Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion, #1)

by Teri Brown

[celinenyx]

Born of Illusion is a lovely mix of paranormal and historical with interesting character dynamics but a rather weak plot.

Together with her mother Anna has a magic and spiritual act; only her mother doesn't know that Anna's powers are for real. She can feel people's emotions, see the future and converse with ghosts. She has to be careful with her secret, but it's getting harder since her powers are growing and they get harder to hide.

Anna and her mother have a deliciously difficult relationship. Her mom is selfish, ambitious and a jealous person. She's not exactly the best mother around, but she still loves her daughter in her own way. Anna's relationship with her mom was realistic and interesting to read about. They both seemed very lifelike to me, and Anna's conflicting thoughts rung true to me, even though her ambivalence seemed to annoy some other reviewers.

Born of Illusion is set in New York during the twenties. For me the time period was pretty convincing, with mentions of period clothing and the glitzy life-style, but I wasn't all that impressed with Ms Brown's New York. It could have been set in any US city as far as I was concerned; there are some mentions of restaurants and bars, but none of characteristic New York landmarks that are needed for authenticity.

The weakest part of Born of Illusion is the plot. Before the real exciting part even got started, I knew what was going on and who the bad guy was. There is no amazing revelation, just a soft realisation on Anna's part who's after her. If you are used to pay attention to clues the twist is glaringly obvious from the start.

Deflated plot aside, Born of Illusion is an enjoyable paranormal read. There are two love interests but the word "love" is never uttered (which is a good thing in my book) and there are plenty of juicy séances and flapper parties to keep you entertained.