Sarah Ready is my must read author and at this point, I am convinced that she can write just any genre expertly. For example, My Dear Illusion. It's a beautifully crafted fantasy romance with heavy philosophical vibes and packed with suspense and action. And she executed is as brilliantly as her rom com or contemporary romance or paranormal mixed contemporary romance. I have read them all and my obsession with her powerful writing only grows with each one.

It's hard to talk about this book without giving spoilers. But you have to patient with this one and you will know later why all the convoluted musing and threads of plans. It will all make sense, I promise. Well, may be not all as this ends with a massive heartbreaking cliffhanger that left me a sobbing mess. You will miss all the beauty if you don't go on till the end as its only beginning of the chaos in the world of the Conjurers.

Four Conjurer family( Smith, Bard, Clark and Ward) rule this world behind the curtains with their illusions Every 100 years, a new king is crowned from a new family by a game set by the families. Mari is a lockpick and a nine. A creature owned by Jagger, the Leggerock who is vicious and cruel. She is on her last life and after that she becomes mine. A creature without any choice Her last chance to freedom is to help Finn Alterra, a Solange addict and a bustard Smith, to win the game where he will participate as paladin for his brother Darin. But is Finn really the useless fumbling fool on edge of Free Fall? Why does he stir things in her those she cannot understand? What will be their fate?

It's a reminder of Hunger Games but here all the families are powerful and rich. Each has their unique power and strength. It's full of mind games as illusions control everything here. There are power plays, betrayal, sabotage, unlikely alliances and friends turning enemies. It has a big caste of characters and I was soaking everything up. The heirs are all very intriguing. The games are epic and out of this world. In every page, Mari unlocks some new secret but by the end,,its you who will be unraveling inside Finn comes across as this lazy unbothered dreamy addict but you can see he has layers. Like Mari unties the knots of the illusions, the author unties every plot twist she has put here and I was lost in the thrill and the glory. Mari and Finn seems impossible. But they also feel inevitable. You will feel the angst and heartache pouring out from the star crossed lovers but its not until the very end, the enormity will hit you and knock the breath out of you. I fell hard for Mari. For her pain , her heartache, her vulnerabilities, her strength, her resilience..And I fell hard for Finn. For his beauty, his cunningness, his determination, his devotion..And I fell harder for their fated love. I also became obsessed with this greedy dangerous fantastical world of cojurers. The brilliant thing about the story is I was equally invested in the secondary characters! Like Luvic Bard. Celia Bard. Jacob Ward. This story has my heart in an unbreakable grip and I will be dreaming about it for a long time. The writing is poetic and nostalgic and chilling at the same time. And you have to hold on to your dear life while you read it.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

Twenty-two-year-old Mari Locke grew up in Hell Gate, a place for lost souls in New York City. While many fear the darkness of Hell Gate, Mari has always believed the conjurers to be far worse. She herself is different: she possesses the rare ability to untie illusion, which makes her both powerful and hunted. Her life takes a dramatic turn on the night of her seventh death, when she is forced into the Hundred Year Games, a brutal, high-stakes competition that determines which conjurer will rule the world for the next century. Her entry ticket is Finn Alterra, a half-human, half-conjurer with little chance of winning. Mari’s mission is clear: get him to victory, steal the crown, and kill him. Yet, as the games unfold, Mari begins to question what is real, who can be trusted, and whether she can carry out her deadly task when her heart is on the line.
This was a dark, richly imagined fantasy that kept me turning pages. Sarah Ready has created a vivid world, full of atmosphere and danger, and I especially enjoyed how well the many characters were described. Despite the large cast, the pacing was strong and the Games themselves were gripping. That said, I did find the book a little long, and the ending felt somewhat simplified compared to the level of detail earlier in the story. While I loved Ready’s Ghosted series for its strong romance, I didn’t quite feel the same emotional pull between Mari and Finn here.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75 ⭐'s rounded up….This book is so long. I literally spent time glued to my chair just digesting this book. I am not familiar with Sarah Ready's work as this was a first one for me. The world building is extensive and at times overshadowed the characters to where they almost got lost in the world. This was almost too much for me to continue but I really wanted to see where the characters went so I had to keep going. This took me about a month to finish because I had to take breaks and read other things.

