seriously romantic: illusions by madeline j. reynolds

take two magician's apprentices, in victorian london, and have one performing in a magic show with an inexplicable illusion and the other out to figure out how it's done, and you have the barebones of this story. illusions is told from the perspective of the two apprentices, thomas and saverio, through their journal entries and correspondence.

we learn that thomas is hiding a huge secret, he is the explanation for the magician's tricks. he possesses a real power, magic to transform and alter people's perception of the world around them. the how and whys of his magic are irrelevant to the novel, he simply possesses it and we accept it. it manifests physically and visually.

when thomas and saverio quite literally run into each other in manchester square, sav notes the interest in thomas's eyes. interest that he has no problem exploiting for his own gain. but the more time he spends with the younger, innocent man, the more he finds him appealing. thomas might be green, but something about sav makes him daring. and this strength allows saverio to let go of some of his walls and fall headlong in love with thomas.

there are obstacles to be overcome. the magician thomas is apprenticed to has a hold over him that seems impossible to esccape from. there's also the issue of saverio's lies. and thomas' parents' selling out of their only child. but the way this story finds a way for thomas and saverio is so beautiful. i couldn't put this down. when it ended i was just swooning.

**illusions will publish on november 6, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (entangled teen) in exchange for my honest review.