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Born of Illusion #2
Born of Deception: A Young Adult Thriller - A Teen Illusionist with Psychic Powers Hunts a Kidnapper in Jazz Age London
Perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Anna Godbersen, this thrilling historical suspense novel—and sequel to Born of Illusion—tells the story of a teen illusionist who must harness her special powers and navigate the underworld of magic before her murderous enemies catch up with her.
After scoring a spot on a European vaudeville tour, Anna Van Housen is moving to London to chase her dream and to join an underground society for people like her with psychic abilities. But when Anna arrives, she finds the group in turmoil—one of its members has been kidnapped, and members of the society are starting to turn on one another. Her life in danger and her relationship with her boyfriend, Cole, fizzling, can Anna track down the kidnapper before he makes her his next victim—or will she be forced to pay the ultimate price for her powers?
Lovers of historical fiction and stories filled with romance and intrigue will fall for Born of Deception and its world of magic set in Jazz Age London.
After scoring a spot on a European vaudeville tour, Anna Van Housen is moving to London to chase her dream and to join an underground society for people like her with psychic abilities. But when Anna arrives, she finds the group in turmoil—one of its members has been kidnapped, and members of the society are starting to turn on one another. Her life in danger and her relationship with her boyfriend, Cole, fizzling, can Anna track down the kidnapper before he makes her his next victim—or will she be forced to pay the ultimate price for her powers?
Lovers of historical fiction and stories filled with romance and intrigue will fall for Born of Deception and its world of magic set in Jazz Age London.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2014
12 people are currently reading
2713 people want to read
About the author
Teri Brown
9 books355 followersWell behaved women rarely make history. Teri Brown lived that quote way before she ever even heard it. The two things she is most proud of, (besides her children), is that she jumped out of an airplane once and she beat the original Legend of Zelda video game. She is a novel writer, head banger, pet keeper, math hater, cocktail drinker, booty shaker, book reader, city slicker, food fixer, French kisser, rule breaker, wine sipper and word scribbler. She loves her husband, kitties and chocolate.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
April 17, 2017
See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
2.5 stars
Words could not express how excited I was when I finally got my hands on Born of Deception. Born of Illusion, the first novel was equally mesmerizing and pleasantly surprising, however, I cannot say the same for Teri Brown's newest.
Anna Van Housen has always been one of my favourite protagonists ever since I met her in Born of Illusion. Her character growth throughout that novel was absolutely momentous and realistic, and I adored every bit of it. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I know the Anna in Born of Deception; it's like she's taken on a totally new personality altogether. The romance, I feel, is what is to blame. It's surprising to discover that we once again have a love interest introduced, forming a love triangle. And in this case, I was completely disturbed and annoyed of it's existence. Cole, also had some potential love interests, according to Anna. (Even though one of them was married and the other had powers that could manipulate Cole.) It only brought Anna's charisma down, turning her into a constantly jealous and self-doubting girl. There isn't a single chapter where it didn't mention Anna's jealously. The romantic side of the story, was an absolute let down as it was superfluous and unbelievable, and began to over-cloud the main plot line.
and
and
The plot line, also happens to be less ideal, compared to the first novel. The first novel definitely did become predictable in some areas, but here, everything felt a little too glaringly transparent. I wouldn't say that the main character was one step behind me, but whenever something was revealed, I was rolling my eyes; in the absurdity of the twist. Furthermore, I would have loved to have more focus on the plot, than the dramatics of the romance; I felt like this story would have moved so much faster without Anna and Cole's romantic drama. Just to elaborate on that, I honestly do not think I ship them anymore. This book just sunk the ship into Neverland.
Where Teri Brown redeems herself, is at the setting and writing. Born of Deception is set mainly in London, and Teri Brown captures the atmosphere of the time and place beautifully. I envy this author guys, I love her writing and I just want to steal it ALLL. Teri Brown also writes brilliant creepy scenes, I definitely got goosebumps every once and again.
I definitely still recommend people to try Born of Illusion, which stands as one of my favourites of 2013, but I wouldn't be recommending this unless you really enjoyed Born of Illusion as the romance, characters and plot all fell extremely flat.
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I HAZ AN ARC. I might cry.
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OMG THERE IS A COVER. It's pure beauty and it goes perfectly with the first book. I CAN'T WAIT.
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See how there are no ratings so far? Let's keep it this way until someone actually reads it.
Other than that, I cannot wait to read this book. Born of Illusion was a winner!
2.5 stars
Words could not express how excited I was when I finally got my hands on Born of Deception. Born of Illusion, the first novel was equally mesmerizing and pleasantly surprising, however, I cannot say the same for Teri Brown's newest.
Anna Van Housen has always been one of my favourite protagonists ever since I met her in Born of Illusion. Her character growth throughout that novel was absolutely momentous and realistic, and I adored every bit of it. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I know the Anna in Born of Deception; it's like she's taken on a totally new personality altogether. The romance, I feel, is what is to blame. It's surprising to discover that we once again have a love interest introduced, forming a love triangle. And in this case, I was completely disturbed and annoyed of it's existence. Cole, also had some potential love interests, according to Anna. (Even though one of them was married and the other had powers that could manipulate Cole.) It only brought Anna's charisma down, turning her into a constantly jealous and self-doubting girl. There isn't a single chapter where it didn't mention Anna's jealously. The romantic side of the story, was an absolute let down as it was superfluous and unbelievable, and began to over-cloud the main plot line.
Only Cole would think it all right to tell his girl that he was almost late to get her because of other women.
and
I hate feeling so insecure about him, but he either doesn't understand that I need occasional reassurance or he's so sure of our relationship that he doesn't feel the necessity.
and
It's a normal reaction, but my insides knot up in a tangle of jealousy.
The plot line, also happens to be less ideal, compared to the first novel. The first novel definitely did become predictable in some areas, but here, everything felt a little too glaringly transparent. I wouldn't say that the main character was one step behind me, but whenever something was revealed, I was rolling my eyes; in the absurdity of the twist. Furthermore, I would have loved to have more focus on the plot, than the dramatics of the romance; I felt like this story would have moved so much faster without Anna and Cole's romantic drama. Just to elaborate on that, I honestly do not think I ship them anymore. This book just sunk the ship into Neverland.
Where Teri Brown redeems herself, is at the setting and writing. Born of Deception is set mainly in London, and Teri Brown captures the atmosphere of the time and place beautifully. I envy this author guys, I love her writing and I just want to steal it ALLL. Teri Brown also writes brilliant creepy scenes, I definitely got goosebumps every once and again.
His vacant eyes are staring at something horrifying that only he can see and his dark skin is sallow and sunken, as if his essence had been drained.
I definitely still recommend people to try Born of Illusion, which stands as one of my favourites of 2013, but I wouldn't be recommending this unless you really enjoyed Born of Illusion as the romance, characters and plot all fell extremely flat.
~Thank you Balzer & Bray for sending me this copy!~
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I HAZ AN ARC. I might cry.
---
OMG THERE IS A COVER. It's pure beauty and it goes perfectly with the first book. I CAN'T WAIT.
---
See how there are no ratings so far? Let's keep it this way until someone actually reads it.
Other than that, I cannot wait to read this book. Born of Illusion was a winner!
June 5, 2014
*Spoiler free for the series*
Having really enjoyed the wonderfully atmospheric and captivating Born of Illusion last year, I was excited to get back into Anna's world full of magic and mystery.
Born of Deception is just as mesmerizing in its storytelling, and even more-so with its historical London setting. Brown is gifted in bringing these settings to life; making us walk the busy streets alongside our protagonist, feel the vibrancy of the city and the excitement of the crowds. As far as the writing goes, I loved it all. I did find disappointment in the plot itself, however. While Born of Illusion was full of mystique and wonder, this second installment has a big focus on a new love triangle in addition to - and somewhat the cause of - frustrating developments between the romance we all grew to love from book 1. Yes, book 1 also had a love-traingle-ish romance, but that one was crafted in a way that felt so realistic, plus it was clear where Anna's feelings lay, the triangle only brought into existence by her mother's manipulations. In this case, however, it bordered on cliché and offered nothing other than added dramatics to the story. This was made worse by how the coupling I enjoyed from book one took a turn for the worst. The relationship now consisted of pity fights and arguments caused by none other than lack of communication. So lets just say this part of the story leaves much to be desired.
The plot itself is a lot of fun and paced to perfection. It has the constant air of mystery that I enjoyed from its predecessor, with a bit higher stakes this time where murder and black magic is involved. We also learn more about the society and the magic surrounding this whole world. New characters are involved, most with lively personalities and distinct voices, and old favourites are back with just as much charm. What I found, though, was that it ended up being incredibly easy to predict most of the outcome of this story. I had my suspicions within the first 10% which ended up being correct. This was a bit of a bummer, strangely, though, it felt as if the author had planned it that way. The reveal is not done with much theatrics, but rather feels like a confirmation of what we should have already known. I'm not sure what to make of this, but it did make the whole book feel a tad underwhelming if you ask me. Especially when its predecessor was under such a constant cloud of secrets that it had me suspecting everyone and going back and forth in my theories - which equals to an incredibly addictive read, I did not feel the same spark of excitement and eventual satisfaction throughout this one, unfortunately. It did have me interested, but I was not wildly turning its pages to abate my curiosity.
Still, the writing is just as wonderful, the characters are just as charismatic, and I will read anything this woman writes. But...I do think that Born of Illusion stands best on its own.
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An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
Having really enjoyed the wonderfully atmospheric and captivating Born of Illusion last year, I was excited to get back into Anna's world full of magic and mystery.
