Illusion by Frank Peretti {Reveiw and Giveaway}

 Not long ago I was asked if I would like to review Frank Peretti's newest book "Illusion". Though I knew his writing style is not my typical favorite I thought it might be fun to read.

  My favorite books are always realistic. Generally they are historical books. Either they are biographies, autobiographies or historical fiction- I simply love to learn and I love history. Other books that I tend to choose to read are non-fiction DIY or self help books. As a general rule I avoid anything that is unrealistic or has fantasy in it. Which would mean that generally I wouldn't bother to pick up a book like "Illusion". My kids now, to my surprise, sometimes have very different tastes in reading. But that's all right - as long as each of us strives to honor and glorify God in what we read.

  I wanted to share the paragraph above because my taste in books certainly affects how I review books.

  Part of the reason that I thought it would be fun to read "Illusion" is because I had read Frank Peretti's book "This Present Darkness" years ago and though it certainly wasn't a favorite of mine- it caused me to think, to examine what the Bible said on spiritual forces and henceforth to grow in my Christian walk. I like to be spurred to think more and was hoping that this book would do that as well. Sadly, it didn't.

"Illusion" is a very well written and interesting book. It is big (54 chapters and 497 pages!) and so will keep you busy reading for quite some time. I do think that Frank Peretti has a talent for writing stories.

Here is the just of the story:

"Dane and Mandy, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns and tries to rebuild his life without her, Mandy, supposedly dead, awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in a strange world, she uses her mysterious powers to eke out a living, performing magic on the streets and in a quaint coffee shop. Hoping to discover an exciting new talent, Dane ventures into the coffee shop and is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot explain. But more than anything, he is emotionally devastated by this teenager who has never met him, doesn’t know him, is certainly not in love with him, but is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met and married some forty years earlier.
They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy’s powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her. "

 Obviously unrealistic but an intriguing story line. It was not (for me at least) one of those books that I had trouble putting down but it was fun to read. Though the book does refer to God and a relationship with Him there was not a lot of Biblical lessons that I could see. I was disappointed in that. The book is quite decent but in my opinion it didn't have anything in it that would make me want to read it again (and I love to reread good books). I didn't feel like I really gained or learned anything from the book.

   Perhaps you would like to read this book however- maybe it is more your style than it is mine. I was sent 2 copies of this book- one to read and one to giveaway.

Would you like to win this book?

Simply leave a comment below telling me what sort of books you like to read. (I love to hear of good book recommendations for either myself or my children!) Be sure to leave an e-mail address so that I can contact you! (If I can't contact you then you can't win.)

This giveaway is open to those in the United States (or APO addresses) and will be open until April 14th when I will randomly draw a winner.

Disclaimer: I was sent this book free of charge for purposes of reviewing. I was not required to write a positive review and have received to compensation for this review other than the book.