Thursday, June 6, 2013

ARC Review: Born of Illusion


Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
3.5/5 stars
Balzer + Bray, 2013
384 pages
YA Historical Paranormal
Scheduled to release June 11

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher at Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I love stories about magic and so far most of the books I've read with that element tend to be about witches and wizards. However this story promised a different take on magic, looking at magicians, illusionists, and mediums in addition to featuring Harry Houdini. Add in the historical period of the 1920's and we've got a lot of potential here.

Anna Van Housen is a talented young illusionist working in concert with her "medium" mother, attempting to keep themselves afloat and ahead of those who would expose their seances as fraudulent including Anna's alleged father, the famous Harry Houdini. However, what no one knows, what no one can know is that Anna has genuine paranormal talent as there are definitely those who would use her abilities, not least of all her mother. When two very different men become entangled in her life, Anna may have to fully utilize all of her talents to avoid destruction.

My least favorite part of this book was definitely the romance. Although at first, I wondered which guy she might choose, it pretty quickly became obvious and honestly neither guy much impressed me. They were such dullards and didn't have any spark with Anna. This is a shame as Anna is quite spunky and fun-I'd probably want to hang out with her and I want her to have an awesome romantic relationship.

On the other hand, her relationship with her parents was much more enthralling although frustrating. Anna's mother is used to being the center of attention and easily manipulates Anna and those in her sphere of influence. Their relationship is complicated to say the least and her lies mean that though Anna hopes Houdini is her father, she also doubts the veracity of her mother's claim. I appreciated the many facets of her mother's character as well as the fact that we get to see her good side near the end, making her more likable to me and feeling better for Anna's situation.

One final element to examine is the presence of magic and other paranormal abilities. Anna knows full well that they are real because she possesses them, something that she cannot share with anyone especially her mother who might not believe her but also might try to ruthlessly exploit her. I loved how Anna had these natural talents in addition to all her hard work at illusions to perform on stage for pay. I thought it was a nice contrast between being born with paranormal talents and working hard at creating illusions for the stage.

Cover: I think she looks like Nicola Kidman circa "Moulin Rouge" which is a very different time period, setting, and circumstances but maybe you can see the resemblance too?

Other Opinions:
Candace's Book Blog
The Flyleaf Review
Tynga's Reviews

22 comments:

  1. That is too bad about the romance. Hopefully the rest of the story will be good enough to make up for it. I am intrigued by Anna's abilities and the illusions.

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    1. Yeah, that romance just did nothing for me but honestly most YA romances haven't been sparking for me lately so it's not alone in that regard.

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  2. Sorry the romance wasn't up to par with the magic and HF

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    1. It just felt a bit unnecessary with all the other well-done bits.

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  3. Sorry the romance was disappointing! But the entire concept of the book sounds awesome. I've not read many books focused on illusion. Awesome review!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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    1. I loved that most of the book was focused on "ordinary" magic rather than more HP-esque magic which it seems is more normal in YA.

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  4. Again we agree! I liked Anna's relationship with her mother (and her maybe father…)
    And I think the book should have focused more on magic and the supernatural and less on romance.

    You can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. The parent relationships were so good-frustrating but really interesting! Of course we agree :)

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  5. I am really curious about Anna's abilities even more now. Too bad about the romance though. Great review.

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. It's very interesting trying to figure out exactly what Anna can do (and I'm especially wondering what the sequel will be about...)

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  6. I've seen some pretty iffy things about this one, so I'm not sure if I'll like it. The idea of illusions and magic int he 1920s does sound good though! Great review!

    -Taylor @ Reading is the Thing

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    1. I've seen mostly mixed reviews too-I thought the setting was quite well done and I liked the writing but as I say, it's not a top read for me.

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  7. Someone commented about the cover looking like Nicole Kidman to me too. I hadn't noticed that before but I guess it kind of does!

    I liked this one a bit more than you did, though I think maybe it lacked that extra spark to make it AMAZING I did enjoy reading it quite a lot.

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    1. Yep, extra spark missing is definitely the way I'd describe it.

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  8. I remember reading the synopsis back when I requested it but I DON'T REMEMBER ALL THAT. About it taking place in the 20s and it being about illusionists. That sounds awesome! I'm glad that, even though it wasn't a perfect read, it's still interesting and Anna is still a good main character.

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    1. Have you tried it yet? Interested to see your thoughts!

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  9. You're so right about the cover! I hadn't noticed it before, but it does look like Nicole Kidman!
    I also appreciated Anna's mother a lot more at the end than I did throughout the novel, that was one complicated relationship! I did like the romance, but that's probably because I liked the boy better than you did ;)

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    1. Thank you for agreeing with me about the cove! I appreciated the mother more at the end-she was just drawn so harshly at the beginning.

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  10. Ugh. I just could not give this book a favorable review. I LOVED the premise, Harry Houdini? YES! But Anna and her mom's dysfunctional relationship and the lackluster romance killed it for me. Seems like it rated a little better with you though and I'm glad:)

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    1. The premise is so cool-Harry Houdini should be in more books!

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  11. Darn, too bad about the romance. I feel doubly disappointed when we're given not one, but TWO romantic possibilities and neither one sparks. The plot reminds me a little of Haunting Violet, which I liked. I'm glad the mother redeems herself in the end.

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    1. I know some other people loved the romance and found it not as annoyingly love triangle but I just didn't see it that way.

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