Glamorous Illusions: A Novel (Grand Tour Series)

Lisa Bergren is the author of one of my favorite YA series (The River of Time Series), so I was really excited to read this first book in her new adult series, The Grand Tour.

Glamorous Illusions was a great and unique story! I loved the characters - especially Will and Cora - and found myself engrossed in the story and what was going to happen! When I reached that final page, I was like "Nooooo! This can't be the end!" So, it definitely leaves you hanging and anticipating the next book, Grave Consequences, very much!

I loved all of the different locations in Glamorous Illusions, including Montana and Paris, and how the story switched POV's from Cora, Will, and Wallace (I think those were the only three).

Overall, I loved Glamorous Illusions and recommend it! Especially if you enjoy historical novels, but (if you are like me) be prepared to be left wanting to read Grave Consequences as soon as you finish this book, only it doesn't release until March 2013!

*I received a copy of this book for free for my review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

I am only familiar with Lisa T. Bergren from her children's book: God Gave Us You (which my husband and I love and read to our son and daughter from belly to toddlerhood) [[ASIN:1578563232 God Gave Us You]] ! It's hard to know what to expect from an author when you've only read a tender story of a baby cub and Mama Bear. ;-)

I honestly don't know what it was, but Glamorous Illusions drew me in from the very first page. I felt as though I was reading a `comfortable' book; the language and tone were relaxing and connected me with the characters right from the start.

Cora arrives at the family farm on summer break only to be greeted with disaster. Just a short time later, even more shocking news turns her life upside down. As Cora reels from the long-hidden secrets, she reluctantly leaves her familiar world behind, struggling with her identity and purpose as she heads to Europe with frosty strangers.

Some of the facts that the `bears' (tour guides) rattled on about seemed a bit dry and boring. I can only imagine that the privileged men and women taking these tours weren't as interested in historical tidbits as our characters seemed to be. Still, I found the history of the European `Grand Tours' for wealthy young people fascinating and a fresh backdrop for a novel.

I didn't care for our `Christian' heroine drinking. Trying to wash down her first (disgusting) taste of caviar with champagne was one thing, but she didn't seem to regularly abstain from alcohol.

The other thing I didn't care for: book 2 isn't ready yet!

Cora seems to make a firm decision about herself, but I can't tell if she's steadfast in that decision or not. And then there's Pierre. And Will. Oh, and what a heart-pounding chase through secret passages in a castle!

Yes, not happy that book 2 wasn't ready for me to pick up when I finished that last sentence! And, I think I have to wait until March of next year for [[ASIN:143476432X Grave Consequences: A Novel (Grand Tour Series)]] !!

So, my first grown-up book by Lisa did not disappoint. Anxiously awaiting more...!

*I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given, and all thoughts are 100% mine.*

Lisa Bergren has a talent for drawing the reader into the past! Glamorous Illusions starts out rather bleak - Cora comes home from school for the summer, full of hope and satisfaction, only to be met by one bad turn after another. Her father is ill; the farm is falling apart; the family's financial situation is dire. And then in waltzes the man who claims to be her "real" father. He starts giving orders and taking charge, thoroughly mixing up Cora's thoughts and threatening her independence.

From there Cora begins a new phase of her life. Coping with half-siblings, dipping her toes into the life of luxury, trying hard to learn how the past and the future should affect the present... It's a topsy-turvy journey, for sure! And did I mention the men who attempt to win her affections? Oh, yes - this is one exotic, exciting trip that isn't to be missed!

Glamorous Illusions is a unique historical romance story that is utterly charming. As a book all on its own, it doesn't completely satisfy - for hopefully there is more to come in this "Grand Tour" series: much more to see and to learn. But as a book that challenges its characters and offers a grand trip, it delivers! And yes, the romance is really quite captivating. From Will the bear (not the animal kind, though!) to Richelieu the flirtatious Frenchman and Hugh the potentially dangerous... Let's just say the romantic tension held my interest and made me want to see what will come of all of these possibilities. Once again Bergren swept me away on an historical adventure that I quite enjoyed!

*With thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion, to be shared during the Litfuse Publicity Blog tour.*

Over one hundred years ago, it was not just common, it was expected that young men and women of high society in America would go on the "Grand Tour" of Europe. The Kensington's were just such young people. They were about to embark on a grand tour of England, France, and Italy for the summer.
But Cora Diehl, a young woman who just finished another year at school to become a teacher didn't expect to ever be one of those traveling to Europe for the Grand Tour. But when her father suffers a stroke, her mother reveals a family secret, and a strange man shows up on their doorstep, Cora finds herself in a strange, new environment with a new family and about to go on the Grand Tour.

