Thursday, June 30, 2011

Book Review: Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

Pages: 375
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pub. Date: May 3, 2011
Source: HarperCollins and Authors on the Web
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

*Small spoilers if you haven't read Wings or Spells.
Goodreads says, "Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.  But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail."




It's Laurel's senior year and she's dating her reliable boyfriend, David, and she still is close with her best friend, Chelsea.  All is status quo, until Tamani, who she hasn't seen since last year, walks into her school looking super dreamy and claims to be a "foreign exchange student." He is there to protect Laurel since there are new threats out there.  Klea also reappears with Yuki, another foreign exchange student, that will be attending Laurel's school; however, Yuki there's more than meets the eye with this new exciting character.  Illusions, Aprilynne's Pike's third installment, is part of the Wings series that keeps getting better and better.


Laurel is torn in this book. She's torn between two boys and two worlds.  She has a really hard time making up her mind and deals with a lot of guilt in Illusions.  For me there's no question about it. I've been Team Tamani all along and he doesn't disappoint in this book.  He's such a dreamy character, whereas David is too boring and too vanilla for me.  Fans of Tamani will enjoy that Pike included a few portions of the book that are from his point of view, which I think only made his character that much more enjoyable and intriguing.


If you like drama, you'll enjoy Illusions, because there's a lot of it.  There's drama with the love triangle and there's even drama between David and Tamani. Obviously there's been a lot of pent up anger between these two characters and it definitely boils over in this book.  Also, there's jealousy surrounding Yuki as she definitely stirs up the pot; she proved to be an interesting new addition to the series.


Of course, I was completely immersed in Pike's take of faerie mythology and the mythical world of Avalon. Along with my students, I love the world that Pike created, the various types of faeries and of course, the crazy trolls.  And just like before, there's an intense cliffhanger that will have readers' mouths open in shock.  Too bad we have to wait until April to figure out what happens next!



*Read an excerpt
*Buy Wings
*Buy Spells

*Thanks to Anne at Authors on the Web and HarperCollins for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 comments:

  1. This was my favorite of the three so far :) Glad you're enjoying the series as well!

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  2. Nice review. I haven't had a chance to read this one yet but it sounds good. I love it when authors do multiple points of view. :)

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  3. Thanks for the great review. I liked Illusions but my favorite in the series is still Spells. Can't wait for book four :)

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  4. YA Bibliophile- I definitely liked it the most!

    Kathy- Thank you! :) I hope you get to read it.

    Alexa- Thanks! Me too!

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  5. I adore Tamani and can't wait to read more about his new presence in her life. I look forward to seeing David hold a candle to Tamani now that they are on an even playing field.

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