Born of Deception is just as mesmerizing in its storytelling, and even more-so with its historical London setting. Brown is gifted in bringing these settings to life; making us walk the busy streets alongside our protagonist, feel the vibrancy of the city and the excitement of the crowds. As far as the writing goes, I loved it all. I did find disappointment in the plot itself, however. While Born of Illusion was full of mystique and wonder, this second installment has a big focus on a new love triangle in addition to - and somewhat the cause of - frustrating developments between the romance we all grew to love from book 1. Yes, book 1 also had a love-traingle-ish romance, but that one was crafted in a way that felt so realistic, plus it was clear where Anna's feelings lay, the triangle only brought into existence by her mother's manipulations. In this case, however, it bordered on cliché and offered nothing other than added dramatics to the story. This was made worse by how the coupling I enjoyed from book one took a turn for the worst. The relationship now consisted of pity fights and arguments caused by none other than lack of communication. So lets just say this part of the story leaves much to be desired.
The plot itself is a lot of fun and paced to perfection. It has the constant air of mystery that I enjoyed from its predecessor, with a bit higher stakes this time where murder and black magic is involved. We also learn more about the society and the magic surrounding this whole world. New characters are involved, most with lively personalities and distinct voices, and old favourites are back with just as much charm. What I found, though, was that it ended up being incredibly easy to predict most of the outcome of this story. I had my suspicions within the first 10% which ended up being correct. This was a bit of a bummer, strangely, though, it felt as if the author had planned it that way. The reveal is not done with much theatrics, but rather feels like a confirmation of what we should have already known. I'm not sure what to make of this, but it did make the whole book feel a tad underwhelming if you ask me. Especially when its predecessor was under such a constant cloud of secrets that it had me suspecting everyone and going back and forth in my theories - which equals to an incredibly addictive read, I did not feel the same spark of excitement and eventual satisfaction throughout this one, unfortunately. It did have me interested, but I was not wildly turning its pages to abate my curiosity.
Still, the writing is just as wonderful, the characters are just as charismatic, and I will read anything this woman writes. But...I do think that Born of Illusion stands best on its own.
--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
June 20, 2014
I thought about maybe sugar-coating this review a little bit…but, to be honest, I was extremely disappointed in this book. After reading and liking Born of Illusion last year, I was excited for the continuation of Anna’s story. But I felt like everything that I enjoyed about the first book was left out of this one. I was hoping that the not-so-amazing novella, Born of Corruption, was just a fluke, but it turns out that this series just isn’t very good. I didn’t even love the first one, I just really liked a few parts of it.
My favorite part of Born of Illusion was the twisted mother-daughter relationship dynamic between Anna and her mother. But in Born of Deception, Anna sees her mother for basically two short conversations and that’s it. There’s not even any kind of resolution to their relationship. It’s just kind of left as is, with no development or intrigue at all. This was a major problem of the book for me. Why take the first book’s best element and completely obliterate it in the second book? It felt like an entirely different series!
I also thought that the whole séance/magic/ghost elements were pretty cool in the first book…but, again, they weren’t very present in Born of Deception either. There are a few cool scenes, like when Anna does her one séance of the whole book, but her powers and magic are pretty much nonexistent for the rest of the book besides using them to create problems and events. Like, for example, the whole reason she’s in Europe in this book is to be on an entertainment tour for which she does her magic act. But the amount of magic we actually see her do is very minimal…the tour is only used as a plot point — like, to create Billy, a *rolls eyes* point in the now-love triangle with Anna and Cole, who works on the tour with Anna.
And that brings up another disappointing element of this book. Way too much time is spent on developing Anna’s romantic relationships with Billy and Cole. The whole book, Anna is constantly whining about Cole and how things feel different now that they’re in England together. The only time she’s not complaining, she’s swooning over Billy. I kind of thought that this series was better than that whole “this book is paranormal, but only as a backdrop to the romance” thing that we see in YA all the time. But apparently it’s not.
The final element to this book was the issue of the Society. Cole is a member of this Society for Sensitives like himself and Anna, which serves to bring them together to help control their powers and do research. Pretty quickly, things take a turn to the dark side when a member turns up ritually sacrificed and everybody’s suddenly in danger. I think that I had figured out the “whodunit” in…Chapter Three. But the whole book, I kept making myself feel better by trying to convince myself that this person was clearly just a super obvious red herring. Well, guess what. She wasn’t a super obvious red herring, she was an EXTREMELY obvious actual culprit. After spending this whole book being upset about the lack of scenes with Anna and her mother, and then the obtrusive focus on romance instead of cool magic and paranormal stuff, I was just so upset when I realized that the mystery was totally bogus as well. Ugh.
Luckily, this series is only two books long. I just had so much hope for Born of Deception, and unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m pretty bummed.
My favorite part of Born of Illusion was the twisted mother-daughter relationship dynamic between Anna and her mother. But in Born of Deception, Anna sees her mother for basically two short conversations and that’s it. There’s not even any kind of resolution to their relationship. It’s just kind of left as is, with no development or intrigue at all. This was a major problem of the book for me. Why take the first book’s best element and completely obliterate it in the second book? It felt like an entirely different series!
I also thought that the whole séance/magic/ghost elements were pretty cool in the first book…but, again, they weren’t very present in Born of Deception either. There are a few cool scenes, like when Anna does her one séance of the whole book, but her powers and magic are pretty much nonexistent for the rest of the book besides using them to create problems and events. Like, for example, the whole reason she’s in Europe in this book is to be on an entertainment tour for which she does her magic act. But the amount of magic we actually see her do is very minimal…the tour is only used as a plot point — like, to create Billy, a *rolls eyes* point in the now-love triangle with Anna and Cole, who works on the tour with Anna.
And that brings up another disappointing element of this book. Way too much time is spent on developing Anna’s romantic relationships with Billy and Cole. The whole book, Anna is constantly whining about Cole and how things feel different now that they’re in England together. The only time she’s not complaining, she’s swooning over Billy. I kind of thought that this series was better than that whole “this book is paranormal, but only as a backdrop to the romance” thing that we see in YA all the time. But apparently it’s not.
The final element to this book was the issue of the Society. Cole is a member of this Society for Sensitives like himself and Anna, which serves to bring them together to help control their powers and do research. Pretty quickly, things take a turn to the dark side when a member turns up ritually sacrificed and everybody’s suddenly in danger. I think that I had figured out the “whodunit” in…Chapter Three. But the whole book, I kept making myself feel better by trying to convince myself that this person was clearly just a super obvious red herring. Well, guess what. She wasn’t a super obvious red herring, she was an EXTREMELY obvious actual culprit. After spending this whole book being upset about the lack of scenes with Anna and her mother, and then the obtrusive focus on romance instead of cool magic and paranormal stuff, I was just so upset when I realized that the mystery was totally bogus as well. Ugh.
Luckily, this series is only two books long. I just had so much hope for Born of Deception, and unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m pretty bummed.
September 18, 2014
"What the eyes see and the ears hear... the mind believes."- Harry Houdini
Setting:London, England; Paris, France and Budapest, Hungary; 1924
Coverly Love?:Yes! Her eyes are a beautiful shade of blue, and I love the outfit.
Plot:Now living in London and staring in a vaudeville show, Anna van Housen couldn't be happier. Not only is she doing what she loves, she is learning more about her powers and in a wonderful relationship with handsome Cole Archer. Anna also has the chance to meet other Sensitives like herself who hold mysterious and powerful abilities. Shortly after she arrives in London, however, things start to change, and not for the better. First, Sensitives are starting to disappear without any explanation. To make matters even worse, one of them winds up murdered with no considerable motive intact. Through all of this, Anna's relationship with Cole starts to deteriorate as well, due to his inability to show affection towards her and miscommunications abound. Soon, Anna starts to question what she really wants, both personally and professionally. Can she solve the murders and repair her relationships before it's too late.
Dear or dear, this was a major setback from the first book. The first book had just the right amounts of mystery, magic and romance. This book.... had little mystery, almost no magic, and LOADS of romance. It seemed as the author, while writing this, got a bit bored by what she was writing about. She solved this problem using two different solutions;
1)She had the characters eat fish and chips.
Not that there's anything wrong with fish and chips; they're delicious. But did we really have to read about the characters eating them over 10 times in the span of 100 pages?
2)She made Anna and Cole annoy the shit out of each other, with Anna wavering back and forth over which hunk of a man she would rather be with.
You can't have both, sweetheart.
It got to be REALLY tiresome after a while, and halfway through I almost DNF the darn thing because I was so tired reading about their shenanigans. And that little mystery about the Sensitives disappearing and getting themselves killed? You'll figure out who the culprit is about 50 pages into the book. I don't know if this was intentional on the author's part or not, but the suspect is so obvious it's almost laughable.
Characters:I don't know what the heck happened to Anna between the first book and this book, other than the fact that she might have hit her head to hard on the pavement, which causes a radical personality change, which the leads her to being a whiny, clingy, hyper-jealous teenager.
What happened to the mature, independent lady that we met in book 1? I didn't like this version of Anna at all. She was far less independent here, and her constant wavering back and forth over her romantic love life was extremely aggravating and annoying. I wanted more of the kick-butt, knife wielding Anna than the moping, PMS Anna. Frankly, I don't know how Cole could stand her.
