Illusions by Madeline J. Reynolds

Dec 11, 2018 C.G. Drews added it

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, magical-fantasy, ya-male-narrators, read-2018

It is always a good time to dissolve into a book about magicians...so excuse me while I *flail* for this one. It felt like the Prestige (that is such a good and super dark movie??? everyone should see it go go) but softer and more focused on the romance. But afjskla I absolutely crave more magician-centric books, pls universe.

➸ So this is Historical Fiction...but with MAGIC.
Thomas is a magician, but like a real one. But his indentured to this asshat of a magician master. It's set in 1899 and everythin/> ...more

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Sep 27, 2018 D.M. rated it liked it

Illusions is written in a series of diary entries, letters and newspaper clippings. Every magician wants to create the perfect performance. They want their final act to give the audience the overwhelming sense of something spectacular. Neville Wighton is no different. He learns a secret which makes his act go from mediocre to spectacular. His shows become sellouts but the secrets to his final act could be deadly.

Saverio is obsessed with finding out how his trick can be done. He's so obsessed he ...more

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Nov 26, 2018 Luupi "The Reading Queen" rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, lgbtttiqa, gold-friendship, read-2018, arcs, fantasy, 2018-releases

Recently in October I had to watch "The Ilusionist" for school and this book reminded me of it so much but better since it has a more deep and moving love story.

"And though I may still have to hide from those who would intend me harm, I can at least stop hiding from one person in particular... Myself."

Illusions is about Thomas and Saverio, both apprentices of famous magicians but for different reasons. The story starts when Thomas' magician perfoms an impossible trick that makes Saverio's magician seem less expectaculstory.
...more

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Dec 02, 2018 Stella (Paper Wings) rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction-ish, lgbt-plus-presence, but-where-is-the-editor, best-books-of-2018, sensibility-but-no-sense, lgbt-plus-mc, lost-sleep-for-this, pretty-covers, denial-is-the-new-instalove, good-romance

"All's fair in love and magic."

In a weird way, this book reminds me of The Abyss Surrounds Us. The two books are very different plot-wise, but they're alike in that, although they both have interesting premises, solid worlds, and exciting plots, we all know we're only here for the Gay.

So. Let's 👏 talk 👏 about 👏 the Gay 👏. It's not the best romance I've ever read, but it is still so adorable. As the blurb says, one of two main characters, Saverio, begins to romance the other one, Thomas, in order to

"All's fair in love and magic."

In a weird way, this book reminds me of The Abyss Surrounds Us. The two books are very different plot-wise, but they're alike in that, although they both have interesting premises, solid worlds, and exciting plots, we all know we're only here for the Gay.

So. Let's 👏 talk 👏 about 👏 the Gay 👏. It's not the best romance I've ever read, but it is still so adorable. As the blurb says, one of two main characters, Saverio, begins to romance the other one, Thomas, in order to gain information on Thomas' magician mentor's tricks. Saverio is basically the bisexual (not confirmed bi, but pretty clear) italian magician's apprentice we've all secretly needed in our lives. Thomas is my adorkable gay poet son who just wants to be frickin' loved, and then Saverio starts to actually fall for him, and I'm just... nonexistent.

For some reason I really have a thing for magician/illusionist novels, I love reading novels composed of clippings and diary entries, and the seducing-someone-for-personal-gain-turned-love trope (is that an actual trope? I hope so) is an odd favorite of mine, so this book was kind of just written for me. Illusions is a pretty niche book for these reasons though, so if those three things aren't your cup of tea, I honestly kind of doubt this will be the story that converts you.

My main critique of this book would be the pacing. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, but there was very little action, the action really only picked up around the last third of the book, and it happened a bit suddenly, as if it hadn't been planned out in the first part of the book. I think it might have been better if at least the dangers had been laid out ahead of time so that there was more of a feeling of suspense.

But overall I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes one needs some cute magic gays in one's life. Or maybe that's just me. I just want Thomas to turn me into a paper butterfly so I can be immortalized in a bookstore with my magician children. Thanks.

"But is it so naive of me to want the type of passion I so often read about? Is it foolish to want a love that is so wholly consuming that it causes me to ache? Fate is cruel that way, showing you exactly what you want even when it cannot be yours."

