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A review by aloeleaf
Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren
2.0
On the positive side, this book's (main) characters had depth to them and were multidimensional. I especially liked Cora's thoughts during the first few chapters when she is faced with the truth of her past and the unwelcome opportunities it presents to her. For the most part, Cora's emotional struggles seem very realistic. However, as the book wore on, I felt like Cora kept going through the same thought processes- I can't recall how many times she says she's had some great revelation about how to face her half-siblings and what she wants out of the trip, only to somehow forget and then come to the same conclusion again.
Another positive of the book is that while it is about a religious person using religion to help navigate their life, it is not a book that preaches at the reader.
There were long stretches of the book that I found boring. In part this might be because the book is generally realistic, with little in terms of the fighting and world-saving found in many novels, but I usually enjoy the occasional realistic novel. Whenever some dramatic event did happen in the book, it seemed forced and sometimes just plain ridiculous. For instance, during a storm, it felt very cliched that two love interests just happened to be rocked into a compromising position. The final scenes are full of action, but felt entirely out of place, like some medieval spy novel's chapters had been accidentally slipped in.
I considered giving this book 3 stars because its characters are a lot fuller than usual in a novel of this kind, but for some reason the story just did not click with me and I struggled through many sections.
Another positive of the book is that while it is about a religious person using religion to help navigate their life, it is not a book that preaches at the reader.
There were long stretches of the book that I found boring. In part this might be because the book is generally realistic, with little in terms of the fighting and world-saving found in many novels, but I usually enjoy the occasional realistic novel. Whenever some dramatic event did happen in the book, it seemed forced and sometimes just plain ridiculous. For instance, during a storm, it felt very cliched that two love interests just happened to be rocked into a compromising position. The final scenes are full of action, but felt entirely out of place, like some medieval spy novel's chapters had been accidentally slipped in.
I considered giving this book 3 stars because its characters are a lot fuller than usual in a novel of this kind, but for some reason the story just did not click with me and I struggled through many sections.