But just because I have sympathy for the poor guy doesn't mean he's off the hook. Cole is a lot more broody and moody than he was last time. Not that he wasn't to being with; he just got worse. And is it just me, or did I go the entire first book thinking this guy was American when he was really British? Guess I missed it. Cole is a very reserved, emotionally unattached guy, and not one to easily show affection to anyone. This could go two ways with the reader; this could make him insufferable or appealing in kind of an odd way. Although to be fair, this makes his personality change not quite as serious as Anna's.
Billy is a rodeo performer in Anna's troup and Love Interest No. 2. I didn't have a whole lot of problems with him, mainly because he's so darn lovable. No baggage, no problems, no emo mood swings. He's like a bright ray of huggable sunshine in a sea of romantical turmoil. Of couse he's too good to be true, and you can probably guess it, it doesn't end well for him.
There are other characters that we are introduced to, like Calypso, a beguiling girl with the power to manipulate people, Leandra, who can see people's nightmares, and a reappearance of Anna's insufferable mother, Marguerite van Housan, who is capable of scaring the shit out of every other living individual.
Pros:I will have to give props to Terri Brown for writing such atmospheric scenes. You actually feel like you're in London, and you can practically taste the fish and chips as you read. And when she did manage to find time to write about the séances and the magic, she did with a bang.
Cons:I wish she could have delved into the powers of the other Sensitives more. It would have made the book a whole lot more interesting and creepy if we could have had a smidgen more amount of time observing what those powers were in their full magnitude. And the STUPID, MOTHEREFFING LOVE TRIANGLE!!! Why did that need to even be in there? I wouldn't have even minded if it was there, I just didn't want it to take up 75% of the story line. And we still have no idea if Houdini is actually Anna's father, something I really would have liked to have been cleared up.
Love Triangle?:Le sigh; yes.
Billy vs. Anna vs. Cole.
Instalove?:Yes; Anna is instantly attracted to Billy once they meet, because he's so full of rainbow, unicorns, and sunshine. Haha!
A Little Romance?:I would advise you to NOT read this book if you have wine around. Because if you have wine, and you turn this into a drinking game every single time Anna wavers over whether or not she loves Cole, you're gonna learn to love the stuff by the time you're done. Either that or you'll be in the hospital with severe alcohol poisoning. Actually, come to think of it, numbing the stupidness of Anna's romantical actions might not be such a bad idea. Basically, Anna and Cole start off swell, than everything goes downhill afterwards. She suffers from severe cases of jealousy if Cole even so much as mention another girl to her. And heaven helps us if he ignores her or doesn't "get" her right away.
Such a wonderful relationship, y'all!
Conclusion:In my opinion, this series can be read as a standalone, but if you want to go ahead and read this book, be prepared for a sophomore slump. by the time you're through, you'll want to chuck this book across the room, go to London, eat some fish and chips, and learn some magic.
But first, you're gonna have to recover from your massive hangover after drinking all of that wine. And order massive amounts of fish and chips. If nothing else, this book will make you hungry.
Read This!:Born of Illusion and Born of Corruption by Teri Brown, to see how the story begins. And for a more deliciously creepy take on spirit powers in the 1920s, read The Diviners by Libba Bray.
December 28, 2014
**Check out more reviews at Books As You Know It**
Original and authentic, Born of Deception, does an awesome job following up Born of Illusion to London. I love the time period and how we're able to see a different setting compared to Born of Illusion. While it was a bit slow at times, the plot and the introduction of the Society definitely makes up for it. I love seeing the way the researchers and the Sensitives clash as they both try to ensure they get what they want. It was pretty to get suspicious of some of the characters. I will admit that the plot was predictable and wasn't as complex as I thought it would be. It was interesting to see the way real magic gets involved and how each person deals with the problems that arise.
So Anna goes through a lot of character development in this book. She deals with having a new life and being independent. Her now strained relationship with Cole through their circumstances ultimately lead to Anna questioning her decisions and what she wants. I do like how she acknowledges the problems in her life and tries to deal with them in her own way. It was really cool seeing Anna being able to keep her abilities away from her work as a magician. However, the most irritating part of this book was all the jealousy that she and Cole both feel. Usually I'm totally cool with jealousy becomes its irrelevant and it's sometimes just funny seeing them get jealous. But in this book it was totally overdone and the characters were way too insecure and how heavily emphasized the jealousy was just had me groaning.
I think this is the first time in a long while where I doubt if a character should be together with who they're in love with. Don't get me wrong, I love Cole but his character was just lacking and it was easy to get frustrated with him and his actions. At the same time, I understand that he's busy but he is a bit clueless when it comes to girls and the way they think. And with how little we got to see him and Anna together, it just made it altogether more hard to see they were in love. Anna especially would say she loves him but I feel like it's rarely shown . Also Billy, the new character that's introduced, is awesome and charming and I was really happy to see that Anna made a friend she could lean on.
While I did have some problems with the story, it was worth reading and I would definitely recommend this to historical fiction and paranormal lovers. And if your day is in need of some magic, then this book should help :)
Original and authentic, Born of Deception, does an awesome job following up Born of Illusion to London. I love the time period and how we're able to see a different setting compared to Born of Illusion. While it was a bit slow at times, the plot and the introduction of the Society definitely makes up for it. I love seeing the way the researchers and the Sensitives clash as they both try to ensure they get what they want. It was pretty to get suspicious of some of the characters. I will admit that the plot was predictable and wasn't as complex as I thought it would be. It was interesting to see the way real magic gets involved and how each person deals with the problems that arise.
So Anna goes through a lot of character development in this book. She deals with having a new life and being independent. Her now strained relationship with Cole through their circumstances ultimately lead to Anna questioning her decisions and what she wants. I do like how she acknowledges the problems in her life and tries to deal with them in her own way. It was really cool seeing Anna being able to keep her abilities away from her work as a magician. However, the most irritating part of this book was all the jealousy that she and Cole both feel. Usually I'm totally cool with jealousy becomes its irrelevant and it's sometimes just funny seeing them get jealous. But in this book it was totally overdone and the characters were way too insecure and how heavily emphasized the jealousy was just had me groaning.
I think this is the first time in a long while where I doubt if a character should be together with who they're in love with. Don't get me wrong, I love Cole but his character was just lacking and it was easy to get frustrated with him and his actions. At the same time, I understand that he's busy but he is a bit clueless when it comes to girls and the way they think. And with how little we got to see him and Anna together, it just made it altogether more hard to see they were in love. Anna especially would say she loves him but I feel like it's rarely shown . Also Billy, the new character that's introduced, is awesome and charming and I was really happy to see that Anna made a friend she could lean on.
While I did have some problems with the story, it was worth reading and I would definitely recommend this to historical fiction and paranormal lovers. And if your day is in need of some magic, then this book should help :)
March 20, 2017
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
It's been awhile since I read Born of Illusion, so my memory was a little rusty. I picked up the book anyway, as I happen to own a copy and, really, I should start reading the books I own. It was actually fairly easy to get into this book. My entire memory wasn't refreshed and there wasn't really I recap, but I could grasp enough to understand what was going on, especially since this read less than a continuation and more like a companion book.
This book takes place after the events of Born of Illusion. Anna and scored a spot on the vaudeville tour on the vaudeville tour. She moves to London to join a society full of Sensitives and gets to see her boyfriend, Cole, again. But when Sensitives go missing and one is found dead, Anna begins to question what is really going on here and whether she can trust the Society.
While I do not quite remember what exactly happened in Born of Illusion, I think it could have worked better as a standalone. I mentioned that this felt like a companion book, mainly because the major events in the last book ended and now there's a new mystery. But really, I felt like the mystery oddly took a backseat.
Anna really annoyed me in this book. I didn't remember Anna annoying me in the last book at all, but she was really bothersome in this book. Mostly because of the romance. Throughout the whole book, Anna complains about how distant Cole is, and he kinda is, but he is distracted. It really annoyed me how jealous Anna was at Cole being friends or just talking to other girls, one of which is married with kids. Then, she hangs out with a guy from her troupe, that actually wants to date her, and gets angry at Cole for being jealous. Hypocrite much?
IN CONCLUSION
I know I sound like I'm complaining, but I did like this book. My main issue was just the romance. I thought the the mystery was very interesting and I loved hearing more about the Sensitives. The 20's setting of this series is also great! Though, I really don't see the point in having a sequel. If you are a really big fan of Born of Illusion, then give this book a try.
MY THOUGHTS
It's been awhile since I read Born of Illusion, so my memory was a little rusty. I picked up the book anyway, as I happen to own a copy and, really, I should start reading the books I own. It was actually fairly easy to get into this book. My entire memory wasn't refreshed and there wasn't really I recap, but I could grasp enough to understand what was going on, especially since this read less than a continuation and more like a companion book.
This book takes place after the events of Born of Illusion. Anna and scored a spot on the vaudeville tour on the vaudeville tour. She moves to London to join a society full of Sensitives and gets to see her boyfriend, Cole, again. But when Sensitives go missing and one is found dead, Anna begins to question what is really going on here and whether she can trust the Society.
While I do not quite remember what exactly happened in Born of Illusion, I think it could have worked better as a standalone. I mentioned that this felt like a companion book, mainly because the major events in the last book ended and now there's a new mystery. But really, I felt like the mystery oddly took a backseat.
Anna really annoyed me in this book. I didn't remember Anna annoying me in the last book at all, but she was really bothersome in this book. Mostly because of the romance. Throughout the whole book, Anna complains about how distant Cole is, and he kinda is, but he is distracted. It really annoyed me how jealous Anna was at Cole being friends or just talking to other girls, one of which is married with kids. Then, she hangs out with a guy from her troupe, that actually wants to date her, and gets angry at Cole for being jealous. Hypocrite much?
IN CONCLUSION
I know I sound like I'm complaining, but I did like this book. My main issue was just the romance. I thought the the mystery was very interesting and I loved hearing more about the Sensitives. The 20's setting of this series is also great! Though, I really don't see the point in having a sequel. If you are a really big fan of Born of Illusion, then give this book a try.
January 5, 2024
1920s London was colorful and fun but made me crave fish and chips.
There's several interesting new characters in the Sensitive Society and among Anna's entertainment troup. I particularly liked Bronco Billy. (Unfortunately he was only there to create another love triangle / square)
Anna's mother makes an appearance and we get some closure there, seeing how their relationship has evolved. (Houdini is only mentioned, as is Cynthia despite the hint that she'd visit in the short story.)
The Bad:
Anna and Cole argue and are nasty to each other for the entire book. I don't see why either of them likes the other.
The murder "mystery".
The murderer was extremely obvious, like flashing billboard above the head obvious.
Anna doesn't really do much investigating, instead she's told who the murderer is.
The ending was possibly the worst Deus ex machina ending I've ever seen.
Verdict: 3 stars and I won't read it again. My recommendation, stop after book one.
There's several interesting new characters in the Sensitive Society and among Anna's entertainment troup. I particularly liked Bronco Billy. (Unfortunately he was only there to create another love triangle / square)
Anna's mother makes an appearance and we get some closure there, seeing how their relationship has evolved. (Houdini is only mentioned, as is Cynthia despite the hint that she'd visit in the short story.)
The Bad:
Anna and Cole argue and are nasty to each other for the entire book. I don't see why either of them likes the other.
The murder "mystery".
The murderer was extremely obvious, like flashing billboard above the head obvious.
Anna doesn't really do much investigating, instead she's told who the murderer is.
The ending was possibly the worst Deus ex machina ending I've ever seen.
Verdict: 3 stars and I won't read it again. My recommendation, stop after book one.
June 29, 2014
Despite having entirely forgotten Born of Illusion, I was excited to read Born of Deception. The good news is that I didn’t struggle with the sequel due to my memory lapse. There’s some recap and my brain also returned some things I’d forgotten. I enjoyed the first book, but was definitely hoping for something with a bit more oomf and emotion. Instead, I’d say Born of Deception is weaker narratively with more forced romantic drama. However, the paranormal romp across Europe is quite fun.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.
July 1, 2015
I don't remember Anna being that annoying in the first one 90% of the time I wanted to slap a fictional character
February 28, 2018
Anna's story picks up from where it left off in Born of Illusion, and we're introduced to a barrage of more characters; some real, like Bronco Billy and (eep!) Aleister Crowley, and some not, like Leandra, Harrison, Calypso, and poor Pratik.
I liked this story but did not love it to the same degree as Illusion; I missed the complicated yet caring relationship between Anna and Houdini, and wanted more strong scenes where Anna's mother wielded her not-supernatural-yet-fiercely-more-powerful influence. The love story between Cole and Anna fell a little flat as Cole acts like a wanker throughout this entire novel, and I found myself actually rooting for Bronco Billy to win Anna's heart - something which I think is hinted at when Leandra tells her that one person can have more than one great love in their life.
The mystery was sensationally gory and I was happy that Brown didn't shy away from a bona fide (and deeply disturbing) murder despite her YA target-audience. I just felt like this novel landed more firmly in tell than in show.
3 Stars
I liked this story but did not love it to the same degree as Illusion; I missed the complicated yet caring relationship between Anna and Houdini, and wanted more strong scenes where Anna's mother wielded her not-supernatural-yet-fiercely-more-powerful influence. The love story between Cole and Anna fell a little flat as Cole acts like a wanker throughout this entire novel, and I found myself actually rooting for Bronco Billy to win Anna's heart - something which I think is hinted at when Leandra tells her that one person can have more than one great love in their life.
The mystery was sensationally gory and I was happy that Brown didn't shy away from a bona fide (and deeply disturbing) murder despite her YA target-audience. I just felt like this novel landed more firmly in tell than in show.
3 Stars
October 19, 2019
Anna, a young magician and medium, has just arrived in London from New York. She is hoping to get connected with a society of Sensitives, where she hopes to meet people like her, and to get advice on using her powers. At the same time, she manages to find a job with a group doing a vaudeville-like tour of Europe. Shortly after she arrives, though, a couple of the sensitives turn up murdered.
I really enjoyed this. I was sure frustrated with Anna and Cole and their lack of communication? Understanding of each other? (Sadly, it’s been a few days since I finished, so I’m already forgetting details of how I felt about the book!) I did like the cowboy (part of the touring show Anna becomes a part of) – he was a fun addition. Although, not quite as good as the first book, I still enjoyed the atmosphere of this one. As YA, it was also a fast read.
I really enjoyed this. I was sure frustrated with Anna and Cole and their lack of communication? Understanding of each other? (Sadly, it’s been a few days since I finished, so I’m already forgetting details of how I felt about the book!) I did like the cowboy (part of the touring show Anna becomes a part of) – he was a fun addition. Although, not quite as good as the first book, I still enjoyed the atmosphere of this one. As YA, it was also a fast read.
May 24, 2014
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Born of Deception is the highly anticipated sequel to Born of Illusion. It is set in the 20’s in the mysterious city of London. Filled with intriguing characters, wonderful romance, and a unique plotline this is sure to be a hit with all young adult fans.
Opening Sentence: A circle of children surround me, their bright faces turned upward, as if eagerly awaiting the cascading lights of a fireworks show
The Review:
Seventeen year old Anna Van Housen has finally gotten what she has always wanted, a chance to perform her own magic show. She has been offered an opportunity to tour Europe with a traveling group of performers and their first stop is in London. She is also going to finally be able to meet other sensitive’s like herself when she joins the Society for Psychical Research. Also, another big perk is that Cole Archer, the boy she is in love with, is also in London. It looks like all of Anna’s dreams are about to come true, but things don’t quite turn out as planned.
Sensitive’s have started mysteriously disappearing and no one knows who is responsible. The Society is supposed to be a safe haven for people with unique abilities. They are supposed to help them learn to control their abilities, but it seems that they just want to run experiments on them instead. Is someone within the Society involved in the disappearances or is the infamous Dr. Boyle behind them? As Anna struggles to find answers she finds herself at odds with Cole and how he feels for her. Will Anna be able to find the kidnapper before she becomes their next victim?
Anna is such an interesting character that was so easy to like. She is very independent, but at the same time she knows that she can’t do everything herself, which I love because sometimes in books when you get a very independent girl that’s not willing to accept help from someone else it tends to create a lot of unnecessary drama. Not that Anna’s life doesn’t have drama because it does, but I liked that it was created because of the situation she’s in and not because she has made foolish decisions. I also love that Anna is a magician. I have always found magic fascinating and Anna’s love of it made me understand her better. I think that Anna has a very strong voice and I really enjoyed being inside her head.
Cole is a very frustrating man that I absolutely adore. He hasn’t really had a lot of experience expressing how he feels, so when it comes to being with Anna it is very different for him. Even though he generally will show Anna affection he will never tell her how he feels about her, which can bring very frustrating. But Cole is just a good guy. He is always willing to help anyone in need and even though he can be a little clueless at times, I found him to be a very endearing character. I loved watching his and Anna’s relationship grow from the first book. It isn’t perfect, which made it seem so much more real. I think they are perfect together and I can’t wait to see where things go for them in the next book.
I think the reason I like this series so much is because it is so unique and different from anything else I have ever read. There aren’t many young adult books that take place in the 1920’s, at least that I have read. I just think that time period is so full of mystery and intrigue and Brown does a wonderful job implementing that into the world she has created. The first book took place in New York, but I loved that this one took place all across Europe. It was refreshing to have a different yet familiar setting. While I wouldn’t say that the writing was perfect, I do think that Brown really knows how to tell a captivating story that just completely held me enchanted. She did a great job weaving paranormal aspects into real life and that made the story feel more realistic. I also have to mention how much I love the covers of these books, they are so pretty and actually match the books really well. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book and see how the story ends. I would highly recommend this series to anyone that likes real life magic or anything to do with the raging 1920’s, this book will be right up your ally.
Notable Scene:
We approach cautiously. The screams take on an eerie, keening quality, and my whole body trembles at the sound. It takes every bit of self-control I have to follow Calypso down those rickety steps. As we descend, the dank smell of an ancient basement assaults my nostrils. Fear and a strange sense of suppressed excitement ripple through the air, though I can’t tell if the emotions belong to Calypso or the terrified woman we find still screaming at the bottom. It’s a young woman with dark blond hair. Her face is dead white and her blue eyes are wide with horror. An upturned basket of laundry lies at her feet. I follow her terrified gaze and my stomach lurches at the sight that greets me.
Calypso skids to a stop and her hand goes over her mouth. The woman jumps when she sees us and then, as if released, turns and races up the stairs. I stand frozen, staring. Pratik is sitting up against an old-fashioned washing machine with his hands lying in his lap, palms upward. Something round and dark like a beetle gleams against one palm, but I can’t tell what it is. His vacant eyes are staring at something horrifying that only he can see and his dark skin is a sallow and sunken, as if his essence had been drained. Even from a distance I can tell that his clothes are mussed, as if they had been thrown on hastily. His white turban is nowhere in evidence.
