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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
It’s hard to separate my opinion of this book from how much I loved the first book (Garden of the cursed). But I was really disappointed in this sequel. I did still read it in one sitting bc I was heavily INVESTEDDDD in these characters.
What I liked in this book: Vale. I thought he was an interesting and nuanced character.
Top 3 things I didn’t like:
There were storylines dangling all over the place.
1)The breaking of the compulsion curse was glossed over like it was an afterthought when it was the entire plot line of the first book!!! Like what?? You cannot “btw true loves kiss” me and move on like that!!!
2). Cassandra just casually popping up again (“thought I’d find your mom since you found mine”) was so jarring! And no time was spent on it!
3)The sharp decrease in chemistry and tension between Marlow and Adrius was so disappointing, especially when it had been shown so masterfully in the first book.
It just felt vastly inferior to the sublime first book.
What I liked in this book: Vale. I thought he was an interesting and nuanced character.
Top 3 things I didn’t like:
There were storylines dangling all over the place.
1)The breaking of the compulsion curse was glossed over like it was an afterthought when it was the entire plot line of the first book!!! Like what?? You cannot “btw true loves kiss” me and move on like that!!!
2). Cassandra just casually popping up again (“thought I’d find your mom since you found mine”) was so jarring! And no time was spent on it!
3)The sharp decrease in chemistry and tension between Marlow and Adrius was so disappointing, especially when it had been shown so masterfully in the first book.
It just felt vastly inferior to the sublime first book.
MASQUERADE is overall a satisfying conclusion to the duology; while nothing was too surprising, the various plot threads and relationships were wrapped up nicely. I don't think it's as strong as GARDEN; we're not really learning anything new about the setting and the world building isn't expanded as much as I would have liked, but the character relationships are explored a bit more. I did miss the fake dating and mutual yearning of GARDEN though, which is perhaps my favorite aspect of the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gripping conclusion to Garden of the Cursed. I loved diving back into this world of scheming powerful families, political intrigue, and heartbreaking sacrifices. Marlow, our FMC, continues to get her self into these situations (very bad ones), as she tries to take down the individuals framing her ex for murder. The more she digs into their plot, the deeper the mystery goes. She is often forced to make hard choices that will have the reader, crying, "Marlow, this is a bad idea!" Marlow is a take no prisoners type of FMC and it is a fun journey to go on. I also loved the return of Swift, Sylvan, and Adrius. Marlow has very different relationships with each, but I loved watching them change and grow over time. Katy Rose Pool does a nice job of wrapping up all the lose ends that left us on that precipice at the end of book one.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
5/5 stars
This sequel did not disappoint! I greatly enjoyed jumping back into Marlow’s life and seeing what trouble she would find. And she sure did find the trouble!
It was so fun to jump back into spells and the five family drama. Especially with how book 1 ended, I couldn’t wait to see how Marlow snuck her way out of trouble. The one thing I really enjoyed about this book is that Marlow didn’t sacrifice herself to make other people happy. She chose the hard choices even if it was going to be a tough path.
Adrius surprised me quite a bit in this book! I enjoyed the stolen moments with Marlow and how they worked together. I also enjoyed the dynamic between him and his sister. It truly felt like true siblings with the back and forth.
Silvan and Swift were a fun addition to read about! I had loved Swift from book 1 and it was nice to see him shine in book 2.
Overall this book did not disappoint! Marlow continued to tangle everything up and the team worked together to fix it. I will miss reading about all the characters as they were so diverse and fun!
5/5 stars
This sequel did not disappoint! I greatly enjoyed jumping back into Marlow’s life and seeing what trouble she would find. And she sure did find the trouble!
It was so fun to jump back into spells and the five family drama. Especially with how book 1 ended, I couldn’t wait to see how Marlow snuck her way out of trouble. The one thing I really enjoyed about this book is that Marlow didn’t sacrifice herself to make other people happy. She chose the hard choices even if it was going to be a tough path.
Adrius surprised me quite a bit in this book! I enjoyed the stolen moments with Marlow and how they worked together. I also enjoyed the dynamic between him and his sister. It truly felt like true siblings with the back and forth.
Silvan and Swift were a fun addition to read about! I had loved Swift from book 1 and it was nice to see him shine in book 2.
Overall this book did not disappoint! Marlow continued to tangle everything up and the team worked together to fix it. I will miss reading about all the characters as they were so diverse and fun!
i’m not even sure why i finished this. it was bad.
content warnings: murder, somewhat gory scenes, implied sex, sensuality, profanity
content warnings: murder, somewhat gory scenes, implied sex, sensuality, profanity
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This arc was provided to me by Netgalley!
This review will contain spoilers in place of my notes: I; 'm also going to assume that you're reading this because you've already read the first book and enjoyed it so we're going to go all in and hope for the best.
