Guest Review: Illusions by Ann Jacobs

Master magician Drake Conover is dark, dangerous and irresistible to women. But a terrorist? Agent Erienne Duval doesn’t think so, but it’s her job to find out by any means necessary—including seduction.


This is one of those novellas where you know going in that the proverbial “spit is going to hit the fan” before all is said and done! You have a hero, Drake Conover, who has been deeply wounded by the abandonment of his mother, the death of his father, thoughtless remarks about his physique when he was a poor kid, and a deep insecurity as a result of all these happenings in his life. Add in the fact that he is handsome and now a wealthy, world class performer, who draws women to him without even quirking an eyebrow. He knows that they are there because they want to be seen with him for their own publicity needs, not because they really care about him. This man has major trust issues!

Now we meet the heroine—a CIA agent who has been sent, undercover, to be a “volunteer” liason between Drake and the community organization which is sponsoring a charity performance in his home town of Philadelphia. Her superiors are convinced that Drake is in the pay of terrorists and is passing secrets to them. Erienne must determine if this is the truth and if so arrest Drake. If not, then she must determine the real terrorist, because secrets are being passed and somehow that activity is connected to Drake. This is a love story, so it is no surprise that Drake and Erienne are attracted to one another—not just in a passing way, but with powerful sexual pull. They become involved, they fall in love, and we still have the undercover story to deal with and Drake’s trust issues. Oh brother, what a mess!

I have to own up to the fact that I knew this was all going to blow up, but I was not prepared for the creative way the author resolved the conflicts between these two. She did a really good job, and the real perpetrator was not revealed until almost the end of the story. That really kept me on the edge of my chair. I liked Drake a lot, as he was a man who was searching for authenticity in a relationship and was a kind and caring person. Erienne was a woman who wanted joy in her life after losing her partner and fiance in the recent past. She was not sure she could really love someone again—it’s called “taking a chance on love” I think – and her discovery of Drake’s growing attachment to her changed her focus for the future. I was also impressed that the author managed the plot and characters very well within this shorter literary format. That’s not always easy to do and some authors try to write a novel and then squash everything into the last ten pages to get the story told. Ms Jacobs did not do that—she told this story in a way that kept the reader’s interest, moved the plot and its inherent conflicts along, and brought it all to a very believable conclusion. Good job!

There is a lot in this short story to like and I think loves of sensual romantic tales will enjoy this story. And I am looking forward to reading more of Ann Jacobs’ work in the future.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.


You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place