The Light That Blinds Us Paperback

I was immediately hooked from the prologue meeting young Alexis and thr Shadow Man.As someone who has been binge reading recently this book made me want to slow down and enjoy every page, nay every word!The story of the four children of the elements beginning there journey to find the powerful gems of each element to thwart the big bad evil guy, is the typical troupe but the story is well written and engaging so it feels fresh.There are emotional ups and downs and quotable moments. And there is a sweet blossoming slow burn young romance in there for good measure. (As a warning, prepare for some emotional damage in the late 30s chapters!) The characters have great depth and personality which is nice to see with any book with a core group at its center.All in all this was a great reading experience and I can not wait to see what is in store for Alexis, Demi, Caeli, and Blaise! The ending leaves you with a hook without a total cliffhanger which I always appreciate for a series when I get in on the ground floor.

Finished this one today! An exciting debut for Andy Darcy Theo! I loved the concept of the Elementals and all the different powers they could have! I also really enjoyed Alexis, Demi, Blaise, and Caeli and their adventures to getting their element gems were exciting and thrilling! Also there are some parts that gut you! That’s not to mention all the cliffhangers that come at the end that I need answers for!!! We also still need to know Alexis’s past and he’s walking a very thin line! All that to say I can’t wait for book 2 and what’s in store for the alphas!

4.5 starsI was so lucky to receive an Arc of this.In this YA fantasy we follow Alexis, a kid who struggled with hallucinations for most of his life. While on a school trip Alexis and his best friend Demi meet 2 other teens with similar amulets to their own. Together they uncover a secret haven where they’ll train to complete a quest. This book is broken up into 4 parts and each part is better than the last. There was so much action and adventure. There were funny scenes and emotional ones. We get some very beautiful quotes sprinkled throughout. Some tropes would include: found family(the best), slow burn, friends to lovers(almost 👀), “touch her and die(different wording, same vibe), epic quest, chosen one, and elemental magic.

This is a must read! If you love an urban fantasy with a complex fast paced plot do not pass on this! There is found family, a slow burn romance, friendships, tension, a quest, magic, light and darkness. There are 4 main characters and each are so different from the next. You will see the growth in each of them as the 4 face fate and learn magic! I absolutely got shadow hunter vibes! The world building is astonishing! I'm excited to see where this series goes!

Captivating, profound, and beautifully written.

"Oh, how the descent into Darkness was paved with broken promises and abandoned oaths."4.5 ⭐This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 after following Andy's journey from the early days on Tiktok, and I can say that he should be incredibly proud of himself. This was an amazing debut novel and I had so much fun reading it! When he was marketing his book he said it was just like Percy Jackson meets Avatar: The Last Airbender and he was not lying, that is exactly what this was and it brought back so much nostalgia for that time in my life when books like this were all I read, and I just know that teenage Gen would've absolutely devoured this book and made it her whole personality. Even in my 30's now I can appreciate this fantastic book, I think a good YA book should be able to transcend age and that is exactly what The Light That Blinds Us did.Andy's experience with psychology really shone through in this story, the beautifully interwoven references to mental health and the way his characters reflected different responses to and methods of therapy were so great to read as part of a fantastical story. The messages threaded throughout this story were just perfect for impressionable YA readers to hear and the characters were all so relatable, I truly think anyone reading this would come away connected to one or more of the characters and able to take away from what the characters learned on their journey through this story. Four teenagers, all from different walks of life, coming together and working together to be stronger as a group. I just loved it. I did wish we got a bit more of the four MC's backstories though, I absolutely loved all of them and was refreshed to see how unique each character's personality was, but I did feel like we didn't get a lot of truly deep character development. I feel like I understood Alexis, but Demi, Caeli and Blaise were all just a bit more superficially described, aside from how they interacted with each other in their banter. But I am sure this will come through in the sequels.The storyline itself was really interesting, although a little bit predictable and very reminiscent of other similar stories, it had just enough differences to it that I remained intrigued all the way through and was really absorbed in finding out what happened. The magic system was really easy to understand although at some points it felt a little bit Deus ex Machina, where the softness of this system, where it didn't have much of a defined boundary around how the magic can be used, seemed to make the victory fall into the hands of the characters too easily - but I think for the grade level this story is written at, that is more of a 'me' problem than an issue with the story or the writing. I loved the quest aspect of the story too and how it really fostered a true found family bond between the MCs. The creatures and the "bad guys" they came up against throughout were all very entertaining, and at times caused absolutely heart wrenching scenes too. I think the main word I would use to describe this book is: FUN.Overall, a really strong start to what should be a fascinating series, one I really look forward to following and seeing how everything unfolds. I still think Andy is holding back on a lot of secret twists and betrayals that will really amp this story up emotionally, and I can't wait to see what he does with it! Definitely one for lovers of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and other fantasy lite series such as the Grishaverse."After a lifetime of living in the dark, he was worried that the light of day had become blinding."

🩵The Light That Blinds Us🩵What an amazing, captivating, action packed story 🗡️This book had me laughing out loud, crying, giggling and squeaking with excitement 📖In this expertly crafted tale we follow Alexis who goes on a seemingly ordinary school trip, only to wind up being dragged into a magical world when visiting Stonehenge along with his best friend Demi and two strangers who I loved.The foursome are forced into a quest where a prophecy has foretold that they must gather four elemental gems in order to save their world from plunging into darkness and we get to see the kick ass battles they go through to get them.The personalities each of the characters have is unique and captivating, giving them their own lease of life and lovable qualities. Also, this story gives a very real perspective on mental illness which I think is very hard to find in most books and has been executed extremely well.This book has many beautiful quotes dotted throughout and I’m pretty sure I have one highlight per page 😄 And I loved the chapter titles being unusual words and the descriptions of what they meant 🥹This is a one of a kind action packed Y/A fantasy book that features a slow burn, friends to lovers, found family adventure in a phenomenally beautifully crafted world. I cannot wait to see the next adventure the Alpha team embark upon.Highly recommended book and one of my favourite reads of the year 😊Thank you to the author for bringing this wonderful world to life 🩵

As a woman in my thirties I couldn’t shake the constant feeling that it was obviously a YA story - but I knew and expected that beforehand. This is the only reason I am giving this book 4 stars ,only’ (based on some dialogues that you would not find in a adult novel which would normally be my go to genre).To turn this around: the book is written in an absolutely teenager / ya friendly way. It covers friendship, anxieties and mental health issues in general and the obstacles for young people when growing up. Would absolutely recommend!I really enjoyed the story, some of the plot twists and shocking moments. Some things were left unanswered intentionally which really makes me hope that the 2nd part will be out very soon!

From the first few words, to the acknowledgements at the back.. this book had me hooked! I'm far from a Young Adult .. but the Young Adult inside me was in shock, was laughing, was crying, and was totally taken in by the characters, the environments, the storylines, the way the sentences were structured and how descriptive everything was! I even found myself dreaming of it because of how cleverly it has been put together!! I really do hope that this book gets turned into big screen material because the whole world needs to experience it. I pre-ordered this book last November and have been so excited for its release ... it didn't disappoint! Huge well done Andy and I'm looking forward to BOOK TWO!