Chain of Illusions (Bringer and the Bane) Paperback – November 26, 2013

I liked this universe and I liked these books even if I felt typical fantasy is usually a bit more polished. Everyone has to start somewhere. There were things never addressed that bugged me because I am a fantasy and scifi reader. No one ever mentioned light. No one mentioned where food came from, just that the had it. We got baths but a lot of little details that would have made the story interesting we left by the wayside. I wanted there to be a Bringer reason for how the couples were attracted to each other. Either they mated with their own kind or more interestingly in a trait that seemed to be designed and bred, they mated with their compliment. It was too random and haphazard. Why people chose who they chose made no sense in the overall context of the story.People's names drove me crazy. They seemed to be splattered from every culture, region and era even within families. Icarus had better be named Icarus for a reason because he's a character in Greek Mythology. Otherwise the reader is going to wonder through the entire series, which I did. Sha-Hera sounds like a WWF Princess. And Vile sounds like something from Stephen Donaldson.But this is minor. I found the tone of the books to be a bit YA. They are very softball and gentle. You won't find anything gritty or even too upsetting here. People don't swear or unintentionally hurt each other. They aren't really selfish or mean or self absorbed. They don't kill for monetary gain or misunderstand because it serves their own interests. No one we really love dies or even sacrifices themselves for the greater good. And people talk about being hurt but we don't really see it or feel it. One of the big elements that drives successful fantasy is either a dark hero or reluctant hero. Icarus is the closest we have here. The trilogy probably would have been more interesting told from his POV. Even the Bain aren't really very upsetting. So as a result we have a lot of very excellent coin wasted. There are missed opportunities galore to add some darkness and real depth to the story.And other than a few places throughout the trilogy where the story seems to drag with repetition and lack of purpose, the pacing is fairly good. The series doesn't suffer from middle book lethargy. Things happen in the middle book which move the story despite the somewhat tepid love story around which it revolves.That said, it's a mistake to do the reveal on Icarus so early in Chains of Illusions. As I've read from other commenters and I also felt, Icarus is the most intriguing character in the series. At the reveal, I was tempted to put the books aside and not finish it. While I knew it was coming--I'd worked it out in book 2--when it did, I was finished. I was no longer interested in what happened.A couple of other comments: It is MOOT point, not mute point. Chapter 18: You cannot open the Abyss so the threat is MOOT not mute. Look it up if don't believe me. I was doing well overlooking other weirdnesses until I hit this. This just made me think either the publisher or the editor needed to go back to school. This is one of those things like infer and imply that make a writer sound like they have mud between their toes and hay sticking out their hair.So overall I really liked these I would have liked to see this Universe grow and expand. I hope one day Ms. Brux returns to it with more of an eye to the fantasy aspect rather than the romance. I realize reading back over my comments while this is a compelling universe I feel the stories lack depth and introspection. I wanted everyone to be more because the potential was there. The story telling just wasn't.

The world of the Bringer and the Bane is heating up in Boone Brux's third book of the series. Chain of Illusions tells us a story straight from the shadows. About right and wrong, good vs evil and where the line in the sand really is.Rell was captured by the Bane as a young teenager, before she could even fall in love for the first time. Captured and converted.. for thirteen years she struggled. A Bane and yet still trying to retain something of her humanity. She kept you sister, a full human, with her and taught her as best she could. But even that was not enough to keep the darkness from slowly taking over. Year by year she got darker and darker.. but one man made a difference. A captured Bringer, held and tortured, Rell would sneak in and heal him, feed him and care for him. Creating a bond that could not be broken forged in the very depths of hell. But now, all bets are off.. she has been captured by the Bringers and a chance to reclaim her life has been given to her, if she is brave enough to take it.Siban is a man who has faced the shadows. For two long years he was held in the shadow world, tortured and all but destroyed. One light in the darkness was Rell, a Bane, A Demon with a heart. And she had captured his. Now finally there is a chance for them. Rell has conceded to attempt to reclaim her body and her life. Loosing her soul from the darkness. But will she be the same? Will Esmerelda the Bringer be the same woman as Rell, the Bane? And will Siban be able to accept the changes?Rell and Siban fight a battle against evil that no other Bringer can understand. Rell has been Bane and Siban has faced the darkness. They too live in the shadows at times. Rell and Siban have a hard path to follow. They must learn how to work together and to trust each other. Siban, especially needs to understand that while Rell may be new to human form, she has her own heart, dreams and goals. She is a woman of strength that doesn't need protecting. Just loving. But Rell too needs to learn that it isn't a weakness to lean on someone. That there are all kinds of strengths. Sometimes letting someone care for you takes strength and is much harder than doing it all yourself.There is much going in in the world.. Members of the Bringer council are trying to take control of the Bringer world, claim ultimate power and refuse to acknowledge even the existence of the Bane. Gregory, the Bringer King has come through the arch but can not return until they find his older brother, the true king kidnapped at birth. Rell refuses to let go of some alliances from her past. And even in the world of the Bane, political uprising is coming! Action packed but managing to maintain the core of true romance. Chain of Illusions is an extremely well written book taking a fabulous series, ever deeper into the darkness.ShauniThis review is based on the ARC of Chain of Illusions, provided by netgalley

Chain of Illusions is the third book of the Bringer and the Bane series by Boone Brux. I highly recommend that if you have not read the first two books in this series that you do. My opinion, by not reading the first two books, there would have been some things in this book, I would not have been able to figure out. With that said This book had me captured from page 1 all the way to the end.This book starts off right where the other left off Rell who was part of the Bane was captured by the Bringers. The Bringers in return changed her into one of them after they had rescued her body from the underworld.It also goes on to Rell falling in love and possibly a marriage with Siban. Will there be a happy ending? I will not spoil it! This book however takes you into a lot of twists and turn such as Icarus finding out who he really is. There is also a huge battle scene which was my favorite part of the book. The author goes in to well details of the scene describing the setting and the characters its well executed.However, the only downfall with this book is the ending was a cliff hanger and now I have to wait until the next book comes out for the continuing story.

Amazing book. I couldn't put it down.