Illusions (Aprilynne Pike ) (Wings, #3)

by Aprilynne Pike

• ISBN10: 0062077090
• ISBN13: 9780062077097
• Publish Date: 3 May 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[nightingalereads]

2.75 stars

[Baroness Book Trove]

Wow. This book once again was really good. Illusions by Aprilynne Pike has us jumping from Tamani to Laurel, in terms of who the third person narrator is, which is something that I adore. I think that the book wouldn’t have been good without the little sections of Tamani being the focus that the book wouldn’t have been as good. From the very beginning to the end of the book had me wanting more and more.

Laurel is still stuck between wanting to be in a romantic relationship with either David or Tamani. Some people might like the whole love triangle thing but for me I’m just a little bit worried about which scorned lover would turn on Laurel if they were influenced enough from the other side. This book seemed like it was filler which is a good thing since we learned more about Tamani, David, and mostly everyone in this book. We even got to meet and learn more (SPOILER!!) about a new faerie named Yuki (END SPOILER!!). We also learn a lot about her and a little bit more about this troll hunter, that we met in the last book, by the name of Klea. We all know that I hate filler books but this filler books, but I feel this one is a necessary for this series.

I am going to be giving Illusions by Aprilynne Pike a five butterflies rating because it was soo good. When I wasn’t reading I was worrying about what Laurel was getting herself into or if Tamani and David would stop trying to be jerks around each other and what type of faerie is Yuki?! All really good questions that got answered in the book, which gave me more questions. That cliffhanger Aprilynne Pike had for us was the worst one ever. Well not the worse one but it sucks to know that I won’t be able to read Destined by Aprilynne Pike for a while. But, wow I can’t wait to read it, when I am able to get my hands on that book. I really want to know what happens for Laurel and her friends. and even more about Yuki.

Anyways until next time enjoy this book review brought to you by

Baroness’ Book Trove.

[Kim Deister]

There is even more of the mythology that I love so much in this book.  Like in Spells, Shakespeare's writings are the human retellings  of faery lore, Shakespeare being one of the few mortals allowed into the confidence of the fae.  There are also other "human" faery tales that are mentioned as a part of the mythology of this faery world.  All of this means that there is much more of the reimagined Avalon and the mythology of King Arthur and Camelot.  Mab of traditional faery lore is also a part of the story line this time.  

I loved the humor involved with bringing technology to the faerie sentries of Avalon on temporary duty in the human world.  Not only do they have iPhones, but the little detail of mythology that the touch screens don’t work as well with the plant cells of the faerie as they do with the animal cells of the humans and their innate electrical currents is hilarious as  they try and try to make them work.  

I also liked that the boy rivalry between David and Tamani, although faerie versus human, was typical of boy struggles that we all know of.  Chelsea’s moment of vulnerability came when she confessed to Laurel about her feelings for David, a touching moment, but one that seemed less realistic than the situation between David and Tamani.  This isn’t really a normal teenage girl situation, especially handled as it was in the book.  I really loved that this whole situation wasn't glossed over at all.  In fact, sometimes Laurel's inability to get it together was downright annoying.  But these are very human traits and reactions and made her character one that a reader could feel for.  I liked that Laurel was portrayed as more personally strong with the two boys than she had been, no longer wary of sticking up for herself.

Laurel really grew in this book, seeming to embrace her faerie side far more than she had in the previous books.  The increased sentry presence in the woods behind her house prompted her to make potions and powders to keep them safe, showing more confidence in her faerie skills than we’ve seen before.  She also became more of a “thinker” in this book.  Her growth as a person was obvious in how she handled situations and choices that had to be made.  She spent more time thinking things through than she previously had.  

Things to love about Illusions...

   --The mythology.  There was even more in this book, which I loved.
   --The characters.  They were engaging and interesting and always evoking emotion.
   --Tamani.  While I liked Tamani in the previous books, I always felt like he only existed, both for the author and for the story itself, in support of Laurel.  Everything about his character was about Laurel, with nothing of Tamani himself.  That expanded with this story, especially in his dealings with Yuki and his conflicted feelings with her.
   --The tone.  The last 25% of the book was much darker than the rest of the book, and the rest of the series.  That was probably my favorite part because it became much more intense and intriguing for me.  It made the book a bit of a changing point for the story, really amplifying the struggle between the human world and the faerie world of Avalon.

Things I wanted more or less of...

   --A little more progress.  For much of the book, the entire premise was to discover the truth about Klea and Yuki.  The true action and progression only took place in the last 25% of the book.  I still enjoyed the book, and there was progression, it was just a bit drawn out.  90% of the climax of the book took place in the second to last chapter, just before concluding in a cliffhanger.

Some quotastic goodness...

   --As soon as their eyes locked, the months since she’d last seen Tamani shrank from an eternity to an instant (3).
   --He’d been back for about two weeks, and everything in Laurel’s life had been thrown into chaos.  Sexy, sexy chaos (40). 
   --“I just don’t want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing,” he said flatly, without looking at her (51).  
   --“But love is something that has to be as selfish as it is unselfish. You can’t make yourself love someone because you feel like you should. Just wanting to love someone isn’t enough (113).”  

My recommendation:  I absolutely love this series!  I definately recommend this one, but only after reading Wings and Spells.

[lizarodz]

Illusions is the third installment of the Wings series. I liked Illusions a lot better than Spells (the second book), but not as much as Wings.

Laurel is still learning how to be a mixer and spent her second summer in Avalon. I was a little disappointed of not going into Avalon with her; instead we just get a brief visit. On the other hand, I was so happy that Tamani as he is my favorite character. His devotion and complete love for Laurel is just touching and bittersweet. David is as sweet as ever, but just can’t like him as much as I do Tam. The part I liked the least was that the book gave a lot of importance to the love triangle. Don’t get me wrong, is not that I don’t like triangles as a principles, but Laurel took it to the extreme. She is so confused about her feelings that she works herself up to be in constant angst about it. Maybe is just me, but it doesn’t make sense for a fairy to want to build a permanent relationship with a human.

A new character is introduced in this book named Yuki and she is another fairy. Klea (the scary “commando” lady from Spells) asks Laurel to keep an eye on her, and part of the plot in this book is trying to figure out if Yuki is a threat or not.

One of the things I like was the alternating point of views between Tamani and Laurel. We learn a lot more of what is going on with the sentries, the trolls, and Tamani’s feelings. I still can’t get through my head how Avalon was founded in such big differences between classes and I agree with Laurel that it doesn’t make sense.

The writing was easy to read and the plot was good, although I was able to guess some of the high points. The worst part for me was the major cliffhanger! What is up with that? As I listened to this book while driving I was sure something was wrong with the last disc and that I was missing something. By the way I love the voices in the audio recording.

The next and last installment, Destined, will be published on May of 2012. *Sigh* Let the wait begin!

About the cover: I don’t like this cover too much. I find the cover of the UK version (Wild) a lot prettier. What do you think?