Illusions of Grandeur

So, this is a review for both books and when the author says she writes villain romances, she means it. This one is pretty dark.

I do think I liked her Masks of Under series more, but this one is still pretty awesome. There were times I really had no idea what the author was planning on doing. I kept second guessing my theories, which made the book even more fun. 
I really like that Alice tinkers and is smart. She wants to figure puzzles out, she wants to fix things. She's a great heroine. 
Our male lead is... tricky, a puzzle for her to solve, and also maybe not completely sane. 

I ended up liking book 1 more than 2 because there is more mystery to it. Book 2 is definitely darker with slower parts and then a quick finish at the end. That end though... I both liked and disliked the ending. I wanted Alice to get away, to show more agency, and yet... I'm glad things went the way they did. Book 1 we are somewhat in the dark with Alice trying to figure things out while Book 2 we see more beneath the puzzle. Watching Alice figure it out and knowing what is going to happen is in itself fun too. I didn't know what to root for at times! 

Anyhow this was fun.