Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres

Release Day: March 1st, 2011

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Publisher: Random House Australia

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Pages: 316pgs

The Story

Into a world of wild secrets and deadly pleasures

comes a girl whose innocence maybe her greatest strength.

In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute...

Retra doesn't want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night. Retra is Seal - sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn't crave parties and pleasure like all the others. But her brother left Ixion two years ago, and Retra is detemined to find him.

Braving the pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she's ever known, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the night creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?

Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures - but its secrets are deadly.

'Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.'

The Review

If Isobelle Carmody and Melissa Marr had a book baby together, BURN BRIGHT book would be the finished product! No kidding. I've been a big fan of Marianne de Pierres other books, but since this is her first young adult book, I have to say...she pretty much nailed it! It was weird (and I mean weird in a good-weird-but-interesting kind of way), adventurous, edgy, provocative, dangerous...and kind of thrilling with each and every page you turn. The author has created a world that is by far...very different from most YA books and that's why I liked it so much!

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By the end of the book, the main heroine, Retra/Naif, changed from this frightened and sheltered girl to a inquisitive young woman. What I loved about her character was how the novel focused on all her uneased feelings, the pain, and longing for a better life...it's all very interesting once you get sucked into this absorbing world de Pierres has created! As for the other characters, most didn't really do anything for me...well, except for Lenoir - a leader of the pale and inhuman enforcers called Ripers, which was so very fascinating for me...damn he was pretty hot despite everything else that was going on! Cause there's a lot going on by the time you read the last page.

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Without revealing anything, I will say that it's very hard for me to review this book let alone do BURN BRIGHT some justice...so you'll just have to pick yourself up a copy to fully understanding how much this book rocks! It's the most engaging and one of the most oddest books I've read since the weird-but-interesting Across The Universe. So, if you like Isobelle Carmody, a little bit of Melissa Marr, and a new read that's different from the rest of the fantasy genre, then give this one a go!

The Rating

4/5 stars