Review : Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1)
Author : Teri Brown
Publication Date : June 11th 2013
Publisher : Balzer + Bray
Goodreads - The Book Depository

ANNA VAN HOUSEN HAS A SECRET.

A gifted illusionist, Anna assists her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage shows and seances, easily navigating the underground world of magicians and mentalists in 1920s New York. For Anna, the illegitimate daughter of Harry Houdini - or so Marguerite claims - handcuffs and sleight-of-hand illusions have never been much of a challenge. The real trick is keeping her own gifts secret from her mother: because while Marguerite's power may be a sham, Anna possesses a true ability to sense people's feelings and foretell the future.

But as Anna's powers intensify, she experiences frightening visions of her mother in peril, which lead her to explore the abilities she's tried so long to hide. And when a mysterious young man named Cole moves into the flat downstairs, introducing Anna to a society that studies people with gifts like hers, she begins to wonder if there's more to life than keeping secrets.

As her visions become darker and her powers spin out of her control, Anna is forced to rethink all she's ever known. Is her mother truly in danger, or are Anna's visions merely illusions? And could the great Houdini really be her father, or is it just another of Marguerite's tricks?

From Teri Brown comes a world bursting with magic, with romance, with the temptations of Jazz Age New York --- and the story of a girl about to become the mistress of her own destiny.

Personal Thoughts

1920's, New York City, Houdini, magicians, mediums and illusionists. Can you resist such a combination? I knew I could not once I read the synopsis behind the stunning cover of Born of Illusion.

Born of Illusion's main character, Anna, was easy to identify with. She was at the same time a strong and weak character. Her flaws were what made her realistic and likeable. She's also the sort of character who makes sure that she goes to the bottom of the issue if one arises. Anna's weakness came in the form of her mother. She has always been in the shadow of her mother, easily manipulated by the older woman. Her relationship with her mother was highly complex, and it was without a shadow of doubt what made this book even more enjoyable. It was a bipolar relationship. At times, the reader senses that there is a lot of love between mother and daughter and then at other times, you sense the jealousy of the mother over the daughter. She hated seeing the spotlight being on Anna and wanted all the attention on herself. When things would not go her way, she would be mad at Anna. Over the course of the story, Anna came to realize how twisted their relationship was, but never once she hated the woman because Anna's love for her mother was stronger than anything. The secondary characters in Born of Illusion were also fleshed out in such a way that everyone had depth and personality.

Born of Illusion had an eerie atmosphere from the start to the beginning because of the setting and the background. I liked how the author managed incorporate this element of mystery into the story. The magic, the illusions and the mediums made this atmosphere even creepier, in a way. I feel like the author did a fantastic job at describing the scenes and I felt like I was visualizing the scenes in front of my eyes while reading. The reader, along with Anna, is curious to get to know about what her relationship to Houdini is all throughout the book, which further added to the mystery element of the book. Although I did feel like the final revelation at the end of the book was predictable, it did not dampen my enjoyment. I did feel like the ending left me with a little too many unanswered questions, but that by no means made this a terrible book. There was also a love triangle in the book. However, I did not really feel like it was a real love triangle because it was clear from the very beginning who Anna's heart belonged to. One other noteworthy relationship was that of Anna and Mr.Darby, her neighbor. I loved the growth of this relationship from almost animosity at the beginning to a fun friendship by the end of the book. Writing wise, Teri Brown is undoubtedly a pro. Born of Illusion was a strong debut and I'm excited to see where the story is headed in the next installment, especially since it seems to involve Rasputin.

Lively, mysterious and stunning, Born of Illusion was not an example of a book that hides a boring, disappointing story behind its gorgeous cover. This is one historical YA book worth reading. 

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the e-ARC of Born of Illusion.