...more

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Nov 17, 2018 Shannon rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Thank you to netgalley for giving me an e-ARC for an honest review.

"O, the things I tolerate to portray the ultimate illusion: love."

Thomas is a gentle soul who wants nothing more than to write poetry, but he is stuck as a magician apprentice to Neville Whiton the Great because he hides a secret: he possesses real magic.
Saverio is a magicians apprentice to the rival of Neville and has set out to find out how Neville does and unbelievable trick, but not for his maste Thank you to netgalley for giving me an e-ARC for an honest review.

"O, the things I tolerate to portray the ultimate illusion: love."

Thomas is a gentle soul who wants nothing more than to write poetry, but he is stuck as a magician apprentice to Neville Whiton the Great because he hides a secret: he possesses real magic.
Saverio is a magicians apprentice to the rival of Neville and has set out to find out how Neville does and unbelievable trick, but not for his master's profit, Saverio has a plan of his own and he's will to do anything for it!
Set in 1898 London, both Thomas and Saverio keep journals of their lives and through them we follow the story of their greatest illusions. This is a story of love, betrayal and of course magic!

✅Historical Fiction, LGBT Romance with a mix of magic
✅Charecter driven plot with wonderfully detailed dialogue
✅Madeline J Reynolds writting style is amazing!
✅Story is told through two point of views from our main protagonists through diary entries and was beautifully done.

❌The story swapped to 3rd person right at the end and i was a bit confused but once I realised what had happened it didnt matter.

I can't express how much i loved this book! Reynolds writting style is amazing. She has become an instant buy author for me. It took me maybe 3 chapters to get into the rhythm of the diary entries but after that i was hooked. I was expecting the story to be about 2 men who were rivals and tried to outdo each others magic tricks. What i got was an amazing love story that was so beautiful and emotional, a coming out story, a devestating betrayal and the grandest illusion. Though the story follows both young men's journals and it tells the events in past tense (and yes, it is overly detailed for a journal entry but this is fiction not real life) this never takes anything from the story, in fact I think it made it more gripping! I dont want to spoil the story for anyone because i will be recommending this book to EVERYONE so i wont say any more, but this is one of my favorite books ive read this year and i cant wait to see what Reynolds writes next!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 ...more

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Jan 05, 2019 Sionna rated it liked it

Shelves: lgbtqa, netgalley, romance, 2019-books, fantasy, young-adult, historical, sexy-times

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

3.5 stars

This is a difficult book to rate and review. I feel like my emotions were on a roller coaster. I started out a bit apprehensive, fell in love with the format and the characters, started getting bored, interest sparked again!, then annoyance, with a satisfying ending. So, let me run you through this.

This book is told mostly (like 90%) as diary entries written by “I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

3.5 stars

This is a difficult book to rate and review. I feel like my emotions were on a roller coaster. I started out a bit apprehensive, fell in love with the format and the characters, started getting bored, interest sparked again!, then annoyance, with a satisfying ending. So, let me run you through this.

This book is told mostly (like 90%) as diary entries written by Thomas and Saverio. I really liked this since it always feels a bit unique to me. I liked how we got their honest opinions about situations and each other and then could see how the other thought about an exchange. This made some entries long, some only a few lines long, and long spaces of time when they don't feel like writing their thoughts down. There are also some letters, newspaper headings, and a few others images once in awhile which made the reading experience so fun. I love little things like this.

The thing is, I went into this expecting a decent amount of magic, which isn't what happened. This is more of a historical romance. Until I came to this realization, I was able to change my expectations a bit, but I still was a bit bored at times. Their journals are mostly about their growing feelings for each other -- which is so cute and a joy to read at times, but considering we know that Saverio has started his seduction with nefarious purposes it is easy to see where the romance conflict is going. Perhaps because I knew where it was going I really thought a lot of this book dragged on.
Another point is, I really REALLY liked the characters. I loved that through their love and support of one another they are able to grow, but I felt like the characters lost who they were. I loved Saverio's confidence, yet it seemed to get lost to other parts of the story.

