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A review by laelyn
Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova
4.0
Oh what a stunning sequel this is!
I read "Incendiary" right before delving into "Illusionary", which makes it even more obvious to me just how good this duology works. Córdova's writing is simply gorgeous and she creates a lush, culturally rich fantasy world with details and little wonders woven into every aspect of it. She doesn't really add anything entirely new to the genre of ya fantasy, but the things she does are done exceptionally well. The world is an interesting one, the plot is fast-paced but leaves enough room for quiet character moments. And the characters are really what makes this duology shine.
Renata is probably one of my favorite ya heroines of them all because she's flawed, she's relatable, she's neither the absolute strongest nor the absolute best, and most of all because she has been broken and betrayed her entire life yet chooses to fight anyway. Her trauma is never just being brushed off but is integral to her story and her development as a character, and I can freely admit that she made me cry a tear or two during her journey and, especially, at the end of it.
"Illusionary" allows all the characters introduced in the first book to develop and find themselves. I do also have to admit that some characters ended up in a way that I found a little jarring (Dez's ending only really works if you suspend your disbelief real real hard), but that doesn't really dampen my positive experience with this book. Also, the romance is just swoonworthy. Just. So. Good.
The last third or so of the novel felt a little rushed to me and a certain villain could have been fleshed out a bit more to show how he gained so much influence over the Whispers in such a relatively short time. I didn't really feel anything for him at all which simply makes him less effective as an antagonistic character. And while I really do like the ending of "Illusionary", it's just a little too fluffy, too soppy, too happily-ever-after for the kind of story that was told before. There is a certain bittersweet taste to the eventual fate of Renata and Castian that I think is really really well done, but for a story that talks a lot about sacrifices that have to be made there are, in the end, few actual physical sacrifices. But it is YA and not adult fantasy and for the genre it's definitely a fitting end. Also, I just like being happy after reading a book so there's that.
All in all this is a great novel, a great sequel and a great duology, wonderfully written and easily worming its way into the readers' hearts.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
I read "Incendiary" right before delving into "Illusionary", which makes it even more obvious to me just how good this duology works. Córdova's writing is simply gorgeous and she creates a lush, culturally rich fantasy world with details and little wonders woven into every aspect of it. She doesn't really add anything entirely new to the genre of ya fantasy, but the things she does are done exceptionally well. The world is an interesting one, the plot is fast-paced but leaves enough room for quiet character moments. And the characters are really what makes this duology shine.
Renata is probably one of my favorite ya heroines of them all because she's flawed, she's relatable, she's neither the absolute strongest nor the absolute best, and most of all because she has been broken and betrayed her entire life yet chooses to fight anyway. Her trauma is never just being brushed off but is integral to her story and her development as a character, and I can freely admit that she made me cry a tear or two during her journey and, especially, at the end of it.
"Illusionary" allows all the characters introduced in the first book to develop and find themselves. I do also have to admit that some characters ended up in a way that I found a little jarring (Dez's ending only really works if you suspend your disbelief real real hard), but that doesn't really dampen my positive experience with this book. Also, the romance is just swoonworthy. Just. So. Good.
The last third or so of the novel felt a little rushed to me and a certain villain could have been fleshed out a bit more to show how he gained so much influence over the Whispers in such a relatively short time. I didn't really feel anything for him at all which simply makes him less effective as an antagonistic character. And while I really do like the ending of "Illusionary", it's just a little too fluffy, too soppy, too happily-ever-after for the kind of story that was told before. There is a certain bittersweet taste to the eventual fate of Renata and Castian that I think is really really well done, but for a story that talks a lot about sacrifices that have to be made there are, in the end, few actual physical sacrifices. But it is YA and not adult fantasy and for the genre it's definitely a fitting end. Also, I just like being happy after reading a book so there's that.
All in all this is a great novel, a great sequel and a great duology, wonderfully written and easily worming its way into the readers' hearts.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!