Reviewed by: Book Addict

The Lord of Illusion
by Kathryne Kennedy

Published February 7, 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

HE'LL DO ANYTHING TO FREE HIS PEOPLE...

Lord Drystan Hawkes dreams of fighting for England's freedom from the endless evils of the Elven Lords. But first he must find the beautiful slave girl who holds the secret to his quest.

SHE HOLDS THE KEY TO HIS LIBERATION...

Enslaved for years in a realm of illusion, Camille Ashton has learned to trust no one. But she's truly spellbound when she meets Drystan, and somehow when they are together, she can see what's true.

For a complete review which may contain SPOILERS, please click 'Read More' below:
Some books in a series can be read out of order. The Author spends time re-capping important events and re-introducing important characters, and you have no trouble diving into the continuing adventure. The Lord of Illusion is NOT one of those books. I picked this book up without realizing there were previously two books in the series. My mistake because I finished the story still feeling slightly confused, like I never totally caught up. So take this review with a grain of salt and with this thought in mind: Read this series in order!

The premise of this story was definitely interesting. Imagine England in the 1700's, where bad, bored Fae have broken through their world and taken over ours. This has been going on for generations and has resulted in half-Fae and mixed Fae descendants. England's brightest and bravest have banded together and formed the Rebellion, whose sole mission is to find the doorway back to Elfhame, home of the Fae. Enter Drystan, who has been searching for the Key to this doorway for years and finally finds it in the form of a beautiful slave, Camille.

Drystan, the 'orphan' who lives in Wales, is painfully bookish and feared by many for his devilish "fits" is nothing like Drystan the confident magic user and Sword Master who shows up to rescue Camille. It was honestly like reading about two different people. There really needed to be some more transition scenes as he made his way to England or else the original character needed to be tweaked a bit. I had a very hard time buying his complete transformation. And while I did like Drystan & Camille as a couple, there was something almost unlikeable about Camille on her own. I can't put my finger on what it was exactly, but I oftentimes found myself annoyed with her behavior.

That being said, the beautiful imagery, especially the magical illusions, was my favorite part of this book. The words are so carefully chosen, so lovingly placed, they involve all of your senses until you're there - flying on the back of a golden dragon, wind in your hair.  The ending was a happy one and I would say The Lord of Illusion is definitely worth a read, particularly if you read it in the correct order.



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