{YA SciFi Review} Cassidy Jones and The Luminous by Elise Stokes

Cassidy Jones and the Luminous (Cassidy Jones Adventures, #4) by Elise Stokes
Published by JACE Publishing on October 12th 2014
Pages: 356
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They need. They seed. They breed.

An inhuman evil lurks in the depths of Lake Washington— an evil that walks among us. They look like us...they talk like us...but they are not us. And when Cassidy Jones discovers that they threaten life as we know it, can she summon the power to stop them? In her greatest test yet—and her greatest adventure— the world hangs in the balance against a relentless and insidious adversary: the Luminous.

Every time I read a Cassidy Jones book, I don’t see how the series can get any better. Elise Stokes is a master storyteller and has developed Cassidy and the cast of characters around her to perfection. Going into book four, Cassidy Jones and The Luminous, I expected another bone shaking thrill ride and I got it and so much more.

Cassidy is a bit seasoned now and more comfortable with herself as a super human. Now that her family knows of her abilities and why the Phillips family has moved across the street, she is able to relax and let go of the mounting stress of keeping secrets from the people she loved most.

One person Cassidy still kept in the dark was her friend and crush, Jared. I started seeing Jared in a different light through book three. I loved the development of his character even more in this adventure. Unfortunately, Jared finds out Cassidy’s secret the hard way when he’s attacked in his own home and Cassidy is the one that saves him. With help from her best friend, Emery Phillips, his parents, and the Jones family, Cassidy is able to calm most of Jared’s fears about her “condition”.

I loved so many things about this book. The idea of The Luminous was something I had never heard before. They were unique and ingenious little villains. The new relationships Cassidy is developing with her family now that her secret is out is a testament of a loving family. After a night of near death experiences, she arrives home after three am to find her parents and twin awake and waiting for the details of her nighttime adventure. The fact that Cassidy has a bigger support system now has me breathing a little easier.

One of the things I found I loved the most was the friendship that developed between the two boys that had Cassidy on their romantic radar, Emery and Jared. Becoming confidants in Cassidy’s secret world forced an unlikely comradery between the boys which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Emery’s genuine affection for Cassidy from the beginning. Jared was another story. Once his life was endangered and he learned on Cassidy’s secret, his true feelings for her were evident. Even though fifteen-year-old Cassidy isn’t supposed to date, that didn’t stop both boys from placing themselves in romantic situations with the heroine. My heartstrings plucked a joyous tune in chapter 16 when Emery got his flirt on with Cassidy, something that I had been looking forward to since book one. Now, I believe there is a real competition. Cassidy is discovering that she and Emery are linked in more ways than one, changing her feelings for her closest friend and confidant.

With several laughs, tears, and bitten fingernails, I came to the end of this book as an even bigger Cassidy fan than I was before. Elise Stokes has entranced me with Cassidy’s world, her family, her friends, and even her enemies. I rest easy in the knowledge that Cassidy’s story is far from over. I look forward to reading more of Cassidy’s thrilling adventures.

Thank you to Elise Stokes for creating such a brilliant series and sharing it with me in exchange for an honest review.