Book Review of Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

Title: Illusions

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Release Date: May 3rd, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

*If you have not read Wings or Spells, this may contain spoilers*

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.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: Here we are book three in this series and we have picked up pretty much where we left off.  Laurel has settled into the world of high school teenage normalcy and her and David are still going strong.  That is until Tamani shows up and her feelings become jumbled once more.  I have to say I am completely bias here, I am not going to even pretend to think Laurel should end up with David, I think she should be with Tamani.  In the past two books she has not even given the poor guy a shot and I think he deserves at least that.  This issue does finally get addressed in this book though, which I was very grateful to Aprilynne for.  In past books Laurel has just brushed Tamani off without a second thought, but in this book he has to remain by her side to protect her so it makes trying to forget him very difficult for Laurel.  Plus, I personally think David is meant for Chelsea, but at this point, who knows what is going to happen.

As for everything else in this world, trolls are always lurking about popping up at unexpected moments and causing complete havoc in Laurel’s world.  Another problematic element is a new foreign exchange student that has moved into town.  Her name is Yuki and she is a mystery to everyone.  Laurel is not sure if she is friend or foe, or if she is human or fae for that matter.  As a result, Tamani has to play nice with Yuki trying to discover her motives and watching Laurel get jealous over that was quite amusing for me.  Yuki was someone that is easily forgotten, but should not be dismissed.  Her guardian is Klea so that alone roused my suspicions about her.  While she is in the book intermittently, I think she will play a larger role in future installments.

The best part of this book was getting to see the world through Tamani’s eyes.  My favorite books are always ones where we get to see the main male and female characters point of views.  Plus, it was nice to see things from someone other than Laurel’s perspective.  Tamani is my favorite so hearing his inner thoughts and seeing what he does when Laurel is not around was fascinating to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed Illusions.  After the second book, Spells, I was a little disappointed and frustrated, but I did not come away feeling like that after Illusions at all.  Even though the ending did have a cliffhanger which would normally bother me, it didn’t this time.  The story revealed enough information to keep me happy and several underlying issues were addressed so I did not feel let down.  There are still a ton of things up in the air, but I have enough to hold me over until the next book comes out.  Although, the book does not come until 2012, so that is going to be a long wait.  I am sure the next book will be fantastic though, so it will be worth it.

FTC:  I received this ARC from Around the World Tours.