SPFBO (Cassidy's Version)

Rachels Instagram Review Click Here

A Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla

I was so excited to see this book in the list of finalists and it was a pleasure to read. I might be a bit biased (cough cough Cassidy fav) but I will try and provide my objective thoughts. In the end I did really enjoy the book and I am excited to continue the series.

So what worked for me?

World building: The world was one of the strongest parts of the story with interesting and unique elements. I loved exploring religions and how the different people interact with each other. There is great potential in the future.

Plot: I loved the plot and how I was invested the entire time. There are unique elements that made the story fresh for me.

What did not work for me?

Writing: There were some minor issues with the writing. In the beginning there are some changing timelines that could have been translated more smoothly and there was some repetition of statements that I noticed.

Similar Media?

This is a difficult question. I don’t think I can think of similar media other than one POV slightly reminded me of The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Score: 8.8

Character: 8

Plot: 9

World-Building: 10

Writing: 8

Enjoyment: 9

Video Review Click Here

A Touch of Light is Thiago Abdalla’s debut release, a self-published epic fantasy. It’s book one in the Ashes of Avarin series, and when you consider that Avarin is the name of this fantasy world, that immediately lends a sense of intrigue to the title.

A strange plague is spreading throughout the various lands of Avarin, leading to a feral sort of madness in those it touches. In The Domain, life is worshipped and those who die are not to be mourned. The unworthy are burned while those who are considered worthy by the Seraph Faith are preserved to be resurrected in the Promised Dawn, when the Seraph is prophesised to return.

Meanwhile, in the clanlands, death is natural, it’s part of the circle of life and a return to the earth is built into their beliefs. Two of our three POV characters give us a lot of insight into these two opposing views.

Adrian is a son of the king who finds himself involved in a war against this plague that threatens to bring down the entire domain. Nasha is a hunter looking for acceptance within the Ronar clan. She has a terrible curse that could be a gift, if only she could keep it under control.

My personal favourite though, was the third POV character. Lynn is a sentinel, and the special powers linked to her role are really interesting.

Each sentinel is linked to a griffon, and although we don’t see enough of these creatures, when we do it’s pretty cool. Lynn is able to draw strength from her griffon, which makes her a bit overpowered, but certainly not invincible.

In terms of the world, we see a few different countries and you can sense a distance between the places we visit that tells us that this is quite a vast world. We also hear about places that sound like they will add a really interesting element to future instalments.

Overall, this is a good book. I liked it, but I did want more from it. I’ll happily recommend it, and I look forward to reading book two when it comes out.

VLOG

This book is a RIDE! Do I know exactly what happened in this book? No, not at all. But these characters are so perfect and they make you care about what is going on. The writing is so fantastic and the pacing is so well done, weaving perfectly between the quick, action and battle scenes, and then the small character moments. Can't wait to start the sequel!

https://youtu.be/vzKV0JzEGHQ

Such a great book! A world that is divided between worshipping life and worshipping death may need to come together to survive a possible new plague of madness.

The audiobook is great quality too! A Touch of Light is an epic fantasy that focuses on 3 main characters, with discussions about religious power, complicated politics, lots of exciting action, magical creatures, truly creepy villains, and investigations into each character’s individuality.

LOVED IT SO MUCH.

I loved every point of view, but I think Adrian was my favorite. However, Lynn’s end chapter: WOW!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ALL FANTASY LOVERS!!!!

https://youtu.be/tkH5ov_5JdA

I feel like even though I didn't completely understand it, I still enjoyed it a lot and want to see where the series goes! 3.75 stars.

I read this for SPFBO (Cassidy's version). Watch my reading vlog with more thoughts here:

https://youtu.be/R6cVYShxAow

A TOUCH OF LIGHT by Thiago Abdalla begins in a world where the focus is on life to an extreme extent. When one dies, they are to be forgotten as if they never exhibited. In other places, death is what keeps the world going. The world itself is tearing apart with mysterious forces looming.

We are following a large cast of characters. Adrian is a prince, one stepping into the shoes of a brother who has been forgotten. Trying to keep his own grief out of the public eye, he isn’t willing to let everyone go as he is supposed to, seeking to make sacrifices to bring his loved ones back to a recognized status. Lynn is a warrior with a dark past. Nasha was born to those considered lesser, but she is working her way into the higher ranks with her skill at hunting, but she sees something disturbing and must make some difficult calls that put her in more danger.

This book starts by putting the reader right into the story and it did take me a while to feel like I had a grasp on the cast of characters and the different areas of their world and how they interrelate. I really appreciated (and frequently referenced) the cast of characters and the map in the opening pages of the book. I thought that the main POV characters were really well done, each with their own voice and priorities and stories. The side characters did occasionally trip me up in switching POVs as they weren’t all quite as memorable as the mains. I found the griffon character and the link with Lynn to be incredibly interesting as well even as it takes a while to flesh out that connection.

From the beginning, the writing grabbed me and pulled me into the story even when I was still struggling to keep the characters straight. I think the overall writing remained the biggest strength of the book as it is really well done, balancing narrative and dialogue well with good description and world building. The world did make a lot of sense to me, though there is certainly room to grow. There are a lot of threads the author is weaving with religion, magic and abilities, politics, and other general plot. As this is the first book in the series, I think this did enough to spell things out while also showing signs of where the threads will be further developed going forward in the remaining four books to add further complexity to the world building.

I was very intrigued by the idea of how the concepts of life and death are handled in the book, from those who seek to entirely forget the lost to those who use death in various ways to keep their own worlds moving. I was very intrigued by Adrian’s attempt to walk the line between staying in his father’s good graces while also going against the status quo with his attempt to remember and even bring back the dead. Lynn is hearing the voices of those lost while Nasha’s job as hunter puts her in direct contact with death and the looming danger over them. While it wasn’t immediately apparent to me how the different characters’ POVs would connect, I found each equally intriguing from the beginning which is always a good sign with a multi-perspective story.

Overall this is a fantastic read and a great start to a new series that leaves me wanting more and looking forward to the next installment. My biggest struggle with the book was the large cast and keeping all of the side characters straight, so I think the planned rapid release plan for this The Ashes of Avarin series will lend itself well to this type of story. I think waiting too long between books would be a struggle getting back into the flow. This is also a book where you need to be willing to accept that you’re starting off in the middle of the action without really knowing or understanding all that is going on. As long as you’re in to go for the ride with the author, this is one I would recommend!

I really enjoyed my time with A TOUCH OF LIGHT and will be looking forward to picking up the sequel A SHADE OF MADDNESS as soon as possible!

https://youtu.be/PkqaeUJcGqo

https://youtu.be/Dx1GXp_JGmw