Be prepared this book gives you some twists and turns at the end that honestly left me a little angry because now I have to wait for who knows how long to get the next one. I definitely need to get that 2nd book pronto.

The characters are intriguing and the politics keep you invested to understand the complexities of the world. It was a really good time. I think the most unusual but very informative character was the Wind which is strange but it just completely works in this world.

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Crown, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the advanced copy. All my opinions are my own.

Spoiler Free

My Dear Illusion by Sarah Ready
Fantasy Romance

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I did try to push through, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. The writing and worldbuilding were undeniably beautiful—at times even lush—but also occasionally excessive. While I appreciate rich, detailed settings, the pacing and plot never quite gripped me enough to keep going without frequent breaks.

This was my first Sarah Ready novel, and although this one wasn’t a match for me, I’m still interested in exploring her other works. By chapter 11, I found myself struggling. The prose often felt overly descriptive, almost as if every possible adjective had been pulled from a thesaurus, which sometimes pulled me out of the story rather than immersing me in it. The first few chapters could have easily been condensed, and I think the book would have been stronger if it had been trimmed to around 300 pages.

I also didn’t feel invested in the Hundred Year Games storyline, which made it harder to stay engaged. However, I really enjoyed the character of Mari Locke—she was by far my favourite part of the novel. If the story had focused more on her, I think I would have enjoyed it much more.

Overall Takeaway: A beautifully written fantasy romance with vivid worldbuilding, but weighed down by overly descriptive prose, slow pacing, and an underwhelming main plot. Worth considering if you love immersive settings and don’t mind a slower burn, especially if you’re curious to meet the standout character, Mari Locke. While this one didn’t fully work for me, I’m interested enough to read the next book in the series.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5 stars)

Thank you so much @ @ for my review copy. These are my thoughts:

Thank you Netgalley, the Publisher and Sarah Ready for my review copy. These are my thought:

This book was a complete surprise and also the longest book I’ve read this year.

This is not a light, straightforward fantasy. The writing is beautiful and expertly used to convey illusion. The atmosphere is dark and dangerous and the stakes are high. I had to power through the first 30% of the book. The worldbuilding is detailed but is also done throughout the story, as we learn more about each of the characters (and there are quite a lot of them) and what lies beneath the surface with each of them and their Conjurer families.

I was invested and curious to find out what was going to happen to Mari. I felt that the first 30% were very dense and “cloudy”. Nothing was as it seemed. Everyone was keeping secrets and held their cards close to their chests. They were all aiming to win the ultimate prize - complete power, so all was game. As each game progressed, I felt the “shadows lift” and the plot become, somewhat clearer. But of course, since illusions were the name of the game here, things could go south very quickly. And so they did. I was not expecting what I found in the last 20% of the book. The plot twists and the heartache. The story unraveled quickly and it was brilliant.

I was expecting Sarah to bring back her whimsical writing from her Ghosted series. But I found that this was more poetic than whimsical, since this world was dark, dangerous and deadly. I loved the passages that talk of love. In those instances, Sarah’s writing is gorgeous. The love story is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking.

I don’t think this will be for everyone but it is an intriguing story that if you “vibe” with it, will suck you in and leave you wanting more.

I also think this series would work very well as an audiobook and in that case, I believe more readers would be likely to pick this up and enjoy it.

This is the sort of book that requires the reader to have time. I feel it should be read at a leisurely pace and not binged - unless you really can’t stop. It took me 11 days to finish.

I’m very curious to see how the story unfolds in book 2.

My Dear Illusion marks Sarah Ready’s first venture into romantic fantasy, and it is a striking departure from her previous works. This time, she takes us into a world where Mari Locke—a young woman with the rare ability to untie illusions—is paired with Finn, a half-conjurer and half-human, to compete in the deadly Hundred Year Game. The rules are brutal, the stakes are higher than life itself, and Mari faces an impossible choice: kill Finn to save herself and the world… or push past her convictions and the deceptive magic of the Games to decide what is real and what is illusion.

Where do I even begin?

The worldbuilding is one of the most intricate I’ve encountered in a while. From the very first pages, it is everywhere—front, back, and center—layered with detail upon detail. At first, I was awed by the sheer imagination and craft behind it. The illusion-based magic system, in particular, was wonderfully fresh, unique, and genuinely intriguing. I loved how it allowed the lines between reality and fantasy to blur in a way that made even the reader question what was true.

