Reviews

The Masks and The Dancer by Bea Paige

caitlinedwards's review against another edition

3.5

I’ve honestly never read a book with a more dislikable FMC than this 

For the first 90% Christy is insufferable - she is judgmental and whiny with this holier than thou attitude 

The only reason I’ll be reading the second book is because the last 10% hooked me just enough and I need to find out more about Jakub, Konrad and Leon 

On a separate note I must read too many dark romances (this was kinda tame in comparison) because being kidnapped by The Masks sounds like a dreammmmm lmao 

aurelia_parr_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

temptingpages's review against another edition

5.0

DARK

I honestly do not know how i finished this book. It was tense from the beginning. I have not read a book this dark. I am not into sadism but I was intrigued and captured by the female lead. She is strong and tries to hold herself together. The visions captured me because I wanted to know why she had visions of the masks. I couldn’t put this book down and I cannot get the story out of my head. It’s twisted but also intriguing so I definitely will have to continue reading the series.

temptingpages's review against another edition

5.0

What An Ending to An Emotional Rollercoaster

I honestly cannot remember the beginning of this book because the ending was soooo good! This is the darkest series I have read and I had trouble seeing the light for these 4 main characters. However, Christy is a strong female character and fought with all her power to break down the walls of the masks. There were so many twist and turns with unexpected events leading up to the last night. It was an incredible ending and now I am intrigued to read the spin off stories of the other characters! Bea Paige is an incredible author and I am glad to have stubbled across her books!

nachiquetto's review against another edition

5.0

(Arc Review)
I confess when I started reading book 1, I never thought I would emphatize with these men, but their story was so well developed that I did, all of them (but Leon is my boo hahah).
This book is so beautifully written, the plot is incredible and it was a great ending to this duet, love it.

peixotodust's review against another edition

2.0

Well then. I’m learning very much that dark romances are just not for me. This was another series chosen by the book club I’m in and I’m starting to question it.

peixotodust's review against another edition

2.0

The premises of this story had a lot of potential but oh my goodness how many times must we read about the same feelings they had two seconds ago?

I’m not the biggest fan of dark romance but I was expecting more? I guess I’ve read some more messed up stories (not saying what happened to the men wasn’t horrible, just that I’ve read worse).

This is probably where I end my journey in this world because it’s just not for me. Unless the book club I’m in chooses another book in their world.

tesaelin's review against another edition

3.0

Main Characters:
Christy -

Spoiler

Virgin who has spent most of her life hiding due to physical deformities such as a birthmark on her cheek and burn scars on her back. She dreams premonitions seeing both past and future. Strong-willed but lonely, she knows her future entails her being taken by the Masks but can't see much past that point.

Jakub -

Spoiler

Leader of the Masks and youngest of their group, Jakub is the official heir to his family line. He, along with the other 2 members, have been beaten and conditioned by his father to be ruthless and cruel. As children, the 3 of them decided the only way to become what his father demanded was to don masks and let their innocence go. He is obsessed with the ugly and different. Perfection having a repulsive effect on him due to his father's own obsession with it. He tends to go to the woods to regroup when he is losing control. Calls Christy "Nothing".

Konrad -

Spoiler

As close to the "jokester" trope that you can find in this dark book, Konrad hides his darker nature seeming to be the "nicest" of the 3. His kink is hurting and then healing. His favorite haunting spot is the dungeons where he enjoys breaking the numbers in. Calls Christy "Zero".

Leon -

Spoiler

Oldest of the 3, Leon is the most volatile. Leon craves pain and gets off on endurance. He is loyal to his brothers but tends to fly off the handle the most of the 3. He now acts as the enforcer when clients get out of line with the staff and numbers. Calls Christy "Nought".

Subpar Summary:

