Lives are turned upside down ¿Everything was perfect before life came to a screeching halt.When devastating loss flips Amelia¿s world on its axis, she loses her spirit. Mel isn¿t the only one hurting, though; the members of BAD are also struggling to find their way after that tragic night.Life goes on ¿Amelia¿s friends move heaven and earth to help ease her sadness. Knowing she¿s on a … dangerous precipice, they fight through their own pain to bring her safely to the other side of her grief.Love can conquer ¿Amelia knows bottling up her feelings isn¿t helping anything. With love at her fingertips, all she has to do is reach for it. Mel¿s loved ones desperately hope she can once again find her way to happiness.Can Amelia overcome her fears to let love in again, or will she let the weight of that night continue to drown her in sorrow?Just an Illusion ¿ EP is book three in The Illusion Series
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I just finished reading Just An Illusion – EP (The Illusion, #3), and Dee Kelly has done it again! She has written another book that made me cry, a lot, which I expected would happen, but also had me on another roller coaster ride with her main characters: Amelia Weston, Noah Weston, and Sawyer Weston. We work through their love stories which are complicated, painful at times, and beautiful, but like all really good things in life, are worth all of the hard work we put into them. We also continue to follow the stories of the rest of the members of the band, Bastards and Dangerous: Darren and Wyatt, as well as Amelia’s best friend, Belle and Belle’s mother, Veronica. I would love to go into further detail, but then I would spoil this story for you! I just want you to know that I love Dee Kelly’s writing, and her ability to pull you in and make you feel like you are right there experiencing everything with her characters. I highly recommend this novel!
I’m going to start off by saying I am going to give all of the Just an Illusion books the same review because I can’t review them individually without giving away spoilers and you need to experience them for yourself. I read these books long ago the first time through before I realized how important reviews are for authors. Knowing what I know now the second read through was even more incredible than the first and I was able to appreciate them even more.
This is one series that will always stay with me. It hits you on a soul deep level and and while it is heartbreaking at times and I sobbed so hard I couldn’t read through the tears it’s one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read. The timeless love through heartbreak and pain is something I don’t know another author will ever be able to duplicate.
This series absolutely deserves 5 stars and more! This is one series I recommend often and hope everyone decides to read because it will stay with me always. It even helped me look at some things in my own life in a totally new light, and helps to reinforce that everyone need to live today as if there is no tomorrow. Life is too short to live with regret. Take that leap and do what makes you happy!
This entire series was phenomenal. I read this series a year ago but I still remember the characters and all the feels.
What an amazing journey!!!!
Kelly will rip you to shreds, drag you through the mud, stomp all over your heart and then put it back together.
What an emotional series!!! You will sob all the tears and feel like you experience the heartbreak all along with them.
I can not explain what this series has done for me. It is just that amazing!
Beautifully done!!
Amazing! Emotional!
Heart wrenching! Devastating!
This series has it all. I count these all as one. And if you’ve made it to this book, you will not be disappointed with the ending.
Just my favorite style: angsty and dramatic with fun, witty dialogue. And rockstars! It also has some sweet, cheesy parts, others charming and darling. This trilogy combines all kinds of emotions, I was sometimes enchanted, others irritated and many parts just plain sad and with a huge knot in my throat. I may or may not have shed some tears. This was an epic read! Here are reviews for the three parts:
Side A:
Bastards and Dangerous, a rock group composed of four sexy men, called BAD for short, are just about to embark on the final part of their tour. After this, they will retire to pursue other paths. They hire Amelia Greyson, author of bestseller romance “The O Factor”, to write a book about the group and this final tour. She’s to travel with them, in the buses, and document all their activities, add in photographs, interview everybody, whatever goes. She has misgivings about the job, due to prior experience, but with such an opportunity for her career, she really had no choice but to join in.
“I’m wondering if five years of therapy battling my demons has made me strong enough to do this and come out unscathed. I’m thinking I would be a fool to take this job, and I’d be a bigger fool not to.”
The men who compose BAD are four, a pair of twins, Noah and Sawyer, Darren and Wyatt. Sawyer and Noah are fraternal twins but they’re almost identical; Noah is nice and sweet, Sawyer is sexy and naughty. Darren fell in lust with Amelia’s best friend Belle who was also hired to blog about the tour as it happens. Wyatt is married to Anna. All of the BAD men and Anna are childhood friends, and their families are also part of the bunch. This book is rife with family, siblings, nieces, parents, and cousins. Family love is a huge part of this book, with all the teasing, support, and love that having a close family unit entails. Initially it will be confusing since the family is a bit large, but as you read the book they all become known and dear.
