ILLUSIONS OF FATE by Kiersten White

Rating: C-
Release Date: 9/9/14
Synopsis:
Dive into a world of enchantment and romance in this lush fantasy, which Stephanie Perkins, international bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss, called "an absolute delight—a magical, sparkling, dangerous world with witty repartee and a romance that will light your heart on fire." Fans of Libba Bray and Cassandra Clare will fall in love with this captivating stand-alone novel from Kiersten White, New York Timesbestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy.

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets the gorgeous, enigmatic Finn, who introduces her to the secret world of Albion's nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn't—power, money, status . . . and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, and the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess them. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits, can stop him.

My thoughts on the book:
This book was a bit of a disappointment. It had a lot of potential, but nothing was fully developed. The characters weren't relatable because they weren't "whole," the world-building was lacking, and the plot was also under-developed. The only thing that was complete was White's stance against colonialism, and I fully support that. This wasn't a bad book; it just wasn't terrific either. 

Jessamin was a bit of a brat. I didn't really like or dislike her. I was pretty indifferent. Finn could have been intriguing but he fell flat because he was never fully developed. Likewise, Eleanor could have been extremely entertaining, but we didn't get to know hardly anything about her. Other characters were mentioned a lot, but we never got to meet them, and then others just disappeared and we never heard from or about them again. 

My favorite part of this book was White's discussion regarding colonialism. Not enough books deal with colonialism, and the fact that this novel addresses the issues with colonialism and shows how the people in charge brainwash the public into thinking they're doing people a favor was spot on and very refreshing. The world-building was severely lacking, and I still don't fully understand shadowing or why shadows choose certain people. Also, the magic was confusing and not well thought out. The plot twist wasn't believable because it came out of nowhere. The ending also felt incomplete.

Overall, I'd say check this book out from the library before you buy it. Some people really love this book, but it just fell short for me. 

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