Growing up, part of me wished I had been born 100 years ago and was able to go on the Grand Tour. But traveling to Europe for mission trips in college helped fulfill this desire. I loved the descriptions in this book of the places they traveled to, the parties they attended. It is a well written, intriguing book that made me want to go to Europe all over again. Glamorous Illusions is the first book in The Grand Tours Trilogy. The other books Grave Consequences and Glittering Promises come out Spring 2013 and Fall 2013.
I give this book 4.5 stars.
I received this book from Litfuse for the purpose of this review.

While Glamorous Illusions is WAY different then Lisa Bergren's action-packed River of Time series (that I totally adore!!), I really ended up liking this change of pace. A lot! It has a really laid-back, gentle storyplot, yet never once did I grow bored. Bergren's kept my interest firmly from page one until the very end of this (thick!) book, leaving me wanting more.

First off, I loved the characters. Bergren has this ability to create the most interesting and unique--yet believable--characters and bring them to life through her writing style. That takes talent, y'all, and Bergren's got it! Cora, Will, Pierre...you can't help but grow attached to each of them in some special way. Not sure where this love triangle is going, though, and not even sure which couple I want at this point! I'll just have to wait to decide until I read book two!

One thing I just had to point out is the character's (very) realistic faith. Bergren shows, through the course of Glamorous Illusions, how Cori struggles with who she is. Yet even when she is low, she still always knew that Christ was her Savoir, God her Lord. Even when situations seemed to scream the opposite, she had an anchor to hold onto. I just loved this display of faith in a young girl. It's inspired me!!

The time period is also really fun--I mean, Cora gets thrust into the ritzy life all of a sudden. Fancy dresses, large houses, dozens of servants...the works! I always love getting a view into the life of the rich, and Glamorous Illusions does just that. All around, Bergren's newest release is another winner for me. Truly enjoyed traveling alongside Cora as she begins her Grand Tour of Europe and am eager to return in book two to continue the adventure!

I reviewed this book for David C Cook via Litfuse. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.

Cora arrives home from a year at teachers' college and realizes something is wrong when her parents don't meet her off the train. It turns out that her father has had a stroke. Although he survives, Cora struggles in vain to keep the family farm going. The family doesn't have any savings; her parents spent the money they had on her education. When her father's health deteriorates, it becomes apparent that she will be unable to return to college and - worse - that they're going to lose their farm. Cora is praying for an answer, and Wallace Kensington shows up at the door with the news that he's her birth father. He insists on paying for her father's healthcare and the remaining two years of her teacher training. He also wants to send her to Europe with his other three children. There doesn't appear to be any strings attached, but readers of Glamorous Illusions get a hint of something very different.

Cora's story is told from various perspectives. While only hers is written in the first person, the narrative flows smoothly and the reader gets a good insight into Cora's Grand Tour of Europe. I felt her pain as she struggled to enjoy the trip while enduring open hostility from her new family. The tension between everyone was very obvious, but not over the top. On the one hand, they want to expose her for who she really is - an illegitimate and unwelcome member of the family - but on the other, they realize that if they expose her they risk their own social standing. It isn't a surprise that Cora's closest companion on the trip is the young tour guide, Will, who is also struggling financially to complete his university education, and we get to experience his point of view as well.

I loved the historical detail regarding the Atlantic crossing, London, and Paris. The year is 1913 and the party is traveling on Titanic's sister ship. They are well aware of what happened that night in April 1912, and we get to witness their emotions on the experience. I also particularly appreciated that Bergren had the party spend their first night in England at Syon House, one of the lesser known homes in London, since I used to live within walking distance of the property. If there's a downside to the book, it's that it ends rather abruptly without a satisfying conclusion. This is no doubt due to Glamorous Illusions being the first in a trilogy called The Grand Tour. Book two is called Grave Consequences and will be out in spring of 2013.

I downloaded my free copy of Glamorous Illusions from David C Cook on the NetGalley website. I was under no obligation to write a review.

