Author: Martina Boone
Series: The Heirs of Watson Island #3
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: October 25th, 2016
Source for review: ARC from publisher and Irish Banana Tours
My Rating: 5 stars
ABOUT ILLUSION:
Barrie must rescue her beloved and her family from evil spirits in the masterful conclusion to the Heirs of Watson Island trilogy.
Caged by secrets all around her and haunted by mistakes that have estranged her from Eight Beaufort, Barrie Watson is desperate to break the curse that puts her family in danger—without breaking the beautiful magic that protects Watson’s Landing. To do that, she must heal the rifts that have split the families of the island apart for three hundred years, unravel the mystery of the Fire Carrier and the spirits he guards, and take control of forces so deadly and awe-inspiring they threaten to overwhelm her.
With the spirits that cursed Watson Island centuries ago awake and more dangerous than ever, she finds an unlikely ally in the haunting and enigmatic Obadiah, whose motivations and power she still can’t read—or trust. His help comes at a price, however, plunging Barrie into a deadly maze of magic and wonder, mystery and intrigue that leads through history to places she never imagined she could go.
LINKS: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Review:
I was so excited when I got picked to be on this tour because I am such a huge fan of this series. And then, they said there were only 10 physical ARCs available, so I begged and offered my first-born child to get one of the physical ARCs in order to have a matching set of the ARCs. The day my ARC showed up, I hadn't been notified ahead of time that I'd get one, well, let's just say there was some mega-excitement going on in my house. I really feel like the ending of this series was very good. In fact, I feel like the story kind of went in a direction I never saw coming. If you haven't read the first two, you might want to stop here in case I give away any spoilers for those books. If you're behind, you can go check out my review of book 1: Compulsion or book 2: Persuasion. But if you're caught up, then go ahead and read on!
The beginning of the book was sad for me as where we left off in book 2, Eight was upset with Barrie for the secret she kept from him, even though his dad had asked her to, and she'd felt that his dad, Seven, needed to be the one to tell him. However Barrie knows that she has to figure out what all is going on with the ghosts, as well as what Obadiah really wants. Does he really want to help with the curse? To help with the binding? And Barrie doesn't think she wants to lose the magic and all that comes with the binding, so is there a way to both help Obadiah break the curse and get what he wants without doing that? I was happy when Eight was able to come around and work with Barrie. There would always be what had happened between them, but they decide to try to use the experience to make their relationship even better. When Eight's sister Kate decides to help out her family so that Seven can be with Pru, and Eight can be with Barrie, things go from bad to worse. And now Eight and Barrie have to do much more research, and Seven is mad at Barrie.
I won't talk too much more about what happens, no spoilers here. But I will say that I loved the way it ended, and loved the surprising turn it all took. I love Barrie and Eight together. I love that Barrie thinks Eight smells like root beer. That sounds heavenly to me. And after the story is over, the author includes a very great section about all the history that inspired her story. I love reading through the true history behind stories. It really makes the story even better for me. And I have to also say, I must find a Hummingbird cake to try soon! This is the third book that I've heard about it in, and so, I'm too intrigued.
You need to pick up this series if you haven't yet, and I hope that you enjoy it as much I did.
About the Author:
If you like romance steeped in mystery, mayhem, Spanish moss, and a bit of magic, she hopes you'll look forward to meeting Barrie, Eight, Cassie, Pru, Seven and the other characters of Watson Island.
LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest
Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
10/3: Reading Teen – Setting Inspirations
10/4: Please Feed the Bookworm – Review
10/5: Who RU Blog – Review
10/6: YA Bibliophile – Review
10/7: Adventures of a Book Junkie – Q&A
Week 2:
10/10: Mundie Moms – Review
10/11: The Cover Contessa - Review
10/12: Fiction Fare – Review
10/13: Lisa Loves Literature – Review - You are here!!!
10/14: The Irish Banana Review – Q&A
Giveaway:
- 2 Complete Sets of the Heirs of Watson Island series (US Only)