Initially, Amelia and Sawyer have a strong chemistry, and it makes her run in fear. At this moment you realize there’s something in her past that makes her shy away from a strong sexual man full of dramatics. She founds solace in Noah, who is open, sweet, sexy and has a huge and generous heart.
“Noah’s beautiful. I know it’s odd to describe a man that way, but he is, and so is Sawyer, which only makes sense because they’re practically identical. Their eyes are as green as a forest after the rain. They’ve got strong, chiseled jaws, and both are easily over six feet tall and equally fit. Sawyer has dimples where Noah is lacking them, but Noah has personality where Sawyer is just an ass.”
Noah becomes the love of her life, but there’s strife because Sawyer is also interested. They have a story that involves secrets, a strong love, some jealousy, and insecurity. They don’t know that Amelia has a past history that adds to the angst of the situation.
“I don’t want to lead Sawyer on, and I definitely don’t want to hurt him. There’s no way I can deny we have sparks, but if anyone is going to get my heart, it’s going to be Noah.”
This book ends after a dramatic event that brings strife to the group and causes a temporary break in the tour.
Side B:
The tour starts again, and all the members of the group have adapted to their new circumstances. Noah and Amelia are going strong, but there are secrets and confrontations. The love triangle between the twins and Amelia affects the relation between Noah and Sawyer and Amelia tries her hardest to bring peace and reconciliation. In this book is where we have the most sexy scenes and also the cheesiest scenes. I loved how Amelia sacrificed some mental peace in order to defend the twins’ relation. She defended their brotherly love and fought for their reconciliation.
EP:
A tragedy occurs that turns all their lives upside down, and they scramble to live in the aftermath of the loss. There’s incredible sadness and resignation and the path from the darkness to the light is very bumpy. For every step forward, there’s three steps back, there’s a lot of frustration, fights, encouragement and support. This last part is very dramatic and sad but there’s hope and support and so much kindness. It’s inspiring that there’s so much generosity and the desire to do well and help others.
I loved the chronicles about their trips in the bus and their lifestyle. I loved how Amelia communicated with Noah and Sawyer by texting song links that described their feelings. I liked that both sides to the rockstar persona is presented, the rockstar with the panty-melting smile, and the uncle who plays with his little nieces and ribs his sisters. I liked how it portrays pain and loss and doesn’t gloss over the hours and hours of crying and the pain of moving on, the fear of losing the memory and the scent of the loved one. I felt the book was very real as the characters dealt with the loss and the aftermath. It was heartbreaking but it was also heartfelt. It was a very riveting read!
“Don’t forget, live today like there’s no tomorrow!”
I think this is the hardest review I’ve ever written. The reading took me on a journey of various emotions, where it was impossible to drop the book, each page turned revealed another piece of the puzzle to try to understand what actually happened. Prepare the tissues. The trajectory of Amelia, Noah and Sawyer will not be easy. Will stir your hearts.
Amelia or Mel (or Princess, in Sawyer’s case) is a bestselling author who, while accompanying her journalist friend at BAD (Bastards and Dangerous) concert, has her life turned upside down. Hired to write a book about the band’s final tour, which has decided to retire at its peak, she is forced to face former demons. It is undeniable that the publicity that the book will bring will help in her career. But being in the spotlight can make her biggest secret come out.
Daughter of two great music stars, she witnessed the tragic love story of her parents. And with this past as a reference, she avoids relationships and commitments. But Noah and Sawyer, the band’s vocalist twin brothers, will shake her strong resistance.
Sawyer is the bad boy. Noah is the prince charming. And as much as she tries to deny it, they both catch her eye. But Sawyer reminds her of a very vivid past. While Noah awakens security.
But as the story unfolds, and the time they spend touring together, she will see that the bad boy is not that bad. And that the good boy is more generous and perfect than she thought.
“I love you, too. Always”
And with this set scenario, the plot shows us the unfolding story of these three characters, as well as inserts the rest of the band and even other people to compose the whole narrative. Far beyond a love triangle, what is reported on each page is a real, raw, visceral story, where well-written and developed characters show the reader a journey of self-discovery, mistakes, secrets, frustration, love and tragedy.
The Illusion Series Trilogy comprises the books Just an Illusion Side A, The Side B and EP.
The first and second part ends in a cliffhanger. The first is a jolt in routine and a warning to the lives of the characters. The second is a gale of epic proportions. Nothing will prepare the reader for the plot twist. Despite the signs present at all times.