The last 15% .... I think the only thing I can say is if you get that far to read all the way to the end. I was about to get SO. Mad. I'm glad I read all the way to the end which ended the book on a high note for me, but that tiny part almost had me dropping my rating to a 2. Although even the ending felt too... implausible? Perhaps I just don't know enough about that location and time period's views.

So, would I recommend this? Yes. If you want a cute romance between likeable characters who actually show growth and emotion with a pinch of magic thrown in, then you should really give this a try. I am glad I read it. I'll probably wait for more reviews before I read the author's next work, but I definitely WILL be checking up on it. ...more

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Nov 06, 2018 Shannon rated it liked it

Shelves: youngadult, m-m, with-a-twist, teen-age, historical, arc, 2018

3.5*

I was intrigued by the blurb for Illusions, (which I see has now changed on the retail sites), not having read too many books about magicians. And while I did enjoy the story and it had great potential, it didn’t turn out to be quite as entertaining as I had hoped. I didn’t actually mind the way the story was told through the journal entries of each character, and that may be because there was a lot more detail to them than what you’d normally expect to find in a diary format. Th ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Nicole Jacobs rated it it was amazing

I LOVED THIS BOOK, THIS STORY WAS BREATHTAKING ( I mean that quite literally, as a few scenes had me crying and therefore I had no breath)

This book sunk into my soul and made me feel everything I was meant to.

Illusions Is about two magicians apprentices, one that is trying to steal a secret of the greatest trick ever done. And one that wants love.

This book is almost fully written in journal entry format. At first I love and hated that. Loved because I always love when there are journal entrie ...more

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Oct 11, 2018 becca rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-releases, 2018-reads

"Yet all my life, ever since I had a concept of what I am and how different I am from the world around me, I have searched and scoured for any sign that magic exists somewhere, with other people, but my searches have proved fruitless. If there are others who wield such talents, they have done a magnificent job of keeping that fact hidden. Just another sign that I must do the same."

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for my hon "Yet all my life, ever since I had a concept of what I am and how different I am from the world around me, I have searched and scoured for any sign that magic exists somewhere, with other people, but my searches have proved fruitless. If there are others who wield such talents, they have done a magnificent job of keeping that fact hidden. Just another sign that I must do the same."

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Illusions is about two magician's apprentices, caught deep in a web of magic and secrecy. Well-known magician Neville Wighton has gained a place in the international spotlight by debuting a trick where he vanishes into thin air, with the secret help of his apprentice Thomas. Thomas is used to keeping his magical abilities well hidden. But the appearance of Saverio, a handsome young man with motives of his own, threatens to reveal Thomas to the magical community, and to the world at large. One boy would do anything to keep his secret, and the other would do anything to find it out. But what happens when they begin to feel something far beyond enmity, or even friendship, for each other?

If I'm being honest, this was a difficult read for me. The romance is lovely and the story has its merits, but I couldn't find a single reason for it to be told almost exclusively in journal and letter format. If anything, this decision shot the story in the foot - it removed all suspense from the narrative, and brought the reader so close to the characters that it felt claustrophobic. First person narration written in traditional prose, or even third person, would have been better. Maybe the settings would have retained more life, the descriptions not so rushed. There was also the added frustration that the characters knew how each scene ended before they even began describing it - and so did the reader.

All things considered, this story has promise. But the format was distracting and counterproductive enough to take a lot away from the lovely characters and positive message. While positive LGBT+ representation is always a good thing, Illusions could have done it better. ...more

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Nov 11, 2018 Amelia Brunskill rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book! It was a wonderful mixture of magic, romance, and really excellent writing. I loved how distinct the voices of the two boys were, and how genuine their connection felt. My two thumbs, they are both up.

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Oct 12, 2018 Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, netgalley, nothing-rhymes-with-circus, romance

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Entangled Publishing, LLC. Trigger warnings: physical abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia.

Thomas is a magician’s assistant with a dangerous secret: the magic he performs is real. Saverio is the assistant of a rival magician, and he’s been tasked with unraveling the secret of Neville’s newest trick. Somehow, the man is able to disappear into thin air and reappear on the balcony. He decides to get close to Neville’s assist I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Entangled Publishing, LLC. Trigger warnings: physical abuse, emotional abuse, homophobia.

