This is a super fast and fun read! It’s dead on for this age group as well.

The style of writing is what truly makes this a good read. The story line was interesting but how it’s delivered made this so much of an all round experience.

I am a huge vampire fan so doing them right in a book whether they are the villains or love interests it has to be done with a finesse. For me this author nailed it. I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

In short:
Did I like it ? Yea.
Would I recommend it? Of course.
Would I read more by this author? Yes.

Difficult to hold my attention and keep me interested. I kept putting the book down and not wanting to pick it up and did not finish on time.

I didn't enjoy this at first, but I ended up really liking it as I went on! Ava (the main character) had an amazing growth ARC, and brought "not knowing what you have until it's gone" to a new light. I really enjoyed reading from her perspective towards the end, but at the beginning I was fairly annoyed with her. The influence of the people around her crept into her personality, regardless of how hard she tried to keep others out, and I really loved that little detail with her character!!

How her perspective changed as I read was actually really interesting to see, because while she maintained some key parts of her personality, she'd changed a lot in a fairly logical way! It was very satisfying to see her learn to embrace herself, and stop holding back from everything. It made the story seem complete.

Some of the actions of side characters in this book were kind of confusing at times, and because of this, some aspects of the plot felt slightly dragged on. For the most part, character development regarding side characters was more packed into the end than spread out like Ava's was. However, I did really end up loving several side characters, I just wish more of them had time to develop.

Relationships wise, Ava's concept of family was really interesting and I'm always a sucker for found family so that was great to see!! This book was wonderfully twisted in every aspect, and I adored that. Romance wasn't a main point to the story, but it was still present and was decent overall. There were parts I had some issues with, but in total I did end up really liking the romance.

One of my favorite parts of this however, was definitely who she considered her family and how that shifted and was affected throughout the story.

This definitely ended much stronger than it started. The plot didn't grip me at first, and I didn't finish it for a while because of that. However, as it went on, I started to get really interested in the story. The twists kept me engaged, and while it wasn't a case of "I couldn't put it down" I became increasingly invested in the plot. The story was fairly predictable, however there were twists that I didn't really expect.

The foreshadowing was perfection!! Most things didn't feel out of place (though there were a few that felt strange), and majority of the twists were perfectly supported! They made sense, and I really loved that.

Overall, it was pretty good, but didn't blow me away. I was left wanting more in some aspects, but I did end up enjoying this. I'd recommend this to more patient readers however, since the story does take a while to pick up. By the end however, it's worth it!

Ten years ago, Ava’s mother was murdered by vampires. Ever since, she’s been obsessed with one day being able to hunt and kill the monsters who did it. One of the few things that grounds her is her talent for sleight of hand illusions, and she’s always intrigued to see other acts. But when she spots a new magic troupe with illusions like she’s never seen, her whole world is upended. Turns out, this group is capable of real magic – and they think Ava has the same gift they do. They want her to be their apprentice and enter into an annual competition to win an artifact that amplifies a magician’s power. In return, they’ll teach her how to fight the vampire’s that haunt her dreams. But the competition is just as deadly as Ava’s mortal enemies, and one wrong move could get her killed before she can get her revenge.

CRUEL ILLUSIONS is a book that struggles under the weight of too many interesting ideas. There are some fantastic parts in this book. I absolutely loved the magic system, where a magician’s power can be amplified by the applause and the belief of the audience. The descriptions of the performances, the way they took common stage tricks and built “real” magic on top of them into stunning displays, was great and my favorite part of the book. These bits were where the plot really moved and I couldn’t put the book down.

Unfortunately, I also encountered some sections where the book didn’t work for me at all. About a quarter of the way in, the story becomes a bit of an exposition fest, with a character just dumping out the (mildly convoluted) history of magicians and vampires in a dry uninteresting heap. As someone who lives for world-building and lore, I was surprised that this was the part of the book that didn’t work for me, but I think it speaks to the crux of my issue with the book: there’s too much going on.

Ironically, given that I was drawn to this book with its promise of vampire hunting, I honestly think it might have been better served by not having vampires at all. They ended up feeling shoehorned in, and some parts completely unaddressed at all (like why vampires tried to come out to the world ten years ago, before disappearing into myth once again). I lived for the parts of the book that were about the magic and the competition, and struggled when vampires entered the scene, because it just felt overcrowded.

I also unfortunately didn’t love the characters, which all felt very flat. Despite Ava’s journey to connect with her troupe as her new family, it was a lot of telling and not showing; I would be hard pressed to tell you much about the characters beyond their magic specialty. Love interest Roman, while eventually fleshed out in the second half of the story, spent too much of the book being a brooding, looming presence of murky intentions. Ava at least was a somewhat interesting character, a foster system kid who is suspicious of attachments because she’s been burned too many times by family’s that end up shuffling her off to her next home, though I did feel by the end that that note was perhaps hit a little too much.

