Sin of Love (Illusions Duet #2) by LM Halloran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The exciting conclusion to Art of Sin in the Illusions Duet.
As I’ve said before, I’m a huge fan of LM Halloran’s writing. Art of Sin had me in a spin and I read it non-stop. The pause at the end of the first part of the duet was both timely and also frustrating but fortunately, readers don’t have long to wait before the second instalment releases.
Gideon and Deirdre’s story in Art of Sin was explosive and with Deirdre’s past revealed and her secrets coming back to life, Sin of Love was set to be as captivating as book 1.
With Deirdre trying to finally put a stop to the horrors that haunted her early life, Gideon finds his life spiralling out of control. The love he has for Deirdre is all-consuming but for some reason, it wasn’t enough but with time and patience, he comes to realise that he has to find a way back from the brink before it is too late.
This book felt very, very different from Art of Sin. Whilst I loved book 1, Sin of Love, had me reaching rather than falling in love with it. I’m not a huge fan of dark storylines, especially the whole captivity/prisoner trope and this took a lot of the shine off the story for me. The first half of the book was too drawn out, sadly, with days being counted off, and a strange passing of time until the story starts to reach its final explosive conclusion. From 55% the story started to draw me in, despite my love for the characters, and I found myself itching to see what the last storyline twist would be, and boy was it a good one.
Having read both books, I was left confused as to why Finn was added as a prominent character in Art of Sin only for him to barely make an appearance in Sin of Love. Having fallen for him and his fun-loving ways, I was sad to see him become almost a shadow in this story.
This duet really was a story of two halves and for me, book one clearly shone brighter than book 2 but dark romance lovers will clearly enjoy the second part of Deirdre and Gideon’s journey towards a HEA. For me, the romantic suspense was enough. Had these been standalone stories, I would not have picked up Sin of Love because of the dark theme, but despite my reservations, I did enjoy the story overall. I’m not sure if the cross-over into characters and settings from the author’s other works were really necessary and whilst they added another dimension to the story, they also caused a distraction and had me leaning towards a wanting continuation of the other stories than focussing 100% on this duet.
The strength of the author’s writing was, as always, a huge attraction for me and I was not disappointed. Her word skills are second to none and the diversity of her story writing skills are becoming legendary. Tropes that I would clearly avoid normally are brought to life in a way that I can appreciate, even if I may never learn to love them.
This duet will definitely be one to remember in 2019.
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Blurb
Gideon Masters is a wild god.
Worshipped for his bold paintings as much as his divine looks, he’s the art world’s biggest celebrity. Under normal circumstances our paths would never cross.
But when his extracurricular activities threaten a high-profile business deal, I’m forced to take him as a client. My task: keep him out of the tabloids for six months.
But Gideon doesn’t want a publicist. He wants a new muse.
As I fall deeper under his sinful spell, a lifetime of secrets and carefully crafted lies unravels. Too late, I remember the truths they protect:
I am already someone’s masterpiece.
And the original artist wants me back.
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