Thomas is a magician’s assistant with a dangerous secret: the magic he performs is real. Saverio is the assistant of a rival magician, and he’s been tasked with unraveling the secret of Neville’s newest trick. Somehow, the man is able to disappear into thin air and reappear on the balcony. He decides to get close to Neville’s assistant in order to learn the secret, but Thomas has a sweet charm of his own. Before long, Sav is more concerned with winning his heart than stealing his trick, but how can he convince Thomas that his affection has been genuine all this time? More importantly, how will he protect Thomas from a magician who will stop at nothing to maintain his reputation?

I don’t think epistolary style was the best choice for this novel. In the first place, it isn’t done very well. Other than the occasional poem, there are few style changes between Sav’s writing and Thomas’s, so it doesn’t feel like I’m peering in on the private thoughts of either character. There’s also the matter that no one remembers that level of detail or specific dialogue in their writing, so it never feels authentically like a journal. I could probably get past that, except that it’s also constantly dragging at the pace. Instead of being directly in the scenes, we’re frequently being pulled out of them and reminded that we’re reading someone else’s interpretation of what happened. Unfortunately, the characters’ innermost thoughts on the events don’t bring a lot to the story. It made it difficult to get invested in what was happening.

That’s not to say much does happen. The magician angle that drew me to the novel is sadly underplayed. Thomas hates magic; it takes him well over half the book to start practicing, and Sav is never actively on the page with his magician mentor. We never once see him perform or practice an illusion. In a novel almost exclusively about magicians, there just isn’t enough magic. The plot is highly character focused instead, and the actual conflict isn’t apparent until well over halfway. For readers who don’t mind introspective character books, this won’t be a problem, but it’s not for readers who prefer fast-paced or complicated plots.

The two main characters aren’t bad, although the side characters are mainly caricatures of villains–which is fine, because this story isn’t about them. Sav is a charming playboy who’s sworn off love, and Thomas is a shy poet with little life experience and more than one secret that could get him killed. The character development is well done on both sides. I preferred Thomas learning to stand up for himself to Sav overcoming his fear of love, but only because it felt slightly more original. The pretend-romance-becomes-real-romance trope is strong, but it’s a cute one. I enjoyed watching their relationship progress. I dislike the fact that homosexuality is illegal in every historical fantasy novel ever (magic is real, but we can’t imagine a world where LGBTQ+ people aren’t persecuted?), but it ends up playing a distinct role in the plot.

The last quarter of the book is faster and more suspenseful as there’s finally a conflict outside of the characters’ relationships. It becomes clear why the journal format is necessary, which resolved a few inexplicable things about the writing (why Thomas’s journal switches randomly to second person, why the last section of the book abandons the journal format and moves to plain narrative–I guess), but I’m not sure it’s enough to justify the damage it does to the pace. I think I would have felt more connected to the characters without it. Reynolds never really had me fooled with the ending, but I didn’t want to be. All in all, Illusions is a cute, fluffy gay romance that’s high on tropes and low on drama. It doesn’t bring a lot of new things to the table for either magician stories or romance, but there are thousands of hetero romances out there that are cut from the same cloth. I see no reason not to write and read another thousand of the same stories with more diverse representation.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com. ...more

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Nov 12, 2018 Brooke Banks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: age-young-adult, format-arcs, 2018-diversify-your-reading, genre-paranormal, genre-historical, genre-romance, source-review-copy, written-reviews, blog-tours, diversity-quiltbag

I received this book for free from YA Bound Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Welcome back lovelies! You're going to love today's feature Illusions by Madeline J. Reynolds. It's a historical m/m romance with a touch of literal magic. My 5 star review is below along with a tour wide giveaway for TWO copies of Illusions!
ABOUT ILLUSIONS

ABOUT ILLUSIONS'S AUTHOR

IMHO: ILLUSIONS
Illusions Teaser Image

Content Warning: Abuse, Homophobia, Hate Crime, Depression, Public Execution

Told in alternating j ...more

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Nov 11, 2018 Alex (Briennai) rated it it was amazing

I came to this book expecting an exciting story about the lives of magicians entertaining people in the late 1800s. As someone who loves stories about old show business, I just KNEW that I was going to love this one. What I got was so much more than what I could have ever dreamed of.

