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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Masquerade of the Heart is the exciting conclusion to the Garden of the Cursed duology. I inhaled Garden of the Cursed last year, and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next with Marlow and Adrius. The ending of the first book was marvelous, and this one grabbed my attention from the start.
Marlow and Adrius both have compelling stories, and the growth they both show over the course of the duology is incredible. I felt for both of them as they dealt with the ramifications of what happened at the end of the last book. Now, tensions run high in the five ruling families, and, as more secrets and lies are revealed, the battle for power is intense. The story is action-packed and suspenseful as Marlow unravels all that she learns and tries to forge a better future for herself and those she cares about.
I loved that this story included Marlow and Adrius’s perspectives. I was so interested in Adrius in the first book and loved seeing all the different layers to his character. There are parts of his story that felt very emotional, and I was moved by some of the things he experienced.
Other characters like Swift, Gemma, and Silvan, as well as some new additions, add so much life to the story and highlight the found family aspect, which is always a fave of mine. And the love story – so wonderful! The pining and angst, the sexual tension, the banter and chemistry, the forbidden aspect to their romance – it’s all fantastic!
.I really enjoyed this read. It was fast-paced and suspenseful, and the plot was intriguing. It’s a nice balance of action, character development, and romance, and the fantasy elements, especially the magic, are unique and interesting. And the ending is wrapped up well. I would definitely recommend the duology to YA fantasy and romantasy readers.
Thanks to Turn the Page Tours and Henry Holt & Co for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Well thank goodness for the epilogue because I was about to throw things 😅
So while I do think this is a super enjoyable and entertaining duology, this second book didn’t hit me the same way the first book did. In the first book, the angst was delicious and heart achingly beautiful, but in this book I found it more frustrating. Marlow and Adrius somehow seemed more YA with their decision making and secret keeping than before.
The plot itself was good, but did seem to lack the same urgency as the first book, even though the stakes seem higher. I think a little trimming would have been an improvement too.
In general, this was entertaining and I’d definitely recommend the duology as a strong YA fantasy with great characters and a unique magic system.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own. I’d also highly recommend the audiobooks for great narration.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
LOVED THIS CONCLUSION.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
I enjoyed book one, and I loved this sequel even more. I loved the way the romantic tension was cranked up and the forbidden aspects had me in a chokehold. The audiobook was absolutely fantastic. There wasn’t two narrators for the dual POV but I feel like Jennifer Blom did a great job of distinguishing the different characters.
The card and curse system is really cool and I loved seeing deeper dynamics of the magic system and world. I loved the found family Marlow was a part of and the loyalty and love they showed each other. Adrius’s sister kind of drove me up a wall, but she was my only small issue. The other dramatic sub plots worked well for continuing the story at least.
I liked the way things wrapped up. This was the first series I’ve completed from Katy Rose Pool and now I’m officially a fan and look forward to future projects. MOTH was filled with a combination of upper young adult devices that I love and now it’s a completed duo so go read it!!
Overall audience notes:
- Upper YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: closed door
- Violence: moderate-high
LOVED THIS CONCLUSION.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
I enjoyed book one, and I loved this sequel even more. I loved the way the romantic tension was cranked up and the forbidden aspects had me in a chokehold. The audiobook was absolutely fantastic. There wasn’t two narrators for the dual POV but I feel like Jennifer Blom did a great job of distinguishing the different characters.
The card and curse system is really cool and I loved seeing deeper dynamics of the magic system and world. I loved the found family Marlow was a part of and the loyalty and love they showed each other. Adrius’s sister kind of drove me up a wall, but she was my only small issue. The other dramatic sub plots worked well for continuing the story at least.
I liked the way things wrapped up. This was the first series I’ve completed from Katy Rose Pool and now I’m officially a fan and look forward to future projects. MOTH was filled with a combination of upper young adult devices that I love and now it’s a completed duo so go read it!!
Overall audience notes:
- Upper YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: closed door
- Violence: moderate-high
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
Yes
Thank NetGalley and Macmillan for an e-arc of this book!
This was a satisfying conclusion to the duology that started with Garden of the Cursed, but I’m not sure I liked it as much as the first book.
The main reason I didn’t think it was as strong as the first book is that Marlow outshines all the other characters by miles. And of course, she is the main character and I LOVED her development and her character in general, but it just made the lack of growth and development in the side characters more obvious. I wanted more from Gemma, from Swift, from Silvan, they were all such interesting characters and we didn’t get enough development in their relationships with Marlow.
Adrius is another story altogether, I felt as though he did have development and his relationship with Marlow had depth, but it just felt a little bit rushed. Also, he wasn’t in like half of this book, hence why it might have felt rushed. That being said, I’m glad Marlow and Adrius FINALLY got on the same page.
Other than that, I loved this world and it’s complexity in the first book and I still really enjoyed it in this one, and watching Marlow navigate it and use it to her advantage was great.
I also liked the villain in this story because he really believed he was doing the right thing and made points that Marlow understood. It was interesting to watch because I think Vale truly did love Marlow.
If you read the first book, definitely pick this one up, it was a satisfying conclusion to the story.
This was a satisfying conclusion to the duology that started with Garden of the Cursed, but I’m not sure I liked it as much as the first book.