Spoiler

We start with Christy arranging her goodbyes after her premonitions tell her that she will be taken by the Masks. Her sister, Grim/Kate, is a high profile gangster along with her partner Beast/Robert. She's known her fate for awhile and decides not to tell either of them what's in store after Grim took it badly the first time. She prepares herself and hides her birthmark with makeup. When the Masks take her, they debase her and strip her of her name and dignity referring to her as "Zero". Starved of water and food, she wakes in their dungeon and receives kindness in the form of nourishment from the maid, Nala, and the butler, Renard. They warn her not to speak of their help or they will be killed. Nala is assigned to her personally as her handmaid and Christy convinces her to obtain more make-up for her face not wanted the Masks to see her disfigurement. During her captivity, she learns that they are in a castle that entertains clients with a performance show featuring talented people who were also kidnapped and stripped of their names to now be only numbers who perform and fuck their audience. What she doesn't understand is that all of the numbers are complicit in their captivity and choose to stay. The Masks tell her there are rules to follow and that they own her completely as revenge for Grim killing their father. Christy makes many attempts to fight them and is met with cruel and perverted punishments each time. The Masks formally introduce her to the rest of the numbers during a banquet dinner where she is drugged and they attempt to take her virginity by force. Just prior to the events, Thirteen (a member who acts as a healer and is not a performer nor does she interact with the clients), kisses her and passes her a tincture that nullifies the effect of the drug allowing her to regain her strength quickly. She attempts to fight back but, realizing she's locked in, she wipes off her make-up and shows off her scars hoping it will disgust and discourage them from their attack. Instead it does the opposite. To prevent the 3 of them from losing their minds, Jakub employs the use of a chastity belt and entrusts the key and Christy to Thirteen to keep her safe until an upcoming ball. Christy is also required to perform in the show but she is not to be whored out to their clients as they remind her that she belongs strictly to them. More abuse happens and Christy is trying to find a way to escape, mostly worried for her sister who she believes may come to harm when she attempts to rescue her from the castle. Christy tries to get through to the numbers but they continue to insist they are happier performing and being slaves to the Masks. She ends up having another premonition, this time seeing Grim and Beast negotiating a debt in order to gain access to the upcoming ball. Worried even more that they will be killed, she attempts to get help from Thirteen who refuses, loyal to the Masks, but gives her a letter that her mother had written to her. It reveals that her mother also had the gift of premonition, knowing how and when she would die. She urges Christy to not fight fate and help the Masks regain their humanity. She also reminds Christy of how she was saved from the fire that long ago killed her mother. In a rage, she remembers that the fire was started by Leon and that, although he saved her from the wreckage, he is also responsible for her mother's death. She runs off and attacks him in her anguish and he refuses to fight back. After kissing him and regret for hurting him so badly, she begins to see beneath the "mask" that he wears but he catches himself and becomes hostile to her again removing her from his sight. Not long after, on the eve before her first performance where she intends to take advantage of the chaos and attempt to escape, she is brought to a dinner with the 3 and she goads Leon to the point of breaking. In his pain and rage he attempts to kill her thwarted by the other 2 but just barely. The next night, after her performance, Jakub traps her and gives her a tonic that renders her paralyzed but lucid. He leaves her in the entertainment room to watch the after show where the other numbers are whored out and a client, The Baron, who is infatuated with her attempts to take advantage. He touches her and rips her dress fondling himself before he is stabbed and killed by the Masks in their rage for someone touching what is there. We leave off with them turning to Christy and informing her that she is too much of a distraction to them and their priorities and that they must kill her. Cue the cliffhanger!

Thoughts:
Well....

I dunno, man. I like dark romances and I will give absolute credit to the author in that she is upfront in the beginning with what to expect. I think, on a personal level, I just can't get past how badly Christy is treated. The guys are given moments (through her eyes with the premonitions) where you can see why they are the way they are but that's just not enough. The literal pain and abuse she endures at their hands (including multiple instances of molestations and attempt to rape) is abhorrent and I don't see it as forgivable. I honestly couldn't in good conscience rate this any higher because so much of what happens lacks any kind of redemption in my eyes. I like the complexities of the characters but I see no romance in this and more just opportunistic exploitation. That being said, I do intend to read the finale. Mostly because I just have to believe that the author is going to make good on her promise for something better. Fingers crossed.

Overall: 3.3/5

tesaelin's review against another edition

4.0

Main Characters:
Christy -

Spoiler

Virgin who has spent most of her life hiding due to physical deformities such as a birthmark on her cheek and burn scars on her back. She dreams premonitions seeing both past and future. Strong-willed but lonely, she knows her future entails her being taken by the Masks but can't see much past that point.

Jakub -

Spoiler

Leader of the Masks and youngest of their group, Jakub is the official heir to his family line. He, along with the other 2 members, have been beaten and conditioned by his father to be ruthless and cruel. As children, the 3 of them decided the only way to become what his father demanded was to don masks and let their innocence go. He is obsessed with the ugly and different. Perfection having a repulsive effect on him due to his father's own obsession with it. He tends to go to the woods to regroup when he is losing control. Calls Christy "Nothing".

Konrad -

Spoiler

As close to the "jokester" trope that you can find in this dark book, Konrad hides his darker nature seeming to be the "nicest" of the 3. His kink is hurting and then healing. His favorite haunting spot is the dungeons where he enjoys breaking the numbers in. Calls Christy "Zero".

Leon -

Spoiler

Oldest of the 3, Leon is the most volatile. Leon craves pain and gets off on endurance. He is loyal to his brothers but tends to fly off the handle the most of the 3. He now acts as the enforcer when clients get out of line with the staff and numbers. Calls Christy "Nought".

