A review by kittyfoil
Illusion by Paula Volsky

2.0

This book started so well. It had a really engaging hook. The author gets the reader really invested in Eliste, her uncle, and Dref. Then I got past the beginning and the middle dragged, and kept dragging. Nothing interesting is actually happening in the Shereen court because Eliste is not interested in it, even when the revolution is happening. When it switches perspective to the revolutionaries, I had a difficult time caring about their plight. It was at this point that I wondered why this book is written as a fantasy because it is not as if the plot needs magic. This could easily have been historical fiction and it would have made more sense. The world building is confusing if you have any context for the French revolution, but maybe I was overthinking it. I ended up skipping 100 pages and it turns out I didn't miss much, when the author finally gets around to reuniting Eliste with Dref. But at that point, I was disinterested in finishing the book.