The Mesmerist by Claire Luana – Review by Ariel Jensen

The Mesmerist by Claire Luana
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After an invite from a childhood friend takes Adrijana to court, her life is flipped upside down after a seemingly simple question. Being new to the court, Adrijana becomes the obvious suspect in a series of deaths. How can she prove her innocence? Aligning with a royal Mesmer, she sets out to unravel the mysterious deaths and ultimate plot to destabilize the only home she’s ever known. What will it take to unravel the truth and protect those dearest to her?

This young adult fantasy mystery will draw you in immediately. Having never read anything by this author, something was intriguing about the short synopsis that first drew me to this book. As with any new-to-me author, I was skeptical but I’m so relieved to find that this book was one of the best YA fantasy books I’ve ever read.

The flow of storytelling is so incredibly polished that the reader becomes immersed in the world of Adrjssia from the first page. Claire Luana does an eloquent job of setting the tone and atmosphere of this new world without drowning the reader in minute details. This story could have easily been drawn out into multiple books but it works perfectly as a stand-alone tale. I am a reader who typically tries to figure out the mystery before the narrator does. However, this was not the case in this book. The reading was easy enough to follow along while gripping to keep me drawn to the moment instead of jumping ahead. There’s an expertly practiced balance between the mystery, depth of the characters, and seductiveness of journeying with Adrijana.

Overall, this book deserves nothing less than five stars.

Reviewed by @arielmj