I loved Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren. It is the story of young Cora Diehl Kensington, a young woman who is simply the daughter of two hard-working farmers in the pre-World War I years of the twentieth century. Cora has been away at Normal School studying to be a teacher and returns home for the summer sabbatical. Her parents are supposed to meet her at the train station, but fail to arrive so Cora sets off the three miles to home in her neighbor's wagon. Arriving home Cora finds disaster waiting for her. It will set off a change of events in her life that Cora could have never foreseen and will take her far from the farm she has always called home.
I really loved the characterization and plot in this story. While there is certainly a love story or two running through the plot, the story is so much more than that. It is about discovering who are at your deepest core, what you value and even more importantly, all the places your faith can take you. It is a story that has a deep current of faith running through it, but it isn't pushy about it. It is simply part of the make-up of some of the characters and it is revealed through their thoughts and their natures and comes across so naturally on the page. I really admire a Christian writer who can make the point of the importance of their faith without sounding like he or she is preaching on the page and Bergren does this wonderfully.
The storyline is packed with thrills and action. It never lags or plods wearily on. It kept me engaged the entire time and I hated when I reached the end of the book. The characters are rich and multidimensional and the heroine is portrayed as real person fighting real battles that challenge the person she is and the person she will become. I honestly can't wait until Bergren comes out with the second title in this series and not just to see what else happens to the heroine, but also because there is an entire group of characters I have become involved with through this story and I can't wait to learn more of them. I solidly recommend this book.

This was an amazing book. While I still think that the River of Time series contained the best books by Lisa Bergren, I cannot wait to read more from this series! But I have to wait until next spring...so sad about that. ANYWAY. This is the story a young lady named Cora who lives in border-line poverty on a failing farm in Montana with her parents. A life-changing discovery results in her travelling on a Grand Tour with siblings she never knew she had. The Grand Tour is something that was done by the children of millionaires in the early 1900's - it involved touring Europe. "Glamorous Illusions" is exciting and breath-taking, full of suspense and adventure and some growing up (yes, that's interesting too). There's even some romance. The end of the book leaves you hanging...but not so much that I don't recommend reading it. Definitely worth your time! This book is going to the top of my "need-to-own" list! Very highly recommended.

I've read a few of Lisa Tawn Bergren's books and truly enjoyed them. This one has me confused. It ends in the middle of the story, or so it seems. I understand this is part of a series and I love reading serial novels. I guess my expectations are that each novel will tell a complete story, and this doesn't deliver my expectations.

Glamorous Illusions begins in the early 1900's with Cora returning home after a year at Normal School. She comes home to find her father ill and the farm in disarray. She takes over the farm chores as her father recovers from a stroke. When he suffers a second stroke, it sets in motion a series of events that throw her world totally upside down.

The man she believes to be her father (and he is her father in every way that counts), is of no biological kin to her. Her natural father is a wealthy copper baron who desires to claim his kinship to her and debut her into society and send her on a grand tour of Europe.

The book is endearing, exciting, and pulls out all of your empathy for Cora, or at least it did for me. I could relate to her discomfiture, to her feeling out of place in this world of glamor.

I will anxiously await the rest of the books in this series because I want to know if Cora finishes her education and gets a teaching job, or if she falls in love with Will or Pierre.

Cora Diehl comes home from college to her family farm for the summer to help her parents. Things are not going well as there has been drought and the crops have not come in. Her parents scraped and borrowed to be able to send her to school and now disaster upon disaster piles up. Then her father has a stroke. Just as he is recovering from that - a heart attack! No money for medical care and no way to borrow money to get the winter wheat in. Cora does what she has to; she goes to the bank for a loan against a mysterious necklace that had arrived on her 16th birthday. Another in a long line of expensive gifts from an unknown giver.

Just as she thinks all is lost a stranger arrives - copper king, senator and HER FATHER?! - Wallace Kensington. He is there to tell her of her parentage and offer (?) her and her mother a way out of their predicament. Cora is completely shocked and wants nothing to do with him but her mother begs her to allow him to help. It will give her adoptive father the best chance at recovery.

So off Cora goes with Mr. Kensington to meet her half siblings and head off for a Grand Tour to Europe. The half siblings and their close friends the Morgans are less than thrilled to have Cora thrust upon them for they fear her illegitimacy will impact their ability to socialize with the "right" people but Mr. Kensington sends along enough money to cover any problems as he feels that ANYONE can be bought.

The book was charming if rather unbelievable. The writing kept me reading and turning the pages and truly enjoying the story and it wasn't until after I was done and started thinking about it that I realized that it was all total poppycock. But it was enjoyable poppycock. The characters were diverse and for the most part fleshed out. The European nobility were cardboard and the descriptions of the glorious places visited on the Tour were surprisingly flat but Cora carries the story and I would certainly pick up the successive books in the series to see what happens to her.