Subpar Summary:

Spoiler

We pick up where we left off with Christy drugged and paralyzed at the mercy of the Masks. Just prior to her being attacked by the Baron, Thirteen intercedes the Masks during their discussion and gives them a letter from Christy's mother urging them to spare her and stop the cycle that has cursed their families. Thinking it is a trap, the guys are convinced a rival family that Christy shares blood with orchestrated the entire thing. They also suspect that Thirteen is not loyal to them and instead a pawn for their enemy, the Deana-dhe. Jakub, angry and spiraling as he is unable to deal with the emotions Christy has elucidated from him, charged Leon to kill Christy once and for all. The events match up with them killing the Baron and confronting Christy. Leon is torn between his conflicted feelings and the conditioning he has grown up with. Deciding to go against his orders and brothers, he defies them to defend her but is too late. During his dilemma he goes too far and ends up killing her. Hysterical and broken, he begs Thirteen and Five to try to bring her back. They succeed and he fights off his brothers to secure her in his suite where he can protect her from them. When Christy finally awakens, she is no longer the same and is filled with anger and vengeance to make the Masks suffer as they have done to her. Leon keeps trying to protect her (both from his brothers and himself) but she has closed off her heart to him and everyone else in her fury. Meanwhile, both Konrad and Jakub are falling apart unable to come to grips with their feelings and the juxtaposition between their compassion and cruelty. Konrad isolates himself in his dungeon on a drinking binge. Jakub turns to One to distract him from feeling through the pain she provides during their sessions in addition to lashes out at the other Numbers. When Christy gets another vision, showing that she will eventually poison and kill them all, she starts to have doubts. Leon's newfound loyalty is wearing down her walls and she continues to have visions of the past where she sees all 3 boys growing up through their abuse. She still thinks it's hopeless to fight her visions and fate any longer but can't help her growing emotions. Jakub, still spiraling, decides that he will trigger Leon as a means to return him to his old self and he forces him to take Christy's virginity at gunpoint. Initially, Leon slips and shows his demons but Christy is able to reach him and it proves to Jakub that Leon's love is real. Unable to process this revelation, he takes off into the woods again to self-punish himself inflicting more pain to try and escape his feelings. Konrad, in a drunken stupor is restrained, drugged, and raped by Twelve in her twisted, broken infatuation with him and he resorts to a catatonic state to escape the abuse. Knowing her fate for her actions, she hangs herself shortly after and Leon and Christy release him. They take him to a below-ground lake and are able to snap him back. Christy seduces him in his vulnerable state, still torn between hurting or helping him, but ends up falling for him. He finally acknowledges his feelings for her and joins Leon in protecting her. He also realizes, even without Christy spelling it out, that their lives as bad men could never end well. He promises her that he will be loyal for however much time they have together. Not long after, Christy has another vision; first of Jakub as a teen in the cabin his father's worst abuse occurred in followed by a cry for help from his current self. Alarmed and fearful he doesn't have long left, they search for the cabin and she brings him back from the brink showing compassion and love where he's never known it. When he awakens, he realizes that kindness is not the weakness his father had beaten into him to believe. He finally embraces his half-sister and makes amends with Christy solidifying their relationship. As the Ball comes closer, Christy feels torn by her vision and Thirteen approaches her and reveals that she owes a debt to the Deana-dhe. She exposes herself admitting that she was instructed to kill the Masks but was able to find a loophole after learning about Christy's vision where she killed them. Using her healing artistry, she crafted a poison that will give the illusion of it's victim's death. The eve before the event, Christy and the guys enjoy a dinner where they spill their secrets with each other and Jakub reveals his knowledge of her and Thirteen's plan. He explains that he trusts Christy and convinces the guys to go through with it. The next night, nerves are high and Christy ends up passing out during her performance when she is hit with more visions. The guys take her from the stage to a secluded area where they are attacked by Grim, Beast, and the Deana-dhe just as Christy's vision foretold. She bargains with them to allow her the killing blow and carves her name into their chests with the poisoned knife. Just as Leon is passing out, he notices One behind Christy but can do nothing to warn her. During her twisted rage, thinking that Christy has really killed Jakub, she stabs Christy but the Deana-dhe kill her in return. Christy survives and, with time, convinces her sister and Beast to keep her secret that the Masks still live and allow them to make peace. Cue the HEA...

Thoughts:
This book absolutely redeems it's predecessor. A lot of the cruelty from the first book is healed through their shared traumas. Each character is extremely broken and fighting their instincts to be better (or worse). There's a lot of pain but what separates this from the first book is that we see the vulnerability and are able to understand more with the perspectives. The MCs and the side characters (for the most part) were clearly written with love and conflict. All 3 guys' pain was palpable but it was really nailed in that they (especially Jakub) had never known any form of kindness. Was really glad to see the redemption and love that they all needed.

Overall: 4.4/5

chapelcr3st's review against another edition

5.0

Ohhh