I cheer for Noah, but Sawyer stole my heart. I can say that Amelia was the weak link, being blamed for much of the initial confusion. Avoiding the initial feelings for Sawyer out of sheer fear of repeating the past, she created unnecessary tension. But if the course were different, we would not have this story.
Their journey will not be easy. Many tears will be shed. But being able to follow their love story was a great pleasure. One of the best books I’ve ever read, and one of the best love stories I’ve ever come across. Although controversial and with a happy ending that may not please the most romantic.
“Sometimes, I forget this isn’t just about us falling in love and the consequences of that, it’s also about you being okay with someone else. . . Especially when that person is me.”
Mel went from heaven to hell and managed to rise again. As difficult as her journey was, it was real. And as Noah would say, everything was written by fate. And after reading, I can’t disagree with him. Fate has united these three. And in the midst of tears and pain, but also much love and good memories, living is all that remains for them. And never forget the beautiful story they lived. A story that will be with me for a long time.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest Review *
Overall Grade: ++
With Just An Illusion – EP, Amelia’s life has been torn asunder. Her life hangs in the balance, and her foundation is gone. This book, the final book of this trilogy, is a story about her journey back to herself and love. Of the three, this is by far the most emotionally gripping. It tears at your heart in all the best ways. In fact, in Kelly’s note to the readers, she warns that the reader might need tissues, wine, and chocolate, and she isn’t lying. I was a big blubbering baby at the beginning of this story. If that scares readers, still read it. There is a beauty in the trauma that Kelly has created. It’s the reason that the final book is my favorite of the trilogy. Amelia and Sawyer find the greatest growth in character in this book. They finally grow up. There is still quite a bit of push and pull. The story is still fairly dense. Kelly throws everything at you from the start to the finish; however, she also provides you with a serious ‘“gasp” of a moment’ at the end. In the midst of the “happily-ever-after,” there is magic. Of the three, this was the easiest for me to move through the story, but there was also a bit of repetitiveness. Amelia has a tendency to move forward and then backward three steps in her development. But such is life. Just An Illusion – EP finally reminds us that life is meant to be lived fully. To do so means honoring yourself and the people you love.
***ARC generously provided by for an honest review.***
Storyline: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Heat Factor: 5 stars
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Just an Illusion: EP is the final book in the Just an Illusion Trilogy by D. Kelly. You must read the Side A and Side B in the trilogy before this one as it takes place right where book one ended.
Within the blink of an eye, things have changed. Life will never be the same again for Amelia Weston. They won’t be the same for Sawyer Weston either.
After the devastating ending of Just an Illusion: Side B, this book focus’ on healing and learning to love again in the midst of tragedy.
Without ruining the story, because this trilogy needs to be read by everyone, my review will be short and vague in order to keep it as spoiler free as possible.
This book and this trilogy will always have a top spot in my favorite books. It’s not often that I just get so completely tore up over a book and its characters that it takes me a good month to sit down and write a review. I still think about these characters. The connection that readers will feel to these characters are unique. The author has made them so real that it’s hard not to feel what they feel throughout this book.
I was an emotional wreck throughout this story. There were times I had to stop reading just to breathe for a moment and gain some composure. This book was everything. It was heartbreaking. It was beautiful. It was enlightening. Yes, I said enlightening. This book explorers the dark realm of grief. What loss can do to a person’s spirit. How hopeless they can feel. But through the darkest of days, the sun will rise. This story was about rebuilding and moving on… not forgetting the past but learning to live with the scars.
D. Kelly delivered a beautiful gut-wrenching story.
5 stars!
I LOVED this book and series! I was a mess reading it…so many tissues! Such an emotional conclusion to the trilogy, that I was still feeling it hours later but so worth it for that ending! All of it was fantastic; the characters, the storyline, the strength, the love.
Let’s be honest here…. this series is breaking my heart in two. But continued reading is also healing it!
What a great series has D. Kelly written! Chapeau!
I can only say, if you like rockstar romance, go for it. Take the time and go on an absolute adventurous journey with the BAD band and their loved ones <3
Just an Illusion, EP
The Illusion Series Series, Book 3
By: D. Kelly
Narrated by: Tracy Marks, Aiden Snow
Be prepared! This third book in the Illusion series will have you feeling every emotion you can possibly have! It picks up directly where book 2 leaves us, and you will be shedding tears! Amelia has a lot to work through. Healing her body and recovering from childbirth are a breeze compared to how much her heart needs to be healed. With the help of her family and especially Sawyer, Mel finds a way to deal with her losses and write her story. What we learn is life goes on despite the past and fate steps in. There are so many things I can think of about this series, but the one thing that stands out the most to me is the realism. While fiction, the emotions and issues the characters deal with are so true to life, and D. Kelly draws it all together. It’s gritty, raw and passionate. It will make your heart hurt, die, soar back to life and love. I loved every minute of it.