While I appreciate a standalone book, such a rarity in fantasy these days, I honestly think CRUEL ILLUSIONS might have been better served as a duology. There were parts of this book that I absolutely loved; the last 20% of the book did a lot to make up for earlier parts of the story that didn’t click. The magic system alone is almost worth recommending checking this book out, particularly if you like stage magician acts. But upon reflection, for me personally there was more negative than good and too many concepts that didn’t have the time they needed to breathe.

"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."

Of course you have to prove you're worthy of you inheritance, sigh, just like Buffy!

This was the perfect vampire book for spooky season! It has everything from magic shows to vampire hunting to deadly magical competitions, and of course lots of blood. It follows Ava, an orphan living in the foster system who has trained herself to hunt vampires in order to get revenge against the one who killed her mother. Her parents were both stage magicians and she shares their love of magic and likes to perform coin tricks. When she finds a secret magic show she realizes she’s capable of much more than illusions, and there’s so much she doesn’t know about herself and about the world of magic and vampires.

This book kept my attention the entire time and I loved how magic and vampires were combined. I loved all of the twists and betrayals - there were some predictable moments but plenty of surprises. It was actually pretty brutal and violent at times. There was also a love triangle which I thought was done pretty well, I loved one of the love interests but I won’t spoil which one. There were things about the ending that weren’t 100% to my liking, but ultimately I was satisfied. I would have loved for this to be a series, overall a really great YA read!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is definitely what drew me in when it came to this book. It’s so unique! Although at the time of requesting, I didn’t realize this was written by an author I had read before. Her debut novel was fine but it didn’t invoke any feelings in me. Unfortunately, this was the same case for her latest.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Ava. Both her parents died in strange cases, one more so than the other which couldn’t be chalked up to just any old animal attack. This puts a lot of pressure on her when it comes to vengeance and even finding a place to actually call home.

Ava is very fearless and I feel like she has to be when dealing with vampires. I would say being on stage in front of crowd is pretty fearless too. I know I couldn’t do it. Although she has many good qualities about her, she was way too trusting when it came to meeting strangers. For someone that is always looking over her shoulder for vampires, she should probably not trust someone down a dark alley.

The other characters in the book are fine, some more than others. I felt like some of the relationships she had with characters could have been axed and it wouldn’t have made a difference (i.e. her brother). I also think that some in the troupe were just for show and didn’t have much complexity to them like others.

What really shines in this book is the magic and the unique take on vampires. I have not read anything like it before. It was a strange mix but one that paired well in the grand scheme of things!

The plot is pretty slow in the beginning and doesn’t pick up until farther in. This does tend to play a role with my attention span. Sadly, there just wasn’t enough to really hook me even with the turn of events. Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of plot twists, especially ones that involve deception!

Overall, this was good but it just didn’t shine for me. I did like certain aspects more than others so it wasn’t all a bust. If you like vampires, or even magic, I would give this one a go!

**I received an e-arc from Net Galley for an honest review**

I know they're comparing this book to Caraval but honestly, this was more like Hunger Games with all the violence and blood! I don't know why but I love these competition game stories. Then add in the magic and I'm sold!

Ava stumbles on a magic show where she meets magicians. As her parents were magicians, she knows all about how tricks and illusions are done, but these people are different and she can't figure out how they do their show. She meets their leader Xander who tells her they have real magic, are immortal, AND hunt vampires! (The magic building here is incredible, just fyi!) So they offer her a chance to be like them but she has to compete with other groups of magicians and they're apprentices.

The story has twists and turns and a love triangle, but don't let that stop you from reading it. I'm not one for love triangles but this one worked.

Anyway, if you love vampires, magic, and competition with high stakes, then this story is for you!

After reading Fuston’s other book I knew I wanted to request this once it became available. I grew really bored immediately. This story feels like classic YA but I didn’t care for the main character.

Thank you Netgalley and Margaret K. McElderry for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cruel Illusions is an entertaining vampire read with magic, murder, and romance. The story is being compared to Caraval and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I can definitely see the comparisons.

Ava is a foster child living with her younger brother and foster family. Her goal is to find the vampire who murdered their mother years ago.

Margie Fuston has a very fun and engaging writing style. I really liked Ava's development and how fierce she is. There are moments of predictability and the plot does have elements of many other YA books but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

I have Fuston's debut book (Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things) on my TBR and I plan on reading it soon.

4 stars

I actually really enjoyed this book, it was definitely a good story and I can't wait to read more. I give this book 5 stars. It's really good and I couldn't put it down as I finished it in a few weeks. Definitely worth it.

