Cruel Illusions: the deliciously dark and addictive magical fantasy

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Her imperfect character and the potential intriguing me. Her emotions struggles and actions seem real. I love to see that sometime new skills is hard to earned and the process is overwhelmed. She makes mistakes, alot and she always tried do her best at each bad conditions. 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.

Cruel Illusions | Margie Fuston | 9781399711364 | NetGalley Cruel Illusions | Margie Fuston | 9781399711364 | NetGalley

I'm a ho for my broody, mysterious man, Roman. He was complex, and I enjoyed their interactions a lot ❤️‍🔥 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).

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Nonetheless, Cruel Illusions is worth a shot to satiate your next YA Vampire mood but want a little twist. And Bonus points for this being a Standalone! The hardwood floor creaks as I enter. No matter where I go, this house speaks to me with every step. Even when I’m not moving, when I lie in bed staring at the notches in the wooden beam dividing the ceiling, it groans and whispers as it stretches its worn joints. It has too many stories to tell to stay silent. I love to listen to them, especially at night when everyone else is asleep.

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston - Goodreads Editions of Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston - Goodreads

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!

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The competition has no real structure and is basically just a montage of every YA competition over the last 20 years. The Goblet of Fire hedge maze is in there, and so is plenty of Throne of Glass -esque tests and badly described combat. 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. Magician Xander tells Ava to not "Go all Buffy on him". He also jokes that he does think that Buffy"s Xander kinda deserved to be stabbed. The troupe is in a competition to win some magic BLOOD jewellery that makes their new troupe member immortal. Or something like that. I forget. Also if they lose one of their members has to leave the troupe forever. Ava thinks this sounds very logical and not at all like she’s missing vital information, and decides to join despite the fact all she knows how to do is flip a quarter around. The competition takes place in a big mansion that no else in town seems to have noticed exists. 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 hopes to earn the chance to become part of the trope to learn more about her mother and take revenge on the vampires who killed her.

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston | Goodreads

Second, I saw a lot of people felt the side characters weren’t likable or that there wasn’t enough supporting evidence that we should care about them. I strongly disagree with that point, as I felt like I got to know the side characters well enough to consider their well being and thoughts throughout the book. I felt like I found that I cared about their stories, especially Diantha and Reina. I felt they had a lot to offer the story and had some pretty badass moments, too. Aristelle was a bitch but that’s her character in a nutshell.Vampires that want to be able to live with people without needing to kill them often take a willing host who allows them to feed off them. Cruel Illusions is one of those books which consistently surprises you. There’s vampires and magic, family secrets and revenge. The magic was fascinating to me because it merges illusion magic with this idea of receiving our magic from the applause of others. People almost ‘feed’ our magic. This becomes a very interesting juxtaposition with the vampires. They obviously feed off the blood of others. Immediately, Cruel Illusions begins to complicate this dynamic.

Cruel Illusions: the deliciously dark and addictive magical

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. 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. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles, but the way this one was handled I didn’t mind so much. Similarly, the competition element can feel overdone in YA fantasy but I liked the way this one came together, and found the challenges themselves interesting to read. Deb’s footsteps move down the hall. She opens the door to the boys’ room, and their laughter weaves together like magic—like family.

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When I seen said book described as Caraval meets Buffy I was over the moon. Buffy is something I have loved for a long, long time now and I also have fallen in love with Stephanie Garbers Caraval series since reading it as well. Victor Gains Loser's Powers: A Magician killing a vampire will gain all of the abilities the vampire gathered over its lifetime. It also works vice versa, as any vampire who kills a magician gains their powers through drinking their blood.