Born of Deception (Born of Illusion, #2)

by Teri Brown

[celinenyx]

Born of Deception follows Born of Illusion, a dazzling book with a weak plot. Born of Deception for me feels stronger in the plot department, but it is a rather weird "second book".

Anna is going to London, where her boyfriend Cole lives. Here she'll join a travelling show, and maybe find out more about the Society that helps Sensitives like her. Things don't work out in London like she was expecting - Cole seems preoccupied, and the Society is having issues.

What surprised me most about this book, is that it immediately introduces a new love triangle, before we even get the time to get used to Cole and Anna together. To be honest this felt a bit odd - and kind of a betrayal. You're asking us to root for a couple that just got together, and now there is a new guy again vying for her attention? This and several other causes put a huge strain on Anna and Cole's relationship, and they spend most of the book fighting, bickering, or angsting. At a certain point I just wanted Anna to break up with him. What's the sense of being with someone that only causes you heartache?

There are several plot lines running through Born of Deception; we have Anna's career as a magician, the troubles within the Society, her push and pull with Cole, her attraction to the other guy in the love triangle, the question what she wants to do with the rest of her life, her relationship with her mother, her estranged father... The driving force behind the story, the missing persons of the Society, often takes a back seat over the other themes. Still, if you're looking for a solid mystery, Teri Brown is probably not her best bet. I knew who was responsible for the missing people at around 30%, and it turned out exactly like I was expecting it to. However, she does write books that are extremely easy to read, and the setting and other themes made up for the lack of mystery.

Born of Deception ends with many questions unanswered (though none of them related to the mystery). There is only a vague idea of what Anna will do next, and I wonder whether there will be a third book in the series. Born of Deception didn't suffer from second book syndrome, but neither did it fully come to its own right.