When I started reading the novel, I was reading chapters flipping back and forth between Thomas and Sav's diary entries. They hadn't met yet, and I wasn't sure when they were going to meet. All I knew wa I came to this book expecting an exciting story about the lives of magicians entertaining people in the late 1800s. As someone who loves stories about old show business, I just KNEW that I was going to love this one. What I got was so much more than what I could have ever dreamed of.

When I started reading the novel, I was reading chapters flipping back and forth between Thomas and Sav's diary entries. They hadn't met yet, and I wasn't sure when they were going to meet. All I knew was that they were both magicians apprentices and that the magicians the boys worked for were competing against each other. Then, they cross paths. Thomas starts wanting to talk to the mysterious stranger who keeps coming to his shows, and Sav needs to know how Thomas and Neville pull off their disappearing trick. Sav never plans to fall for Thomas, and Thomas definitely doesn't plan on falling for him. But they do, and Sav has to decide whether to abandon his master and stay with his magic boy, or to reveal Thomas' secrets and ruin his life.

I haven't read any LGBT Victorian romance novels, so I didn't know what to expect once I saw how romantic that this was getting. It was interesting to see their relationship dynamic, and how almost freeing it was for them. Without the internet, they were able to keep more under the radar of the local homophobic citizens. They could just stay in their flat or go on dates at night, and barely anybody would be out to see them. It seemed like a normal YA romance novel, except I thought that Thomas and Sav had more chemistry than most YA couples usually do.

Thomas has magic, but I felt that his magic could have been explored a bit more. The book never explains why Thomas has magic, how he found out that he had magic, and how he was able to use/control his powers. The story was still long without this bit of filler, but I would have liked to know a little bit more about how his powers specifically worked.

Sav also has a "rags-to-riches" backstory that is mentioned a few times in the novel, but is again never explored in depth. Since the book was set up in diary format, I think that there were opportunities for Sav to reflect on his past more.
Even though the book didn't discuss the characters' backstories as much, the characters' current personalities were developed in amazing ways. Thomas was a shy apprentice, but he got stronger as he fell harder for Sav and continued to help Neville in his performances. The outcome of the performances reflected his emotional state. When he was upset, the performance didn't go well. When he was happily in love, the performances went perfectly. Same with Sav. He started the story being strong, stoic and refusing to open up to Thomas. He had to learn how to break out of his shell, opening up to and trusting Thomas.

There was just so much depth to this book. I have never read a book about show business or magic shows just like this one. I would literally recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical fiction, or YA LGBTQ+ romance.

I received an advance copy of this book, and this is my voluntary review. ...more

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Feb 21, 2019 Cas marked it as did-not-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, read-in-2019, lgbtqia-rep

DNF at 30%

I would have preferred to watch paint dry in a 30°F room than continue to haul my typically stubborn ass through this book for even “just one more chapter” in hopes that it got better because I hate abandoning books. And considering I’ve suffered many books that have gone to the metaphorical Never Again Cemetery and taken years of my life with them, I think that says a lot.

Though, before I continue, I really do feel the need to say that I’m not calling this book bad. This DNF at 30%

I would have preferred to watch paint dry in a 30°F room than continue to haul my typically stubborn ass through this book for even “just one more chapter” in hopes that it got better because I hate abandoning books. And considering I’ve suffered many books that have gone to the metaphorical Never Again Cemetery and taken years of my life with them, I think that says a lot.

Though, before I continue, I really do feel the need to say that I’m not calling this book bad. This is wholly objective so if you like historical fiction with a little whimsy, you’ll potentially like this book because it’s not bad, there’s nothing problematic as far as I know. Just, for me, I would have found counting blades of grass more fun.

Where the concept is interesting, the characters and execution fall flat. I’m not really sure if it’s the prose or the formatting of the book (all the chapters are written as journal entries from both Thomas and Saverio) that made it such a dull read, but I fell asleep on multiple occasions reading chapters and they didn’t go down very easily. It was like shoving a packet of saltine crackers in my mouth without having a glass of water.

