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kim_brockway_gatehouse's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! You can read my full review on my WordPress blog, Flora's Musings...
...So, what did I like about it?
Alana Delacroix is a new-to-me author who managed to create a new unique world that captured my imagination. I found her writing style very easy to read and enjoyed the way she grew her plot; I loved the idea of a PR company for supernaturals and I found the Masquerada and their place in the supernatural world an interesting idea and a refreshing change from the usual vampires/fae/shifters.
I loved that Ms Delacroix wrote her characters with the complexities that we’d see in the people around us; our main characters, Caro and Eric, had a good balance of strengths and insecurities to make them feel real. I also loved the fact that the secondary characters were developed and had strong, memorable personalities; they weren’t just filling the page.
I can happily confirm that there is no cliffhanger at the end of this book *phew* and it seems there are plenty of stories within this new paranormal world; the series continues with, Masked Desire, the first chapter of which is at the end of this book.
Masked Possession managed to surprise me a couple of times, had me reaching for the tissues *sniff*, recoiling in horror, giggling out loud and I can’t tell you how many times the temperature seemed to mount while reading certain scenes too! *blush* Throughout this book, I found myself desperate to find out what would happen next, staying up late to finish just one more chapter, in other words I was gripped!
...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
It’s only a small niggle but I have to admit that some of the character traits exhibited in this book had me growling at the page at times. I’m not a big fan of the prolonged “I hate you Lassie. Leave me alone.” sorta thing; however I understand that sometimes these phases are what the story needs for character growth and development.
...So, basically what I’m saying is...
I loved this book! Great world building, multi dimensional strong characters and a gripping background story! It’s a tale of prejudices, secret histories & hidden enemies, fighting your inner demons as well as battling real life foe but running through all of that – it’s a passionate rollercoaster of a love story. I have already added book 2, Masked Desire, to my Amazon wish list.
Due to the sexual content, I’d recommend this book to adults only – it’s definitely steamy – who are fans of relationship and romance stories that feature some darker themes.
I want you to know that I was lucky enough to be given a digital version of this book for free from the publisher (Kensington Books) after making a request via Netgally.com in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the advance copy.
...So, what did I like about it?
Alana Delacroix is a new-to-me author who managed to create a new unique world that captured my imagination. I found her writing style very easy to read and enjoyed the way she grew her plot; I loved the idea of a PR company for supernaturals and I found the Masquerada and their place in the supernatural world an interesting idea and a refreshing change from the usual vampires/fae/shifters.
I loved that Ms Delacroix wrote her characters with the complexities that we’d see in the people around us; our main characters, Caro and Eric, had a good balance of strengths and insecurities to make them feel real. I also loved the fact that the secondary characters were developed and had strong, memorable personalities; they weren’t just filling the page.
I can happily confirm that there is no cliffhanger at the end of this book *phew* and it seems there are plenty of stories within this new paranormal world; the series continues with, Masked Desire, the first chapter of which is at the end of this book.
Masked Possession managed to surprise me a couple of times, had me reaching for the tissues *sniff*, recoiling in horror, giggling out loud and I can’t tell you how many times the temperature seemed to mount while reading certain scenes too! *blush* Throughout this book, I found myself desperate to find out what would happen next, staying up late to finish just one more chapter, in other words I was gripped!
...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
It’s only a small niggle but I have to admit that some of the character traits exhibited in this book had me growling at the page at times. I’m not a big fan of the prolonged “I hate you Lassie. Leave me alone.” sorta thing; however I understand that sometimes these phases are what the story needs for character growth and development.
...So, basically what I’m saying is...
I loved this book! Great world building, multi dimensional strong characters and a gripping background story! It’s a tale of prejudices, secret histories & hidden enemies, fighting your inner demons as well as battling real life foe but running through all of that – it’s a passionate rollercoaster of a love story. I have already added book 2, Masked Desire, to my Amazon wish list.
Due to the sexual content, I’d recommend this book to adults only – it’s definitely steamy – who are fans of relationship and romance stories that feature some darker themes.