TW/CW: Blood, death, body horror, violence, fantasy violence, murder, talk of losing parents

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Cruel Illusions is the story of Ava, a young woman in the foster system because she has lost both of her parents to violence – her father to a mugging and her mother to a vampire. One night when she escapes out the window of a foster home, she discovers a magic show featuring real magicians, and they offer to take her in and train her to become their apprentice, as well as to teach her how to kill vampires so she can avenge her mother’s death.

This book has a lot going on in it and my feelings about this book are very complicated. It’s very well written, with good world building and an interesting story, but I think it tries to do way too much. In my opinion, this book would have made a much better duology or trilogy than trying to cram so much into one book. For the last quarter of the book I was like “and now it’s over!” just to find that there was something else that had to be done or settled. What would have been exciting in more than one book became tedious and overdone when it was all crammed together. It’s not that I didn’t like this book – it was original and unlike any fantasy I’d ever red. The characters were interesting and well developed. I liked the writing. I just wish that instead of a single volume this could have been two or three so that the reader isn’t so overwhelmed by everything that happens.

This starts slow, but picks up about halfway through (patience is key with this one, folks) and from there it's engaging and delightful and everything a young adult addict needs. I actually stayed up until 5 AM to finish it (which might also have had something to do with the insane amounts of espresso I consumed yesterday). Some of the writing isn't the most polished, but after the story gets moving, I quickly became a fan of the plot (I dare you not to get invested in a competition for immortality) and the romance is just angsty enough.

Yes, there's a love triangle, but it's not one of the ridiculous ones where someone is caught between siblings (sorry, Jenny Han) that drags out for so long you want to launch yourself into the SEA (Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I'm looking at you). And yes, this is a book with lots of vampires, but as someone who usually runs from any vampire-related YA (Twilight ruined me), I still really enjoyed this, which speaks volumes to its readability.

Some side characters and their arcs feel unnecessary — largely the twins and Adam (as in, what do they add to the plot???). Also, the antagonist could have had a more developed villain backstory (we need dimensions). But my main complaint is that the ending is too neatly wrapped up and hard to believe — which I guess in a book about vampires and magicians, isn't something you should expect.

My verdict: Whether you're big on vampire fiction or not, Margie Fuston's CRUEL ILLUSIONS is an entertaining read.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I received Cruel Illusions from netgalley in return for an honest review.

This is an easy, predictable, digestible, vampire read with a creative magic system that focuses on magic shows as creating true magic.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good YA book for someone who wants something bloody and gritty for their vampire story. Lots of twists, betrayal, staking, and blood. It’s just if you’ve read these sorts of YA books: the plotline, the story twists, and the general themes are all rather predictable.

The story is about Ava, a young woman on the cusp of womanhood who has spent the last few years in foster homes after her mother was killed by vampires, though only she believes that. At seventeen, she’s taken in by a family that her brother fits in perfectly with, and she stumbles on a magic show that seems too good to be real. Which turns out to be true.

Taken in as their apprentice, and beguiled by the young man Xander, she agrees to join them at the competition of magicians that year and hopefully earn a chance to become an immortal, another young man with his own apprentice tries to warn her off the idea, but she disregards his warning, knowing that by following this troupe, she’ll have a chance to learn more about her mother and get revenge against the vampires who killed her.

The magic system is honestly what I found the most unique and interesting, especially considering today’s climate. I still find myself drawn to magic tricks even though most of them have long been explained through youtube tutorials and other means. I remember a time I’d stay up late to watch some of the shows that would come on, and sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if the love of magic shows went with the television or if people there’s still a thriving love for it.

The magic system itself relies on belief. The magician creates a show. One where the audience must believe in what they’re seeing (at least in the moment) and that is what fills up the magician so they can do their real magic. Then they use that magic to hunt down and kill vampires.

The vampires are magicians who wanted more. Basically, blood magicians who used blood to fuel their magic and now have to live on that blood to even live. It gets more complicated as the book goes on, so this might not quite be how it’s described in the beginning.

The story focuses on the cutthroat competition as it turns out that anyone who doesn’t bring a suitable apprentice to the competition doesn’t just have their troupe dissolved into other troupes, but forcibly removed, maybe even have their memories removed liked the failed apprentices, and the apprentices realize that they are all fighting for only one spot against each other. The competitions are often being dropped in the middle of illusions and blindly guessing what they need to do, with a few actual performances in the middle where only one of them is eliminated.

Between these competitions is where character growth is. Where we get the twists and betrayals. Where the love triangle grows, and I’m sure it’s a serviceable love triangle. My love-hating teenage self would have hated it with the all the power of a thousand suns, and my older self, that can like romances, appreciated that it had thematic relevance while also hating it with the passion of a thousand suns.

Mostly, this is a good book to read if you want an angsty book that doesn’t challenge you as much as it thinks it does. It’s not bad. This is a genuinely good book to read if you’re in the right mood for it, and I’d totally get it for my cousin when she in high school, I think she would have eaten it right up then. So, it’s a solid 3 from me.