The main reason I didn’t think it was as strong as the first book is that Marlow outshines all the other characters by miles. And of course, she is the main character and I LOVED her development and her character in general, but it just made the lack of growth and development in the side characters more obvious. I wanted more from Gemma, from Swift, from Silvan, they were all such interesting characters and we didn’t get enough development in their relationships with Marlow.
Adrius is another story altogether, I felt as though he did have development and his relationship with Marlow had depth, but it just felt a little bit rushed. Also, he wasn’t in like half of this book, hence why it might have felt rushed. That being said, I’m glad Marlow and Adrius FINALLY got on the same page.
Other than that, I loved this world and it’s complexity in the first book and I still really enjoyed it in this one, and watching Marlow navigate it and use it to her advantage was great.
I also liked the villain in this story because he really believed he was doing the right thing and made points that Marlow understood. It was interesting to watch because I think Vale truly did love Marlow.
If you read the first book, definitely pick this one up, it was a satisfying conclusion to the story.
I had requested this book not knowing that it was a sequel, and after I was approved and read the synopsis, I immediately went and read the first book! I really enjoyed the first book, and I also adored this one. This book was a lot more developed in its found family than the first, and I loved the angst between the two main characters. Honestly, everything about this book was great. It’s just that the ending felt a little rushed, so I wish it was written a little better. But overall, that’s my only complaint. Four stars!
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🤍Thank you @netgalley for the earc of this anticipated sequel🤍
•Spoiler Free for books one and two•
After reading Garden of the Cursed, I was on pins and needles for the sequel. Like book one, I ended the story just loving everything about this world and these characters
The magic, the mystery, the romance, the friendship, all of it had me absolutely obsessed.
This duology feels like Enola Holmes meets a Ketterdam feeling world, with the addition of magical cards
A few things about book one!
• duology
• second chance
• fake dating
• curses
• a mystery
I highly recommend picking up Garden of the Cursed and Masquerade of the Heart (out 6/18)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆/5
Steam: make outs
TW: dm for details
•Spoiler Free for books one and two•
After reading Garden of the Cursed, I was on pins and needles for the sequel. Like book one, I ended the story just loving everything about this world and these characters
The magic, the mystery, the romance, the friendship, all of it had me absolutely obsessed.
This duology feels like Enola Holmes meets a Ketterdam feeling world, with the addition of magical cards
A few things about book one!
• duology
• second chance
• fake dating
• curses
• a mystery
I highly recommend picking up Garden of the Cursed and Masquerade of the Heart (out 6/18)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆/5
Steam: make outs
TW: dm for details
Oh, loved reading this book, loved this sequel, so much happened, and I loved watching it all play out and oh, that ending was so good!
I want my Swift spinoff immediately, thanks. I would love a prequel story about him, hint hint.
Masquerade of the Heart was one of my most anticipated books of 2024 because Garden of the Cursed was quite frankly amazing and I wanted to finish Marlow and Adrius's story ASAP. And while I had my reservations in the first half...wow does the second half make up for it.
I think this was one of those cases where my expectations got the best of me. The part of the plot that I was most excited to see more of in book two (Adrius's curse) was resolved fairly early on, so I was a bit disappointed. Followed immediately by a ton of rich people drama, I had my doubts about the direction the plot was going. But there were several scenes that genuinely surprised me towards the end, and the action definitely picked up as the story progressed. The final scene was pretty good and, once again, there were a bunch of plot twists to keep me on my toes.
Our cast of important characters really expanded in this one, but I'll keep this short. Vale reminded me a little too much of Lehrer from The Fever King for my liking, and I hated him. Gemma reminded me a lot of Biana from Keeper of the Lost Cities and she grew on me. The same goes for Silvan and his little snake. Adrius got on my nerves a few times in this one, but I still think he's a really good book boy and Marlow is still one of my favorite main characters of all time. Swift, though, if you couldn't tell, is my favorite by far, and no, I don't take criticism.
Although I think I like the first book just a tad better, Masquerade of the Heart was definitely worth the wait and I'm so glad that I got to finish this amazing duology early.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4.25/5
Masquerade of the Heart was one of my most anticipated books of 2024 because Garden of the Cursed was quite frankly amazing and I wanted to finish Marlow and Adrius's story ASAP. And while I had my reservations in the first half...wow does the second half make up for it.
I think this was one of those cases where my expectations got the best of me. The part of the plot that I was most excited to see more of in book two (Adrius's curse) was resolved fairly early on, so I was a bit disappointed. Followed immediately by a ton of rich people drama, I had my doubts about the direction the plot was going. But there were several scenes that genuinely surprised me towards the end, and the action definitely picked up as the story progressed. The final scene was pretty good and, once again, there were a bunch of plot twists to keep me on my toes.
Our cast of important characters really expanded in this one, but I'll keep this short. Vale reminded me a little too much of Lehrer from The Fever King for my liking, and I hated him. Gemma reminded me a lot of Biana from Keeper of the Lost Cities and she grew on me. The same goes for Silvan and his little snake. Adrius got on my nerves a few times in this one, but I still think he's a really good book boy and Marlow is still one of my favorite main characters of all time. Swift, though, if you couldn't tell, is my favorite by far, and no, I don't take criticism.
Although I think I like the first book just a tad better, Masquerade of the Heart was definitely worth the wait and I'm so glad that I got to finish this amazing duology early.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4.25/5