Title: CRUEL ILLUSIONS
Author: Margie Fuston
ISBN: 9781399711364
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 512
Source: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this deliciously dark young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother’s death.
Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home.
But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she’s hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can’t explain.
But they’ve been waiting for her.
The magicians reveal they’re part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there’s a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she’s worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur and the stakes are deadly.
Official Summary
07 December 2022
This book follows Ava, the main character who is living with her brother in a foster house. However, she soon leaves when she is given the opportunity to seek revenge after her mother is killed by a vampire. Ava has a chance to join an ancient secret society of magicians who have real magic. However, she must compete with other potential members and prove she is strong enough to join them.
When I first decided to read this book I was a little hesitant to read it as I was having a little bit of big book fear. However, I honestly loved this book. I loved how the author took overused cliques and twisted them into something new. Once I started reading this book I just couldn’t put it down. It was such a fun ride.
Ava was such a unique character there were times when I was completely rooting for her and other times when I just wanted to strangle her. I think the main reason is that she could never make up her mind about anything. With every single decision she faced, she went back and forth like a hundred times and that was fine if it happened once or twice but it was with every single decision front the very first page to the last. Despite every annoying trait she had, I still liked her character. I liked how compassionate she was and how she stood by what she believed in. Also Roman was a really great character, I wish we got more of him and less of Xander.
I think Willow was my favourite, she was very optimistic but wasn’t over the top about it. I liked how she still had her moments of jealousy and anger it gave her character some depth.
I honestly would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and fun read. I had such a fun time reading this book. Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a review copy of this book.
Also by Margie Fuston
Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things
In this heart-wrenching debut YA novel that’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown meets They Both Die at the End, a teen girl takes a trip to New Orleans with her estranged best friend to find a vampire to save her dying father.
Victoria and her dad have shared a love of the undead since the first vampire revealed his existence on live TV. Public fear soon drove the vampires back into hiding, yet Victoria and her father still dream about finding a vampire together. But when her dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, it’s clear that’s not going to happen. Instead, Victoria vows to find a vampire herself—so that she can become one and then save her father.
Armed with research, speculations, and desperation—and helped by her estranged best friend, Henry—Victoria travels to New Orleans in search of a miracle. There she meets Nicholas, a mysterious young man who might give her what she desires. But first, he needs Victoria to prove she loves life enough to live forever.
She agrees to complete a series of challenges, from scarfing sugar-drenched beignets to singing with a jazz band, all to show she has what it takes to be immortal. But truly living while her father is dying feels like a betrayal. Victoria must figure out how to experience joy and grief at once, trusting all the while that Nicholas will hold up his end of the bargain…because the alternative is too impossible to imagine.
About The Author
Author Bio from the Author’s Site
Margie Fuston grew up in the woods of California where she made up fantasy worlds that always involved unicorns. In college, she earned undergraduate degrees in business and literature and a master’s in creative writing. Now she’s back in the woods and spends all her time wrangling a herd of cats and helping her nephews hunt ghosts, pond monsters, and mermaids. She’s the author of VAMPIRES, HEARTS & OTHER DEAD THINGS (out now) and CRUEL ILLUSIONS (September 2022).
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