keira anne with an e

Noelle’s life is shattered when her mother falls under a terrible curse.

And she knows she caused it.

So, when her childhood friend, Dante, takes off on a quest with her father to find the cure, she begins to look toward the sea, and wait for the day when she might be able to help with her gift instead of hurt.

But curses are dark things, and gifts sometimes have far more power than Noelle realized.

Can she trust the Lamplighter to direct her power for good, or will her dreams descend into nightmares forever?

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⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5 stars)

Before I get into all of my thoughts on this book, let me make one thing clear–

GORGEOUS COVER.

Honestly, put a lighthouse on the cover, and I’m entirely in love. Then this cover, with all the Cinderella elements but a bit of that Count of Monte Cristo aesthetic… ahh, y’all! This cover is just absolutely breathtaking, and total thumbs-up to whoever designed this one. It’s just beautiful. Even the fonts and the color scheme totally blew my mind, and I just can’t stop staring at it.

Alright, I’m (mostly) done judging a book by it’s cover.

On to the story.

Sara Ella is an excellent writer– a true weaver of words, and this story just completely was swept up in her writing style. It was definitely a beautifully written book, and I enjoyed the almost-poetic style to the writing and descriptions.

Noelle and Dante were really just amazing together. I wish we would have gotten to see a little more of just the two of them together, because their dynamic was just so excellent. I get that didn’t work for the story, but I would totally read a novella sequel about them. Just sayin’…

As often with fantasy books, I had a bit of a time trying to figure out the magic system. I know, I know, I read a fair bit of fantasy books, and I should be able to figure this out by now, but it’s still a little difficult for me to keep everything straight. However, I’m guessing that when I re-read this book (which I definitely plan on doing), I’ll have a little better of an idea, and I think a lot of fantasy readers wouldn’t have any difficulty with it.

Content-wise, this book was very clean. The romance was very nice. There was a bit of violence throughout and peril, but I think upper teens could probably handle it– although we did deal with some serious parts, which added a lot more depth to the story, so parental discretion is as always recommended.

All in all, this was another terrific story from Sara Ella. Honestly, the writing and language usage was pretty much just sheer poetry, and there were so many great bits and quotes that just felt so beautiful. I totally loved a lot of the imagery she painted with her words. Honestly, I think she could write just about anything, and I would read it because I just love the way she weaves words together, and this felt like the perfect book to really show that off.

EMOJI REVIEW!

• 🥿 cinderella retelling
• 🏰 count of monte cristo aesthetic
• ❤️ super sweet romance
• 😍 a favorite author
• ✍️ beautiful writing
• 🌊 nautical setting

Thanks so much for reading this story! I really appreciate you’re reading this review, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this story. Thanks again to Sara Ella for writing another beautiful book!