Book Review- Broken Illusions by Ellie James

Title: Broken Illusions

 Author: Ellie James

Series:  Midnight Dragonfly #2

Published:  8 May 2012 in America. 3 January 2013 by Quercus in the UK.

Length: 340 pages

Source: Publisher

Other info: My review of book one, Shattered Dreams, is here.

Summary : It’s Mardi Gras, but for 16 year-old psychic Trinity Monsour this is no time for celebration. Another girl is missing. Haunted by visions she doesn’t understand—of an empty street lined by crumbling old buildings, a terrified voice warning her to be careful, and a body lying motionless in the grass--Trinity embarks upon a dark odyssey she could never have imagined. She'll stop at nothing to better understand her abilities, convinced that doing so is the only way she can make sure the terrifying images she sees never actually happen. 

But it seems everyone wants to stop her. Her aunt is worried Trinity might discover secrets best left in the past. Her best friend, Victoria, is afraid Trinity is slipping away, her boyfriend, Chase, fears she’s taking too many chances, and the lead detective will barely let her out of his sight. Only one person stands by her side, and in doing so, he slips deeper and deeper into her heart--and her dreams--blurring the lines of reality and illusion. 

When the dust settles, one of them will be dead.

Review:  Once again, Trinity and her psychic powers are used to solve a mystery. This time, she gets the first clues via a Ouija board. The visions come, and Trinity knows that if she doesn’t do anything about it, then that girl might die. But there’s a lot of opposition from all sides.

I kind of enjoyed the first one, but didn’t really get into the characters. Apart from Trinity, who just about copes with all the things she sees.  The others, I found boring again. Some were intriguing, but not hugely so.

When I started this book, and Trinity and Victoria started playing with the Ouija board, I was just “oh please why?”. Ouija boards are one of the few things that I really really try to stay away from, and you’d think that in a psychic-y world with different planes they’d know better.

I like the tone of this book. there’s a lot of mystery, and a sense of threat and always being careful. Sadly I didn’t get a really really creeped out feeling like in the first half of Shattered Dreams, but I still enjoyed the air of mystery in Broken Illusions.

Chase gets a bit more interesting in this instalment, but in a negative way in parts. Chase, can’t you trust your girlfriend?. Dylan, who I didn’t really care for in the first book, was a bit more prominent in this, making me wish I had paid a bit more attention to him in the first one.

I liked Trinity’s development, the way she deals with her visions, seeing her understand it all a bit more. There’s also a bit of family history, which is nice.

The mystery was built up really well. Lots of twists and turns,very gripping, and a satisfying conclusion.

The ending was just NO DON’T DO THAT. I think that Fragile Darkness will be interesting just because you’ve lost that major person and it’ll be intriguing to see how Trinity copes.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea. Really good plot, but I’m not as into the characters as I’d like to be.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |