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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
This book has my heart and soul, and I mean that with everything. I loved everything about this book (except for the fact that it's the end!!)
Masquerade of the Heart picks up right where we left off after Garden of the Cursed and I was along for the RIDE. All of my favorite characters returned and just got better. Marlowe is such a good character, I love how she is written and how strong she is while also having weaknesses in her abilities. It makes her feel real and just makes me love her more. We also got Adrius' POV this time and I was in love with the peek behind the curtain with it. I'm so glad that he was given the space to shine as a main character because he is such a strong character to want to win. Just across the board, everyone developed so beautifully throughout this book and I wanted everyone to get exactly what they wanted. However, I have to say that my favorite character in this book was definitely Silvan. I loved seeing more of his personality and his loyalty to Adruis, and his relationship with Swift just grew and grew. Honestly, I can't believe that Marlowe took so long to notice them because they were NOT hiding it well. Or maybe I just have a good sense of Queer characters and relationships.
For a character that I barely knew in the first book, Vale was a great villain. I loved the moral discussions the conflict brought up about where you draw the line and who- if anybody- gets the right to decide. This book was definitely more adventure than mystery compared to the first one, but I didn't mind so much because I was already invested in the story. Katy Rose Pool has a way of hooking me into her stories to where I just cannot put them down.
I am so grateful to have been given this arc and top have been a fan of Katy Rose Pool since There Will Come a Darkness. I can't wait for the next one!
Masquerade of the Heart picks up right where we left off after Garden of the Cursed and I was along for the RIDE. All of my favorite characters returned and just got better. Marlowe is such a good character, I love how she is written and how strong she is while also having weaknesses in her abilities. It makes her feel real and just makes me love her more. We also got Adrius' POV this time and I was in love with the peek behind the curtain with it. I'm so glad that he was given the space to shine as a main character because he is such a strong character to want to win. Just across the board, everyone developed so beautifully throughout this book and I wanted everyone to get exactly what they wanted. However, I have to say that my favorite character in this book was definitely Silvan. I loved seeing more of his personality and his loyalty to Adruis, and his relationship with Swift just grew and grew. Honestly, I can't believe that Marlowe took so long to notice them because they were NOT hiding it well. Or maybe I just have a good sense of Queer characters and relationships.
For a character that I barely knew in the first book, Vale was a great villain. I loved the moral discussions the conflict brought up about where you draw the line and who- if anybody- gets the right to decide. This book was definitely more adventure than mystery compared to the first one, but I didn't mind so much because I was already invested in the story. Katy Rose Pool has a way of hooking me into her stories to where I just cannot put them down.
I am so grateful to have been given this arc and top have been a fan of Katy Rose Pool since There Will Come a Darkness. I can't wait for the next one!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a cute conclusion to Marlow’s story and how she saved the city of Caraza. I had forgotten most of the plot and characters from when I had read the first book in January, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of this fun YA fantasy romance.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After solving her last case, Marlow Briggs is still dealing with the aftermath. She needs to figure out a way to stop her father before he does something irrevocable to the city.
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3.5 stars
I'm not sure how I feel about this book? I enjoyed the first book a lot more than the 2nd tbh. I think it's partly because I had issues with the pacing, worldbuilding, and character work? I think those issues would've been solved if this series was a trilogy and not a duology.
I still had the same issues with the worldbuilding. I don't get how their government works, though I'm more certain it's a city-state and maybe a democracy? In this book it talks about how they have a mayor, apparently. I really wish Pool spent some time explaining how the government functions or the history of the city. Especially considering one of the main plots was how rampant corruption was in the city and how it suffocates the common person.
I get that the side plot with the solicitor and Fisher was used to show how corruption affected the common person. And I really liked that aspect of the story a lot! I just wish there were more scenes of Marlow in the Marshes dealing with regular people to show how corruption affects a regular person.
I loved Marlow a lot in the first book, and her characterization was consistent in that one, but in this one, not really? She still investigates, but she suddenly becomes more trusting/less secretive? Which didn't really make sense. I also don't get why she suddenly was for That was literally what she was fighting against in the previous book. Two of the people closest to her had lost freedom of choice, so it didn't make sense.
The side characters were a lot weaker in this book? I enjoyed the addition of Fisher, but nothing was really added with Amara, Swift, Silvan, and Gemma? They didn't change or grow tbh. I was still indifferent to Amara and Silvan? I wish the chapters in Adrius's POV characterized them because he's the one with the closest connection. Instead, it was just Adrius's POV of the romance. I'm just indifferent towards them because we didn't learn anything new about them.
I had issues with Vale. He's the main antagonist, but I don't really get his motivations? He wants to take control because of the corruption in society, but why does he want to do that? Why is he so family oriented? It just doesn't make sense, and he didn't feel fully fleshed out.
The Cassandra reveal made sense because I just wish she didn't come back because she didn't add anything?
I wish there was a moment where both Marlow and Adrius were able to talk to their mothers fully. It was implied that Adrius did so off-page, but Marlow's felt rushed.
i really think this book should've been longer to characterize the side characters.
The romance was okay? I felt a lot of the romantic things should've been cut to make the plot flow better.
The plot was good. It's just that the pacing was so bad, so things didn't hit the way they were supposed to. It felt too fast and too slow at the same time? It also didn't help that I didn't have a good grasp of the world.
It's a good book. It's just too tightly packed and shoved. It's been a trilogy, or the romance cut a lot more from this book.
--------------------------------------------------------------
3.5 stars
I'm not sure how I feel about this book? I enjoyed the first book a lot more than the 2nd tbh. I think it's partly because I had issues with the pacing, worldbuilding, and character work? I think those issues would've been solved if this series was a trilogy and not a duology.
I still had the same issues with the worldbuilding. I don't get how their government works, though I'm more certain it's a city-state and maybe a democracy? In this book it talks about how they have a mayor, apparently. I really wish Pool spent some time explaining how the government functions or the history of the city. Especially considering one of the main plots was how rampant corruption was in the city and how it suffocates the common person.
I get that the side plot with the solicitor and Fisher was used to show how corruption affected the common person. And I really liked that aspect of the story a lot! I just wish there were more scenes of Marlow in the Marshes dealing with regular people to show how corruption affects a regular person.
I loved Marlow a lot in the first book, and her characterization was consistent in that one, but in this one, not really? She still investigates, but she suddenly becomes more trusting/less secretive? Which didn't really make sense.
Spoiler
I don't get why she was honest with Gemma, especially considering Marlow knew that she wouldn't be loyal to her first.Spoiler
absolute control of people.The side characters were a lot weaker in this book? I enjoyed the addition of Fisher, but nothing was really added with Amara, Swift, Silvan, and Gemma? They didn't change or grow tbh. I was still indifferent to Amara and Silvan? I wish the chapters in Adrius's POV characterized them because he's the one with the closest connection. Instead, it was just Adrius's POV of the romance. I'm just indifferent towards them because we didn't learn anything new about them.
I had issues with Vale. He's the main antagonist, but I don't really get his motivations? He wants to take control because of the corruption in society, but why does he want to do that? Why is he so family oriented? It just doesn't make sense, and he didn't feel fully fleshed out.
The Cassandra reveal made sense because
Spoiler
Amara said that she wasn't dead which means she knew where she was so it's not too far fetched for Adrius to find her.I wish there was a moment where both Marlow and Adrius were able to talk to their mothers fully. It was implied that Adrius did so off-page, but Marlow's felt rushed.
i really think this book should've been longer to characterize the side characters.
The romance was okay? I felt a lot of the romantic things should've been cut to make the plot flow better.
Spoiler
I thought it was ridiculous that they never spoke about his mother.The plot was good. It's just that the pacing was so bad, so things didn't hit the way they were supposed to. It felt too fast and too slow at the same time? It also didn't help that I didn't have a good grasp of the world.
It's a good book. It's just too tightly packed and shoved. It's been a trilogy, or the romance cut a lot more from this book.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated