The Lord of IllusionAuthor: Kathryne Kennedy
Release Date: Feb. 7, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks
The Elven Lords #3
ISBN: #978-1402236549
Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (448 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
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About the book:
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He’ll do anything to save her…
Rebel Lord Drystan Hawkes dreams of fighting for England’s freedom. He gets his chance when he finds a clue to opening the magic portal to Elfhame, and he must race to find the slave girl who holds the key to the mystery. But even as Drystan rescues Camille Ashton from Dreamhame Palace, it becomes unclear exactly who is saving whom.
For the fate of humankind lies with Camille…
Enslaved for years in a realm where illusion and glamour reign, Camille has learned to trust nothing and no one. But she’s truly spellbound when she meets Drystan–a man different from any she’s ever known, and the force of their passion may yet be strong enough to banish the Elven Lords from this world forever.
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What I’m talking about:
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The Elven Lord series chronicles the events when seven powerful Elven Lords crossed over from their land, Elfhame, into Georgian England and divided the country into seven sovereign territories. The Elven Lords, each specializing in a different type of magic, ruled without compassion, mating with and enslaving humans.
The Lord of Illusion takes place roughly 30 years after the conclusion of The Lady of the Storm, with that story’s heroes, Giles and Cecily Beaumont, still in Wales and caring for half-breeds hidden from the oppressive Elven Lords. Their foster son, Drystan Hawkes, has lived in Wales almost his entire life, afflicted by haunting visions and voices from the Elven Lords’ magical scepters. Drystan seeks out the mysterious woman from his visions – one that supposedly holds the key to unlocking the gateway to Elfhame and sending the Elven Lords home.
The story started very strong. I was immediately drawn into Drystan’s quest. I adored how much he loved Camille right from the start – he is a true gentleman with courage and desire. Although he needed Camille to help free England, his care for her wellbeing superseded his duties to his country. It was refreshing that they did not dwell on secrets, but rather embraced their love for one another.
I also enjoyed that Camille and Drystan were able to free themselves of the “evil Elven Lord” well before the end of the book – it wasn’t the climax of the story – steering clear of a more predicable storyline. It allowed them to be together and gave the story and uplifting feeling.
My biggest issue with this book is that it jumps so far ahead (from the second book), and skipped several important steps in the freedom fight. This series was initially set up where there would be one book per “lord,” however, in between books 2 and 3, two additional “lords/scepters” were secured for the Rebellion. I was confused – I searched the internet to see if I’d missed a novella or something. But no. This wouldn’t impact new comers to the series – and this book could be read as a stand alone.
However, not only did the book “skip” two stories in the 30 year gap between the two books, it then went on to conclude the entire story arc in the last third or so of the book. So in other words, what should have been 5 stories was condensed into this one book. I felt that this unnecessarily rushed what should have been a more dramatic conclusion to the story arc.
In addition, I was not overly happy with what happened to Camille after she helped the Rebellion send the Elven Lords home. Without giving spoilers, I feel that her strong-willed personality and efforts of courage were short-changed when she was left in a catatonic state. The reasons for her state and the cause of what pulled her out of this state were weak in my opinion.
All-in-all, the romance between Camille and Drystan was sexy and steamy. I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of names to keep straight. But I’m a sucker for fantasy and still enjoyed the book, especially since I had read the second story in the series.
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My Rating:
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Liked it, but I had some issues – recommend (B)
Books in the Series:
The Fire Lord’s Lover (The Elven Lords 1)
The Lady of the Storm (Elven Lords 2)
The Lord of Illusion (Elven Lords 3)
I enjoy your reviews. Some are A or A+ reviews while otthers are like this one, a B. When you provide your reviews, they are well thought out and direct to the content making it easy for me to consider adding or not adding a novel/series to my TBR.
Thank you so much.