But as the chapters went on, the richness of the world began to overshadow the plot and characters. Every page was dense with description and lore, and while that will absolutely appeal to some fantasy readers, I found it difficult to stay anchored to the main narrative. There is a compelling plot in My Dear Illusion, but you have to be patient—and willing to dig through the thick layers of prose—to find it.

For me, the last 20% of the book was the most engaging. Things finally tightened up; the pacing sharpened, the tension heightened, and the stakes felt immediate. The twists that landed in those final chapters were enough to pique my interest for the sequel—and to make me curious about where Ready might take the story next.

When it came to the characters, I genuinely liked Mari, Finn, Celia, Jacob, and Jagger. Ready gives them distinctive personalities and solid arcs of growth. Mari and Finn’s connection is a slow burn, and while there are obvious signs of mutual respect and attraction as the book progresses, I personally didn’t feel the kind of spark I was expecting from a romantasy.

And that brings me to perhaps my biggest sticking point: the romance. This book is marketed as a romantasy, but it read far more like an urban fantasy to me. In a true romantasy, the romance is front and center, with the worldbuilding and overarching plot serving as the backdrop. Here, the reverse felt true—worldbuilding came first, then plot, with romance taking a distant third place. There was no meet-cute moment to hook me into Mari and Finn’s relationship early on. By the time the romantic tension started to build, it felt a little too late for me to buy into the emotional stakes.

In fact, I found more chemistry in the side dynamics—particularly the interactions between the Wind, Jacob, and Celia—which ended up being some of my favorite moments in the entire book.

That said, if you view My Dear Illusion purely as a fantasy novel, it absolutely works. The tone is lush, grim, and glamorous, with deadly trials, murderous creatures, glittering balls, and dangerous magical duels. It’s an atmospheric, high-stakes adventure that doesn’t shy away from danger or beauty.

Final thoughts: As a romantasy, My Dear Illusion didn’t fully land for me—the romance lacked the emotional immediacy and tension I wanted. But as a fantasy with a unique magic system, rich worldbuilding, and a slow-burn partnership at its core, it’s an ambitious and imaginative start to a series with plenty of room to grow. I’ll be watching to see how the next book balances the heart and the world.

3 - 3.5 Stars

Rating 3 - 3.5 Stars!

"I'll be your villain. I'll be your hero. But either way, I promise, I'll be yours."

My Dear Illusion is an intriguing and complex fantasy novel from author Sarah Ready. As a fan of her contemporary writing, I knew I had to jump at the chance to read a new genre from her.

My Dear Illusion is a unique and compelling story. The world-building is intense, complicated, and a little overwhelming at times. It kind of reminded me of the movie Inception, but with magical themes. The reader is left in a massive web of mystery, wondering what is real. What is an illusion? And just when you think you know what's happening, the rug gets pulled out from under you.

As far as pacing goes, for the most part, this book is on point. But at 900+ pages, it's a beast of a book. The page count definitely intimidated me, and there was definitely a lull between 50 - 70%, but the pacing does pick back up. The last 20% was a roller-coaster ride, filled with all kinds of emotion and twists. Definitely kept me on my toes.

Overall, I thought this book was an enjoyable read. It was intriguing, complex, and refreshing. There was even a bit of a slow-burning romance. This book does end on a cliffhanger, which leaves you wanting more. However, I do feel that the world-building, pacing, and length of the book will be intimidating to most readers.

I suppose it makes sense that this author has moved from rom-com to magical realism and now into full-blown romantasy. And it works: the result is a detailed and compelling world of conjurers and creatures cleverly integrated into human history, and two central characters in Mari and Finn that you want to root for even though you’re continually wondering where the next twist is going to take them. It took me a while to get into this - there’s a lot of explanatory world building up front, and then a lot to keep track of in what’s a very long book. (Could it have been shorter? Probably. Would the buildup and eventual payoff have been as effective? Probably not.) Everything is illusion, as Mari states from the beginning, and the third-person chapters from the wind’s point of view shows that there’s a lot going on beyond her ability to see and dismantle those illusions. Clues are delicately scattered throughout- some I correctly deciphered, some I didn’t, but they provide the foundation for a heartwrenching conclusion that has the feel of setting up the chess board for whatever comes next. Full of lush language, complicated characters and a variety of settings from grittily urban to richly rural, this is a book that’s well worth getting lost in. Just be aware that things are never as they seem…