I want you to know that I was lucky enough to be given a digital version of this book for free from the publisher (Kensington Books) after making a request via Netgally.com in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the advance copy.
tanya_tate's review against another edition
4.0
Received from Netgalley in exchange of a honest review.
4 stars!! You can also read it on my blog!
This was a pretty solid debut book but in the last couple chapters ,it become predictable city. It started off so strongly but frizzled out towards at the end.
The world building is this book is probably the best I have seen in the long time. Ms. Delcroix did an amazing job explaining how the world that she created in this book works. It's that type of world building that before you get the fully question on what this certain thing is that is dropped into the narrative it's already answered in the next sentence. I know the idea of having the supernatural world hiding in the real world has been used to death but this Urban fantasy breathed new life in it. A plus for it being mostly set in Canada and not in the states!! YAY! I love the whole premise of the Masquerada because it takes shape shifting to a whole new level.
Caro Yeats was everything that I love in badass heroines cause she was smart, sassy, brave, resourceful , good at both jobs being a past reporter and PR person and called her love interest out on his possessive bullshit. Her disdain and distrust for the Masquerada even tho she is one was very understandable thanks to her mom. All of her actions regardless if they were stupid or not were very understandable due to the situations she was put in. I can really appreciate how her character struggled with PTSD symptoms due to a traumatic event that happen to her years back. I have to also appreciate the fact that she's a PoC Whoop!
Eric Kelton was a pretty good hero/love interest that I was interested in but I kind got tired of him being possessive with Caro towards the end. I appreciated the fact that he cared about her but calling her " his woman" fifty million times towards the end gets old. I also felt like him getting out the situation he was in with his Masquerada skills getting messed up almost felt like a deus ex machina moment. Also for him to be the king of the supernatural world of North America, he really didn't do that much to me. ( I think he's a PoC cause they described him having tan skin but I"m not for sure)
Side characters- I loved Estelle ( Caro's friend) and Stephan ( Eric's right hand/best friend) cause they were honestly the best two side characters in the book. They were honestly the only two that had the most personally and background besides the main two. I have a mighty need to have a prequel dealing with Stephan cause finding out that he was a slave taken from his home in West Africa before he met Eric sent my interest level of him through the freaking roof. ( Yes this book has some diversity can you tell lol)
The smut, chemistry, and sexual tension between Caro and Eric was pretty damn good even tho I wish they had more romantic tension between them. That was seriously lacking and it borderline felt like instsalove since the whole book took between in a matter of 2-3 weeks. It honestly need more of them getting know each other and not trying to get into each other pants. In all honestly tho, the book did get better once they did jump into each other pants and got they tension out the way to focus on more pressing issues.
I really didn't like the villain that much and he felt like a villain cut out that try to be menacing but fell flat. I supposed to feel like he was a real threat to Eric but I never felt that way. He was more of a threat to Caro than to Eric since he was the reason why she had PTSD.
Frieda A femme fatale cut out that her actions and were loyalties actually were was so damn obvious before Caro and Eric figured it out. She almost had substance with her being Knowable about Eric condition but that went out the window with her constantly trying to get in his pants by using different Masquerada's.
Some of the plot twists I kind of figured out like half way through the book so they didn't surprised me.
There were two other side characters but their asses annoyed me to the fullest.
It was way more to be desired at the end since it felt very anticlimactic and predictable .
Caro being related to a high-ranking Masquerada felt predictable. .
All in All It was solid book for a debut author that I will read again but it started to feel predictable and rushed towards the end.
Do I recommend it?
Yes If you want something fresh in the Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy genre.
4 stars!! You can also read it on my blog!
This was a pretty solid debut book but in the last couple chapters ,it become predictable city. It started off so strongly but frizzled out towards at the end.
The world building is this book is probably the best I have seen in the long time. Ms. Delcroix did an amazing job explaining how the world that she created in this book works. It's that type of world building that before you get the fully question on what this certain thing is that is dropped into the narrative it's already answered in the next sentence. I know the idea of having the supernatural world hiding in the real world has been used to death but this Urban fantasy breathed new life in it. A plus for it being mostly set in Canada and not in the states!! YAY! I love the whole premise of the Masquerada because it takes shape shifting to a whole new level.
