Cruel Illusions: the deliciously dark and addictive magical fantasy

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This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home. I remember a time I’d stay up late to watch some of the shows that would come on, and sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if the love of magic shows went with the television or if people there’s still a thriving love for it. Her mom always said magic wasn’t actually real, but when Ava learns this was a lie to protect her, she wants to know everything. Luke, I Am Your Father: Lucius, the leader of the Society and a major villain in the novel, is revealed to be the father of heroine Ava Perry.

Cruel Illusions - Hodderscape [INSERT UK TITLE ARTWORK] Cruel Illusions - Hodderscape

But Ava can’t be bothered by that right now, she needs to get back to the magician Hunger Games and defeat her mortal enemy, Ethan the Pistol Man. To sum up, Cruel Illusion is a book that I recommend if you are in the mood to read a book that is not too elaborate and quite predictable but full of magic, circus shows, vampires and with a cute romance! But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one .In addition to that, we have a lot of heart and self discovery in this book, I felt similar when I read the authors first book and the heartstrings really get tugged on at points, in happy, sad and sometimes bittersweet ways. Unique magic system, but quite predictable with a feel of "been there/done that" if you've read a handful or more of this type of YA novel before. Parker’s staring at me with something like pity in his eyes, and I lock down whatever emotion he’s reading on my face. The story focuses on the cutthroat competition as it turns out that anyone who doesn’t bring a suitable apprentice to the competition doesn’t just have their troupe dissolved into other troupes, but forcibly removed, maybe even have their memories removed liked the failed apprentices, and the apprentices realize that they are all fighting for only one spot against each other. I also loved the fact that Cruel Illusion talked about vampires and also incorporated these figures into the theme of magic and the circus .

Cruel Illusions) - Goodreads Margie Fuston (Author of Cruel Illusions) - Goodreads

Her parents were both stage magicians and she shares their love of magic and likes to perform coin tricks.Nonetheless, Cruel Illusions is worth a shot to satiate your next YA Vampire mood but want a little twist. She’s always loved magic, clinging on to the illusions her mum showed her to keep her close, while simultaneously training with one goal in mind - to someday kill a vampire for taking her mother from her. Margie Fuston grew up in the woods of California where she made up fantasy worlds that always involved unicorns. Taken in as their apprentice, and beguiled by the young man Xander, she agrees to join them at the competition of magicians that year and hopes to earn the chance to become part of the trope to learn more about her mother and take revenge on the vampires who killed her. then, the perfect opportunity arises when a troupe of magicians invites her to join them…as long as she can make her way through a deadly competition.

Cruel Illusions | Book by Margie Fuston | Official Publisher

We also have a rival troupe lead by Roman, who tries to scare Ava away from this dangerous world right from the get go. Based on the author's note, it seemed Stephanie Garber was an inspiration for Margie Fuston and it works so well for this story.I liked the idea of the secret society as well, but the fact that everything really was an illusion just made the ending rather lackluster. Even when I’m not moving, when I lie in bed staring at the notches in the wooden beam dividing the ceiling, it groans and whispers as it stretches its worn joints. The story reallt got going by the 75% mark and i feel like it would have paid off better to be a duology rather than a standalone? I still find myself drawn to magic tricks even though most of them have long been explained through youtube tutorials and other means.

Cruel Illusions | Margie Fuston | 9781399711364 | NetGalley Cruel Illusions | Margie Fuston | 9781399711364 | NetGalley

Their power is fed by the audiences believing that they can do their magic for real, and that gives the magicians a boost in power allowing them to do it for real. That said, a vampire that consumes the blood of a magician gains the ability to use magic itself for a few days and, more importantly, be able to move and walk in sunlight. The world building was fantastic, the characters were very well developed and the magic system was INCREDIBLE. My steps lighten as I hurry from the kitchen and dart up the stairs, dusting the banister with my hand as I go. Foster money stops at 18, Deb is willingly spending her own money (as a single mother) to help Ava feel comfortable and the response is that she won’t even thank Deb because that would give too much power to her.As the competition gets underway, she realizes there is something more sinister at play, and the truths she held fast to may not be so true after all.