12 year old Celes is an ordinary boy, but on his birthday he finds out that he's an invoker. He is sent to Gardarel to study magic. He is ridiculed for his background by most of the students but he is so happy to be there. His talent quickly shows itself though and people son have to accept that he is special. He finds out about a plot to destroy Gardarel and has to figure out who he can trust to help him.

This took me by surprise. I'll admit that the first part of the book didn't grab me as I nearly put it aside, but I said I'd give it to 25% and if I wasn't interested then I'd stop. I'm glad to say that by that stage, I had become invested. The plot had intrigued me enough to want to keep going.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world building. The setting, the city and the magical creatures were well written and very descriptive. It was easy to picture everything. I also liked the caracters, though they were very one dimensional! Celes was a good character and was easily likeable and I think had the author spent more time on building all his characters and giving them more depth, it would have been a 5 star read.

Still though, a good read and I'd love to see more in the series.

The Kingdom of Lights has that steampunk feel of Victorian-era-spun-into-the-future, which I don’t normally read, but as this was a middle-grade book, I gave it a try. This blends in more fantasy than normal steampunk does, and, I have to say, it works.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this author. The story was interesting with lovable characters. I did wish that some of the plot was a little bit more developed as sometimes time seems to jump forward abruptly. Overall, a very fun read!