Caro Yeats was everything that I love in badass heroines cause she was smart, sassy, brave, resourceful , good at both jobs being a past reporter and PR person and called her love interest out on his possessive bullshit. Her disdain and distrust for the Masquerada even tho she is one was very understandable thanks to her mom. All of her actions regardless if they were stupid or not were very understandable due to the situations she was put in. I can really appreciate how her character struggled with PTSD symptoms due to a traumatic event that happen to her years back. I have to also appreciate the fact that she's a PoC Whoop!
Eric Kelton was a pretty good hero/love interest that I was interested in but I kind got tired of him being possessive with Caro towards the end. I appreciated the fact that he cared about her but calling her " his woman" fifty million times towards the end gets old. I also felt like him getting out the situation he was in with his Masquerada skills getting messed up almost felt like a deus ex machina moment. Also for him to be the king of the supernatural world of North America, he really didn't do that much to me. ( I think he's a PoC cause they described him having tan skin but I"m not for sure)
Side characters- I loved Estelle ( Caro's friend) and Stephan ( Eric's right hand/best friend) cause they were honestly the best two side characters in the book. They were honestly the only two that had the most personally and background besides the main two. I have a mighty need to have a prequel dealing with Stephan cause finding out that he was a slave taken from his home in West Africa before he met Eric sent my interest level of him through the freaking roof. ( Yes this book has some diversity can you tell lol)
The smut, chemistry, and sexual tension between Caro and Eric was pretty damn good even tho I wish they had more romantic tension between them. That was seriously lacking and it borderline felt like instsalove since the whole book took between in a matter of 2-3 weeks. It honestly need more of them getting know each other and not trying to get into each other pants. In all honestly tho, the book did get better once they did jump into each other pants and got they tension out the way to focus on more pressing issues.
I really didn't like the villain that much and he felt like a villain cut out that try to be menacing but fell flat. I supposed to feel like he was a real threat to Eric but I never felt that way. He was more of a threat to Caro than to Eric since he was the reason why she had PTSD.
Frieda A femme fatale cut out that her actions and were loyalties actually were was so damn obvious before Caro and Eric figured it out. She almost had substance with her being Knowable about Eric condition but that went out the window with her constantly trying to get in his pants by using different Masquerada's.
Some of the plot twists I kind of figured out like half way through the book so they didn't surprised me.
There were two other side characters but their asses annoyed me to the fullest.
It was way more to be desired at the end since it felt very anticlimactic and predictable .
Caro being related to a high-ranking Masquerada felt predictable. .
All in All It was solid book for a debut author that I will read again but it started to feel predictable and rushed towards the end.
Do I recommend it?
Yes If you want something fresh in the Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy genre.
tawnyad2004's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this. In honestly not big into paranormal (especially werewolves and vampires) but this one was really well done. The vamps didnt bother me at all, actually liked Estelle. The concept of this book was just very creative and different. Something I havent read before. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
audiobookmel's review
4.0
Review originally posted at RabidReads.ca.
I first saw this book at Caffeinated Book Reviews. I really liked the sound of it. It was different from what I’ve read in the past. It was a completely new type of supernatural creature (at least to me), which are hard to come by anymore. It was still available for request on NetGalley, so I requested it and was excited that I was approved.
This story is about Masquerada. They are a type of supernatural species that can take on not just different faces, but entire personas. So they in essence become different people. Depending on how powerful a Masquerada is, will determine how many different “people” they can be in their lives. Some can only be a single person (not counting their actual self). Others can have several. Some can be either or both sexes, others can only be the original sex of their original self.
Eric, the hero of this story, is the leader of Masquerada. He has several personas. And this causes him some problems. He has stretched himself to the limit and now he is endanger of converging. Convergence is something that every Masquerada is terrified of. A Masquerada going through convergence can end up with too many sets of arms or heads or whatever as their bodies have difficulties with all their personas.
