My review of Illusions by Wanda Campbell for her blog tour! Plus contest giveaway!

Illusions Book Blog Tour - Final Week

It’s been a month-long tour! This week we are winding down the “official” tour, but there will be more to come in March with Wanda B. Campbell .

WEEK 4 - What Readers Are Saying

Feb 23rd

Linda Beed
WrittenVoicesPodcast.com

Feb. 24th
Paulette Harper

Feb. 25th
Deena Peterson

Feb. 26th
Shana J. Burton
Something to Talk … Shawneda Marks (9:00 pm EST)

Feb 27th
Jenny Blake
Michelle Sutton



Buy the book HERE

About the book:

After three years of marriage, Denise Hightower discovers that her husband, Pastor Bryce Hightower, has a secret addiction that not only jeopardizes his marriage, but impairs his ability to effectively preach the gospel.

Yielding to pressure from her mother and her husband, Denise agrees to keep his addiction a secret, although her self-esteem plummets. Her life as the perfect First Lady is falling apart at the seams.

Self-centered and determined to uphold his pastoral image, Bryce is oblivious to his wife’s emotional state. He’s convinced that he can overcome his “little problem” on his own, so he rejects the spiritual help God sends him. But when his secret is discovered, will he be able to come clean with himself, God, and his congregation?


My review:

I love an honest story told with passion and conviction. Illusions has that. I also love a story with rich dialog and believeable characters. Illusions has that as well. The characters literally jump from the page. I felt like I knew them all by book's end. The storyline was very compelling, but I did get a bit lost a third of the way through the story due to a lot of head hopping. In some scenes you knew what everyone was thinking. I find that hard to follow. Plus, sometimes the characters' inner thoughts seemed more like the author instructing the reader than what the character would really be thinking. Not one to give up easily, I started reading again and tried to focus on the heart of the story.

So back to the good points...Illusions was at times so gut-wrenchingly honest it moved me to tears. I loved Bryce and I loved Denise. I wanted to see them happy together. I also wish more books told the truth like this one. The author did a fabulous job of exposing hypocrisy and lies in the church. The story also made me think. There are so many people who get respect by their leadership position in the church, but are they really serving God, or merely hiding behind Him? That's something to ponder. Also, the theme of digging down to the root of the "ivy" as the only way to completely heal was a powerful lesson.

The ending scene at the church also made me cry. It was beautiful and so true. If more people would allow themselves to trust and be transparent, God could do so much more with His people. So, bottom line is I loved the story...but the writing style? Not so much. Regardless, I highly recommend this book to people struggling with addiction and who are too ashamed to deal with it. This novel clearly shows how sickness only spreads when it's kept hidden.

Illusions was released in February 2009 and was published by Urban Christian Fiction.

BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY

This week's winner will receive -

An autographed copy of First Sunday in October, The Midnight Clear, Illusions and a coupon for a FREE print design (choose a bookmark, postcard or business card) courtesy of Tywebbin Creations. Winner are responsible for printing.

Check Wanda B. Campbell's blog for the winners.

And last, check out this cool video about the book...

Illusions video