FTC Advisory: Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Born of Deception. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Born of Deception is the highly anticipated sequel to Born of Illusion. It is set in the 20’s in the mysterious city of London. Filled with intriguing characters, wonderful romance, and a unique plotline this is sure to be a hit with all young adult fans.
Opening Sentence: A circle of children surround me, their bright faces turned upward, as if eagerly awaiting the cascading lights of a fireworks show
The Review:
Seventeen year old Anna Van Housen has finally gotten what she has always wanted, a chance to perform her own magic show. She has been offered an opportunity to tour Europe with a traveling group of performers and their first stop is in London. She is also going to finally be able to meet other sensitive’s like herself when she joins the Society for Psychical Research. Also, another big perk is that Cole Archer, the boy she is in love with, is also in London. It looks like all of Anna’s dreams are about to come true, but things don’t quite turn out as planned.
Sensitive’s have started mysteriously disappearing and no one knows who is responsible. The Society is supposed to be a safe haven for people with unique abilities. They are supposed to help them learn to control their abilities, but it seems that they just want to run experiments on them instead. Is someone within the Society involved in the disappearances or is the infamous Dr. Boyle behind them? As Anna struggles to find answers she finds herself at odds with Cole and how he feels for her. Will Anna be able to find the kidnapper before she becomes their next victim?
Anna is such an interesting character that was so easy to like. She is very independent, but at the same time she knows that she can’t do everything herself, which I love because sometimes in books when you get a very independent girl that’s not willing to accept help from someone else it tends to create a lot of unnecessary drama. Not that Anna’s life doesn’t have drama because it does, but I liked that it was created because of the situation she’s in and not because she has made foolish decisions. I also love that Anna is a magician. I have always found magic fascinating and Anna’s love of it made me understand her better. I think that Anna has a very strong voice and I really enjoyed being inside her head.
Cole is a very frustrating man that I absolutely adore. He hasn’t really had a lot of experience expressing how he feels, so when it comes to being with Anna it is very different for him. Even though he generally will show Anna affection he will never tell her how he feels about her, which can bring very frustrating. But Cole is just a good guy. He is always willing to help anyone in need and even though he can be a little clueless at times, I found him to be a very endearing character. I loved watching his and Anna’s relationship grow from the first book. It isn’t perfect, which made it seem so much more real. I think they are perfect together and I can’t wait to see where things go for them in the next book.
I think the reason I like this series so much is because it is so unique and different from anything else I have ever read. There aren’t many young adult books that take place in the 1920’s, at least that I have read. I just think that time period is so full of mystery and intrigue and Brown does a wonderful job implementing that into the world she has created. The first book took place in New York, but I loved that this one took place all across Europe. It was refreshing to have a different yet familiar setting. While I wouldn’t say that the writing was perfect, I do think that Brown really knows how to tell a captivating story that just completely held me enchanted. She did a great job weaving paranormal aspects into real life and that made the story feel more realistic. I also have to mention how much I love the covers of these books, they are so pretty and actually match the books really well. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book and see how the story ends. I would highly recommend this series to anyone that likes real life magic or anything to do with the raging 1920’s, this book will be right up your ally.
Notable Scene:
We approach cautiously. The screams take on an eerie, keening quality, and my whole body trembles at the sound. It takes every bit of self-control I have to follow Calypso down those rickety steps. As we descend, the dank smell of an ancient basement assaults my nostrils. Fear and a strange sense of suppressed excitement ripple through the air, though I can’t tell if the emotions belong to Calypso or the terrified woman we find still screaming at the bottom. It’s a young woman with dark blond hair. Her face is dead white and her blue eyes are wide with horror. An upturned basket of laundry lies at her feet. I follow her terrified gaze and my stomach lurches at the sight that greets me.
Calypso skids to a stop and her hand goes over her mouth. The woman jumps when she sees us and then, as if released, turns and races up the stairs. I stand frozen, staring. Pratik is sitting up against an old-fashioned washing machine with his hands lying in his lap, palms upward. Something round and dark like a beetle gleams against one palm, but I can’t tell what it is. His vacant eyes are staring at something horrifying that only he can see and his dark skin is a sallow and sunken, as if his essence had been drained. Even from a distance I can tell that his clothes are mussed, as if they had been thrown on hastily. His white turban is nowhere in evidence.
FTC Advisory: Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Born of Deception. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
August 16, 2016
Originally posted on NOT ENOUGH BOOKS, NOT ENOUGH TIME
Okay, I hate to say this, but I think it holds true, at least with most of the books I have read this year, but depending on how long it takes me to read said book is how good the book is. If a book is good, then I will lose as much sleep over it as I can humanly possible. My boss's at work get so angry with me. "So Dana, how's your book going?" They never have to worry if I'm hungover (well, not that much), but they immediately assume that if I'm lagging, it's because I stayed up way to damn late reading my book.
With Born of Deception, I think everything was off. Like, the book was okay, but it definitely was not as good as the first. Which is funny, because this second installment dealt with someone using the occult to curse their peers with magical abilities! I thought I would eat this book up because I love that type of atmosphere in a novel. It could be a friend or foe, but you won't know until the end when all is revealed.
In Born of Deception, everything was flat from the start. Anna van Housen is arriving in London to be with her love, Cole Archer, and she's got the starring role as a magician traveling around Europe. Things are looking up for Anna since the end of Born of Illusion. But she was transformed from the first novel to the second to be some wimpy, jealous girl who is more worried about what her boyfriend is doing and why they keep fighting instead of looking at all the positive in her life. Then, the shit hits the fan, someone in their secret society is found dead, and Anna wants to help with the investigation. Perfect! This is where it should get good and juicy. Cole and her will solve the mystery like they did in the first and there will be a plot twist which the reader never saw coming and BAM! A four/five star book, ladies and gents!
But, no, that's not at all what happened. Yes, someone died. Yes, Anna did help with the investigation, but the entire time Cole and her are having petty arguments, Anna starts having googly eyes at her cowboy co-worker and can't understand why Cole is upset, they're just friends! Then starts doing the same thing right back at him when he befriends, Calypso, a fellow member of the Society. Honestly, it just read like a really bad high school teenager love affair with an air of magic and mystery inserted. Near the end, I got into the plot of the story because we were in the thick of it. The last half of the book exceeded the first half by far.I had high hopes for Born of Deception because I truly enjoyed Born of Illusion. I mean, how could one not? It's the flapper era with magic, mystery, and romance! WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE? Well, in this case, London.
I wish Teri Brown had spent more time on the plot of the supernatural and the occult because immediately, when an author brings up the occult there's a spine-tingling eeriness that enters a reader's mind. For me, I grew up in a Christian family, so whenever I heard/read/see that word, my senses are on high alert. There's some unknown presence and it's about to create a whole hell of a lot of chaos. Pun intended. So, like I said, high hopes, and they just seemed to fall by the wayside.
The main character, Anna, was dull. Where in the first book she was a precocious teenage running around New York City, stirring up trouble, dabbling in magic, and holding secret seances with her mother. Then, she moves to England and she becomes this mopey, pining, boring girl. There was nothing I liked about her. I mean, I guess when I was a teenager I definitely could've related to her. But since I have a few relationships and years under my belt, I couldn't relate. There were a few times I huffed in frustration and wanted to shake her by the shoulders and say, "Get over yourself! Let the man breathe!" It was very infuriating.
I also wish Teri Brown had elaborated on the Society. It was so hyped up in Born of Illusion that I was thrilled that Anna was going to London to meet with these people and we'd learn more. But no, it was a place not to be trusted. Well, duh. I just wish that had been more involved in the story. Also, Dr. Boyle! A blast from the past! What the heck is he doing in London. Hmmm, mysterious.
No, this is another dud.
AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE STILL DON'T KNOW IF ANNA'S DAD IS HOUDINI!
I was praying for this to be answered, but no, it's not. There is some speculation in the book, but nothing is confirmed. GAH!
In the end, it wasn't my favorite book of the year. I did enjoy the last half of the book and tore through it. I had a hunch about who I thought was causing all the death and destruction and I WAS RIGHT! It was a really good plot twist, though I must place another complaint on how lame the confrontation was. At the end of a novel, there's normally a huge and involved battle sequence between the hero and the villain but in Born of Deception it was two paragraphs and done. It was a let down.
If you liked Born of Illusion, I would almost tell you to stop there. Born of Deception, I think is just not worth it. I was excited to read it because the first was well done and I needed answers to certain questions. Some were answered but the BIG questions were still left in the air. Born of Deception left me wanting more, but not in a good way.
Okay, I hate to say this, but I think it holds true, at least with most of the books I have read this year, but depending on how long it takes me to read said book is how good the book is. If a book is good, then I will lose as much sleep over it as I can humanly possible. My boss's at work get so angry with me. "So Dana, how's your book going?" They never have to worry if I'm hungover (well, not that much), but they immediately assume that if I'm lagging, it's because I stayed up way to damn late reading my book.
With Born of Deception, I think everything was off. Like, the book was okay, but it definitely was not as good as the first. Which is funny, because this second installment dealt with someone using the occult to curse their peers with magical abilities! I thought I would eat this book up because I love that type of atmosphere in a novel. It could be a friend or foe, but you won't know until the end when all is revealed.
In Born of Deception, everything was flat from the start. Anna van Housen is arriving in London to be with her love, Cole Archer, and she's got the starring role as a magician traveling around Europe. Things are looking up for Anna since the end of Born of Illusion. But she was transformed from the first novel to the second to be some wimpy, jealous girl who is more worried about what her boyfriend is doing and why they keep fighting instead of looking at all the positive in her life. Then, the shit hits the fan, someone in their secret society is found dead, and Anna wants to help with the investigation. Perfect! This is where it should get good and juicy. Cole and her will solve the mystery like they did in the first and there will be a plot twist which the reader never saw coming and BAM! A four/five star book, ladies and gents!
