Cruel Illusions: the deliciously dark and addictive magical fantasy

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The worldbuilding was fantastic. It definitely gave off The Night Circus and Caraval vibes and I loved the spectacle of that. Margie Fuston creates a lush, breathtaking, fantastical world where magic is alive and it is impossible to distinguish between illusion and reality. Dinner,” I yell up the stairs. I head straight for the kitchen and pull out a bowl of leftover spaghetti from the refrigerator and plop it in the microwave. I tap my fingers on the tiled countertop as I wait.

Ava is living in a foster home after her parents died with her younger brother, foster brother and Deb, her foster parent. Parker seems to be fitting in with Jacob and Deb really well and Ava seems a little sad about it. Ava ends her night by heading out into the dark, wooden stake at the ready, vampires are real and one of them killed her mother. Dun dun dunnnn! Immortal Procreation Clause: Magicans who take the immortality spell cannot have children, because their bodies are frozen at the age that the spell was cast. Hence, the biological functions required for conception and pregnancy will not occur.

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Blood Magic: Since magic in magic users hums underneath the skin and is felt in the blood, blood letting helps to increase the abilities of its user. The more blood spilt from a person, the more powerful the spells. Eventually, it gets to a point where the magic users push themselves to the brink of death through blood letting and become immortal (their magician blood is all used up and instead they gain a hunger for the blood of others to replenish themselves, becoming vampires). I was also thrown off by the mothers photo with Houdini but now that we know that the magicians are immortal I think that just confirms that Ava’s mother was an immortal magician. I am still confused as to why Ava never questioned a photo of her mother with a man who died in 1926?

Ava is a broken but determined character and I loved how she was constantly having to change her morals based on new information. Her journey to revenge isn't as simple as A to B, and all the twists make it so fun. The troupe had a unique blend of characters that made them fun to interact with. I wanted to.” Deb’s smile stretches like a worn-out sweater. She smiles too much, and I don’t trust it. So much info about her mom’s past at her fingertips. I hope she’s able to find answers (former troupe members, why she left, if she’s really considered “a deserter of the cause”& how that affected her/affects Ava, etc). Roman’s invitation to perform together, his silent strength after her mishap on-stage, & now offering secret additional training? Love triangle incoming.

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My brother’s hair is bitter chocolate. Mine is too, but only because I dye it. It’s naturally an almost white blond, but I got tired of people thinking we weren’t related. My brother has my mom’s round face and soft features. You can see the resemblance in the photo he keeps of her—all three of us sitting outside our trailer, the forest tight around us, my brother squirming in her thin arms, and me with my too-big dark brown eyes that mirrored hers. Parker with his deep blue eyes that matched our dad’s. Our mom died two weeks later. La storia parla di Ava, una giovane donna che ha trascorso gli ultimi anni in famiglie affidatarie dopo che sua madre è stata uccisa dai vampiri, anche se solo lei lo crede. A diciassette anni, viene accolta da una famiglia in cui suo fratello si adatta perfettamente, e si imbatte in uno spettacolo di magia che sembra troppo bello per essere reale. Infatti quella magia è reale! I used to try stuff like that a lot as a kid, especially after Mom died, when I needed a little magic that wasn’t pretend. I don’t know why I still do it.

I enjoyed the love triangle, even though it was clear who she really was going to choose from the start. I enjoyed getting to know both love interests, and I think they both had interesting stories and motivations. Roman was not a surprise at all, saw his vampness a mile away! I like how this challenges Ava view of the world though, and makes her question her own desires and moral code. Very much needed as she is able to grow from here, whereas she may never have thought differently if she was only around Xander and her troupe and their views. Happy Monday and welcome to day 1 of our readalong of Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston. I’m so excited to be reading this one with you, I hope you all love it! Ava has been through a lot of heart ache but I think she wants to trust and love freely but can’t seem to let down her guard, in walks the good looking boy who I think your supposed to like but he annoyed me from the start! There are a lot more diverse characters but I don’t want to spoil anything. .I think Lucius may have tried to make more immortality stones and needed her mother for that, but her mother didn’t want to be die and/or be part of more blood magic and thus ran away. I think he might know something about her family or something. I don’t think it is just guilt about running off the troupe’s previous apprentice. Either he got her killed and the situation was thus way worse than it seemed, or he knows more about something that has happened or will happen. Personally, I lean more towards him knowing something about her or her family because he is only trying to get her away, as if it is about her personally and not per se the other competitors. I’m leaning more towards team Roman! I like his personality more and while he doesn’t seem “good” he does seem more moral and loyal to me, which I like!

So I’m just gonna say the plot was boring. The magic system felt cheap. I don’t know how else to put it.Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston, from chapters 14 to 21. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section! -!SPOILERS!-