Book review: The Gem of Meruna

But where will you find the light in a world full of darkness, where struggle is the only reality and pain the only feeling?

Because this is Kiluna's world.

Kiluna is a Leey. With a whiter than parchment skin and silvery white hair she resembles every other Leey out there. Except for her eyes. Her eyes are a bright shade of purple, unlike the pale almost colorless eyes of her peers.

Her people had lived in a perfect little utopia during Kiluna's grandmother's time. But joy had long gone since and ease had ceased to exist. There is no utopia anymore. On the contrary, it seems to have been replaced with a living hell, where the Leey live in constant fear for their lives under the rule of a ruthless dictator - Jezebella. True to her name, Jezebella thrives from the fear and pain of her people and punishes even the slightest offences by brutal disfigurements and even death dealt by her loyal beasts - the chalkies.
Leey being mauled and torn apart until there's nothing left of them but pieces just for looking the wrong way and even babies torn to shreds alive in front of their parents are punishments Jezebella hands out with a smirk on her lips. No one is spared and everyone cowers in fear. And Kiluna is no exception.

Made into a target very often, she bears more scars that any other of her peers. And yet, she holds hope. Because of stories of a better time told by her grandmother at the end of each and every day. Those little snippets into a perfect world full of happiness and without fear, are a refuge from the pains of Kiluna's life. Until tragedy strikes again and breaks Kiluna's heart.
Her grandmother is brutally murdered by chalkies for absolutely no reason. And with her grandmother gone and mother grieving, Kiluna turns utterly desolate.

Just like her grandmother before her, she questions the point of it all, the reason for existence. After all,
'Why, if we are only to crumble, are we built up at all? Surely it would be easier to remain a pile of stones than to become a cottage to be ransacked by storms. We cannot be meant only for pain, can we?'

When life is just a series of painful experiences and joy an illusion and refuge for the ignorant, Kiluna manages to hang on to a thread of hope found in her grandmother's journal. One left behind especially for Kiluna to read. Reading the journal turns first into a refuge, then into a way to rebel against Jezebella as well as means to fix things and take the tyrant down. The notes regarding a magical Gem hidden away on their sister planet, Meruna, determine Kiluna to set off on a quest to reach it and save her people.

Granted, she will have to escape Jezebella's clutches, as well as venture through mysterious forests inhabited by outlaws. But Kiluna is set on her mission and won't let anything stop her. Until a certain outlaw shows her there is more to life than fear and mistrust. Until she gets to know how a peaceful life feels. Until the day she realizes 'she had someone she wanted to be with, a place she wanted to make her own. The forests called to her, begging her to stay. And her heart dragged the ground.'

And yet, she must go. Leave everything behind for the sake of her people. But will she be strong enough to give up a newly found happiness and do it? I'll leave that for you to find out. Suffice it to say, her journey is both uplifting and heartbreaking.

In a very easy to follow prose, Elexis Bell intertwines here two stories of two lives. That of Kiluna and her grandmother, through her journal. And she manages to present the past and present side by side in such a manner that both the horrors of one and beauty of the other are excellently complemented. With the right memory set in precisely the right place to magnify the effect both have on the reader.

The carnage she describes at the fangs and claws of the chalkies were just as gut-wrenching as the pain of a mother being forced to watch her baby torn to pieces in front of her eyes. And trust me when I say this. This author is a master in painting heartbreaking scenes. She will make you practically see the tragedy unfold and feel with her characters. You'll find yourself caught into the story without even realizing when it happened.

With beautifully written and well fleshed out characters, Elexis Bell will give you a tale of pain and suffering, courage and determination, and most of all love. Love in all sorts of types and measures. The love of a Leyy for her people, that between a daughter and her mother, the love of a family member for another, as well as the love between a woman and a man.

How much will you sacrifice for the ones you love? How far will you go to help them? Will you stand aside and respect their decision even if it breaks your heart? These are all questions this book raises. Next to the main one that perhaps not many of us think about. How perfect must the perfect be for us to be content with? Can an utopia last? Is that really a place where you would want to live in? After all, we are all made of both light and dark. And this book manages to masterfully showcase it.

I have had this book on my TBR for quite a while, before being able to pick it up. And when I did, despite it's size, I finished it in 2 days time and wondered why I didn't start it sooner. Because it is an excellent fantasy standalone that I highly recommend to any and all fantasy lovers out there!


'Always remain hopeful, my dear child. You may well be the last light in this dark world.'

Check out this book and more of Elexis Bell here