The vampires are magicians who wanted more. Basically, blood magicians who used blood to fuel their magic and now have to live on that blood to even live. It gets more complicated as the book goes on, so this might not quite be how it’s described in the beginning. I’m leaning more towards team Roman! I like his personality more and while he doesn’t seem “good” he does seem more moral and loyal to me, which I like! WHAT?? Lucius is her sperm-donor, her mom’s ancient, her troupe’s in on everything & lying to her (I *knew* Xander was a red flag!), Lucius killed her mom & feeds failed apprentices to his garden of death – while Willow was just eliminated, & she’s all wrapped up in this. I’m dying to finish the book to see how everything finally gets wrapped up, but I’m trying to hold out until the questions get posted, so I can answer them 1st! ? I focus on Dad anyway. It’s weird that the safer parent to think about is the one who died in a mugging gone bad, but I was so little that I don’t really remember that moment. I only remember the before and the after. Before, I would stand on the side of a small stage at a little club or community theater, holding the hand of a babysitter while I stared open-mouthed at Mom and Dad on the stage making rabbits and birds and cats appear from top hats or from behind sparkling curtains. Dad wore a red vest made of sequins over a billowy white shirt. Mom wore red silk over a rounded stomach that held Parker. She always wore fresh red roses in her hair. I don’t really remember anything else about Dad besides those nights on the side of a stage. As for Lucius, I didn’t exactly see it coming that he was the dad, but I suspected he was into Ava’s mom. And Cassia? That name screams ancient Rome. So yes.

She takes out a pair of dark-wash jeans, loose and baggy. I only wear them that way or tight and stretchy enough to feel like skin—both work for running in a pinch. She glances at my face and takes my silence as confirmation that they’re okay. Riassumendo, Cruel Illusion è un libro che vi consiglio se siete nel mood di leggere un libro non troppo elaborato e abbastanza prevedibile ma pieno di magia, spettacoli circensi, vampiri e con un romance carino! My brother’s hair is bitter chocolate. Mine is too, but only because I dye it. It’s naturally an almost white blond, but I got tired of people thinking we weren’t related. My brother has my mom’s round face and soft features. You can see the resemblance in the photo he keeps of her—all three of us sitting outside our trailer, the forest tight around us, my brother squirming in her thin arms, and me with my too-big dark brown eyes that mirrored hers. Parker with his deep blue eyes that matched our dad’s. Our mom died two weeks later. I wanted to.” Deb’s smile stretches like a worn-out sweater. She smiles too much, and I don’t trust it.Cruel Illusions fascinatingly mixes Vampires and Magicians. While the book at its core has the typical YA formula, Fuston put enough of her spin on it to make it feel fresh and a fun reading experience. I adored the side characters. I was genuinely surprised with Stacie’s arc. I was appreciative of getting to know all the side characters, especially my beautiful lesbian couple, Reina and Diantha. Anyone who says they didn’t care about them didn’t read the book properly. Their stories were very interesting and kept me motivated to continue the story. I appreciated their badass moments, especially with the woman on the date and in some of the very end chapters. Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston, from chapter 30 to the end of the book. Please only read on if you’ve finished Cruel Illusions! -!SPOILERS!-

The next trial begins and after Nadine bows out because it’s getting too real, it’s Ava and Ethan head to head. They both manage to make it out. Speaking in terms of romance, there is a love triangle but it was not heavy or cringe for me, indeed I must say that the romance was very successful but in this book it has very little space so do not expect an entirely romance book. Cycle of Revenge: The first vampire Numerius killed Lucius' sister after he first became a vampire. Lucius responded to this by killing Numerius' sister. The two have now spent centuries as archfoes trying to hurt each other more and more. It's escalated to the point that their organizations (Lucius' Society of Magicians and Numerius's vampires) are now in constant conflict with each other. I think it was necessary for her to confirm her mom’s past (troupe members, confirming real magic, the warning that if she had a family life after the troupe that she probably deserted & the repercussions of that choice, etc). Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good YA book for someone who wants something bloody and gritty for their vampire story. Lots of twists, betrayal, staking, and blood. It’s just if you’ve read these sorts of YA books: the plotline, the story twists, and the general themes are all rather predictable.The side characters weren’t for me at all. Usually my favourite characters are side characters, but here?? I don’t think I had a favourite character. Aristelle?? Why 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 I care about her again??

Vampiric Draining: The Society possess a garden with special vines where their failed applicants are drained of blood, kept healthy and fed and in stasis all the while. The blood draining is required to feed the immortality spell that keeps the members of the Society running.Since today is day 1, we’ll be reading from the beginning to the end of Chapter 6. Get comfy and let’s get started!

A lot of infodumping later and we learn that real magic is a thing along with vampires, and magicians and vampires are pretty much the same thing or come from the same thing because their magic is in their BLOOD but the vampires are different because they’re vampires. It doesn’t really make much sense, but that’s okay, because neither does the rest of the book. Don’t think too hard about it, just focus on the fact that Xander doesn’t have a shirt. It’s just not there. I cannot overstate this, Xander is shirtless.Roman?? I think he was meant to be a ‘brooding’, ‘cool’ love interest. He didn’t serve. AT ALL. Just plain emo AND annoying. I can accept, just, that maybe Ava is pushing Deb (and all that surrounds her) away because she’s too scared to be comfortable for fear of it being torn away from either her or her brother, a defence mechanism for being in the foster system, type response, if it wasn’t for the… The competition has no real structure and is basically just a montage of every YA competition over the last 20 years. The Goblet of Fire hedge maze is in there, and so is plenty of Throne of Glass -esque tests and badly described combat. Blood Magic: Since magic in magic users hums underneath the skin and is felt in the blood, blood letting helps to increase the abilities of its user. The more blood spilt from a person, the more powerful the spells. Eventually, it gets to a point where the magic users push themselves to the brink of death through blood letting and become immortal (their magician blood is all used up and instead they gain a hunger for the blood of others to replenish themselves, becoming vampires). And that complication only gets more intriguing as the book develops. As the consequences for power and ambition, for family secrets and revenge, only begin to bloom. Can we embrace power, discover our potential, without sinking into the very enemies we seek to destroy? For those who want a dangerous magical competition Cruel Illusions delivers. And for those who heard vampires and thought, “what?”, there are definitely these beloved members of the undead. While I wished that the vampires were explored a bit more, what else can you expect from a vampire hunting story?