Cruel Illusions
Ratings6
Average rating3.5
“The perfect sinisterly magical escape…full of longing, desperation, and betrayal.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval trilogy and Once Upon a Broken Heart Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this “beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother’s death. Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home. But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she’s hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can’t explain. But they’ve been waiting for her. The magicians reveal they’re part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there’s a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she’s worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur, and the stakes are deadly.
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Popular Reviews
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“Being immortal doesn't let you grow. All it does is let you lose pieces of yourself.”
Synopsis Ava's mother, a talented magician, was killed by a vampire, leaving Ava with a burning desire for vengeance. One night she finds a hidden club where she witnesses magic tricks that are impossible. The magicians reveal they are part of a society of real magic users who hunt vampires. They offer to take her on as an apprentice, but to join the society she will have to compete in a series of games for one of the limited places available to this year's apprentices.
“I feel sick and powerful all at once - like I could explode and have everything I've ever wanted.”
Tropes & Themes
- Magic
- Vampires
- Found family
- Love triange
- Secret society
“My mind is a scattered mess of revenge and death and pain and lust and some kind of matching brokenness between us.”
Content & Trigger Warnings
- Death
- Blood
“Killing him wouldn't make me forget how much I wanted his lips against mine. If it would, I might actually do it.
My Thoughts
- Interesting cast of characters
- Interesting world building and magic system
- Plot was interesting but there was a lot going on in the latter part of the book, could have been a bit longer and explored some of the reveals and history of the magicians and vampires more.
- I appreciated Ava's character arc, especially as concerns her issues and trauma surrounding family and belonging.
- The romance aspect is there but is not a major theme. The society and it's secrets, and Ava's journey to mastering her magic and surviving the games, is far and away the focus of the narrative.
It makes my guilt a living thing that grows like thorned vines inside me.