Caro is the heroine of the story. She works for a PR firm for supernaturals. She is half Masquerada, but doesn’t share that information but with a select few. She’s never really be a part of that community. She actually has a few problems with the different personas after being raised by a mother who “changed masques the same way other women changed clothes”. She is called in to help solve Eric’s problem.
I found this book to very refreshing. Yes, there are still vampires, shifters and fey, like you see in most supernatural stories, but the addition of the Masquerada was really interesting. I liked the characters in this story. I also liked that there was more than just Eric and his convergence issue. There is also a villain who was very well written. I loved the suspense in this story too.
I’m really happy that Kimberly put this book on my radar. It is a story that I think any UF or PNR fan would enjoy. I’m going to be keeping my eye out for the second book in this series. I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.
**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.
I first saw this book at Caffeinated Book Reviews. I really liked the sound of it. It was different from what I’ve read in the past. It was a completely new type of supernatural creature (at least to me), which are hard to come by anymore. It was still available for request on NetGalley, so I requested it and was excited that I was approved.
This story is about Masquerada. They are a type of supernatural species that can take on not just different faces, but entire personas. So they in essence become different people. Depending on how powerful a Masquerada is, will determine how many different “people” they can be in their lives. Some can only be a single person (not counting their actual self). Others can have several. Some can be either or both sexes, others can only be the original sex of their original self.
Eric, the hero of this story, is the leader of Masquerada. He has several personas. And this causes him some problems. He has stretched himself to the limit and now he is endanger of converging. Convergence is something that every Masquerada is terrified of. A Masquerada going through convergence can end up with too many sets of arms or heads or whatever as their bodies have difficulties with all their personas.
Caro is the heroine of the story. She works for a PR firm for supernaturals. She is half Masquerada, but doesn’t share that information but with a select few. She’s never really be a part of that community. She actually has a few problems with the different personas after being raised by a mother who “changed masques the same way other women changed clothes”. She is called in to help solve Eric’s problem.
I found this book to very refreshing. Yes, there are still vampires, shifters and fey, like you see in most supernatural stories, but the addition of the Masquerada was really interesting. I liked the characters in this story. I also liked that there was more than just Eric and his convergence issue. There is also a villain who was very well written. I loved the suspense in this story too.
I’m really happy that Kimberly put this book on my radar. It is a story that I think any UF or PNR fan would enjoy. I’m going to be keeping my eye out for the second book in this series. I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.
**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.
tanya_tate's review against another edition
4.0
Received from Netgalley in exchange of a honest review.
4 stars!! You can also read it on my blog!
This was a pretty solid debut book but in the last couple chapters ,it become predictable city. It started off so strongly but frizzled out towards at the end.
The world building is this book is probably the best I have seen in the long time. Ms. Delcroix did an amazing job explaining how the world that she created in this book works. It's that type of world building that before you get the fully question on what this certain thing is that is dropped into the narrative it's already answered in the next sentence. I know the idea of having the supernatural world hiding in the real world has been used to death but this Urban fantasy breathed new life in it. A plus for it being mostly set in Canada and not in the states!! YAY! I love the whole premise of the Masquerada because it takes shape shifting to a whole new level.
Caro Yeats was everything that I love in badass heroines cause she was smart, sassy, brave, resourceful , good at both jobs being a past reporter and PR person and called her love interest out on his possessive bullshit. Her disdain and distrust for the Masquerada even tho she is one was very understandable thanks to her mom. All of her actions regardless if they were stupid or not were very understandable due to the situations she was put in. I can really appreciate how her character struggled with PTSD symptoms due to a traumatic event that happen to her years back. I have to also appreciate the fact that she's a PoC Whoop!
