A review by katskinner
Tarnished Illusions by Laura Greenwood

4.0

The final battle is about to come.

THE BLURB

Ashryn’s escape the Hunters Guild twice now, both times only just surviving. So is it really smart to go back in again? At least this time she’ll have support. Ashryn and the vampires are gearing up and planning to invade the Guild and make it finally disappear, for good.

TONE OF THE BOOK

Tarnished Illusions is quite light-hearted; there is plenty of humour throughout.

SENSITIVE TOPICS

This novel is aimed at young adults. The most sexual thing that occurs is kissing and a few lustful thoughts.

It features some action scenes with some light gore; specifically in a torture-like scene.

The focus of the novel is on adventure. There is brief topics of murder, although the heroes take efforts not to hurt anyone.

SERIES SYNOPSIS

Tarnished Illusions is the third and last novella in the Ashryn Barker series. You can read more about the series on the Ashryn Barker Series Review page.

The novel is 134 pages long, making it a novella compared to a standard romance novel length (of 300 pages average).

Each novella in the series focuses on Ashryn Barker’s life.

REVIEW

Tarnished Illusions picks up directly where Broken Illusions left over; with Ashryn and the vampire coven planning to bring down the Guild. The climactic tension is building and as a reader you are going to be hooked! Laura knows how to create that tension, especially action, within her novels; almost a bit like a mission impossible movie.

I want to take down the people that stole my childhood. The people that steal hundreds of childhoods.

I really enjoy Laura’s use of witty comments throughout the novella, keeping the story light-hearted and more about the adventure than an over the top drama. It’s a perfect for a pick me up after a long day.

Just like the previous novellas, I’m almost a bit disappointed that they ended so fast. I would have loved this novella to be a full length novel letting me fully explore into the interesting world building that Laura has started to write. Even an epilogue to read about life a couple months or years down the track; although my understanding is that some of the other novels that Laura Greenwood has written may fill this role.

FINAL WORD

I enjoyed Broken Illusions, especially the action and building tension. I loved the humour and puns throughout, making it a light-hearted read. It’s a very quick read, with three seperate novellas making a full length novel.