If there’s one thing that always captivates me, it is: MAGICIAN STORIES.
Like leave me with The Prestige and Now You See Me movies and I will be immensely satisfied and flaily. So I was really excited when I heard about Illusions and it promised (1) magicians’ apprentices who fall in love, (2) one is out to steal the other’s secrets, (3) so basically two disaster boys, and (4) the magic is actually…real.
Yessss…!!
This was more softer and romance-focused than I’d anticipated, but still a solidly good read. The universe hears my magician pleas and ANSWERS. Thank you.
➸ It’s Historical Fiction…but with MAGIC.
Thomas works as an apprentice to a gnarly and mean old magician…but the secret? Thomas is REALLY magical. So this is his cover up. It’s set in 1899, so the tone is very Proper and British and Yes, Sir, Some Tea If You May. Our alternating narrator, however, is Sav who is Italian and instead of stealing Thomas’ secrets for his own master, he falls in looove. Look, this is a bit predictable but who even cares!? It was adorable and heartwarming, even if you could see where the story was going.
ALSO YOU WILL NOT SEE THE ENDING.
THE ENDING IS A MAGICIAN NIGHTMARE OF GLORY.
➸ The magical elements were actually gorgeous.
They made enchanted gardens in bookstores! Turned paper into birds! At first Thomas is so scared of his own powers (he’s been raised to be) but he starts to realise they can be pretty and innocent and it’s just super cute how he starts using them for soft things. Like leave Thomas alone and he’s like: WHAT IF I MADE LOVELY STARS. Our soft cinnamon son.
➸ Let’s talk about Thomas and Sav…
Thomas is so sweet and adorable and awkward. Sav is an absolute confident swaggering betterknife. I adore reading this combo in any circumstance ok…and it’s especially hilarious how Sav was determined to seduce as a JOB. No emotions! And then he’s freaking out if Thomas doesn’t contact him every day. Lol lol you go, Sav. Thomas’ arc is definitely the best of the two though. He just grows up so much and takes control of his own destiny. AWW! And as much as I loved their romance, I do admit I was hoping for MORE magicians, illusions, shows, and sleight of hand. It didn’t focus on that so much???
➸ I think I wanted a bit more from it??
Here’s the thing: It’s written in journal entries and this made me feel really distant. The whole story is told in retrospect, so the boys often spoil the climatic moments before they even happen because they have to recap. It’s like always an outline of events (in a posh old-fashioned style) and tbh I’ve written book synopses like this. Very little dialogue. Very little development of secondary characters. Kinda slow. Anyway, it’s a style! Maybe I didn’t mesh with it, but that’s on me.
I also slightly wondered if it was really YA? I mean, Sav is in his 20s and both are living out of home, independent, working etc…I feel YA explores what it is to not be a kid anymore, while this was already about adulthood. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is full of magicians and fake-romances-turning-real and heart-pounding endings. So so many elements to love! I wish it hadn’t been in journal entries and just told. But it’s beautiful and heartfelt and THAT ENDING WAS HECKIN’ WILD.
THANK YOU TO ENTANGLED TEEN FOR THE eARC. Illusions by Madeline J. Reynolds was published November 2018.
Thomas Pendelton was born into wealth and prestige. He has a sensitive heart and wants nothing more than to write poetry. Instead, he is apprenticing for Neville Wighton the Great, an aging magician who has become somewhat crazed over the years in his pursuit of fame. With Thomas’ help, Wighton is about to premiere the greatest illusion seen by man, for Thomas possesses something no other illusionist has: real magic. Many in the theatrical world are desperate to learn Wighton’s big secret. One such magician is Paolo il Magnifico. His apprentice, Saverio Moretti, is also seeking the answer. He has a scheme to get close to Wighton by seducing Thomas but seduction turns to real feelings. Now the young men must struggle to keep the secret of their romance, as well as the secret of Thomas’ magic, as both of these things could cost Thomas his life. Through journal entries, posters, letters, and other documents, ILLUSIONS is a story of love, betrayal, and of course, magic.
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What a fascinating magician read! I kind of like the journal entries but the posh style it is written kind of loses me a bit? I thought YA meant the characters were teens *shrugs*. Thanks for your review on this one Cait!
Totally agreed! Ahh…can’t have everything I guess.😂 Sometimes I like journal entries, but I think the voice has to be really strong and personal.
YAS! I had similar feelings, I loved them together (super squishy), but I wanted more magic and illusions I guess. ALSO I love the “also try” for Summer of Salt, SO UNDERRATED!
Summer of Salt is AMAZING AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH AHHH. But yeah, Illusions just felt like it had a lot of potential but kind of was outlined instead of really delved into?!
Oh, I love Now You See Me, but I haven’t seen that other movie. This book sounds interesting . . . I love journal type books when done well 😉
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Also, I can see why they’d mark it at YA. Because Adult fiction is usually targeted at older readers (30s -40s) and NA still isn’t a thing. But it sooooo needs to be. Because I feel I’d love NA more than YA if it were a thing ;D
NA needs to be a thing properly tbh. Like a Darker Shade of Magic is SO famous and all the characters are like 21 and 22! But it’s just marketed as adult plan. So who knoooows. 😂
omg magic and illusionists are my favorite, and WHO CARES ABOUT ROMANCE WHEN THERE ARE JOBS TO BE DONE AND PEOPLE TO FOOL. but yay for historical-magic cuz that is also the freaking best.
I KNOW RIGHT?! let’s fool the world, mAGIC AND MAYEHM YESSSSSS.
This sounds interesting, though maybe not my thing because I prefer magic over journal entries and romance. Actually I’m not sure how I feel about journal entries, I mean Illuminae sort of is like that but I wasn’t the biggest fan of it but I think maybe I just wasn’t in the mood and thinking of rereading it? I also recently checked out The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender which idk how to feel, I’ve only read the prologue but it was not what I expected, I’m not sure about the fact it looks like it will mostly be journal entries but maybe the rest of the book is better than the prologue? I agree that journal entries can sometimes make the story feel distant but maybe someone can or has done it well
Ehhh yeah I didn’t really like Ava Lavender either unfortunately. I LOVED the premise of that one too, but it was so…dry?😭I feel like journal entries are sometimes fine and amazing, but just for Illusions, it ended up making it feel like a recap instead of a story. (Just for me though!)
Oooh the magic of this book sounds so good and I actually kind of like when books are written as journal entries, so I’d love to try this one sometime! Plus it has a beautiful cover and a soft sweet main character!! 😍😍
The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell is all about magic and time travel and London street gangs and is similar to what this sounds like but wayyyy less soft and romantic. 😂
Thanks for the amazing recommendation, Cait!
Ooh yes I think you will love this one then! I did read The Last Magician, but this one is more like the show-y magicians (although they’re fake-hiding that they’re REAL magicians)
ARGH, I COMPLETELY LOVE AND ADORE MAGICIAN, WELL, ANYTHING. Perhaps I will try this book? I’m typically not a fan of the journal-style writing … but maybe??? Aha ha ha, I am a very hopeful bookworm all the time. (Like the blatant lie I tell myself at night: Only one more chapter 😉 )
Ahhh. I honestly have no recs for you? I feel like I should, but??? I mean, it is incredibly difficult to find magical movies/books/shows. I am D Y I N G. 😭 Well, one that is sort of magicy (or rather sciencey illusions) is Illusionarium by Heather Dixon. That book is GOOD, oml. Definitely try it.
I LOVE MAGICIANS. I WNAT MORE MAGICIANS SO BADLY OMG. But yeah, just the format is the downside for this one tbh.
We absolutely deserve more magician-centric books?! Sheesh. I want my magic shows.
Cait you could honestly make anything sound good! I don’t think the journal entries would be something that would work for me either but the description of Thomas’ magic just sounds adorable!! <3 x
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It is so much!! It’s like everything was PERFECT (especially the plot twists!) but the format just…eh, missed for me. 😭
comparing it to timekeeper, summer of salt and in other lands,, three of my literal favourites of the year?? icing on the cake! i need this so badly
Yesss, then I hope you get to try it!!
The romance sounds good. The style, not so much. The epistolary form is not my friend. :’)
Yeah same?! I have several books in letters that I LOVE but this one just missed with the style for me. 🙈
Sounds like it is definitely more NA than YA. At least, what NA should be by genre name only! I don’t know. It just seems to be that YA should be for teenage years, NA should be for the 20s. Maybe I’m wrong. I am intrigued by this but I’ll admit the idea of it being told in journal entries is a little intimidating for me? Like you said, it can be harder to connect with that way. It still sounds fun, though! And that cover really is beautiful. I’m such a sucker for blues.
Yeah exactly! If NA was actually a sensible category, this would fit quite nicely. But no one takes NA seriously egahd. And yeah I honestly would recommend it without qualms except for the journal entries part. 🙈 That aspect really didn’t work for me.
Aww, I love Now You See Me a lot! And I neeed to watch The Prestige. Okay, so now I should talk about the book xD Thank you for the warning that there is a bit more romance in this one than you would expect. It’s just good to know so I know what mood to be in when I pick this one up. But I love magicians, magic and the world building sounds so brilliant ^.^
The magician part definitely outweighs the negatives for me! I just wish it had been in prose instead of letter format 😂