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Illusions
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"I don't do patrols, I don't go hunting, I just stick close to you. You live your life. I'll keep you safe," Tamani said, sweeping a lock of hair from her face. "Or die trying."
Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.
But just as life returns to normal, Laurel realizes that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.
Book Actions
Start ReadingBook Information
Illusions
Description
"I don't do patrols, I don't go hunting, I just stick close to you. You live your life. I'll keep you safe," Tamani said, sweeping a lock of hair from her face. "Or die trying."
Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.
But just as life returns to normal, Laurel realizes that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.
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Reviews
I loved this book so much!!! These books are getting better with each one she writes, I can't wait for the next one! I love how everything doesn't come incredibly easy for the main character, she has to make really difficult decisions and she's really struggling right now. You end up rooting for her, hoping she makes the right choices (or maybe just the choices you think you would make in her place). Love this series so much=D
Rating: 5This is the third book in the Wings series by Pike; there are four books planned in this series. This was a decent book but too much of the beginning was focused on Laurel angsting about which boy was right for her. The second half of the book was really great.Laurel has left Avalon and is all set to go back to her normal, human, school. She is hoping that her and David will get some quality time together; but when Tam shows up incognito as a foreign exchange student Laurel is suddenly conflicted about who she really loves Tam or David. Tam is leading the force of scouts that are guarding Laurel from Troll attacks. And there is a new fairy in town, this new girl doesn't seem to know that she's a faerie and Laurel and her friends can't figure out what her deal is.The first part of this book is dedicated to Laurel being wishy washy about who she wants for her boyfriend, David or Tamani. I think the whole love triangle thing was really over done in this book and wish Laurel would just pick someone so that we can get on with the story. For those who care, I am very team Tamari because he is the only one who has even a slight chance of making a decent life with Laurel, but whatever. Needless to say the tension between Tamani and Laurel in the book is very high and, for the most part, well done (even if there is too much of it).There are some things in this book that I really enjoyed. I love Pike's writing style, it is fun and easy to read. I love reading about Laurel doing all her mixing and analysis to create and identify spells (with a chemistry bkgd this stuff is just fun for me). I also enjoyed the action in the second half of the book and enjoyed some of the revelations that happened toward the end of the book.I just couldn't get over how much time was spent on all the teenage angsting. I would have liked to see the first half of the book happen in half of the time and then spend more time on the mystery surrounding the strange Japanese fairy and the Trolls. I also missed Avalon and wished more of this book had taken place there.The book ends with a total cliffhanger; it stops completely in the middle of the story (I hate this). There wasn't any resolution to any of the issues raised, the book just stopped. So be ready for that. If that drives you nuts, than you may want to wait and read this book after the fourth book is released.Overall this was an okay addition to the series. I love the characters, love the spell mixing, and love that action that happened late in the book. I did not like how much time Laurel spent angsting about which boy to choose; I also did not enjoy the ending which just stopped the book mid-story. Of course I will be reading the fourth book because I need to know what happens next.
Rating: 4This is another one of my favorite series that I have followed from the very beginning. I remember standing in front of the bookshelf at the store and one of the employee's recommended it to me. I went home skeptical about it, but after a few pages in I was hooked! This is one of the first book that I have read about fairies where they aren't all the deceitful. The have a home. That they have honor. And their rules of life are still breaking ground in some issues.This book follows where it left off. Now, if you have haven't read the first two books I suggest you do.You will be able to catch up as you read this one, but it will take a while. What I like most about this book is the jealousy that is seething off the pages. Man, I love reading the narrow looks, the fists fights, and just plain good 'ol drama. My only gripe is Laurel's back and forth feeling decisions. I just want her to make her choice and be done with it!The plot went fairly well. There was some stuff going on with Avalon as well as the major stuff going on with Laurel. Laurel as usually does her best to juggle both life's that she is living, but you can clearly see how it gets in the way of everything. I think she may have to make choice as to which one she wants to live in. The line gets crossed in both of her life's and that causes major trouble. The ending is just wow! There was so much going on that I didn't even see it coming. The ending leaves the reader with your mouth hanging open and a big ??? I'm dying to know what happens! Illusions is great faerie book with lots of jealousy, angst, and lots of secrets sprouting out. Ms. Pike wrote an thrilling, captivating book that leaves me wanting more!
Rating: 4OMG I just love this series! Tam and Laurel this is one of my all time favorites and it is a must read!
