Born of Illusion

Born of Illusion by Teri Brown is another lovely little find off of GoodReads “unique” book list. I had just finished the Hush, Hush*** series by Becca Fitzpatrick and was interested in finding a good historical fiction series that was well writ and with a better storyline. Now, I’ve always been intrigued with ghosts and magic, but the mastery of creating illusions is amazing.

Luckily, this book is about both.

Based in the 1920’s, Anna is a side act magician in her mother’s faux clairvoyant theatre performances and her partner in crime preforming séances; punishable by imprisonment. Popularity for their show improves as her mother, Marguerite Estella Van Housen, claims Anna’s father is no other than Harry Houdini.  Anna is incredibly gifted with her magic and loves to perform, she and her mother have a unique love-hate relationship. Margueite is the headliner and makes sure every opportunity for Anna to shine on the stage is thwarted.

Unbeknownst to her mother, Anna is not a fraud and has to find a way to hide her gifts from her opportunistic mother. Along the line, Anna meets a strange young man named Cole and together they explore Anna’s powers and unearth things they’d never hoped to find.

Taking place in the beautiful and roaring ‘20’s, the plot involve scientists, mobsters, magic, and of course, love.

The refreshing writing style of Teri Brown comes as a breath of fresh air in the stagnant realm of Young Adult Fiction. The writing is elegant, the characters sharp and witty. I was excited to learn this book is part of a series!

All in all, a great read.

In A Nutshell:

Pros-
-Illusionists
-Houdini’s illegitimate daughter.
-Cairvoyants, Mobsters
-1920’s

Cons-
-Antagonist is a bit of a flaky character

Overall Rating: 7/10