But, no, that's not at all what happened. Yes, someone died. Yes, Anna did help with the investigation, but the entire time Cole and her are having petty arguments, Anna starts having googly eyes at her cowboy co-worker and can't understand why Cole is upset, they're just friends! Then starts doing the same thing right back at him when he befriends, Calypso, a fellow member of the Society. Honestly, it just read like a really bad high school teenager love affair with an air of magic and mystery inserted. Near the end, I got into the plot of the story because we were in the thick of it. The last half of the book exceeded the first half by far.I had high hopes for Born of Deception because I truly enjoyed Born of Illusion. I mean, how could one not? It's the flapper era with magic, mystery, and romance! WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE? Well, in this case, London.
I wish Teri Brown had spent more time on the plot of the supernatural and the occult because immediately, when an author brings up the occult there's a spine-tingling eeriness that enters a reader's mind. For me, I grew up in a Christian family, so whenever I heard/read/see that word, my senses are on high alert. There's some unknown presence and it's about to create a whole hell of a lot of chaos. Pun intended. So, like I said, high hopes, and they just seemed to fall by the wayside.
The main character, Anna, was dull. Where in the first book she was a precocious teenage running around New York City, stirring up trouble, dabbling in magic, and holding secret seances with her mother. Then, she moves to England and she becomes this mopey, pining, boring girl. There was nothing I liked about her. I mean, I guess when I was a teenager I definitely could've related to her. But since I have a few relationships and years under my belt, I couldn't relate. There were a few times I huffed in frustration and wanted to shake her by the shoulders and say, "Get over yourself! Let the man breathe!" It was very infuriating.
I also wish Teri Brown had elaborated on the Society. It was so hyped up in Born of Illusion that I was thrilled that Anna was going to London to meet with these people and we'd learn more. But no, it was a place not to be trusted. Well, duh. I just wish that had been more involved in the story. Also, Dr. Boyle! A blast from the past! What the heck is he doing in London. Hmmm, mysterious.
No, this is another dud.
AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE STILL DON'T KNOW IF ANNA'S DAD IS HOUDINI!
I was praying for this to be answered, but no, it's not. There is some speculation in the book, but nothing is confirmed. GAH!
In the end, it wasn't my favorite book of the year. I did enjoy the last half of the book and tore through it. I had a hunch about who I thought was causing all the death and destruction and I WAS RIGHT! It was a really good plot twist, though I must place another complaint on how lame the confrontation was. At the end of a novel, there's normally a huge and involved battle sequence between the hero and the villain but in Born of Deception it was two paragraphs and done. It was a let down.
If you liked Born of Illusion, I would almost tell you to stop there. Born of Deception, I think is just not worth it. I was excited to read it because the first was well done and I needed answers to certain questions. Some were answered but the BIG questions were still left in the air. Born of Deception left me wanting more, but not in a good way.
July 5, 2014
Man, Teri Brown what have you done to the characters that I really loved from Born of Illusion? They're barely recognizable here and seem to be paper-thin counterparts of the people that they were in the earlier book. Granted, I might've thought that the earlier book was a little predictable with the love triangle between Cole, Anna and Owen but I still found most of the book to be entertaining. Here though, the entire book is completely predictable and there's, yet again, another love triangle. Sigh.
Anna Van Housen has learnt that she's a Sensitive, with her power being able to read other people's emotions. Now, she's traveling to London to meet some other Sensitives as well as the secretive organization that studies people like her. She's also there to take part in a new show, that she's finally stepped out of her mother's limelight. It's Anna's turn to shine as she joins the prestigious European vaudeville tour to perform her illusions and to get the crowd's adoration.
But then Sensitives start disappearing and it seems like their old rival, Franklin Boyle may be involved. And Anna's determined to get into the bottom of it. Lucky that Cole Archer, her love, is also in London. Although he's reluctant to talk about his feelings for her, Anna's always been confident about his love for her. But what happens when her arrival in London isn't as smooth a transition as she thought it would be? And what happens when there's another boy who's clearly smitten with Anna that's waiting in the wings? Would it be easier to start everything afresh than to fight for Cole?
First of all, (like I mentioned earlier on) I found this book to be completely predictable. It's very formulae: add a love triangle plus a girl who's insecure about her boyfriend's feelings for her, add a mystery that's so easy to figure out our MC must be blind not to add everything up together and then hey presto you've pretty much written yourself a story! The villain isn't that compelling because although her motives were explained, they were pretty stupid and vague.
Second of all, I hated Cole and Anna in this installment. The both of them have regressed in terms of maturity from the first book. Where's the dependable, reliable and loyal Cole that I knew? The guy who was mature and understood how to respect Anna's space and her questions? He's not found in this book, that's for sure. Instead, we get a guy who's awkward about how to treat his girlfriend and who's too busy trying to protect her from truths that he leaves her vulnerable to attack instead.
And Anna, god she just morphs into the Jealous Girlfriend in this book. She's upset whenever Cole comes into contract with another girl, no matter how old or young the other person is. What's the point of being in a relationship with the guy if you don't think you can trust him to behave when left alone with another woman? And it's not like Cole's the one who's had a past of being fickle about the person that his heart belongs to? *cough* That's actually Anna. Maybe she's suspicious because she knows how she would behave if she were in Cole's shoes instead. *cough*
Third of all, the mystery seems to take backseat as compared to the love triangle. There's a halfhearted attempt at showing that Anna's life is in danger and that someone's practising black magic on her. But Anna never seems to take the threat seriously, too busy trying to defend her choice about going on tour and thinking about which boy she should be with instead. The black magic stuff and the stuff about Sensitives disappearing isn't given enough attention. And when there is attention being paid to it, I'm absolutely shocked that Anna hasn't managed to piece everything together.
Maybe my expectations were higher because of how much I enjoyed the first book but I'm really left sorely disappointed by this book. I can't even begin to understand how Teri Brown went so wrong on this book and I don't think I'll be back for another book if she chooses to continue the series. Anna Van Housen really needs to grow up.
Anna Van Housen has learnt that she's a Sensitive, with her power being able to read other people's emotions. Now, she's traveling to London to meet some other Sensitives as well as the secretive organization that studies people like her. She's also there to take part in a new show, that she's finally stepped out of her mother's limelight. It's Anna's turn to shine as she joins the prestigious European vaudeville tour to perform her illusions and to get the crowd's adoration.
But then Sensitives start disappearing and it seems like their old rival, Franklin Boyle may be involved. And Anna's determined to get into the bottom of it. Lucky that Cole Archer, her love, is also in London. Although he's reluctant to talk about his feelings for her, Anna's always been confident about his love for her. But what happens when her arrival in London isn't as smooth a transition as she thought it would be? And what happens when there's another boy who's clearly smitten with Anna that's waiting in the wings? Would it be easier to start everything afresh than to fight for Cole?
First of all, (like I mentioned earlier on) I found this book to be completely predictable. It's very formulae: add a love triangle plus a girl who's insecure about her boyfriend's feelings for her, add a mystery that's so easy to figure out our MC must be blind not to add everything up together and then hey presto you've pretty much written yourself a story! The villain isn't that compelling because although her motives were explained, they were pretty stupid and vague.
Second of all, I hated Cole and Anna in this installment. The both of them have regressed in terms of maturity from the first book. Where's the dependable, reliable and loyal Cole that I knew? The guy who was mature and understood how to respect Anna's space and her questions? He's not found in this book, that's for sure. Instead, we get a guy who's awkward about how to treat his girlfriend and who's too busy trying to protect her from truths that he leaves her vulnerable to attack instead.
And Anna, god she just morphs into the Jealous Girlfriend in this book. She's upset whenever Cole comes into contract with another girl, no matter how old or young the other person is. What's the point of being in a relationship with the guy if you don't think you can trust him to behave when left alone with another woman? And it's not like Cole's the one who's had a past of being fickle about the person that his heart belongs to? *cough* That's actually Anna. Maybe she's suspicious because she knows how she would behave if she were in Cole's shoes instead. *cough*
Third of all, the mystery seems to take backseat as compared to the love triangle. There's a halfhearted attempt at showing that Anna's life is in danger and that someone's practising black magic on her. But Anna never seems to take the threat seriously, too busy trying to defend her choice about going on tour and thinking about which boy she should be with instead. The black magic stuff and the stuff about Sensitives disappearing isn't given enough attention. And when there is attention being paid to it, I'm absolutely shocked that Anna hasn't managed to piece everything together.
Maybe my expectations were higher because of how much I enjoyed the first book but I'm really left sorely disappointed by this book. I can't even begin to understand how Teri Brown went so wrong on this book and I don't think I'll be back for another book if she chooses to continue the series. Anna Van Housen really needs to grow up.
June 24, 2014
Having loved the rich, atmospheric and complex Born of Illusion, I was looking forward to being reacquainted with Anna van Housen and her narcissistic but absolutely fascinating mother in Born of Deception. Sadly, Born of Deception failed to live up to my expectations and unlike the first book, it ended up frustrating me.