Narration is key to a book like this and the performance by Tracy Marks is impeccable. She pulls every emotion out of you, wrings you out and builds you up. I love her voices. Aiden Snow picks up a small part as Sawyer, and he is the perfect casting for the dark and brooding man. He finds that part of the Sawyer that is raw and hurting and brings you into his world. They finished out the series with an amazing portrayal of the story and I am so glad I listened to it!
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There are books that you read and like, there are books that you read and love ~ and then there are books that stay with you long after you finish them. Just An Illusion (Side A, Side B, and EP) is one of those books that stay. This story is so much more than a rock romance, or I should say its also a rock romance. Just An Illusion explores how we see the world based on our experiences and how those perceptions are not always what are actually there. It also takes on fate and why things happen and if there is always a reason for them.
Amelia Greyson is a writer whose first book made it to the bestseller list. When her best friend, Belle a blogger with a rock magazine, gets an exclusive interview with the hottest band, Bastards and Dangerous (BAD) Amelia tags along. It is just fate that not only do sparks ignite for band member Noah but the band is looking for someone to write their biography. Amelia agrees to tour with them for a year to learn all about them but is determined to remain professional with no personal entanglements but fate has other ideas.
D. Kelly’s Amelia is a woman who is jaded and walled off but still has a tiny flicker of hope buried beneath years of built-up frost. Through new experiences, she finds that love comes in many forms, that it is patient and kind, something she didn’t believe before Noah. Noah is a man with every material thing the world has to offer at his fingertips but is looking for those less tangible; connections, passion, the future his mind craves. Noah could have easily been an obnoxious rocker, instead, D. Kelly made him a man of great depth of emotion and understanding. The third of the leads is Noah’s twin, Sawyer. Sawyer is the personification of the tortured artist. Childhood trauma and life mistakes have made trust an issue for him, making Sawyer closed off. All three of these characters, as well as the important secondary characters of Darren, Wyatt, and Belle, are wonderfully written. So much so that you can easily imagine them jumping off the page and coming to life.
The first of the trilogy, Side A is the getting to know them all part though it does have its heartbreaking and warm moments. As Amelia and Noah become a couple and Amelia comes to terms with her past, there is no lack of humor, tears, and revelations. Side A will grab you from page one and reading continuously to the very end. D. Kelly’s writing is fluid and balanced, her pacing on point, the character interactions versus inner monologues perfectly proportioned.
The second book, Side B delves even deeper into the emotions of all the characters. Each, from leads Amelia and Noah through to secondaries Belle and the rest of the band, role in the story has time in the spotlight to shine and show who they are, giving the story a rich and full palate of feelings. From drama to tender moments, to humor and heartbreak, this story has it all and it’s all gripping and drenched passion and ferocity.
The last of the trilogy, the EP, is where D. Kelly breaks the hearts of her readers, collecting their tears on almost every page before slowly pasting their pieces back together again. Just An Illusion EP is steeped in heavy emotions and so very real feeling that I dare anyone to read it and NOT feel it hard. Kelly takes her characters to the breaking point, tips them over it in such a way that you want to stop reading so you can stop their pain, but you can’t because she has made you so invested in their lives that you have to see them to the end of their journey. This is a tough read so bring tissues and the liquor bottle ’cause you’re going to need it. D. Kelly gives readers a happily ever after just one that comes with heartbreak and devastation before she lets you smile.
Altogether, these are fantastic books that I highly recommend. Get them all in one shot, sit down and devour them, it is so worth the ride.
HOLY CANNOLI I AM UNWELL AND THOROUGHLY SHOOK! Nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING could have prepared me for this book and where this author was taking this storyline. With multiple devastating losses for Amelia, she is left broken and shattered, becoming a mere shell of a person. Unable to cope with the new loss in her life on top of the ones of her past that she hasn’t dealt with to begin with, she’s spiraling and fast. This was THE HARDEST book out of the trilogy (and EVER) that I’ve read but it really solidified my love for this series as well as this author. Words honestly cannot describe how life-changing this book in particular let alone this series was for me. I don’t cry from books (at all) but couldn’t stop sobbing while reading this final installment. Good news is we get to really see character growth and strength from Amelia in this as she bounces back from devastation, and we also get the outcome for her that we all wanted and thought she would get in the first book. It was an emotionally draining road, but her coming out on the other end makes it worth reading. Guys – this is definitely a trilogy/series that will give you all the emotions and really change your life. In reading this series, these characters really came alive for me and became my friends, and the emotions I felt through them were so very real. Definitely head the author’s advice and keep lots of tissues and alcohol handy (and my addition of edible cookie dough) – trust in me that you’ll not only want it but need it after this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
This is the third book in the Just an Illusion series. You MUST read the previous books first.
