First and foremost: I really enjoyed Illuminations. It was a sweet and cozy fantasy with stakes that were relatively low but also quite high at the same time. I liked the characters. I liked the concept. It was fun.
There’s a heavy theme of “stronger together” running through Illuminations. Though the Mandolinis have a tendency to work separately, they are drawn together to defeat the Scarling. (Pardon the pun.) Rosa doesn’t work as well in her quest to do just that all by herself. It isn’t until the family is brought in to help that any actual headway is made. It’s quite beautiful, really. That’s not to say that Mandolinis aren’t allowed to be themselves, each of their attributes makes the whole stronger overall.
Illuminations, though geared toward a younger audience than my 36 year old self, never felt like it was talking down to that audience. Complicated things were allowed to stay complicated and weren’t ever dumbed down. Rosa feels like a 10 year old should. The characterization was done well.
Each of Rosa’s family members feels like an entire person, despite having relatively little “screen time.” Payne reminded me of the Magpies from Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. It’s probably just that he’s a talking Corvid.
I like the magic system. I’d very much like to get my hands on those Illumination guides.
So yeah, Illuminations was fun and sweet and cozy. Very much enjoyed.
Favorite Line
“Spoons like to be with other spoons,” said Payne. “They feel more comfortable in a herd.”
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