Imperfect Illusions

Devastating Magic, Book 1

By: Vanora Lawless

Narrated by: Logan McAllister

A drafted empath. A dreamwalking poet. A world at war.

Chicago, 1917.

Idealistic, aspiring poet, Elliot Stone can make people feel euphoria or horror with a simple touch. But that's only part of his magical abilities. He can also wake in the dreams of people he cares deeply for.

Stubborn, fiercely independent Warren “Sully” Sullivan is an illusionist with a secret: he feels the emotions of others as visceral sensations. A lifetime of fending for himself and parsing feelings that aren’t his own has left him guarded.

An intoxicating, intense connection on their last night of freedom should be nothing more than a one-night stand. And it is. Until Elliot awakens in Sully's nightmare with an overpowering urge to save him, regardless of his carefully crafted moral code.

As tragedy draws them together in real life to battle enemies with twisted magic, weakness is a disastrous liability. When keeping safe means revealing his to Elliot, can Sully take the risk?

©2022 Andrea Lawless (P)2025 Everly Lawless

A good start of a series

I enjoyed quite w bit the premise of magical people having a hand on what happened during WW2, very entertaining and Sully and Elliot were such kind thoughtful characters trying to do their best.
The narrator was very good!

compelling and touching read

I do like the characters quite a bit and the depth of empathy and compassion felt between the two main ones is about right for a story topic as heavy as war

Parts of the story dragged a bit, but thinking about it I think it helps convey the feeling of the passage of time of the story. While there is a background plot and events that happen, the story is the development of their relationship over time, both at a distance and then together. While some of the lesser issues were ones of just not having a conversation, the types of avoidance and assumption making felt true to the characters

looking forward to the second book!