The problem with Born of Deception is that it strived to focus more on the unnecessary romantic drama than to focus on the promising plot line and world-building. It was a wild mess and ultimately led to the butchering of many of the characters in the book. Anna and Cole's relationship was strained from the start and the lack of communication between the two was quite enraging. Moreover, the two of them constantly became jealous of opposite sexes being present in the lives of their significant others. The number of times Anna got jealous when Cole would simply talk to a woman, no matter how old the woman was, was more than infuriating at times and undoubtedly made me want slap some senses into her. It was beyond ridiculous and just showed how insecure she was in the relationship. Add to that a futile love triangle whose only purpose was to probably incite anger in readers. And when I mean futile, I really mean futile. The character of Billy had absolutely no substantial role other than to be part of this love triangle that made no sense to me in the first place and was extremely superficial because it was based on attractiveness. Because of this mess with the romance, it was also hard for me to feel any sort of connection with Anna and ultimately, the book was excruciating to read.
Born of Illusion also had a highly atmospheric setting because the author took her time to detail the 1920s New York City background that the book was set in. It's what truly sucked me into the story. With Anna moving to London in this new installment, I felt like there was a lack of that richness the first book had. The elements of magic that were so well incorporated in the first book were only merely mentioned in Born of Deception. All of this led to what I would call a mediocre and disappointing sophomore novel. The plot in Born of Deception could have been exciting and interesting had I not been able to predict the killer immediately upon meeting him/her. It was so predictable because the author tried to force the idea that it wasn't him/her from Anna's first meeting with this person. Sadly, Anna's mother who I found to be manipulative and bipolar, was also missing for most of the book. She was fascinating in the first book and the sometimes unhealthy relationship between the mother daughter duo was one of the highlights for me. I wish Teri Brown had developed their relationship further instead of giving so much spotlight to the romance.
Ultimately, I think fans of the first book are going to be sorely disappointed with Born of Deception. It lacked that freshness and spark that the first book had because of the unlikeable characters, the absence of strong world-building and the omission of magic which stemmed from the disastrous romantic relationship. If you haven't read this series yet, I would recommend only reading the first book.
July 10, 2017
After finishing and so enjoying Born of Illusion, I was desperately eager to dive into Born of Deception, chomping at the bit to see what happens to Anna and Cole when they head into London. And I was not disappointed! There's just something about these books--maybe it's the writing, maybe it's the characters, maybe it's the setting or subject (or all of the above!)--that just grabs me and makes me love them, despite any problems I might have.
Just as in the first book, the world of Jazz Age London is brought to life so vividly and delightfully that it's just fun seeing where Anna goes all day, who she meets, what she wears. But we're also treated to an even more developed world of the supernatural in Anna's day. In heading to London, Anna meets everyone else in the Society, a cast of Sensitives that ranges vastly in talents and personalities. In addition to the other Sensitives, there's a variety of characters in the tour with Anna, most intriguingly a very handsome American cowboy and a world-famous singer. These characters only serve to enrich and diversify the story.
Of course, there's a new mystery in coming to London. Someone is attacking--and even killing--Sensitives, and it looks like they're after Anna. And while I found the mystery rather predictable (I called who the bad guy was very soon), that didn't change that it was fun following Cole and Anna as they tried to decipher the clues and stop the killing. While there's thread of connection to the first book's, the baddie in this is quite different, and much scarier.
The only thing I found frustrating was that the love triangle addition here was unnecessary. I mean, I understood the appeal of the guy, but it would have been simple to make him a friend, wholly and completely. Anna and Cole flip flop from love to jealousy constantly, and all I wanted was for them to be happy, just for a little while, and just to talk to one another. They're so cute and perfect, why couldn't I just be given a little time to love them?
Born of Deception is a sequel that I found to be just as much fun as the first. While the romantic storyline was frustrating, it could never overshadow the fabulous writing, interesting and varied characters, fascinating subject, and seriously fun time period. Born of Illusion and Born of Deception are definitely among my favorite reads of the year.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and many more fun things on my blog: Paper Cuts.
Just as in the first book, the world of Jazz Age London is brought to life so vividly and delightfully that it's just fun seeing where Anna goes all day, who she meets, what she wears. But we're also treated to an even more developed world of the supernatural in Anna's day. In heading to London, Anna meets everyone else in the Society, a cast of Sensitives that ranges vastly in talents and personalities. In addition to the other Sensitives, there's a variety of characters in the tour with Anna, most intriguingly a very handsome American cowboy and a world-famous singer. These characters only serve to enrich and diversify the story.
Of course, there's a new mystery in coming to London. Someone is attacking--and even killing--Sensitives, and it looks like they're after Anna. And while I found the mystery rather predictable (I called who the bad guy was very soon), that didn't change that it was fun following Cole and Anna as they tried to decipher the clues and stop the killing. While there's thread of connection to the first book's, the baddie in this is quite different, and much scarier.
The only thing I found frustrating was that the love triangle addition here was unnecessary. I mean, I understood the appeal of the guy, but it would have been simple to make him a friend, wholly and completely. Anna and Cole flip flop from love to jealousy constantly, and all I wanted was for them to be happy, just for a little while, and just to talk to one another. They're so cute and perfect, why couldn't I just be given a little time to love them?
Born of Deception is a sequel that I found to be just as much fun as the first. While the romantic storyline was frustrating, it could never overshadow the fabulous writing, interesting and varied characters, fascinating subject, and seriously fun time period. Born of Illusion and Born of Deception are definitely among my favorite reads of the year.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and many more fun things on my blog: Paper Cuts.
March 13, 2014
Like Born of Illusion, Born of Deception is a lovely written, mesmerizing and very entertaining look at magic in the 20's. Anna is still a formidable protagonist, although the plot in this one depended a lot on her making very stupid choices. Sadly, I have the same problems with this one that I had with the first one: the forced love triangle and predictability. I thought we had done away with the love triangle after the first novel, and while I do appreciate the turmoil in Anna's relationship with Cole because of the new setting and their new circumstances, which was believable and engaging, I thought that alone was enough to add some drama into the relationship without having to resort to another third wheel in this romance. Love triangles are a crutch these days in YA. Billy was a cute character, but he contributed nothing to the story and the drama he was supposed to add to Anna and Cole's relationship was minimal. If instead of adding him, we had seen more facets to Cole, I think that would've worked out better.
The really big problem is its predictability. I managed to enjoy Born of Illusion in spite of how glaringly obvious everything was, but Born of Deception is even more predictable that its predecessor and that's why I can't call it a 3.5 like the first one. The big problem here is that the clues for the mystery in this novel are more like billboards announcing the culprit from the get-go. The writing is not subtle with the mystery or characterization, and I don't know if it's on purpose, but that takes away some of the enjoyment from it. Born of Illusion also had a bigger enchanting mystique to it than this one and I felt even more the mesmerizing atmosphere of the 20's and the world of magic and entertainment. Here, even though we are smack right in the middle of a touring troupe, I never made that magical connection. It was all about the love triangle, Anna's indecision, Cole's taciturn attitude and a little bit of the predictable mystery.
Like Born of Illusion, this one is also a lovely book that was just a bit short from being amazing.
The really big problem is its predictability. I managed to enjoy Born of Illusion in spite of how glaringly obvious everything was, but Born of Deception is even more predictable that its predecessor and that's why I can't call it a 3.5 like the first one. The big problem here is that the clues for the mystery in this novel are more like billboards announcing the culprit from the get-go. The writing is not subtle with the mystery or characterization, and I don't know if it's on purpose, but that takes away some of the enjoyment from it. Born of Illusion also had a bigger enchanting mystique to it than this one and I felt even more the mesmerizing atmosphere of the 20's and the world of magic and entertainment. Here, even though we are smack right in the middle of a touring troupe, I never made that magical connection. It was all about the love triangle, Anna's indecision, Cole's taciturn attitude and a little bit of the predictable mystery.
Like Born of Illusion, this one is also a lovely book that was just a bit short from being amazing.
March 25, 2014
I received an ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.
Born of Deception is the continuing story of Anna Van Housen and her "psychic powers". Anna moves to London to take a job with a Vaudeville troupe, to join a secret society of other sensitives, and to be with her boyfriend, Cole. The only thing that goes as planned is the Vaudeville troupe, and it is almost as if it's a secondary story whose only purpose is to introduce Billy; another boy interested in Anna.
The secret society is in turmoil because one of their members has disappeared and another is murdered. It becomes Anna's responsibility to find the murderer.
Once again, I think this is a very good concept for a story, but it is lacking character development. I want to know all of Anna's psychic powers and I want her to learn how to use them and how to control them. I want her to pick one boy and develop a relationship with him (that relationship is difficult when she hardly spends any time with Cole in the second book). I want the society to help her.
The end is wrapped up almost too neatly. I don't know if there is a 3rd book planned, but I don't think I will read it.
Try Jennifer Armentrout's Lux series if you are looking for a paranormal relationship that continues and develops throughout four books with a fifth being released in the summer or try the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire if you are looking for someone who sees visions of the past superimposed over the present.
Born of Deception is the continuing story of Anna Van Housen and her "psychic powers". Anna moves to London to take a job with a Vaudeville troupe, to join a secret society of other sensitives, and to be with her boyfriend, Cole. The only thing that goes as planned is the Vaudeville troupe, and it is almost as if it's a secondary story whose only purpose is to introduce Billy; another boy interested in Anna.
The secret society is in turmoil because one of their members has disappeared and another is murdered. It becomes Anna's responsibility to find the murderer.
Once again, I think this is a very good concept for a story, but it is lacking character development. I want to know all of Anna's psychic powers and I want her to learn how to use them and how to control them. I want her to pick one boy and develop a relationship with him (that relationship is difficult when she hardly spends any time with Cole in the second book). I want the society to help her.
