Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: September 9, 2014Published by: HarperTeenStand-aloneSource: OwnFor fans of: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Sparkly Covers, YADownton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.
“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”
Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.
Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.
*MY THOUGHTS*
“We wear faces as disguises.“
I was ok with the writing style, but it did seem a little weird to me. It seemed a little choppy, but I think that was because instead of going into too much detail she actually did leave some things out. But only for the way the story was written. I say this because in the end she tells us everything. I think she was just building the tension.
“If we are not moving forward, we will perish.“
Her building the tension like that was the specific reason I fell for this story. So many things had me so intrigued I wanted to flip towards the end and see what the hell was going on. And that’s saying something because I hate spoilers of any kind. But even with being a little confused for awhile, I really did like the story.
“You attract trouble. I think you court it.“
As for the characters, Finn was just ok. He wasn’t someone I swooned after, but he was sweet all the same. And Jessamine, I couldn’t decide if I thought she was brave or just freaking crazy. I say that about a lot of the stubborn female characters I read about, but when there’s magic involved like in this story, the stakes are higher. Dealing with that type of magic and you have that one huge thing hindering you, it just seemed that she was out of her league. I thought she was nuts lol
“But fate is a slippery thing, is is not?“
This story was a wild ride for it to be so short. But still, this book is another book for White to add to her “Win” pile. Now I know I need to read all her other books and see if they have any of the same style writing as this one!
