Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The Illusionists: A Novel by Rosie Thomas

Plowing through The Illusionists was like re-reading Gone With the Wind all over again...and I don't exactly mean that in the best way.  It's a hefty novel rounding out close to 500 pages and was divided into Parts - you know like Part 1, Part 2...and so on. When it comes down to it, I just didn't understand where it was going.  When I finally delved into Part 2, all of a sudden the story turned into sorta a murder mystery - what the what?  There were certain chapters where I was glued, and other's I was barely able to keep my eyes open - it was really just a flip of the coin for me.

I don't always do so well with period type novels, so maybe that's where I was struggling, but I just didn't get it and was fairly disappointed in the long run.  Man I hate having to admit that.  Some of you might really enjoy this novel, since I've seen some really great reviews on Goodreads.

Thank you to BookReporter for sending me this beautiful, complimentary hard copy of The Illusionists: A Novel by Rosie Thomas. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for my review.

Description: Over the course of a brilliant career, bestselling novelist Rosie Thomas has earned an untold number of awards and the devotion of millions of loyal readers. Her new novel The Illusionists, set in London in 1870, is a thrilling step forward—a captivating tale of passion and intrigue in the theater world.

At the start of The Illusionists, we meet Eliza, a young, beautiful woman of limited means. Through her work as an artist’s model, she meets the magnetic and irascible Devil—a born showman whose dream is to run his own theater company. Devil’s righthand man is Carlo Bonomi, an ill-tempered dwarf with an enormous talent for all things magic and illusion. And then there is Jasper Button, the enigmatic, unlikely final member of this fascinating cast of characters. Thrown together by a twist of fate, their lives are inextricably linked. As Eliza gets sucked into their seductive and dangerous world, she risks not only her heart, but also her life, which is soon thrown into peril.

Rating: **

Recommend:  My personal opinion is to pass on it, but then some of you might really enjoy it - check out other reviews on Amazon or Goodreads and decide for yourself! 

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