Rating: 5These books are getting better. Can't wait for the next book to continue the story.
Rating: 4What I LikedTeam BoyYes I am leaning more and more towards Team Tamani. I love his complete and total dedication to Laurel and his not so patient waiting for her to come to her senses. But I also don't want to see David hurt too bad, I really do like him and would love to see him happy with someone else.DramaThis book contained A LOT of drama throughout the entire book. Laurel is being completely torn apart about what choices she wants to make for herself and her future. Should she go to college with David or go to Avalon and learn all the fall faerie stuff and be with Tamani. Another faerie character is thrown into the equation and making things confusing and stressful. Lots of things to puzzle out in this book and some answers are finally starting to surface.What I Didn't LikeIt ended on a total cliffhanger!!!! Really!!! Now I have to wait around a year to finish the series. I now have to wait till I get to know what is going on with the trolls and most importantly question, who Laurel will choose as her forever.RecommendationRead the series and start with book 1
Rating: 4To be brutally honest, I didn’t really dive into this book with high expectations. I was kind of put off by the first two, and only gave this one a chance to see what Tamani was planning at the end of Spells. But I was pleasantly surprised.Most of the things that bother me about this series are still there, like Laurel’s back and forth feelings with David and Tamani and a new one that really got me to me: Laurel’s anger at either one of the boys for feeling jealousy. (They’re both in love with you. And they both know you have feelings for the other. Jealousy is pretty rational at this point) But I was happy that this installment focused more on the trolls and the mysterious new exchange student, Yuki, and her strange relationship with Klea. Wings and Spells pretty much took care of the love triangle quota for this series, so hopefully the next book will continue to balance the romance and the plot as well as this one did.Overall, it’s safe to say that I’m not a huge fan of this series, but Illusions was a pretty satisfying installment. While I still have my issues with Laurel and the way she handles her relationships with David and Tamani, (TEAM TAMANI FTW) this book focuses more on the looming danger to Avalon and enemies that threaten its safety. Definitely pick this up if you’re a Wings fan, of course, and if you’re still on the fence about this series, give this a try. It might just sweeten your opinion a bit!
Rating: 3Third in seriesLaurel starts her senior year and gets a surprise when Tamani shows up at school as a “foreign” exchange student from Scotland, living with his Uncle Shar. David is not happy to see his rival for Lauren’s affections even though she has chosen him over Tam. Tam is there to protect her from the troll threat. Another new student, Yuki, from Japan, also moves in and she is hiding her faerie nature like Lauren. The group is unsure if she is a threat, distraction, or coincidence.This series needs to be read in the proper order. There is enough info to remind you of the story previously, but it’s not too repetitive, thank goodness. I am afraid this installment just whets my appetite for the fourth one as it ends with a cliffhanger. Arrgh! I am not looking forward to waiting another year! Darn the publishing industry!
Rating: 3Here we are book three in this series and we have picked up pretty much where we left off. Laurel has settled into the world of high school teenage normalcy and her and David are still going strong. That is until Tamani shows up and her feelings become jumbled once more. I have to say I am completely bias here, I am not going to even pretend to think Laurel should end up with David, I think she should be with Tamani. In the past two books she has not even given the poor guy a shot and I think he deserves at least that. This issue does finally get addressed in this book though, which I was very grateful to Aprilynne for. In past books Laurel has just brushed Tamani off without a second thought, but in this book he has to remain by her side to protect her so it makes trying to forget him very difficult for Laurel. Plus, I personally think David is meant for Chelsea, but at this point, who knows what is going to happen.As for everything else in this world, trolls are always lurking about popping up at unexpected moments and causing complete havoc in Laurel’s world. Another problematic element is a new foreign exchange student that has moved into town. Her name is Yuki and she is a mystery to everyone. Laurel is not sure if she is friend or foe, or if she is human or fae for that matter. As a result, Tamani has to play nice with Yuki trying to discover her motives and watching Laurel get jealous over that was quite amusing for me. Yuki was someone that is easily forgotten, but should not be dismissed. Her guardian is Klea so that alone roused my suspicions about her. While she is in the book intermittently, I think she will play a larger role in future installments.The best part of this book was getting to see the world through Tamani’s eyes. My favorite books are always ones where we get to see the main male and female characters point of views. Plus, it was nice to see things from someone other than Laurel’s perspective. Tamani is my favorite so hearing his inner thoughts and seeing what he does when Laurel is not around was fascinating to me.Overall, I really enjoyed Illusions. After the second book, Spells, I was a little disappointed and frustrated, but I did not come away feeling like that after Illusions at all. Even though the ending did have a cliffhanger which would normally bother me, it didn’t this time. The story revealed enough information to keep me happy and several underlying issues were addressed so I did not feel let down. There are still a ton of things up in the air, but I have enough to hold me over until the next book comes out. Although, the book does not come until 2012, so that is going to be a long wait. I am sure the next book will be fantastic though, so it will be worth it.
