Book Review: Cruel Illusions

A magic tournament with a bloody twist.

After reading Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things, and seeing Margie Fuston had another vampire story coming out, I had to read this. The cover also pulled me in with the vibrant red flowers and thick vines entrapping our MC, Ava. With both vampires and magic galore, I was thrilled to read this.

As a young kid, Ava had the misfortune of finding her mother dead from an apparent vampire bite. She swears to get her revenge while keeping her younger brother Parker safe as they are bounced from foster home to foster home. Right before her brother’s birthday, Ava wanders the town searching for vampires and ends up at a club, watching then partaking in a magic show. From here, she’s thrusted into a world of blood magic and a life or death tournament with the promise of immortality as the prize while she harnesses her own magical abilities. As she maneuvers the challenges, she begins to unravel the mystery around her mother’s life, and her death.

The magic system was one of my favorite part. Those wielding their magic in shows, feed off the audience’s excitement to survive, using illusions to defy the impossible. Those lucky enough to be part of a troupe can garner more magic from their performances, making them stronger, while those on their own struggle to survive. The overarching theme of found family is a guilty pleasure of mine and works well with Ava’s search to find a place she belongs in after everything that’s happened in her youth. Her endurance and determination fueled on by Parker had me rooting for her through the book.

One of my biggest gripe is the clarity of fast-paced scenes where it’s difficult to keep track of what happening. There are times where I had to stop, reread, and try to understand how a character did something or piece parts of the scene together to fully get the picture. I’d say this happened 3 or 4 times throughout the book, mainly in scenes with a large cast and several things happening at once.

I’d rate this 4/5 wooden stakes and excited to read Margie’s next book The Revenant Games.