Title: Cruel Illusion
Series: Standalone
Author’s Name: Margie Fuston
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: YA
Page Count: 512 Pages
ISBN: 9781665902106
Author or Book Website: Margie Fuston – Author
Link to Amazon purchase page: Amazon.com: Cruel Illusions: Fuston, Margie: Books
Link to Goodreads: Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston | Goodreads
Release Date: N/A
How I Got the Book: Review Copy
Summary of the Book:
Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this deliciously dark young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother’s death.
Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home.
But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she’s hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can’t explain.
But they’ve been waiting for her.
The magicians reveal they’re part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there’s a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she’s worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur, and the stakes are deadly.
My Personal Review: I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. When I was reading the summary for this book I was like I need that in my life. What could be better than magic and vampires? I started to read this standalone novel and it was a little slow to start and I had to push through the foundation of the book. Ava is on a journey to get the answers she has been searching for, for over a decade. She is trying to tell lies from magic and illusion. The troupe said they could help her with her magic but she has to join them and take part in a competition that will help her find the vampire that killed her mother. It is quite the ride from page one to the last.
My Rating of the Book: 4 Stars
From the Book Reviewer's Desk 