Reviews

Oh my, what an emotionally turbulent, intensely evocative and utterly mesmerising story this is. I fell down a rabbit hole with Brice into a swirling, dizzying and ultimately soul-shattering melee of magic, mystery and mayhem. Lies are layered upon lies whilst deceptions, tricks and misdirection abound until you can no longer trust anyone or anything - not even the evidence seen with your own eyes.

Ariana Nash delivers up a dark, twisted tale of fae madness. An intriguing story of machination and manipulation, where every word is deceptive, every look meant to seduce. Whilst hidden desires may be fulfilled, it pays to remember that nothing is given freely and most things are not as they may seem. The story is by parts raw, vicious and heartrending, yet also delicate, gentle and loving.

He tasted of fae sweetness. Of sweet wine and bitter sadness. He didn’t believe anything would change; he didn’t believe Brice would succeed. He thought this was goodbye.

I adored Brice and his slippery fae paramour, couldn't get enough of this wonderful pair truth be told. Their chemistry was explosively hot, though the path to a HEA was littered with pain, sadness and heartache. Each damaged in their own way, this pair of star-crossed lovers battled long and hard against the power of the Masquerade, but when truth and illusion are impossible to differentiate then suffering and angst are sure to follow.

Every moment in the masquerade held an air of peril and threat, blinding me with its devious illusions and leaving me unable to even begin guessing as to the twists that would unfold and the truths that would be revealed. It held me spellbound with its brilliance, tossed me on the stormy seas of its emotional intensity and left me wanting to never leave the world that had been created. If a golden-edged invitation should happen to fall on my doormat I'm not sure I could resist its siren call.

and as simple as that they were dancing in a meadow under moonlight.

koliebalolli's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

drasticpear's review

Go to review page

dark emotional

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

You deny me, you puzzle me, you tear me asunder.

After disliking Dante's End by the same author I was hesitant to read this but I'm such a sucker for stories involving the fae that I had to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did! There were a few times where I thought the story was going to veer off in a direction I'd dislike only for it to twist back and keep me on my toes. Frequently it captured the horror of the fae and their magic deliciously well.

Fair warning: There is SO much sex in this, to the point where sometimes the characters just straight up lose the plot for multiple chapters, and not all of it is fully consensual. If that's not your thing, this book probably isn't for you.

Content Warnings

kat_sann's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I enjoyed it, for the first half.
Then it started to draaaag on for me. Felt like it could have been 2 separate books, or chopped about 200pages.

I found myself waiting for it to end. Hoping that this would be the last chapter.

I did injoy it. I liked the concept a lot.

gingerlreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aepolosauthor's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

britlitnerd's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

More...