Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on 2014-07-15
Genres: Action & Adventure, General, Law & Crime, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
The X-Men meets Ocean's Eleven in this edge-of-your-seat sci-fi adventure about a band of "super" criminals.
When the MK virus swept across the planet, a vaccine was created to stop the epidemic, but it came with some unexpected side effects. A small percentage of the population developed superhero-like powers. Seventeen-year-old Ciere Giba has the handy ability to change her appearance at will. She's what's known as an illusionist...She's also a thief.
After a robbery goes awry, Ciere must team up with a group of fellow super-powered criminals on another job that most would consider too reckless. The formula for the vaccine that gave them their abilities was supposedly destroyed years ago. But what if it wasn't?
The lines between good and bad, us and them, and freedom and entrapment are blurred as Ciere and the rest of her crew become embroiled in a deadly race against the government that could cost them their lives.
X Men meets Oceans Eleven? What an amazing promise right? I love superpower stories and with this amazing cover I was just so excited to read it!
A vaccine that turns you into a super-human!
The idea behind the super powers is actually quite cool. There was a horrible disease and while a vaccine was created that actually helped, it also created super powers for a few lucky or unlucky people. There are classics like telekinesis, but also other powers like the power to create an Illusion, which our main heroine Ciere has.
Needless to say the government likes to abuse these people for their own purposes and they are also hunted since everyone is afraid. So Ciere is hiding among criminals and turned into a thief. So far for the backstory….
When you get tangled in something far bigger than yourself….
Ciere is a small thief but then she messed with the wrong people and suddenly owes these people quite some money. Then, it gets even worse and the government is after her, and a super explosive secret!
Actually, the part with the government the hunting down the vaccine, which was thought to be lost was a thrilling and exciting storyline. There was a big twist towards the middle and again towards the end that was nicely played! The part with the other mobsters? I could have done without it, and for quite a while I didn’t see where this was going. In the end, it made sense after all…
Characters I wished I would have loved more! And Characters I loved and wished would have gotten more screen time.
This story was definitely plot driven – at least for me! We get two POV – one from Ciere and one from Daniel. Ciere of course made sense, but why we also got Daniel’s POV made no real sense for me. Initially I thought he would be the love interest, but that turned out wrong, so I am still wondering about this. Quite frankly, I didn’t fully connect with Ciere.
But.. there were amazing characters that I loved so much, but sadly weren’t the main characters. There is Kit, the one who took Ciere in and he’s such a mysterious man and he was such an interesting character. Then there is Magnus and the interactions between him and Kit were so intense and full of chemistry that I wanted to know more about their relationship! Were they lovers, friends, more like a father and son relationship? I still have no clue, but I want to know! I hope this is going to be explored int he next book.
Then, there is Ciere’s best friend and I really really liked this boy. Sadly, he’s been written off towards the end and I felt so angry about it. I invested in him, connected with him only for him so apparently serve his purpose and then disappear.
Bewitched Rating
Bottom Line
Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones comes with a great and thrilling plot line that offers some surprising and exciting twists! I’m usually very very character driven and sadly I didn’t hit off with the main characters and rather fell in love with characters that were written off too fast or weren’t meant to be the focus of the story. So I am a little torn with this story I liked the idea and concept, but couldn’t love the characters.
So, the big question are you a character driven reader or a plot driven reader?
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I just got this days ago and I had such high hopes. The blurb sounds like a recipe for success. I adore books about superpowers. But for me, character is king, and I resent it when characterization gets sacrificed in favor of action. Oh well, we’ll see.
Great review!
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This sounds so promising but it’s not just you who felt meh about it — I’ve read a lot of meh reviews. I’m sad! Superpowers and Oceans 11 just makes it sound like it should be fabulous but without strong characters, a story just doesn’t thrive.
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Speed Date with Jimmy: Lead by Kylie Scott
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Like you, the ‘X-Men meets Ocean’s 11’ bit really lured me in, it was all it took for me to add this one to my TBR shelf. I’m sorry you’re torn about this one though. It’s a shame you didn’t connect with the characters as much as you were hoping. To me, that can really make or break a story. But while the characters sound a bit underwhelming, the plot certainly sounds promising enough! I’ll still probably give this one a go but at least not I’ll know what to expect, thanks to you 🙂 Awesome review Danny ^^
Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews recently posted..ARC Review: The Young World
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Sorry it wasn’t better for you – I always hate when I get attached to characters that the author/plot doesn’t seem to deem as important.
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This sounds really intriguing! I love the premise, and it sounds like the story is action-packed and really entertaining. It’s a shame the characters weren’t quite as good as the plot though! 🙁 Even if a book is “plot-driven” that doesn’t mean it should drop characterization altogether, right?
Thanks for sharing Dani, and, as always, BRILLIANT review! This sounds interesting despite the slight lack of characterization.
Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf recently posted..Dangerous Boys
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I completely agree with you on the characters. I loved Kit and Magnus and wish they got more screen time. While I really liked the storyline, I ended up dnfing this one because I couldn’t connect with Ciere. I might go back to it for the plot though. Lovely review, Danny!
Kris @Imaginary Reads recently posted..DNF Reviews: Dissonance, Allegiant, Frostborn, and Grim
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It is sad when a book sounds SO COOL and then doesn’t meet your expectations fully. This sounds like one of those. I’m particularly bummed about your comment about the characters. I really need to connect to the ones I’m following to love a book. And though I’m all over strong secondaries, it’s sad when you want way more of them than the primary characters. Sorry this wasn’t a complete win for you, but glad you enjoyed it anyway.
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