Eric Kelton was a pretty good hero/love interest that I was interested in but I kind got tired of him being possessive with Caro towards the end. I appreciated the fact that he cared about her but calling her " his woman" fifty million times towards the end gets old. I also felt like him getting out the situation he was in with his Masquerada skills getting messed up almost felt like a deus ex machina moment. Also for him to be the king of the supernatural world of North America, he really didn't do that much to me. ( I think he's a PoC cause they described him having tan skin but I"m not for sure)
Side characters- I loved Estelle ( Caro's friend) and Stephan ( Eric's right hand/best friend) cause they were honestly the best two side characters in the book. They were honestly the only two that had the most personally and background besides the main two. I have a mighty need to have a prequel dealing with Stephan cause finding out that he was a slave taken from his home in West Africa before he met Eric sent my interest level of him through the freaking roof. ( Yes this book has some diversity can you tell lol)
The smut, chemistry, and sexual tension between Caro and Eric was pretty damn good even tho I wish they had more romantic tension between them. That was seriously lacking and it borderline felt like instsalove since the whole book took between in a matter of 2-3 weeks. It honestly need more of them getting know each other and not trying to get into each other pants. In all honestly tho, the book did get better once they did jump into each other pants and got they tension out the way to focus on more pressing issues.
I really didn't like the villain that much and he felt like a villain cut out that try to be menacing but fell flat. I supposed to feel like he was a real threat to Eric but I never felt that way. He was more of a threat to Caro than to Eric since he was the reason why she had PTSD.
Frieda A femme fatale cut out that her actions and were loyalties actually were was so damn obvious before Caro and Eric figured it out. She almost had substance with her being Knowable about Eric condition but that went out the window with her constantly trying to get in his pants by using different Masquerada's.
Some of the plot twists I kind of figured out like half way through the book so they didn't surprised me.
There were two other side characters but their asses annoyed me to the fullest.
It was way more to be desired at the end since it felt very anticlimactic and predictable .
Caro being related to a high-ranking Masquerada felt predictable. .
All in All It was solid book for a debut author that I will read again but it started to feel predictable and rushed towards the end.
Do I recommend it?
Yes If you want something fresh in the Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy genre.
4 stars!! You can also read it on my blog!
This was a pretty solid debut book but in the last couple chapters ,it become predictable city. It started off so strongly but frizzled out towards at the end.
The world building is this book is probably the best I have seen in the long time. Ms. Delcroix did an amazing job explaining how the world that she created in this book works. It's that type of world building that before you get the fully question on what this certain thing is that is dropped into the narrative it's already answered in the next sentence. I know the idea of having the supernatural world hiding in the real world has been used to death but this Urban fantasy breathed new life in it. A plus for it being mostly set in Canada and not in the states!! YAY! I love the whole premise of the Masquerada because it takes shape shifting to a whole new level.
Caro Yeats was everything that I love in badass heroines cause she was smart, sassy, brave, resourceful , good at both jobs being a past reporter and PR person and called her love interest out on his possessive bullshit. Her disdain and distrust for the Masquerada even tho she is one was very understandable thanks to her mom. All of her actions regardless if they were stupid or not were very understandable due to the situations she was put in. I can really appreciate how her character struggled with PTSD symptoms due to a traumatic event that happen to her years back. I have to also appreciate the fact that she's a PoC Whoop!
Eric Kelton was a pretty good hero/love interest that I was interested in but I kind got tired of him being possessive with Caro towards the end. I appreciated the fact that he cared about her but calling her " his woman" fifty million times towards the end gets old. I also felt like him getting out the situation he was in with his Masquerada skills getting messed up almost felt like a deus ex machina moment. Also for him to be the king of the supernatural world of North America, he really didn't do that much to me. ( I think he's a PoC cause they described him having tan skin but I"m not for sure)
Side characters- I loved Estelle ( Caro's friend) and Stephan ( Eric's right hand/best friend) cause they were honestly the best two side characters in the book. They were honestly the only two that had the most personally and background besides the main two. I have a mighty need to have a prequel dealing with Stephan cause finding out that he was a slave taken from his home in West Africa before he met Eric sent my interest level of him through the freaking roof. ( Yes this book has some diversity can you tell lol)
The smut, chemistry, and sexual tension between Caro and Eric was pretty damn good even tho I wish they had more romantic tension between them. That was seriously lacking and it borderline felt like instsalove since the whole book took between in a matter of 2-3 weeks. It honestly need more of them getting know each other and not trying to get into each other pants. In all honestly tho, the book did get better once they did jump into each other pants and got they tension out the way to focus on more pressing issues.
