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rkoz's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
ozlemmh's review
3.0
3.5/5 stars
If I could rate each section of the book differently, I would give the first third of it 3/5, the middle a solid 4/5 and the last third a 3/5. I felt as though the pace the events occurred at where not constant and I often felt the plot of the novel was constantly shifting. I think the book could have been shorter overall and my main issue falls with the MC and her inability to change or recognise herself or her surroundings. I thought the arrogant streak may phase off throughout the novel but it continued to persist and her poor lack of judgement made it difficult to read.
The romance was definitely more intriguing during the first section of the book with Jester being the main reason I continued reading, potentially the best parts about the book.
I think despite all the wizards and castle and these supposed fantasy and demonic elements, I felt as though the book fell a bit flat with the magic after the maze exam and the wizarding school, which is a shame as magic is meant to be a big part of the book.
Overall I think its a book that is good that some may enjoy and some might.
Thank you NetGallery for the arc.
If I could rate each section of the book differently, I would give the first third of it 3/5, the middle a solid 4/5 and the last third a 3/5. I felt as though the pace the events occurred at where not constant and I often felt the plot of the novel was constantly shifting. I think the book could have been shorter overall and my main issue falls with the MC and her inability to change or recognise herself or her surroundings. I thought the arrogant streak may phase off throughout the novel but it continued to persist and her poor lack of judgement made it difficult to read.
The romance was definitely more intriguing during the first section of the book with Jester being the main reason I continued reading, potentially the best parts about the book.
I think despite all the wizards and castle and these supposed fantasy and demonic elements, I felt as though the book fell a bit flat with the magic after the maze exam and the wizarding school, which is a shame as magic is meant to be a big part of the book.
Overall I think its a book that is good that some may enjoy and some might.
Thank you NetGallery for the arc.
kdegrasse09's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
arkany_mi's review
4.0
I quite liked the whole world and how she told the story. It’s a bit slow in some parts, but overall pretty good book!
exeidur's review
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? No
1.5
This was quite disappointing to me. I really liked the premise, but the book was so disjointed and the main character was just so slow, I was in a near-constant state of frustration. You know those horror movies where you're yelling at the screen, "DO NOT split up and go down the dark scary cellar BY YOURSELF!"? It was like that.
The good
+ Seth seemed like a nice kid.
+ I liked the tiny bit of magic school we got to see.
+ The writing style is quite alright.
The bad
- Lots of typos.
- Laynah was pretty dumb. A whole chunk of plot could've been deleted if she had just been a bit more quick on the uptake.
- I honestly figured out most - if not all - of the twists/mysteries way before Laynah did. The Jester's identity was so incredibly obvious, it hurt to see Laynah think about it.
- The "spicy" scenes were boring.
- Characters who constantly change their minds (Laynah & Jester), and who argue just for the sake of plot. So much was clearly orchestrated to create conflict. It was just silly.
- Laynah's mother is absolutely horrible and quite cliché and Laynah just let her steamroll all over her.
- Laynah is constantly jealous of Grace at the start and her internal monologues on why she couldn't be more like Grace nearly caused me to put the book down.
- Which one could be the evil guy? The person who you've overheard talking about secretly guarding the king, or the one who is summoning a bunch of demon dogs to "protect the prince"? Oh, but the second guy seems very nice? Of course he does.
- I don't even really like the love interest. He seems to exist of some very strange extremes, and he's too manic. I just didn't really grow to like him.
In conclusion
I'm sorry to say I can't recommend this to anyone. It could've definitely worked if some parts were shortened and Laynah had her IQ upped a few digits. Or if she'd at least not spent the entire book doubting herself and her decisions.
The good
+ Seth seemed like a nice kid.
+ I liked the tiny bit of magic school we got to see.
+ The writing style is quite alright.
The bad
- Lots of typos.
- Laynah was pretty dumb. A whole chunk of plot could've been deleted if she had just been a bit more quick on the uptake.
- I honestly figured out most - if not all - of the twists/mysteries way before Laynah did. The Jester's identity was so incredibly obvious, it hurt to see Laynah think about it.
- The "spicy" scenes were boring.
- Characters who constantly change their minds (Laynah & Jester), and who argue just for the sake of plot. So much was clearly orchestrated to create conflict. It was just silly.
- Laynah's mother is absolutely horrible and quite cliché and Laynah just let her steamroll all over her.
- Laynah is constantly jealous of Grace at the start and her internal monologues on why she couldn't be more like Grace nearly caused me to put the book down.
- Which one could be the evil guy? The person who you've overheard talking about secretly guarding the king, or the one who is summoning a bunch of demon dogs to "protect the prince"? Oh, but the second guy seems very nice? Of course he does.
- I don't even really like the love interest. He seems to exist of some very strange extremes, and he's too manic. I just didn't really grow to like him.
In conclusion
I'm sorry to say I can't recommend this to anyone. It could've definitely worked if some parts were shortened and Laynah had her IQ upped a few digits. Or if she'd at least not spent the entire book doubting herself and her decisions.
its_aislinn's review
4.0
Do you ever read a book and have to take a break from reading for a while? That’s exactly what happened to me after finishing this book.
Wizards Masquerade is a long, slow burn fantasy novel that features wizards, demons, and court politics. I often found myself envisioning Hogwarts from the 1800s, as much of this book takes place in a castle.
I thoroughly enjoyed the romance in this novel, though much of the book felt like it dragged on. This book is over 500 pages long and took me 8 days to read. It’s not a book you can read in one sitting, and I found myself only able to consume it a few chapters at a time, otherwise I was too overwhelmed and drained to keep reading. In short, the world building is heavy and the court politics is very prevalent.
If you’re someone who enjoys fantasy with an edge of mystery, and romance as a subplot, then this is the book for you.
Wizards Masquerade is a long, slow burn fantasy novel that features wizards, demons, and court politics. I often found myself envisioning Hogwarts from the 1800s, as much of this book takes place in a castle.
I thoroughly enjoyed the romance in this novel, though much of the book felt like it dragged on. This book is over 500 pages long and took me 8 days to read. It’s not a book you can read in one sitting, and I found myself only able to consume it a few chapters at a time, otherwise I was too overwhelmed and drained to keep reading. In short, the world building is heavy and the court politics is very prevalent.
If you’re someone who enjoys fantasy with an edge of mystery, and romance as a subplot, then this is the book for you.
erinlikesreading's review
4.0
Wow. This is what I call high fantasy! The world building, the intrigue, the concepts that hold the world together. It’s really interesting and exciting once you get all of the information straight.
It took me a while after all of the Christmas romances I was reading, to get into something to intricate. But the romance and tension between Laina (I don’t know the spelling because I listened to it) and the Jester is
It took me a while after all of the Christmas romances I was reading, to get into something to intricate. But the romance and tension between Laina (I don’t know the spelling because I listened to it) and the Jester is
rebel_fairy's review
3.0
I received an arc for an honest review. I found the plot interesting, and the world-building intriguing in such a way that I needed more of it. Maybe a guideline or a short description at the end of the book: what the huskral/brotherhood is and about -all we know is they are the royal guard. I enjoyed Leyna as a character, even though she got irritating at certain parts of the plot, but I felt her interactions with the ML were a tad bit forced and the chemistry was a bit lost. Quinn and Leyna had a lot more chemistry. The 'spice' scene was a bit meh; I felt it could have been better. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed the novel a lot and I cannot wait for the sequel.
cadifazio's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
_myliteraryobsession's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.0