This could potentially be my own fault because I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction—mostly because of the dialogue and narrative styles that tend to come off as pretentious rather than dated and a general kind of disconnect that leaves me detached and uninterested. I think the only reason I tried to give this a shot is because I read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue a couple months ago, which very surprisingly ended up being one of the most fun reads I’ve had in a long time. So I thought maybe I’d give the genre more of a chance and be more open-minded.

So yes, I can fully acknowledge that this is probably my own fault so everything I say should be taken with a grain of absolutely nothing, but from a critical standpoint, I still think the execution was dull and the characters were lackluster. The writing fell into the same trap most historical fiction books do trip into, except it also had this strange kind of monotone to it. Neither Thomas nor Saverio interested me enough to be curious about them, their motives, or see their relationship blossom into something beyond surface lust. Everything just felt bland and dry and I was very simply just bored and unmotivated to continue.

As always, I’m not here to sway anyone or lead them away from this book. The LGBT+ representation had promise, and the concept is very interesting and there are plenty of people that loved how this book was written. If you’re interested in a historical fiction with some gay and some magic, you would probably be very inclined to read this.

It just wasn’t for me and I vowed to myself not to waste too much time on books I wasn’t enjoying this year to spare myself some stress because we all know I’ll probably die from an aneurysm writing a review about a book that ignited some seriously intense Feelings, good or bad. ...more

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Nov 20, 2018 Jackie rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2018-reads, lgbtq

An interesting idea and an overall okay read that dives into the world of love and magic.

“Illusions” sets up a struggle between two rival magicians as one succeeds at doing the impossible causing the other to send in his apprentice as a spy to uncover just how he was able to pul off his latest trick.

This is very similar to the idea behind “The Prestige” only with real magic and instead of trying to outdo the other we have one trying to uncover the secrets behind the illusion only to find that ...more

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Sep 28, 2018 Laila rated it liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me a copy of Illusions in exchange for honest feedback.

I really enjoyed this book. I would call it mature YA with a hint of fantasy. The story follows Thomas and Saverio, the apprentices to two rival performing magicians. At the start of the book, Thomas's employer reveals what seems to be an impossible stage trick. When Thomas and Saverio meet by chance, the instantly smitten look on Thomas's face leads Saverio to form a plan for discovering th ...more

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Oct 14, 2018 Zoe rated it liked it

This is one of those books where I like the story, but the writing just didn't thrill me.

Illusions is told in a series of journal entries from two boys, Thomas and Saverio, who are both apprentices to competing illusionists. Sav is tasked with finding out how Thomas's master, Neville, is getting away with an incredible trick. The journey diverges, though, when Thomas and Saverio inevitably meet.

The story is good and the characters are fun to read; I truly did love getting to know them.

The wri ...more

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Nov 10, 2018 Karyl Ahn White rated it it was amazing

Illusions by Madeline J Reynolds

“And here I was thinking I wouldn’t have any fun in London”

My favorite line from the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book though it was a bit surprising. It was almost as if you’d climes I to your grandparent’s attic and finding a collection of diaries, letters, news clippings etc. I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say there is interesting and unusual premise to the novel. There is romance which is beautifully written and ...more

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Dec 20, 2018 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it liked it

Shelves: received-for-review, reviewed-by-tacoma, 2018-nov-hotp

The description of ILLUSIONS grabbed me--stage magicians battling it out to be the best at their craft and a secret romance between competitors. The historical setting and focus on illusionists captured my imagination.

ILLUSIONS is written in epistolary format. As such, the diary entries often feel like summaries. The characters have already lived through the events of the novel, and the diary entries highlight that fact. I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief that anyone would ...more

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Nov 07, 2018 Eva rated it it was amazing

take two magician's apprentices, in victorian london, and have one performing in a magic show with an inexplicable illusion and the other out to figure out how it's done, and you have the barebones of this story. illusions is told from the perspective of the two apprentices, thomas and saverio, through their journal entries and correspondence.

we learn that thomas is hiding a huge secret, he is the explanation for the magician's tricks. he possesses a real power, magic to transform an ...more

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Oct 23, 2018 Cheryl rated it liked it

