Book #81 - Illusions (Wings #3)

Illusions (Wings #3), Aprilynne Pike
375 pages
urban fantasy
Started 7/21/12
Finished 7/22/12
4 STARS

For once, my must-read-all-books-in-a-series-itis has paid off. Usually, it just succeeds in pissing me off and wondering why I wasted my time. Not so this time. If I'd have gone with my gut, I would've abandoned this series after the first book. After Illusions, I'm glad I didn't.

Laurel hasn't seen or heard from Tamani for nearly a year. She's a senior in high school now, and has spent another summer in Avalon trying to learn how to be a fall faery. Although she's still with David, for two years now, she misses Tamani more than she realizes. And, all of a sudden, he shows up. As a student in her high school. To make matters worse, he starts trying to get close to another new student whom the gang suspects is a wildflower - a faery with no idea who she is. When you add in some more troll action, it's fair to say that Laurel is having a really stressful year.

I... liked Illusions. Actually, I really liked it. Weird. Although Laurel is still a self-righteous, wishy-washy, pansy (pun intended), Tamani's constant presence, especially in a human environment, made the book enjoyable. The past two books, I've been frustrated and annoyed by the way Laurel was playing both David and Tamani, and at least in this book, she finally stepped up and made some real choices. And, that was a really, really good thing. 

The ending was also much more dynamic. There were a lot of questions still unanswered at the end of Illusions. Some big cliffhangers to be addressed. It actually makes me anxious to read the final book.

My only complaint with this book is that we barely saw Avalon. As that was my favorite part of Spells (Wings #2), I was hoping for much more than what I got. Other than a quick confab with Jamison, Laurel's time in Avalon was only spoken of in passing. Hopefully, the final book remedies this situation.