Rating: 4Laurel yet again must try to reconcile her two very different worlds, in the third book of the Wings series. She is torn between her two loves as well as the two worlds she inhabits. Not only must she deal with these problems, but also the arrival of an unknown and unforeseen entity. This book was excellent, just as the others were. Was sorry to see it end, but I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
Rating: 4Honestly, I would have to say that this book was my favorite in the series. Wings started the momentum of the storyline and got everything going and Spells was kind of slow in some areas (which actually made me put the book down several times and wonder if the series was perhaps just going to get worse), but Illusions captured and held my attention in ways that the other books just couldn't.This book is based back in the human world with Laurel only traveling to Avalon once in the whole story. That's not a problem with me since in Spells her being in Avalon was the most unexciting part. However, there is one small difference in this story. All of Tamani's training has paid off and now he's posing in the human world as a normal teenager (complete with blue jeans and iphone) to stand as Laurel's own personal guardian. A job he's sworn to for life. He's supposed to only be protecting Laurel but as we know from the previous books, Tamani is absolutely in love with her and can't control those feelings whenever he's near her. Which adds in some frustration and annoyance on David's part who is Laurel's boyfriend. But Laurel doesn't know who she wants anymore and when you throw in some trolls that seem to have commandeered some form of magic to make them more threatening, Klea the mysterious troll-hunter from the previous book, and a new rogue faerie that nobody knows anything about...well, the problems just seem to keep piling up.Let me just say that I don't like David at all. I think he's not right for Laurel (kind of a wimp, just saying) and it's true that she's going to outlive him and I'm sorry but I wouldn't want to watch my husband and children die before me while I continue to live on for many many years. I think she should choose Tamani. They have this cute playful banter whenever they're together and they obviously have more in common (i.e. both faeries). As for David, I think Chelsea and him should get together. We saw some of that coming out in this book when Chelsea made clear she had feelings for David so I started to get excited. As for Laurel, sometimes she just flat-out annoys me. She's always back and forth between the two guys. Sometimes she hates them, then the next day she loves them. Choose woman!This book, I would say, was probably the best out of the three. I can't believe I have to wait until April of next year to find out what happens! But it will hopefully be well worth it. I can only hope that this is one of the series that just keeps getting better and better with time. Aprilynne Pike really hit the mark with this one :)
Rating: 4Wings was all right, Spells fell completely flat and then Illusions just took me by surprise, I was really enjoying it, and I didn't expect this at all. First, the pacing was much better, I got bored so many times with the other two books it was hard to keep myself reading, but Illusions stayed interesting even through the parts without much action. The characters are better developed, especially Laurel. She's shown more personal growth, even though she still can't seem to pull it together when it comes to Tamani and David. Now that she knows who she is, where she came from, and made her decision to live in the human world she isn't doing so much moping and griping, this was one of the major turn-off's for me in the other books. The new character Yuki, spiced it up too. Though quiet and withdrawn her presence and role kick up the suspense and keep you guessing.The ending was awful. I don't usually hate on cliff hangers but this one just made the book seem pointless. The whole of the book revolves around Laurel and her friends trying to discover what Yuki is and why she's in Crescent City, and whether or not her and Klea are a danger to them. As soon as the suspense is at it's peak and their is about to be a huge reveal.....the book ends. Nothing was resolved in this book, NOTHING. It's all just a big lead up to the next book, which yes, that is what a series is about, continuation. But, shouldn't something happen, not a crap load of questions without a single answer! The end made me feel like the whole book could have been cut down in length so more eventful things could have been added. Obviously I was miffed, so 4 out of 5.
Rating: 4
This book series is very well written. Every book leaves you with the sense of suspense, wonder, and awe... The characters are all amazing. A fantastic new world of the fairies, magic, love, and forbidden magic.
Rating: 5