Water. Air. Earth. Fire. The world we inhabit wouldn’t exist without these four core elements. You might think of them as conflicting opposites or even enemies on their own. But when you put them together you have the power over light and darkness. It’s infinitely the light that either blinds us from, or descends us into darkness. And the shadows that lure into or out of the light, which resembles the nature of this world and the interactions, experiences and marks we have on it. This is what plagues Alexis Micheals, child of the water.
Alexis has spent his childhood trying to keep the shadows at bay, and cope with the mysteries surrounding his life before he was adopted as a child, with only a blue water coloured pendant. He bravely yet also anxiously goes on his first trip without his parents, a trip to the legendary Stonehenge with his best friend Demi. After bumping to new friends Caeli and Blaise, their four matching pendants take them to a secret hub beneath the stones. Alexis and the rest of the quartet soon learn they are the long awaited descendants of the four core elements, Water, Earth, Air and Fire and they must train to stop the darkness. A darkness brought on by the same shadow man who haunts Alexis.
With only a matter of weeks left until their first quest to find the elemental gemstones; the elemental quarter must train themselves in body and mind. Alexis is plunged into a world he never knew existed whilst fighting the darkness of his own. This is made mysteriously harder as Alexis realises he may be more linked to the shadow man than he ever thought possible. Will Alexis come out the other side in light or darkness, only the secrets of the waters hold the answers.
Being someone who has a deep love for the water and fights battles in their own mind; I haven’t been able to relate to another character as much as I have to Alexis and his own shadows. It’s enlightening and validating to see a character whose struggles are seen as weaknesses or something broken that must be fixed. Andy Darcy Theo helps readers to see how Alexis’ and even our own mental health does t define who we are or what we can do. He also expresses extraordinary levels of emotional intelligence, sensitivity and experience in exploring Alexis’ mental health such as his hallucinations and anxiety.
When Alexis is about to leave with Demi for Stonehenge, he is reminded of his mantra. The mantra taught to him by his parents to keep this mind at bay. His simple yet powerful mantra of ‘I didn’t come this far just to come this far’ reflects a quiet confidence and resilience. It’s also a painful reminder yet a motivational drive for Alexis to not let the shadows take him over so much, that he loses himself or lets the shadows in. Despite the hardships of trainings as elementals with his new found family, Alexis gradually starts to let his guard down, and we see his sarcastically smart sense of humour and intelligence come out.
Andy Darcy Theo has made a well deserved and groundbreaking debut with The Light That Blinds Us. His writing style draws you in deeply, whilst making the story both exhilarating, comforting and relatable. He created characters like Alexis, Demi, Caeli and Blaise. In particular, his beautifully detailed world building and memorable dialogue introduced us to his key protagonist Alexis Michaels who’s battling his own inner demons. A protagonist who shows readers that everyone has a story to live and love, and a place in this world, even when it seems unthinkable or out of reach. Andy and Alexis show us that struggling with your mental health isn’t a weakness but makes you stronger.
The journey to becoming an author has been a long time coming for Andy. He amassed over 61.6k followers on Instagram alone. He also uplifts and supports his fellow authors with heart and humour, whilst allowing readers and fans to join him on his writing journey and love of books, always engaging with his audience with genuine care, kindness and empathy, treating his followers and readers like friends. Andy’s background in clinical psychology and education brings a profound awareness, relatability and intelligence to mental heath experiences of his own fantastic four – Alexis, Demi, Caeli and Blaise. He uses the elements traits to represent those his characters, interweaving blockbuster worthy fantasy with the modern world.
Each chapter he writes is given foreshadowed clues and importance through placing a unique word and its meanings at the start of every chapter in its title. This is an ingenious literary device and helps readers to further understand those feelings and experiences that we see in his characters and that we couldn’t find the words for until now. His debut novel teaches you as well as entertains you and makes you feel a range of emotions.
The Light That Blinds Us resonates with readers like me on a deeply personal level. It speaks to a love of fantasy, adventure and romance genres, with a brilliantly written representation of mental health, found family and the connections we make. This book also has a unique take on elemental magic and how it makes up both ourselves and the world.
For Alexis Michaels, that element is the depth, tranquility, strength and shadows found int he water, that surrounds us and is apart of us. And it all starts with that dated trio to Stonehenge and a shadow that knows him all too well. Being adopted and training at the elementals hub with Demi, Caeli and Blaise let Alexis see that found family is still a family. That connections aren’t only made from who you’re blood related too nor they only start or end there too. Everyone’s favourite child of the water (Alexis) must also navigate the waters of the heart, as his growing feelings for his best friend Demi may be more forbidden than they thought. The pair share such a deep connection worthy of soulmates, Earth loves water, and their ‘chasing sunsets’ moment captures their love for each other perfectly.
The four elements match each of their personalities; Alexis shadows the complex battles and mysteries of the deep blue waters, Demis kind strong nature resembles the earth, the fiery passion and of Blaise and the free spirited determination of Caeli.
Andy Darcy Theo shows us that our power comes from ourselves, it always been there and at our own pace, we can learn to let it out, with fear or sadness, and struggling with your mental heath or being labelled different, or someone who doesn’t fit in with or follow what society tells us we should be, doesn’t make you any less powerful but ever more so.
The Light That Blinds Us is a book I’ll never stop recommending, and one story that will stay with you, lighting your thoughts, long after you’ve finished reading.
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