Talia Morris has no idea her boyfriend, Nathaniel, is a Mystic, let alone second in line to the throne of a secretive, aspirational magical community—one no mortal has ever been allowed to step inside. Until now. Nathanial’s cousin is about to be married in the biggest wedding the magical world has ever seen, and Nathaniel is allowed to bring a date. Even though Talia thinks Mystic worship unnecessarily aggrandizes people for being born a certain way, she loves Nathaniel. So when he begs her to give his family and their community a shot, she reluctantly agrees.

Enter the most fantastical world any mortal has ever seen, and a magical wedding straight out of a dream. After a few days of bonding with Nathaniel’s family on the island, of seeing how beautiful their magic is and how peaceful their community, Talia’s about to be won over—until the entire wedding party suddenly falls into an unexplainable coma and the community goes on lockdown. Talia, the outsider, is pegged as the culprit and has to do everything in her meager non-power to prove her innocence. As she embarks on a journey to find the truth, Talia soon discovers reality is not all it seems, and her past may put her in more danger than she ever imagined.

In this captivating YA fantasy, Talia must solve a multigenerational mystery and break a curse, all while being torn between making her family proud and regaining the trust of the boy she loves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368076562
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	489,215
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn't afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her embarrassed kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Milford Ohio, where she writes romantic space adventures for teens and the young at heart.

Editorial Reviews

10/17/2022

Ever since 17-year-old Talia was scammed out of her savings by a Mystic healer who failed to cure her of the same congenital heart condition that killed her mother, she’s spoken out against the magical society that coexists alongside nonmagical people. Then her boyfriend Nathaniel invites her to a family wedding, and reveals that he’s from a Mystic community based on a hidden, private island called Lumara. Upset but willing to put her anger aside, Talia plans to use this rare glimpse into the secretive Mystic world to her advantage by asking Nathaniel’s mother for help with her heart condition. Once on Lumara, however, Talia is haunted by visions of a ghost boy, and when she’s accused of cursing the wedding party, she contends with angry Mystics while trying to prove her innocence. And when she discovers a terrible truth that links her family to Nathaniel’s, she realizes that if she doesn’t break the curse, more innocent lives may be lost, including her own. In this unpredictable magical mystery, Landers (Blastaway) conjures an intriguing, alluring magical society against a supernatural backdrop to examine the power of grief, the toll of revenge, and the cost of generational secrets. Ages 12–up. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2022

Gr 7 Up—This novel is set in a world where some are born Mystics and have the ability to use magic. Talia Morris has a heart condition and empties her bank account on a quest to have a powerful Mystic heal her. When this turns out to be a farce, Talia's distrust of Mystics makes her an activist against magic until she learns that her boyfriend of a year, Nathaniel Wood, has been keeping a secret—he is a Mystic. Pushing the betrayal aside, Talia accepts Nate's invitation to attend his cousin's prestigious wedding on Lumara, a well-concealed, magical island where Nate's mother is the Grand Lumara. Talia hopes that Lillian Wood will be powerful enough to cure her condition. However, once Talia arrives on Lumara, strange dreams and ghostly visitors indicate that Talia and the island are connected in surprising ways. When the wedding party suddenly collapses into an inexplicable coma, Talia is suspected as the culprit, and the circumstances shed light on both Talia and the Wood family that unravel a web of lies, murder, and dark magic. After many twists and turns, readers also discover that Talia is not who she says she is. Landers's novel is well-paced and balances a plot-driven narrative and fully developed characters. Readers will love this mystery exploring magic, romance, grief, and revenge. VERDICT A perfect magic-filled page-turner, this is an ideal read-alike for fans of Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, and Cassandra Clare.—Linsey Milillo

School Library Journal

2022-09-14
Talia seemingly has it all: She’s homecoming queen and valedictorian and has a rich, handsome boyfriend...but all that means little when you have a life-threatening congenital heart problem.

Talia Morris wants to live—so desperately that she’s using every penny she’s saved to attend Mystic Con and have a private audience with Legendary Madame Hector in hopes that magic can mend what modern science could not. To Talia’s frustration, Madame Hector says there’s absolutely nothing wrong with her, souring her on Mystics. A year later, she’s gotten #BoycottMysticCon trending, and her dreamy boyfriend, Nathaniel Wood, wants to bring her home from their boarding school to meet his family. However, this comes with a dramatic revelation: Nate is a Mystic. Talia is understandably upset that he’s lied to her for the past year. Still, she eventually agrees to visit Lumara, his family’s private island and the only place where he’s able to do magic. Maybe his mother, the Grand Lumara, can heal her? But after arriving on Lumara, Talia has visions and passes out. Then a beautiful boy no one else can see starts appearing to her. This begins the unraveling of a long-buried family history. Readers quickly jump into this story, gaining a basic understanding of the magic; the author doesn’t go into much detailed worldbuilding. The writing is strong, although seasoned genre readers will likely figure everything out well before the dramatic ending that neatly ties up all the loose ends.

An enjoyably light and exciting read. (Fantasy. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews