Illuminated by Iris Marsh
Publication date: November 21st, 2022
Genres: Coming of Age, Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult

Synopsis:

In this coming-of-age YA contemporary fantasy, a teenage girl has her life turned upside down when her family is breaking apart, and she discovers her supernatural powers. There’s no time to deal with it, however, as she’s targeted by a dangerous power siphoner.

Nikki Chase, a 16-year-old striver, feels like her life is falling apart around her. Her parents’ marriage seems in trouble, her best friend prefers to spend time with the popular girl, and she’s quite certain she’s on the verge of psychosis. After all, normal people don’t see colors around people or hear voices, right?

When a volunteering assignment leads her to a mental hospital, Nikki is determined to figure out what’s going on with her—and if perhaps she belongs in that facility. What she discovers is nothing she expected: Lorene, a volunteer, tells Nikki she’s not crazy but, in fact, has the power to influence people’s thoughts and beliefs. However, someone has been sucking the power out of people just like her, leaving them behind as empty shell. Desperate for help and someone to trust, Nikki teams up with Lorene to discover who is behind the siphoning. But can she stop them before she becomes a victim? And can she do so without becoming addicted to the power herself?

Fans of suspenseful contemporary fantasy will love this YA coming-of-age fantasy thriller book about coping with difficult emotions, navigating relationships with family and friends, and the addictive quality of power.

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Excerpt

Granted, Sarah wasn’t exactly your typical teenage girl.

She was worse.

There’s always that one girl who seems to be doing everything right without any effort. Sarah was like that. Not only was she beautiful—with her Scandinavian looks—she was also incredibly intelligent—a real A+ student—ridiculously generous—somehow having spare time to tutor juniors and volunteer at the senior home—and she even smelled like honey. Sweet, delicious, and sickening.

Whereas I was average looking at best, a little ghost-like at worst, and had to spend most of my time studying to even keep up my academic record—still A’s, though—leaving me next to no time for reading, Netflix binging, drawing, or hanging out with Carmen. Especially now we were seniors. I even had to give up my volunteering at the animal shelter—I missed those cats and dogs so much.

Fucking Sarah.

Carmen scraped her throat. “Yeah, we’ll be coming tomorrow. Right, Nikki?”

“I can’t,” I said, too fast. “I-I promised my dad I’d help him with dinner.”

As far as excuses went, that was pretty pathetic. If only I wasn’t distracted by the sharp needles that seemed to drill their way into my skull, I’m sure I could’ve done better.

Carmen’s face fell. Sarah frowned.

“Oh. But can’t you ask him to do that another time?” Sarah shifted in her seat. “We would love to have you there as well.”

We. Were she and Carmen a “we” now?

My palms were slick with sweat. My skin was definitely on fire. But I pushed it down, all of it. I couldn’t freak out, not here, not in front of Sarah.

“Come on, Niks. We wouldn’t have as much fun without you. Please?” Carmen’s chocolate-brown eyes were fixed on me.

There once was a time when she wouldn’t even have considered going somewhere without me. There was a time when, instead of insisting I should go, she would’ve chosen to ditch Sarah and hang out with me.

Ten years… And it meant nothing.

I doubled over and clenched my stomach. Everything hurt.

“Nikki, what’s wrong?” Carmen put a hand on my back.

“I need air.” I got back up, grabbing my back filled with homework, my sketchbook, and my pencils. “It’s almost my stop,” I said, already moving away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Carmen asked again.

“Yes. Just a bit crowded in here. I’ll be fine.”

Before she or Sarah could say anything else, I pushed through the people until I reached the doors. There, I leaned against the wall, touching the—probably very unsanitary—side with my forehead. It cooled down my heated skin. I took a few deep breaths, steadying myself.

Away from Carmen, away from Sarah, I managed to get myself under control. Steadily, the tension left my body, and I no longer felt like I was on fire. I stopped aching—physically, at least.

What the fuck was happening to me?

Ever since the summer—ever since my parents…

No. I shook my head. There was no sense in going there now. Not while I’d just managed to calm down again.

“Stopping at Canyon Meadows.” The automated voice boomed through the speaker.

The train slowed down.

Thank God.

I looked behind me, seeing the shapes of Carmen and Sarah in between the crowd. Sarah had moved next to Carmen. They were talking, laughing about something, as Sarah clutched Carmen’s arm. My friend’s smile was warm, genuine, caring.

Not once did she look back to see if I was all right. She didn’t even offer to walk with me, make sure I was okay. She only had eyes for Sarah.

She’d forgotten about me.

The doors slid open. What I wanted was to get out of there as soon as possible. However, an elderly man was looking at the threshold with extreme concentration, one hand holding a walking stick. I moved up next to him, offering my hand.

“Need some help, Sir?”

He turned and smiled that gentle old-man smile and took my hand. “Thank you, child.”

We walked over the threshold and out onto the platform. He thanked me again before he was off to wherever he needed to go.

As I watched him leave, my grandmother slipped into my mind—one of the grandparents I never knew. Both she and my grandfather died before I was born; my grandfather even passed when my dad was only fifteen years old.

I didn’t know much about my grandmother—my dad only ever told me bits and pieces, clearly finding her memory too painful—but I did know what happened before she died.

And part of me wondered… was I next?

About Iris Marsh

Iris Marsh is a behavioral researcher turned writer. As such, she focuses on her character’s journeys as well as the plot. Her YA fantasy debut novel Illuminated is no exception: it’s both suspenseful and heavy on character development. Currently, she lives in the Netherlands with her partner and cat.

She would be overjoyed if you visited her website IrisMarsh.com and would love it if you followed her journey on Instagram.

Connect with Iris on her

Website: https://www.irismarsh.com/

Pinterest: https://nl.pinterest.com/Iris_Marsh_author/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22915629.Iris_Marsh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irismarsh.author/