I really wish this wasn't a DNF at 35% for me, and I tried so so so hard to push through. I think the writing and the worldbuilding were beautiful, albeit at times a little excessive, but the plot just wasn't something that was engaging enough for me to continue with, unfortunately. I've not read any of Sarah Ready's books prior to this one; however, it has not put me off and I am keen to go and explore some of her other works.

This book... it took forever for me to finish. It's not that it wasn't a good book. I really enjoyed it, but it was very long. I felt like the book could have been at least 300 pages shorter and still give me the full story and I likely would have given it 5 stars instead of 4.

The world building and history was so detailed it became a bit much even for me and I love love love good world building. A lot of the time it felt like the world building was more important than the characters and plot, which was disappointing because I absolutely loved the plot itself and the characters.

The plot is compelling and full of mystery if you can get past the lengthy world descriptions. I loved the illusion-based magic system and the idea of illusions made real. I loved the idea of the "underdog" having to compete against those with the magic in trials to see who would hold the crown and be in charge of all conjurers for the next 100 years. The trials themselves were interesting. The ending was absolutely perfect and has me on the edge of my seat! It had plot twists I didn't see coming and was full of tension and the ending has me wanting to read the next book despite the overwhelming world building in this one.

The characters were also varied and interesting. Each one is very different from the other and all of them are unreliable in their own ways which I thought was pretty neat. It's told from the perspective of Mari and "the wind" when telling the bits of the story Mari isn't present for. The idea of the wind being sentient was a cool concept and one I hadn't encountered before that I could appreciate. I loved how the wind kind of tied all the characters together and had it's own motivations and preferences for which of the characters it liked to be around the most.

If you're looking for a romance heavy romantasy, this is not that book. While it does have romance, it felt more like an Urban Fantasy than a romance. Which is fine for me because I like all kinds of fantasy, but if you're expecting a romance forward book, this will be a disappointment. I didn't feel the romantic tension between the main characters at all. If anything it gave me friends or found family vibes more than romance. However, it felt like a really good fantasy book. The overall vibes of the book were dark but full of glamour, magic, and mystery.

My many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this as an ARC! While I did receive an ARC copy, all thoughts and opinions are, as ever, my own.

Ready has created an absolute breathtaking book filled with illusion, trust, power & even love! Every emotion rolls through the reader & conjurers can capture your heart. I found myself becoming so invested in each character as they danced around each other in the Hundred Year Games. I spent just as much time trying to put all the connections together between the characters including the wind. Ready has an overwhelming talent of pulling the reader into a world so mysteriously complex and still so simple.
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Four conjuring families representing North, East, South or West. The Smiths, The Wards, The Clarks & The Bards. And something worse: Hell Gate. Jagger's prison if you live there. Each family has loyalty, secrets & special conjuring powers.

Mari, Finn, Jacob, Luvic & Darin appear to hold nothing but mystery, illusion & maybe darkness, but find their light. Last, Primus, Jagger bring nothing but evil. Justice rips at your soul. Celia, Ragnor & the conjurer families have you teetering back & forth. But the wind is special. Pay close attention to the wind; you will want to know the secrets it holds.

Ready has carefully constructed a world testing what we believe is real or illusion. "Trust no one. No one. Except. Trust me." I highly recommend reading this book to find out.

LOVE!
I read the description, requested it and then fell in love!
The storyline is so unique and I really love it!
There is such a depth to all of the characters, the world building and the plot. My Dear Illusion is fantastically written. It is emotive and eloquent and paints beautiful pictures in your mind as you read.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of descriptions and a lot of dialogue. But personally? I can get behind it because the concept and the characters are so well done. Also, the book is considered a Romantasy and I don’t think that is necessarily an accurate description. Yes it has romance and yes it has fantasy. But I would put it more firmly in a fantasy/paranormal category than Romantasy.
It is a long book, but so worth it!