The premise of this book is great. This is why I wanted to read this book. It would have been really good if the story had started out with the one scene towards the ending as the starting point of the story and then made its way backward. Due to the layout of the story being all in journal format. This way I would have been sucked into the story quicker. Not that I wasn't interested in the story but it just took me a bit longer. Also, it didn't help that I found the pacing of the story to move ...more

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Jan 09, 2019 Noyontara rated it liked it

3.5 stars
A novel setting which could have done with a better execution. Much of the potential went to waste on a trope-filled love story. The plot was pretty linear- there was nothing very fresh or unexpected, save for the twist at the end. The closing seemed a bit abrupt, after the meandering first half of the book. Could have been better paced. The dual perspective was well distinguished. A personal contention- I wish there was more backstory on both Thomas and Saverio's childhoods, inst ...more

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Mar 19, 2019 Sam rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 19, 2018 Ayah rated it it was amazing

What a uniquely written, piece of heaven!

description

Illusions is written in the form of journal entries, posters, letters, newspaper snippets, and I absolutely loved that. There were lots of original poems spread throughout the story, and God they were absolutely marvelous.

A sea of people, one face I see,

A world of sounds, one voice I hear.

A pair of eyes that lands on me,

A moment held forever dear.

A chance encounter, a twist of fate,

Two paths th ...more

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Oct 01, 2018 Eli rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, lgbt, 1-star, disappointments, family, historical-fiction, worst-books-i-ve-read, fiction, less-known-books

JAN 11 - JAN 13 2019
1.5 Stars

Magic? Lgbt topics? Hell yes, you’ve said enough. Needless to say -- I really wanted to enjoy this one. But debut novels are the most unpredictable.

I absolutely struggled with this one. But I always try to get through a book, whether or not I’m enjoying it, in order to give a full and honest review. And I may have also kept reading in hopes it might get better.

It was an easy read, and could have easily been a great novel had it been written well. The plot/>Magic? ...more

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Sep 28, 2018 Olivia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

"Illusions" was an enthralling historical romance with supernatural elements. The premise set up at the beginning of the book is that we are reading the historical documents held by the London Metropolitan Archives- diary entries of Thomas Pendleton and Saverio Moretti (translated), magician's apprentices. Thomas is the apprentice for Neville Wighton, an up-and-coming magician, and a job which Thomas does not want- his parents have pushed him into it. Thomas would rather write poetry and study a "Illusions" was an enthralling historical romance with supernatural elements. The premise set up at the beginning of the book is that we are reading the historical documents held by the London Metropolitan Archives- diary entries of Thomas Pendleton and Saverio Moretti (translated), magician's apprentices. Thomas is the apprentice for Neville Wighton, an up-and-coming magician, and a job which Thomas does not want- his parents have pushed him into it. Thomas would rather write poetry and study at the university he attends.

You see, Thomas is harboring a secret- one that could get him killed- he possesses actual magic. His parents think this is the best way to keep him safe, hidden amongst what is known to be the false magic of a stage magician. Wighton is using his abilities to perform a marvelous trick- he jumps off the stage and disappears, only to reappear in a balcony box. This trick is what is going to make Wighton's career, but Wighton is still verbally and physically abusive of his assistant. Thomas wishes only to be free.

Saverio (Sav) is an Italian assistant to the man who purchased him when he was young, Paolo il Magnifico- however, Saverio is ready to make a career on his own. When Paolo agrees to allow Sav to remain in England to study Wighton's secret for the marvelous disappearing trick, Sav knows that this is his chance. He sets his eyes on the assistant, Thomas, to seduce and get information. However, as he begins his seduction, he gets to know Thomas better and faces an internal struggle.

While the first part of the book seemed to drag, I was soon completely enthralled by the story and the format. Their relationship really drives the story forward and the format worked perfectly for this. The magic takes a backseat to the romance but is a current running underneath the novel, which has key roles to play at certain points. While I liked Thomas right away, Sav had to grow on me, largely through his own epiphanies and gains in terms of his own identity.

