- Pub. Date: September 09, 2014
- Publisher:Harper Teen
- Pages: 288
- Series:Standalone
- Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository
“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”
Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.
Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.
First Line: "Dear Mama, I am most certainly not dead."
Review: Right off the bat I liked Jessamin. She has moved to the country of Albion from Melei and she is attending a very prominent school where she is determined to be the best. I loved that this book was diverse, the Island Jessamin is from has people of darker skin complexion and Jessamin is mixed since her father who by the way is a total dead beat is Albion and her mom is from Melei, you also do see quite a few situations where she has to deal with people and their prejudices because of her complexion and where she is from. Anyways the girl is bright and witty and incredibly stubborn which guaranteed no dull moments with her character.
As for the romance we have Finn he is Albion nobility and in the beginning we don't know much about him except he is very mysterious and evidently involved in something dangerous. I liked Finn I'm not really a fan of how him and Jessamin met though but he grew on me pretty quickly I just wish he was a little more developed, don't get me wrong we learn quite a bit about him such as his past and why he was so hesitant on pursuing Jessamin but it felt like something was just missing, I can't put my finger on it but it was enough to where I didn't really connect with his character the way I would have liked to.
The plot was fast paced, this is a stand alone so things moved very quickly although at times I did feel things were still a little underdeveloped and maybe another fifty or so pages would have been a good thing, so it wouldn't have felt rushed at times.
I do have to say I wish the magic aspect was developed a little bit more. I am still confused on some aspects of how things worked, it felt like magic was thrown into the book but not really thought out. Overall this was a quick read I liked it but feel like it could have been so much more.
As for the romance we have Finn he is Albion nobility and in the beginning we don't know much about him except he is very mysterious and evidently involved in something dangerous. I liked Finn I'm not really a fan of how him and Jessamin met though but he grew on me pretty quickly I just wish he was a little more developed, don't get me wrong we learn quite a bit about him such as his past and why he was so hesitant on pursuing Jessamin but it felt like something was just missing, I can't put my finger on it but it was enough to where I didn't really connect with his character the way I would have liked to.
The plot was fast paced, this is a stand alone so things moved very quickly although at times I did feel things were still a little underdeveloped and maybe another fifty or so pages would have been a good thing, so it wouldn't have felt rushed at times.
I do have to say I wish the magic aspect was developed a little bit more. I am still confused on some aspects of how things worked, it felt like magic was thrown into the book but not really thought out. Overall this was a quick read I liked it but feel like it could have been so much more.
Memorable Quotes:
~"Accursed stubborn creature."
"He is not accursed!"
"I was speaking of you."
~"I'm not trying to control you! Spirits below, I'm trying to court you! Can you not see the difference?"