I really didn't like the villain that much and he felt like a villain cut out that try to be menacing but fell flat. I supposed to feel like he was a real threat to Eric but I never felt that way. He was more of a threat to Caro than to Eric since he was the reason why she had PTSD.
Frieda A femme fatale cut out that her actions and were loyalties actually were was so damn obvious before Caro and Eric figured it out. She almost had substance with her being Knowable about Eric condition but that went out the window with her constantly trying to get in his pants by using different Masquerada's.
Some of the plot twists I kind of figured out like half way through the book so they didn't surprised me.
There were two other side characters but their asses annoyed me to the fullest.
It was way more to be desired at the end since it felt very anticlimactic and predictable .
Caro being related to a high-ranking Masquerada felt predictable. .
All in All It was solid book for a debut author that I will read again but it started to feel predictable and rushed towards the end.
Do I recommend it?
Yes If you want something fresh in the Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy genre.
bookgyrl's review
4.0
Attracted by the cover and the blurb I requested and received an ARC via NetGalley.
A year ago, Caro Yeats was a reporter in Washington who helped put a dangerous man in prison. The result was a vicious attack that almost killed her and made her leave town and her identity behind. Working for a PR agency for Arcane beings (we are talking vamps, fey, merpeople, weres etc.) she is asked to solve a big problem for powerful Masquerada Eric Kelton. Masquerada can shift (masque) into other persona live for about a 1000 years and are rather self centered. Caro would know as her mother was a Masquerada and she is the reason Caro dislikes Masquerada.
Eric is the heirarch of North America, like a King, but he is experiencing trouble maintaining his masques and fears he might not be able to shift again. He is immediately attracted to Caro. The story revolves about an enemy of Eric, a rival to the throne. Eric is challenged to a fight to the death with the throne as the prize. Eric's security detail is convinced Caro is a spy for said enemy, but Eric is too smitten to believe that. Eric and Caro are both strong people, but I sometimes got a bit annoyed by Caro's stubborn streak when it endangered her.
The writing is flowing and engaging. I was pulled into the story. It did lag a bit in the middle and I wondered about the time frame. The challenge was supposed to take place within a week and that week seemed endlessly long.... many many things happened.
Plus there were several plotpoints that just did not make sense!
For one: If Caro is a halfblood, how would the bad guy know she could change into such a big guy? Those were supposed to be upper level powers!
Eric is supposed to be super powerful but is almost defeated by a newbie????!!!
It seemed very convenient Caro moved to the town the killer went to for Eric... a bit too convenient you might say.
In the end I can say I enjoyed the story and will look into the next in the series.
A year ago, Caro Yeats was a reporter in Washington who helped put a dangerous man in prison. The result was a vicious attack that almost killed her and made her leave town and her identity behind. Working for a PR agency for Arcane beings (we are talking vamps, fey, merpeople, weres etc.) she is asked to solve a big problem for powerful Masquerada Eric Kelton. Masquerada can shift (masque) into other persona live for about a 1000 years and are rather self centered. Caro would know as her mother was a Masquerada and she is the reason Caro dislikes Masquerada.
Eric is the heirarch of North America, like a King, but he is experiencing trouble maintaining his masques and fears he might not be able to shift again. He is immediately attracted to Caro. The story revolves about an enemy of Eric, a rival to the throne. Eric is challenged to a fight to the death with the throne as the prize. Eric's security detail is convinced Caro is a spy for said enemy, but Eric is too smitten to believe that. Eric and Caro are both strong people, but I sometimes got a bit annoyed by Caro's stubborn streak when it endangered her.
The writing is flowing and engaging. I was pulled into the story. It did lag a bit in the middle and I wondered about the time frame. The challenge was supposed to take place within a week and that week seemed endlessly long.... many many things happened.
Plus there were several plotpoints that just did not make sense!
In the end I can say I enjoyed the story and will look into the next in the series.
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