Review: Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

Illusions of Fate

Author: Kiersten White
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: ebook
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Source: egalley received by Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.*** 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“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.

My Review:

Illusions of Fate was deliciously brilliant. So unique. So different. I really fell in love with it. This wasn’t a super elaborate fantasy novel, but it was fun and exciting and had a wonderful cast of characters.

The main character Jessamin was everything I love in a main character. She’s smart, sassy and doesn’t take crap from anybody. She’s very independent which doesn’t exactly work in the country she’s living in where women take a subservient role. But Jessamin doesn’t let that stop her from pursuing her goals. She pushes herself and others, testing the limits, breaking the rules to get what she wants. She doesn’t always make smart decisions, but I think that she does the best she can with the information she has been given.

Finn!!! I am in love with him. He’s that tortured, brooding soul that you want to reach out and hug but are a bit scared to because he’s super intimidating. But oh man, that charm. That swagger. Finn is swoony to say the least. I loved how protective he was and also how vulnerable he was at points in the story. He was so multi-dimensional.

The world-building was pretty good. The author did a great job of weaving in details here and there. It wasn’t super elaborate and at times, it could be a little confusing, but I had enough of a grasp on it for it to be believable and real in my head.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it’s a standalone!! A standalone fantasy novel?? How cool is that! Because of that the world-building was probably not as great as it could have been, but I took it for what it was and just enjoyed the story. It was really just sheer fun. The shadows. The magic. The mystery. The twists. I just had a lot of fun with this story. Happy reading all!  

Have you read this one yet? What did you think? Did you like the relationship? The world? Did you feel like this was a really fun fantasy?