The Illusions by Liz Hyder

 Pages: 450 

Publisher: Manilla Press 

Released: 22nd of June 2023 

At a time of extraordinary change, two women must harness their talents to take control of their own destiny . . .

Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden's life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands?

Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously in a male-dominated world, and a brilliant young magician, George Perris, begins to see the potential in moving pictures. George believes that if he can harness this new technology, it will revolutionise the world of magic forever - but in order to achieve his dreams, he must first win over Miss Carleton . . .

As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, Cec, Eadie and George's worlds collide. But as Cec falls in love with the bustling realm of theatre and magic, she faces the fight of her life to save the performance from sabotage and harness the element of real magic held deep within her.

THE ILLUSIONS is the captivating new novel from the much-lauded author of THE GIFTS. Inspired by real-life illusionists and early film pioneers, this astonishing story of women and talent, magic and power, sweeps you into a world where anything is possible and nothing is quite as it seems . . .

What I Have to Say 

I really enjoyed this book! I liked it so much better than the Gifts. I think the characters were strong in both books, but I was just so much more interested in the story of this one. Stage magic and early film-making! It really gave an insight into what it might have been like to be a magician at the time. Also this one had a dog that didn't die!! 

Eadie was my favourite character. I loved her strength and how passionate she was about her films. I also loved how all the characters supported each other. Especially towards the end of the book, they were all together fighting to save the show and looking after one another. 

I also loved the Great Valentini. He was just such a character especially with the way his part of the story ended. 

   

4 stars 

My thanks go to Manilla Press and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.  

 

The Fire Maker by Guy Jones

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256

Publisher: Chicken House Books 

Released: 4th of April 2019 

Alex loves magic – its glamour, tricks and illusions.

He’s good at it, too: he’s reached the semi-finals of a prestigious competition for young magicians. But when he stumbles into eccentric Mr Olmos’s back garden while running from his former best friend, Alex sees something he can’t explain: three tiny flames floating in the air. Fire magic. Real magic. Soon, Alex and Mr Olmos are swept up in a great adventure of secrets, genies and an ancient, bitter rivalry ...

What I Have to Say 

Magic, adventure and adorable little baby jin, what's not to love! The story was maybe a little predictable concerning who was going to come after the Ifrits, but there were things that I really didn't see coming. 

Alex was a really good character and I loved his former friend turned bully and their story-line. I felt it was just a really good story-line between them both with all stuff that had happened between them and the way their story develops. 

Mostly though I have to admit, I loved the Ifrits. I loved the way that these little baby Jin were described and the way that their connection with Alex worked. I loved Sally and the way she became a particular friend to Alex through a bond that works without any language. It's so interesting to see a communication that exists without language and it was really well written. 

This was just a really good adventure story with great characters, a good plot and a few surprises. 

My thanks go to Chicken House and Laura Smythe  for providing me with this copy for review and for giving me the opportunity to be part of this blog tour.