I am nothing if not a person who loves a good sequel to a first book that I loved, so i jumped at the chance to read this as quickly as i could and i for the most part was not disappointed. Masquerade of the Heart jumps right into where Garden of the Cursed left off so as long as you remember what happens in that book's ending you can jump right into this and everything will make sense. The same cast of characters I loved in the first book show up and have a good plot relevance with a few exceptions: those being Amara, Gemma, and Darian who should have gotten a lot more screen time but did not.
I feel as if this should have been a trilogy though, with all that was happening and what we could have explored more. For instance, i think we could have a whole book just about Vale coming to power and them trying to destroy him while he has full control of the book and them having to deal with not being fast enough to stop him. Cassandra could have had a more prominent role in stopping him and showing Marlow that she did love her, and we could have still gotten the added drama of Adrius being engaged to Iris because tha just fell through almost as soon as it happened and we knew next to nothing about Iris and why he and Amara thought she would be a good wife.
Personally, I’m upset that we didn’t get a confrontation with Amara and Gemma about their relationship that could have been a pivotal moment for us to gain an emotional attachment to Amara and care about her as a character. We have a vested interest in Gemma, as Marlow’s only other friend and Adrius’ close friend so it would have been nice to see her get proper closure to her relationship.
All in all, a lot happened and yet nothing happened at the same time which is how I typically feel when I believe a duology should have been a trilogy, but now we get to my favorite part which is showing everyone my reading notes:
I did not expect this to take place 3 days after the first book's ending, but Marlow is on a time crunch so I guess this makes a lot of sense.
Is Vale her father or is he just playing the long game? Is this just his con? Is Cassandra dead?
I hope we get more of Swift in this book, he was neat.
Vale: Don’t worry, I told the family about you. Silvain, upon seeing Marlow: What is SHE doing here?!
Vale, the messy man that you are.
Does Vale want to control Evergarden or destroy it?
Brother-sister bonding in which they go on an adventure to track down her best friend who just so happens to be the object of the brother’s affection let’s GO
Is Aidrus looking for a wife because he wants to get over Marlow or because Amara told him to and he’s under a compulsion curse?
I was right it was Amara’s doing
Take a shot every time Marlow calls Silvain her brother and he objects:
2 shots, sadly
They do not in fact call each other siblings in a positive way.
Adrius POV, we have won.
He knew it was his Minnow!!!
Still mostly Amara’s idea to marry him off, but very star-crossed lovers of them to keep the two apart.
Not fully convinced that the curse is broken
Marlow’s plan to get Swift back was so extra, which is good on her I guess, but I’m mostly glad that he isn’t evil or working with the Reapers.
She’s playing a pretty dangerous game of fuck around and find out with all the gangs she’s messing around with.
Silvain telling Marlow that she needs to get her shit together and fix Adrius because he’s sad and annoying, and if she can handle all these gangs she can handle his sister-in-law's bullshit is such a sibling thing to do.
Boy does she get her man though! Good for you, Marlow.
Vale creating a school because of Marlow is such a good move on his part if he’s trying to get her on his side.
Don’t kill her boyfriend though that’s not going to help you.
There’s a reason I don’t believe Cassandra is dead and it’s because you can’t out lie, a liar and I stand by that Neil Josten quote.
The introduction of a grown-ass man who has a weird obsession with a teenager is so on-brand and I hate that he’s a thing but I love that they all acknowledge that he’s the weird one in this situation.
Without shame. Without shame, men like this say weird shit to teenage girls and do not think that it’s weird at all and we should be publicly shaming them more. We should be shaming this man for wearing a fedora at the very least.
Fuck Amara, to be honest, I still hate her.
The one thing that Adrius doesn’t mess around about is Marlow and yet people keep trying him about her safety to his face!
Tear of a killer could be from Adrius as long as his dad actually dies
Called it.
I knew that Iris would be an issue but was really hoping that she wouldn’t be.
I also called Cassandra not being dead but I do not believe it until I see her on page getting shit done.
Marlow’s mommy and daddy issues coming out at the same time was a doozy.
It took Marlow far too long to realize that her best friend has been hooking up with her brother for someone whose job is essential ‘Magic Detective’
Gemma coming in with the steel chair of emotions! Good for you!
For being 70 pages away from finishing this it sure feels like there’s a lot left going on.
Vale goes hard, holy shit.
Get yourself a father who melts people for you, I guess.
I always forget that YA implies that the characters, who are teens, are having sex, and while that’s a thing that happens in real life leave it to the adult-themed books!
Fuck Cassandra as well, to be honest, I don’t care for her at all.
Love that Marlow and Adrius both do not give a shit anymore and have just reached a YOLO outlook on life and their situations.
Because of course, the evil curse man is his ancestor.
There was way too much back and forth about who could really fix Caraza and Marlow wondered ‘Huh…maybe Vale is right?’
Cool motive, still murder
There was far too much build-up up for the ending that we got and I will stand by that. Too many plot holes were left unmentioned.
