Born of Illusion by Teri Brown book review
Synopsis: A gifted illusionist, Anna assists her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums, and mentalists in 1920s New York. As the illegitimate daughter of Harry Houdini — or so Marguerite claims — sleight of hand illusions have never been a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her own gifts secret from her opportunistic mother. Because while Marguerite’s own powers 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 begins to experience frightening visions of her mother in peril, which leads her to explore the powers she’s tried so long to hide. And when a mysterious young man named Cole moves into the flat downstairs, introducing Anna to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, she is forced to confront her past and rethink everything she’s ever known. Is her mother truly in danger, or are Anna’s visions merely illusion? And could the great Houdini really be her father, or is it just another of Marguerite’s tricks?
Review: I really did enjoy this book. Anna was the heroine I always look for in a book- bold, smart, really takes her life into her hands. Cole was also the best male character in a book I’d read in a while. I definately could not stand her mother. While I saw others say she was a narc, I’d definately disagree with that but I would say she was a horrible mother up until the end. Owen is the other male romantic lead we get for Anna and from the time we are introduced to him, he’s for sure sketchy.
Ok now onto the parts that don’t really make sense: The séances that Anna and her mother conduct are lead to be this really ellaborate thing but they aren’t really spoken of much in the book. We only see the 2 times they are practiced when stuff goes down & then Anna just mentions they preform séances 2x a week. The whole Houdini thing was really confusing too. Like did she infact find out he wasn’t her father? Does he REALLY know her mother? Then the ending I felt was kinda abrupt. Like it felt like there was probably more info but someone took out “unneccessary” information to end the book quicker. It definately could have worked but for this it just doesn’t. Like why was Anna just one minute in the water then quiet literally the next in a hospital? The mom and their manager don’t mention the fact the mom and Anna were kidnapped & almost killed? The police aren’t gonna track down the other person who escaped after trying to murder them? And then it just ends…. We don’t even get a conclusion to Cole & Anna’s relationship. The book is just over.
Overall I did enjoy this book & am quite interested in reading book 2. But from the reviews on that book I’ve seen you could just view this as a standalone and be perfectly fine. Was this the greatest book? Not by any means but it also wasn’t the worst. it’s a good middle ground in my opinion.
Rating: 🔮🔮🔮/🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮 (3/5)
