Title: Luminous

Author: Jasmine Angell

Series: The Psyne Series (#1)

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Saga Ventures, LLC

Release Date: Aug 12 2013

Editions/Formats Available In: eBook

Blurb/Synopsis:

What would you do if the world you loved was taken from you forever?

...and what would you sacrifice to get it back?

Magical, Mythical, Mesmerizing…

A powerful race of beings lives and works among us and we don’t even know it. To us, they are known as mermaids, sirens and water nymphs, but they call themselves the Psyne. They have lived on Earth since ancient times, wield powerful magic and have only one weakness—love.

When Psyne suddenly start disappearing around the globe, the remaining aquatars are evacuated to their home world and a ban is placed on Earth. Ilauria, a devoted servant to the Psyne Council, can’t abide abandoning the missing eight, and with the help of her long-time friend, Shivan, and a subversive member of the Venvian Psyne named Adante, she embarks on a harrowing rescue mission to uncover who or what is powerful enough to subdue her kind.

What Ilauria discovers will cause her to question her loyalties, re-examine her dual nature, and will shake the very foundations of the truths her society holds dear.

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Review Rating: 4 LIGHTNING BOLTS

Review: I've got a thing about mermaid books. Love them! I don't see enough of them. Luminous is an intriguing new spin on the classic types of stories we've seen. The details are rich, the world building very well done. This story has twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. The characters are well done and intriguing. I couldn't get enough of this story! I'm very interested to see what else this author has. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, I pick up Luminous and get a pleasant surprise!

About the Author

Jasmine was born in Tucson, Arizona, the oldest of two children. She spent her teen years living in Phoenix, Arizona and then attended the University of Arizona in Tucson where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing. She married and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where her husband attended graduate school at the University of Utah. There she adopted a love for the changing seasons, snowboarding and the beauty of the mountains.

She spent several years working on a literary novel but found her heart wasn’t in it. Finally she quit her day job to write full time and embraced her life-long love of fantasy fiction. She wrote Luminous, the first novel in the Psyne series (pronounced "sign") and followed it up with the sequel, Prism, due out the summer of 2014. With a third series novel in the works and no end in sight, Jasmine will be spending a great deal of time in the Psyne Universe over the next several years. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she loves to horseback ride, dance, make elaborate costumes just for the fun of it, and is always planning her next decadent tea party.

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Excerpt THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BAHREE

“Who are the Bahree?” Gavin asked.

“Shivan can tell you,” Adante said pointedly but the mentor didn’t react to her suggestive tone.

“They are a secret sect of Psyne whose identities are kept hidden from society,” Shivan said throwing a warning glance at Adante. “They are sanctioned by the Council to hunt down Psyne who’ve chosen to become human in order to stay with the one they love.”

“Defectors,” Adante said distastefully.

Shivan continued. “They bring them back to our home world—”

“Where they’re banned from our society, never to be seen or heard from again,” Adante finished.

“That’s kind of harsh,” Gavin said.

Adante saw Ilauria’s face blanch. The Council’s pet was no doubt like every other Psyne who were loyal to the Council, ignorant of detailed information about the Bahree.

“Oh that’s nothing,” Adante continued, eying Ilauria. “Before the defector is taken in front of the Council, the Bahree perform a conversion spell to restore her back to Psyne. You see, when a Psyne chooses to be permanently human, they are essentially denying the waters from whence they came and from that moment on, they have a deep rooted fear of the ocean. One drop of seawater on their human skin would feel like acid and the Bahree use this fact to cause the defector extreme pain, drenching them with ocean water during the transformation.”

Ilauria sat staring at Adante with an appalled look on her face.

“You didn’t know they did that, did you?” Adante asked her.

Ilauria didn’t answer but her stare intensified.

“All right, that’s enough talk about the Bahree,” Shivan said glaring at Adante.

“Defectors deserve far worse than torture,” Adante said.

“Is it so wrong for Psyne to want to experience their human side?” Ilauria asked.

Her question surprised Adante. “Absolutely,” she shot back.

“I think there are many Psyne who are curious about it but are afraid of what the Council will do to them if they act on it,” Ilauria said.

“Has the Fury’s poison fried your mind?” Adante asked. “Humans are barbaric, unpredictable creatures. How could any self-respecting Psyne love a human?”

You cling to your hatred so tightly, Ilauria said, shaking her head.

Why shouldn’t I? Their daily actions affirm exactly why they deserve my hate.

Shivan’s calm words interrupted their exchange. “Sit down, both of you.”

Adante looked at Shivan and didn’t realize she’d stood up. Ilauria glared at her from across the table but they both sat.

Adante grunted. The Council’s pet was so easily goaded.

“I apologize, Gavin,” Ilauria said. “It was rude to communicate that way in front of you.”

Gavin pressed his lips into an understanding smile. He looked like he knew better than to get in the middle of two women arguing.