Review: Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Illusions of Fate

Author: Kiersten White

Series: -

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 288

Amazon : TBD

Release date: 9^th September 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

As a huge fan of Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy series, I was super excited to read Illusions of Fate not actually realising it was a pseudo historical fantasy which to be honest, I am not a fan of at all.

Our main heroine is Jessamin, a likeable strong (at times stubborn), witty character who is an outcast in Albion; she is a character that knew what she wanted and what she didn’t which was an arranged marriage her mother was imposing on her; her dream is to complete her education to become a teacher so she is dedicated to achieving this goal.

At the beginning of the book, Jessamin is rescued by an enigmatic mysterious man named Finn who is a Lord but she doesn’t fall under his spell and he is intrigued but he is from class and she is not. I enjoyed learning more about Finn and his secrets; he was an interesting, kind character who was loyal and dedicated.

Despite a slow start, the plot quickly became exciting and had an ominous feel to it as we see two countries embroiled in politics; I loved the magic and the blend of romance, magic and imaginary. Despite feeling some parts were predictable it was interesting to see how everything would play out. I especially liked learning about Jessamin’s island home of Melei and the dull country of Albion. The world-building came together nicely and I actually liked the alternate historical setting.

All of the characters were interesting, especially Eleanor who bought a bit of wry humour to the story. Lord Downpike was creepy and Jessamin’s Bird book was wonderful.

Overall, this book was wonderfully written and was filled with a sweet romance, magic, a beautiful setting, laugh out loud moments and delightful characters it held my attention from the very first page.

About the author: Hi! I'm the New York Times best-selling author of Paranormalcy and Supernaturally. I also give the most awkward hugs in the world. You should probably opt for one of my books over one of my hugs, but then again, maybe you like awkward hugs.

As for me, I like writing flirting scenes, and fighting scenes, and sometimes I write scenes that fall somewhere in between the two, but only if I can't avoid it.