The end is wrapped up almost too neatly. I don't know if there is a 3rd book planned, but I don't think I will read it.
Try Jennifer Armentrout's Lux series if you are looking for a paranormal relationship that continues and develops throughout four books with a fifth being released in the summer or try the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire if you are looking for someone who sees visions of the past superimposed over the present.
December 22, 2014
After the first book the author could have taken this book in a million different directions. Unfortunately she picked one of the most boring directions. I expected there to be some large conspiracy in the Society that was exciting and interesting, but instead she chose to make it about some random killer that had nothing to do with the problems in the society. She could have done so much with the problems in the society, making the killer be because of this split, but she almost completely ignored it. The ending was also HORRIBLE. She was stopped by her father. Seriously. Anna had nothing to do with the ending and it was so anticlimactic. Her father literally walked in and was like stop Calypso. And that was it. I also hated all the relationship drama with Cole. I literally skimmed over those parts because they were so useless and unnecessary. I am so disappointed in this book. I feel like Brown could have taken this book in a really interesting direction and instead it felt like she ignored what she did in the first book to create a second book that didn't really fit.
January 5, 2015
I've got to admit that the ending was what made me give it an extra star. *sigh* review to come.
May 21, 2019
I think what we have here is the sophomore slump.
Anna, having survived being kidnapped and shot in New York, has made it to London to perform magic with a touring troupe, join the Society of Psychical Research, get away from her narcissistic mother, and be with her beau, Cole. However, almost everything on her to-do list goes South. Does she even still want to perform magic? What's wrong with the Society and why can she not trust anyone? Who's kidnapping and killing Sensitives? Will mommy dearest actually loosen the reins? Who is this dreamboat named Billy and why is Cole being a distant jerk?
Born of Deception had so much promise. I really enjoyed Born of Illusion. However, this sophomore novel loses quite a bit of the magic (no pun intended since Anna does a lot of magic). Teri Brown's prose is still beautiful and bitingly funny at times.
However, most of this book was spent destroying the amazing, fierce heroine of the first book and replacing her with a whiny, lovesick puppy. But WHY?! I'm fine with a little bit of "oh this cowboy is smoking hot" but it felt like half the book was Anna going back and forth between being in love with Cole, having the hots for Billy, and then feeling guilty. Le sigh... Now, the bits about the kidnap, killings, mystery, and whodunit? That part was excellent. I also liked the tie-ins to real life people, like Anna's supposed dad and Alastair Crowley. Please, Teri, stop turning my mystery paranormal novels into long, drawn-out romances and instead stick to the truly exciting bits.
Anna, having survived being kidnapped and shot in New York, has made it to London to perform magic with a touring troupe, join the Society of Psychical Research, get away from her narcissistic mother, and be with her beau, Cole. However, almost everything on her to-do list goes South. Does she even still want to perform magic? What's wrong with the Society and why can she not trust anyone? Who's kidnapping and killing Sensitives? Will mommy dearest actually loosen the reins? Who is this dreamboat named Billy and why is Cole being a distant jerk?
Born of Deception had so much promise. I really enjoyed Born of Illusion. However, this sophomore novel loses quite a bit of the magic (no pun intended since Anna does a lot of magic). Teri Brown's prose is still beautiful and bitingly funny at times.
In closing, I guess I’m just too American to accept “taxation without representation,” so to speak. Anna
However, most of this book was spent destroying the amazing, fierce heroine of the first book and replacing her with a whiny, lovesick puppy. But WHY?! I'm fine with a little bit of "oh this cowboy is smoking hot" but it felt like half the book was Anna going back and forth between being in love with Cole, having the hots for Billy, and then feeling guilty. Le sigh... Now, the bits about the kidnap, killings, mystery, and whodunit? That part was excellent. I also liked the tie-ins to real life people, like Anna's supposed dad and Alastair Crowley. Please, Teri, stop turning my mystery paranormal novels into long, drawn-out romances and instead stick to the truly exciting bits.
November 23, 2019
what i hated about this book:
i'm sure there's more. maybe i'm upset about these things because i actually liked the first book. maybe my expectations were too high. idk.
i'm sure there's more. maybe i'm upset about these things because i actually liked the first book. maybe my expectations were too high. idk.
March 4, 2019
I really wanted to love this book as much as the first one. Sadly, the sequel paled in comparison to the first book. Firstly, this book felt overshadowed by Anna's woes of love and jealousy. I am alright with it if it's done a few times in the book but if it keeps occuring, I lose my patience. Secondly, what was with the unnecessary introduction of a second love interest and Anna's indecision of her love towards Cole? However, I did like the beginning and ending of the book where a lot of the action took place. I would have loved it if the ending didn't happen so quickly. And of course, I could see the plot twist from very early on in the book which dampened my interest in the book a little. Well, I would conclude by saying that perhaps this series would have worked better as a standalone.
August 11, 2020
Anna heads to London to start her first tour as a solo magician. She also is going to check out The Society, the organization Cole is a part of that studies people with abilities. She is hoping to find answers, but it seems she arrived just as The Society seems to be having their own crisis. At least she can escape with her magic.
Loved this duology and novella. They were a fast read, but packed with action and intrigue. I loved the setting of the 1920's, and interest in spiritualism by the people of the time. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is I always dock a star if there is a love triangle. SERIOUSLY WAY OVER USED! I still liked all of the characters that were part of the triangle of Anna, Cole, and Billy. Especially the new character of Billy, he was so sweet.
Loved this duology and novella. They were a fast read, but packed with action and intrigue. I loved the setting of the 1920's, and interest in spiritualism by the people of the time. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is I always dock a star if there is a love triangle. SERIOUSLY WAY OVER USED! I still liked all of the characters that were part of the triangle of Anna, Cole, and Billy. Especially the new character of Billy, he was so sweet.
April 2, 2019
Why are we still talking about Houdini?! This is the single most annoying plot thread in this series. Over and over again throughout two books now, characters constantly call out Anna's alleged parentage. For no reason. Without a tangible story gain, her 'father' is a constant distraction. Just like the rest of this book. The Sensitives plot distracts from Anna's culmination of success as a headlining magician. The touring show distracts from the murderous conspiracy behind the society's inner circle. And these two plots distract from the fact that Anna is the spirtualist proof Houdini spent his life looking for. Oh, look. We're full circle back to forgotten Houdini. Overall, just kind of an underdeveloped mess of too many mixed plot lines and story intentions.
November 25, 2021
Another series crossed off my list!
This is another case of wondering whether I would've felt more of a connection had I read this installment in a more timely manner, but even without any emotional connection to the characters, I found the mystery aspects to be very enjoyable. The book had a nice atmosphere, the writing was easy to read, and the story moved quickly. Not a bad way to spend a few hours, and the story wrapped itself up fairly nicely, although the last paragraph was a bit rushed and abrupt. Nothing like telling us what was going to happen in the future in a single sentence, LOL. Nonetheless, this was a fun romp with splashes of magical realism and historical fiction, and I don't really have any complaints!
This is another case of wondering whether I would've felt more of a connection had I read this installment in a more timely manner, but even without any emotional connection to the characters, I found the mystery aspects to be very enjoyable. The book had a nice atmosphere, the writing was easy to read, and the story moved quickly. Not a bad way to spend a few hours, and the story wrapped itself up fairly nicely, although the last paragraph was a bit rushed and abrupt. Nothing like telling us what was going to happen in the future in a single sentence, LOL. Nonetheless, this was a fun romp with splashes of magical realism and historical fiction, and I don't really have any complaints!
November 5, 2022
This is the sequel to Born of Illusion. Anna has traveled to London to begin working as a solo magician and also to find out more about her gifts as a Sensitive, meeting up with her boyfriend Cole. As she works on her act, she is disturbed by the dissension between the scientists and those with psychic gifts, particularly when some of their members go missing. While Anna and Cole try to figure out what is going on, they find that there may be a cult that is taking and killing their members in search of power. Tensions build between Anna and Cole and she finds herself becoming attracted to one of her fellow performers. Will they be able to figure out who is behind the killings before it is too late?
January 16, 2018
When reading the first in this series, "Born of Illusion" I took into consideration the age of the main character, Anna to understand her jumble of emotions. My expectations of the second book were that she would have matured a bit. The tangle of the story was very good but I began to get somewhat irratated by the romantic problems of Anna. I enjoyed the character of Billy but felt the constant focus on her romantic life destroyed the suspense and drama of the main story which deserved more focus. If there is a third book, not sure I will read it.
June 17, 2019
It may be closer to 4 stars than 5 stars. I am undecided haha. The best things about these books are the magic- the feel of how things were back then and how magic would have fit into their world.
The worst part of this book is the romance. Truly... I can't tell you where it went wrong without giving away the book. But can I just say, this romance is the one that isn't based on anything but twitterpation and the young, strange love of teenagers.
I still have to read the next book for the story though so wish me luck.
The worst part of this book is the romance. Truly... I can't tell you where it went wrong without giving away the book. But can I just say, this romance is the one that isn't based on anything but twitterpation and the young, strange love of teenagers.
I still have to read the next book for the story though so wish me luck.
April 26, 2018
Less Marguerite was a great thing, and I loved Billy because cowboy but just.... there was too mucy page time devoted to Cole and Anna, and their relationship that was NOT WORKING OUT whrn it could have focused on the plot instead. So ultimately the climax felt weak. And the duology hardly feels complete, there's way too many loose threads from the first book that this book failed to address.
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