Beacon of Hope : Paths of Darkness and Light

Beacon of Hope: Paths of Darkness and Light is an intriguing superhero origin story starring Tricia, a scientist with a traumatic past and a kind heart. 

The story follows Tricia as she learns about her powers and decides to become her city's beacon of hope. Often, with her adorable cat, Rascal, by her side, at least when she's not wearing her mask. 

I really enjoyed Tricia's journey. At first, she doesn't know what's going on, what her powers are, or how to use them (who would, right?), but she doesn't get discouraged, instead, she quickly starts learning, experimenting, and testing herself and her powers, which made for a very fun, fascinating storyline.

She's strong, determined, smart, and kind, with a great sense of humor. I loved the little comments she would think to herself or say to her sparring dummy, George. 

The cast of characters Tricia is surrounded by is great too, and really caught my attention, even if they didn't get much time in the spotlight. I hope to see more of Tricia's friends and allies in the next installments of the series. 

Beacon of Hope is a story about choosing to be the best version of yourself rather than the worst. 

Tricia could've been something completely different, but she chose to be a positive influence on the world. She wants to help people, inspire people, not destroy them. 

Sure, her powers gave her the means to become Beacon, but her powers aren't why she's a hero. Tricia's good heart and bravery are why she's able to be the beacon of hope her city needs and adores. 

And I can't wait to see how Tricia continues her journey and what new challenges she'll face.

Spoilers Ahead

The villain

The villain of Tricia’s story, at least in the beginning, is a group called the Liberators of Gaia. And certain scenes are told from the perspective of one of the members, a woman called Purity. She likes lavender lattes. While reading, I wasn’t really sure what to make of Purity until further into the story when her plans started to take shape.

It turns out she was using the Liberators of Gaia as a means to an end. Her plans for the city and for the world didn’t really line up with the rest of the group, mostly because she’s nuts.

She was a fantastic villain. Psychotic. Smart. Evil. And her backstory was terrible. Everyone was against her from a very young age. If she had had someone to be there for her, to believe in her, then maybe she wouldn’t have wanted to destroy humanity.

Team Beacon

‘Team Beacon’ is what Tricia started calling the people who knew her secret, at least in her head. The first person to find out her secret or tell her that they knew her secret is the DA, Harris. He had a long chat with Beacon to get the details of what happened with the Liberators of Gaia and how she found out about Purity’s plans. Apparently, he did a little digging into the timeline of Beacon’s appearance and everything and put the puzzle together. 

He’s an ally right now but Tricia doesn’t completely trust him. I do wonder if he’ll end up being more than a friend to her. I’m not sure. It’s just a hunch.

The next person to reveal that he knows who Beacon is, is Harold. He invented the material that Beacon’s suit is made of. He recognized the material while watching an interview featuring Beacon and a few days later, he all but told Tricia that he’s on her side. 

Tricia trusts him. I trust him too. Harold is a sweet, quirky guy. 

And the third person who now knows Beacon’s identity is Marni, Tricia’s best friend, but Marni didn’t figure it out by herself. Tricia told her. And boy, was Marni shocked. It was cute. She actually fell on her ass when Tricia started hovering above the ground. Her reaction makes total sense. Anyway, Tricia asked Marni to help her learn more about her powers and Marni agreed, so that’ll be interesting for sure. 

Those are all the official people who know Tricia is Beacon but there’s one other that I want to mention. Jimmy. When Tricia first got her powers, she stopped Jimmy from stealing a wallet belonging to a single mother outside a dance studio. After his run-in with Tricia, he started turning his life around. He got a job and his GED, and he’s really trying to be better. 

He knows Tricia is Beacon. Though, she never confirmed it for him. Still, I don’t think he’ll tell anyone. I do wonder if Tricia will ever see him again. 

The Epilogue and Darci 

The epilogue reveals a new character named Darci with powers, which are related to shadows. 

She knows Tricia is Beacon, or I think she does. Apparently, Darci was harmed in the same accident that gave Tricia her powers except nobody knew Darci was hurt. 

It never occurred to me that there was anyone else who got hurt in the accident. I figured the university would’ve sectioned off the whole building to do a sweep or a check but I guess not. 

Darci should be a fascinating addition to the story.