Illuminated

Illuminated by Erica Orloff
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes an author makes a valiant attempt at romance based on a legend. Sometimes it results in a long saga that lags in spots, sometimes it is completely brilliant, sometimes it is a half-hearted attempt, and sometimes an agonizing failture.

This one seems to be Weighted on the side of half-hearted. The story has such potential that it's almost a shame that it ends up being so contrived. Callie is the spoiled, pampered-but-ignored daughter of a successful Boston lawyer. She is spending the summer with her uncle and his companion in New York. The uncle is an expert in ancient manuscripts, and is working with a colleague. The colleague is agoraphobic with a stunningly handsome young son named August. And within 20 pages into the story, it is more than evident that Callie and August (who have just met) are deeply in love.

What?

Exactly. The manuscript is apparently a diary written by the son of Heloise and Abelard, legendary lovers whose story ended tragically. It is also a book written over another book, which is a palimpsest. The idea of a palimpsest is a great one and yet seems to have been completely wasted here. The themes in this book - forbidden love, tragic love, mysterious artifacts, secrets and thieves - they're all wonderful elements. Wonderful elements for a saga, which this book is decidedly not. There was no time taken to really explore the themes, the relationships, the artifacts. Honestly, this book really can't decide whether it's young adult romance or historical romance or the movie "An Affair to Remember." It's all over the place.

I had a problem with the characters being inconsistent. Callie is confident but sassy; she is rude to her uncle and then sweet. She is completely taken with August and then doesn't want to speak to him for days. The backstory with her mother and father is out of place within the story; I found myself wondering why this was such a big deal when all the other stuff is going on. We are given a peek at Callie's father through her eyes and the eyes of her uncle - but then when Callie and her father have dinner, they bounce between hating each other and being sympathetic, even loving, to the other. It was a complete contradiction of behaviour.

The same was true with August. He's completely in love with Callie, and yet as soon as something bad happens, he can't even remember her name.

Talk about drama overload.

When the adventure and search for answers finally begins, it is ridiculous. The trouble is that it waffles between two kids doing things that get them in a lot of trouble . . . except no, all is forgiven in the end. I'm not even sure why these adults didn't taken Callie and August to task for completely defying what they'd been told to do.

In the end, the fairytale wraps up nicely and the teenaged romance concludes happily ever after. Right. Because virtually every teenage romance lasts forever.

Ah well. Even with so many glaring problems, this was a light, moderately enjoyable read. It could have been a spectacular, fantastic read. Forget Heloise and Abelard - the real tragedy here is simply the wasted potential.



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