Overall, it was an amazing journey, and I found reading about Thomas and Sav really fascinating. Although not quite what I expected (I was expecting more about the magic than romance), I really enjoyed it as-is, and I wouldn't change a thing. I highly recommend for older teen readers and adults who like historical romance- this is definitely a worthwhile read!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own. ...more

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Oct 21, 2018 Ana Santo rated it really liked it

If you are pondering about reading this book as a nice quick read, do it. But be aware and it’s also packed with a strong “punch of feels in the gut” and should be approached carefully.

This is the story of two magician apprentices: Thomas Pendelton and Saverio Moretti.

Thomas has a secret. He can do real magic. Saverio has a mission, learn the secret of Thomas’s mentor last trick that is enchanting people all over Victorian London.

Magicians, Victorian London, m ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Ashley rated it it was amazing

At first, I was not sure that I would enjoy this book since it is written completely in journal format and I typically cannot get into this writing style. This was not the case when it came to Illusions! I was absolutely entranced within the first few chapters.

It is such a beautiful story set in 1880s Europe, with two very compelling main characters. First you have Thomas, who is a sweet young man that loves his poetry and has a secret that if found out could put his life in jeopardy. Then you ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Briana rated it really liked it

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was very hopeful and excited for this book and I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it immensely. The synopsis intrigued me, as I thought it had a similar premise to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, where a couple of magicians take on apprentices in a competition to see who would win in magic and skill. While Illusions did not have such a competition, it did have the same air ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Lenore Kosinski rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

https://celebrityreaders.com/2018/11/...

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — Guess who has a crying headache now? Oh, that would be me!!! I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this one, as it’s a bit out of my wheelhouse in a couple of ways: a) I don’t tend to read historical; and b) it was written as a series of journal entries, which I wasn’t sure I was going to like. But that blurb just sucked me in, you know? Which, I must say, now that I’ve r https://celebrityreaders.com/2018/11/...

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — Guess who has a crying headache now? Oh, that would be me!!! I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this one, as it’s a bit out of my wheelhouse in a couple of ways: a) I don’t tend to read historical; and b) it was written as a series of journal entries, which I wasn’t sure I was going to like. But that blurb just sucked me in, you know? Which, I must say, now that I’ve read the story, I feel like the blurb is kind of misleading. I kept expecting something because of the blurb, and maybe I’m just not thinking correctly, but I don’t feel like the blurb *quite* fits into the story. Regardless, though, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself.

Since this book was outside the norm for me, I was super reluctant to start it. But once I did, I became intrigued. And the further along I went, the more invested I became in the story and our characters. I’m not sure if the way the story was told (through journal entries, and the occasional newspaper clipping, etc) was actually necessary. Part of me says yes, definitely. Part of me felt like the journal entries didn’t always feel like real journal entries. It was like the author was trying to stick to that, but occasionally it felt more like narrative. But honestly? In the end it didn’t matter to me, because my love for Thomas and Saverio overshadowed everything else.

Thomas broke my heart so many times. He was so shy and nervous, and struggling with so much. And seeing all those people using him was just disgusting. He had such a sweet, pure heart that it just made it worse. But I did love seeing him grow throughout the story, build confidence, and become more self-accepting.

Saverio took a bit longer to get his hooks into me. Which is not to say I disliked him at the beginning, but I was wary of him. Even with what we know of how he grew up, it was still hard to watch him being so cold and almost mercenary. But I think that made his slow fall that much more satisfying, and believable. If the turnaround had been abrupt, it wouldn’t have felt authentic. I even appreciated the occasional missteps he made after falling for Thomas, because that was believable too.

I thought it was interesting how Sav was fine with his sexual preferences, even at that time. It was so different from Thomas… It was SO HARD to read about the way they had to hide their love in that time period. I mean, I know it’s hard to be gay in the here and now, but I can’t even FATHOM how hard it would have been back then. BUT their romance was so sweet and beautiful, and I just truly felt their connection to one another.

This book truly took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I had no idea where we were going to end up, but I was satisfied when I got there.

On a side note, I will admit that this book didn’t feel young adult to me. It wasn’t that it was explicit or anything, it just didn’t feel “teen” to me. But honestly, as an adult reader, I’m not sure I know what YA is anymore.

So yeah. I went into this one with trepidation, and it surprised me in all the best ways. ...more

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