After the ending of Side B, I was heartbroken. Even though I just knew that was going to happen to Bell.
The scene with Darren and Belle, broke my heart even more.
Then Nate was born and his first meeting with Noah melted my heart.
But then the book was gut-wrenching.
I cried a lot during the first part of this book.
This is a great book on love, loss, fate, and loving again.
I don’t want to say much more. I would hate to spoil anything.
“Live today, like there’s no tomorrow.”
EP.
Okay, if you read this, heed the warning and have tissues with you. I cried so much at the start that I struggled to read the words, but I absolutely loved this story. I am now going to get the rest of the books in this series and start on them.
I’ve been both anticipating and dreading reading this installment for four months now. I just decided one day to put on my big girl panties and get it over with…..just rip the band aide off. I told myself I would be strong but that only lasted until chapter two. There’s so much I want to say but hate spoilers myself so I’ll be as vague as possible. EP will hurt and hurt bad. It is a long and hard journey for all involved and while it crushed my soul I don’t think I would’ve changed a thing about it. Unfortunately what happens had to happen that is the best that I can explain it. I am glad to learn there will be a handful more books in this series and cannot wait to read them. Thank you Dee for writing us beautiful love stories xo
Let’s start with the cover. I’ve loved the covers for Side A and Side B, which represented Noah and Sawyer respectively, but this one is amazing because it’s full of emotions. It makes me feel love, protection, kindness, and after reading this book I think it shows perfectly the bond between Amelia and her men, although in this case, with one of them especially.
The book starts right after Side B ends. We are told the events from Sawyer’s perspective and see how it all happens and changes in just a night. It was painful and sad to read, full of deep emotional moments for the first half because of the outcomes, but things start to change in the second half, when Mel realizes many things and starts evolving more as a character.
Everyone in this book has rough times, but the author was able to show their growth and how they face obstacles in a realistic way. I felt like this book was the best out of the trilogy, because a lot of things happen, but they all make sense and are a way to arrive to the ending, which you may or may not like depending on the couple you have preferred. I won’t say who ends up with who because that is up to you to read, but the ones who have the happy ending have to go through a lot of things until they can finally be together. Without naming the man Mel is with at the end, I’ll just say that their relationship grows in ways I couldn’t thought possible and ended up loving every second of their growth as a couple. I had high expectations of the writer, and she didn’t disappoint me because she was able to point out every question I had in mind as a reader, and explain it through her characters, making the story believable and justify her plot decisions in a way, because sometimes, the author and her public may not agree on some matters but eventually, it’s the author who crafts the story and decides the outcome, and I bow to D. Kelly because I freaking loved how things turned out to be. I will surely read another triangle book written by this author, because I feel like she knows well how to create a good triangle story with no cliqued endings.
This is book 3 of the Illusion Series and must be read in order. Book 2 ends in a tragic cliff-hanger and this book is the aftermath and the continued stories of the main characters.
Bring your box of tissues. I cried the entire first 50% of the book. I didn’t read this book as quick as I usually read books because I was at a conference, so I do believe that saved me emotionally for the second half of the book. Whereas, I felt books 1 & 2 didn’t really connect with me, I felt every bit of this book. I am a flight nurse/paramedic & a critical care nurse that overlooked some of the air medical details that need finer tuning, but I have been a witness to and experienced these types of incidents, emotions, and behaviors that are described in this book. If you have suffered tragic loss or suffer PTSD from tragic experiences, this book very well my trigger deep emotional responses. I commend the author for being able to articulate that accurately, down to how Mel said her goodbye.
I loved this book and I am glad I stuck this story out until the end. I got the ending that I was expecting all along, I had a gut feeling about how we would get there, but I was deeply effected by it. Sorry to be vague, but if you read Sides A & B, then you have probably been recognizing the foreshadowing anyway. Great Job D. Kelly! I loved it!
This is the third book of the serie, shouldn’t be read before Side A & B, is the closure of the storie, a beautiful and enlighted one.
This book *gutted* me- I haven’t cried that hard in a long, long time. But it also put my heart back together piece by piece. The whole series was outstanding- I cannot wait to read the Sawyer’s story, along with J and Darron’s. The whole BAD family is one I don’t want to let go of quite yet!