If you go through my reading log(s) - be they fanfiction or original fiction - you'll see I have a certain...trend towards stories that are less 'the world is sunshine and cheerful', that I prefer stories with a darker edge because I view things that way. Often these stories have smut and/or violence.

Which isn't to say everything I read is adult-themed, but there's a balancing act that I think some writers find hard to navigate without being...judgemental. Which has for a long time turned me off from books that are labeled "clean" "sweet" "closed door". However as part of an ongoing venture to branch out and find new authors, I am doing the "Bright Fantasy for a Dark World" challenge (hosted by Sarah K.L. Wilson - https://www.sarahklwilson.com/bright-fantasy-reader-challenge). All of the authors involved write "closed door fantasy", either their whole catalog or as part of their catalog, and I've enjoyed some of them in the past.

That all being said brings us to our book today...Illuminare by Bryn Shutt.

This is the first book I've read by her, though I also have [b:Dawnsong|56385995|Dawnsong|Bryn Shutt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624932356l/56385995._SY75_.jpg|87861260] waiting on me and I should have perhaps started there only because this didn't quite hit the ticket for me. The world building is beautiful, and Shutt has a talent with evoking imagery that stays in your mind. The characters were also vivid - even if their motivations were not quite so - and I enjoyed the flow of conversations. Nothing ever felt stilted or unnatural, even as the story took turns for the weird and unhinged. Shutt also gives us characters with clear moral compasses without ever really saying it (technically, more in a moment).

What may have unintentionally colored my opinion was the comparisons the summary makes to the Riyria Chronicles (Michael J. Sullivan) and the real life Medicis, as well as the fact its a "heist" book. I've read a few fantasy heist books in my time - its a favorite of mine actually and its been a good subcategory to me. I wasn't getting a heist vibe here. Did they plan? Sure. Did they execute it? Sure. But there's a sort of...build up and surrounding actions that just did not occur so it made it all fall flat.

I won't touch on the religious aspect - if you read other reviews you'll see folk discuss it with far more knowledge then I could (agnostic over here and as an agnostic, didn't get the anti-catholicism vibes others did...but again not the table I sit at).

So in the end this was a 2.5, rounded up to 3 because while its solid on painting the picture of the world and the atmosphere, it fails at making me believe what's going on in any meaningful way. ( )