Book: My Dear Illusion
Author: Sarah Ready
Overall Rating: 3.8/5

First of all, this novel could have been 300 pages shorter and still pack the same punch.

Review Breakdown:
Worldbuilding (0.8/1)
Where do I start?
The worldbuilding was so detailed that it became overwhelming. It was everywhere: front, back and center, which was great at first but it ended up overshadowing the plot and characters.
I loved the illusion-based magic system; it was fresh, unique and intriguing.

Plot (0.8/1)
There was a compelling plot in My Dear Illusion if you’re patient enough to dig through the excessively verbose prose.
For me, I enjoyed the last 20% of the book because it was a bit rushed. Thus, the prose tightened and the tension and stakes heightened. All the twists at the end made me want to read the upcoming book.
Again, there was a diamond in this book; it was just too difficult to see.

Characterisation (0.8/1)
I liked the author’s characterisation of Mari, Finn, Celia, Jacob and Jagger, but I wasn’t pulled into the romance between the main characters. The book was supposed to be a romantasy but it read like an urban fantasy (my opinion). In romantasy, the romance is first and foremost, then stuff like worldbuilding and plots sort of happen in the background; but in this book, worldbuilding comes first, then plot and romance. It lacked the hallmark of romantasy, which is the meet-cute; There was no spark when the female lead met the love interest for the first time (according to the linear plot), so by the time butterflies started fluttering in her tummy, the ship had sailed for me. It felt jarring rather than swoony.
And I liked the chemistry between the Wind, Jacob and Celia! My best moments!!

Prose and Use of Language (0.4/0.5)
The writing style was purple with a high usage of stylistic language. I would appreciate this in lit-fic, but not so much in fantasy.

Pacing (0.2/0.5)
I fear I’ll be repeating myself here, but… It could have been 300 pages shorter.

Theme (0.5/0.5)
The theme centres around betrayal, duty, love, lies, and shifting alliances.

Tone (0.3/0.5)
The tone didn’t quite hit the mark for a book marketed as romantasy: the romantic tension between the main characters was null; their chemistry leaned more towards friendship. However, it was spot on for a fantasy book. The atmosphere was grim and glamorous: deadly trials, murderous creatures, elegant balls and magical duels.

My Dear Illusion will appeal to the fans of Nevada Baylor series by Ilona Andrews, for its magic system and house politics.

Total: 3.8/5

I have to be honest, I could not get into this book. I tried but by chapter 6, I was done. I get world building but the language reminded me of someone who got out a thesaurus and needed a specific word count and just added descriptive after descriptive, so much so that I was often taken out of the story because I was getting bored. The first couple chapters could have easily been condensed to half the pages. I feel terrible, I don't like giving such criticism as I am no writer, but I truly cannot get through this book
I think it has potential, I have the belief that it could get better, I just don't know that I will get to see that end.
This is a DNF for me.
I am giving it two stars only for the potential and the "magic" is interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

First a huge thank you to Netgalley for approving this arc for me!

Okay so this is my first book by Sarah Ready and it was really good, but I had a hard time with her writing style. I’m not saying it’s bad but I had a really hard time getting through this book also it is such a thick book like wow. I liked the main characters and the world it was really interesting and at the end the plottwists? They were everything the plottwists are the reason why I rated the book higher than I normally would!

I love Sarah Ready, but I think this book wasn’t for me. I ended up DNFing it because of the length of the book and not because it was a bad story. I’ll be picking it back up once it’s released to try again!

I really wanted to love My Dear Illusion. The premise seemed like something I would definitely be into, but I struggled to stay connected to the story and ended up DNFing.

Sweet, witty, and romantic with a touch of magical whimsy. Sarah Ready once again delivers a charming, feel-good escape full of heart and humor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
I couldn’t help but smile through most of My Dear Illusion. Sarah Ready’s voice is warm and playful, and there’s a delightful lightness to the romantic tension that made it feel like a breath of fresh air. The quirky characters and unexpected twists kept me turning pages eager to see how they’d unmask the illusions in their lives. My only critique is that a few of the revelations felt too neat—but overall, it charmed my heart.

I hated that I had to dnf this book! I wanted so much to stick with it but could not. Just not for me unfortunately. It was way too lengthy and I could not get past the first 25%