The gangs
Cassandra
The literal ghost haunting Adrius
Iris and Adrius’ engagement
Amara and the rest of the five families
Vale going to jail and their kissing does not feel like a good enough ending
This review will contain spoilers in place of my notes: I; 'm also going to assume that you're reading this because you've already read the first book and enjoyed it so we're going to go all in and hope for the best.
I am nothing if not a person who loves a good sequel to a first book that I loved, so i jumped at the chance to read this as quickly as i could and i for the most part was not disappointed. Masquerade of the Heart jumps right into where Garden of the Cursed left off so as long as you remember what happens in that book's ending you can jump right into this and everything will make sense. The same cast of characters I loved in the first book show up and have a good plot relevance with a few exceptions: those being Amara, Gemma, and Darian who should have gotten a lot more screen time but did not.
I feel as if this should have been a trilogy though, with all that was happening and what we could have explored more. For instance, i think we could have a whole book just about Vale coming to power and them trying to destroy him while he has full control of the book and them having to deal with not being fast enough to stop him. Cassandra could have had a more prominent role in stopping him and showing Marlow that she did love her, and we could have still gotten the added drama of Adrius being engaged to Iris because tha just fell through almost as soon as it happened and we knew next to nothing about Iris and why he and Amara thought she would be a good wife.
Personally, I’m upset that we didn’t get a confrontation with Amara and Gemma about their relationship that could have been a pivotal moment for us to gain an emotional attachment to Amara and care about her as a character. We have a vested interest in Gemma, as Marlow’s only other friend and Adrius’ close friend so it would have been nice to see her get proper closure to her relationship.
All in all, a lot happened and yet nothing happened at the same time which is how I typically feel when I believe a duology should have been a trilogy, but now we get to my favorite part which is showing everyone my reading notes:
I did not expect this to take place 3 days after the first book's ending, but Marlow is on a time crunch so I guess this makes a lot of sense.
Is Vale her father or is he just playing the long game? Is this just his con? Is Cassandra dead?
I hope we get more of Swift in this book, he was neat.
Vale: Don’t worry, I told the family about you. Silvain, upon seeing Marlow: What is SHE doing here?!
Vale, the messy man that you are.
Does Vale want to control Evergarden or destroy it?
Brother-sister bonding in which they go on an adventure to track down her best friend who just so happens to be the object of the brother’s affection let’s GO
Is Aidrus looking for a wife because he wants to get over Marlow or because Amara told him to and he’s under a compulsion curse?
I was right it was Amara’s doing
Take a shot every time Marlow calls Silvain her brother and he objects:
2 shots, sadly
They do not in fact call each other siblings in a positive way.
Adrius POV, we have won.
He knew it was his Minnow!!!
Still mostly Amara’s idea to marry him off, but very star-crossed lovers of them to keep the two apart.
Not fully convinced that the curse is broken
Marlow’s plan to get Swift back was so extra, which is good on her I guess, but I’m mostly glad that he isn’t evil or working with the Reapers.
She’s playing a pretty dangerous game of fuck around and find out with all the gangs she’s messing around with.
Silvain telling Marlow that she needs to get her shit together and fix Adrius because he’s sad and annoying, and if she can handle all these gangs she can handle his sister-in-law's bullshit is such a sibling thing to do.
Boy does she get her man though! Good for you, Marlow.
Vale creating a school because of Marlow is such a good move on his part if he’s trying to get her on his side.
Don’t kill her boyfriend though that’s not going to help you.
There’s a reason I don’t believe Cassandra is dead and it’s because you can’t out lie, a liar and I stand by that Neil Josten quote.
The introduction of a grown-ass man who has a weird obsession with a teenager is so on-brand and I hate that he’s a thing but I love that they all acknowledge that he’s the weird one in this situation.
Without shame. Without shame, men like this say weird shit to teenage girls and do not think that it’s weird at all and we should be publicly shaming them more. We should be shaming this man for wearing a fedora at the very least.
Fuck Amara, to be honest, I still hate her.
The one thing that Adrius doesn’t mess around about is Marlow and yet people keep trying him about her safety to his face!
Tear of a killer could be from Adrius as long as his dad actually dies
Called it.
I knew that Iris would be an issue but was really hoping that she wouldn’t be.
I also called Cassandra not being dead but I do not believe it until I see her on page getting shit done.
Marlow’s mommy and daddy issues coming out at the same time was a doozy.
It took Marlow far too long to realize that her best friend has been hooking up with her brother for someone whose job is essential ‘Magic Detective’
Gemma coming in with the steel chair of emotions! Good for you!
For being 70 pages away from finishing this it sure feels like there’s a lot left going on.
Vale goes hard, holy shit.
Get yourself a father who melts people for you, I guess.
I always forget that YA implies that the characters, who are teens, are having sex, and while that’s a thing that happens in real life leave it to the adult-themed books!
Fuck Cassandra as well, to be honest, I don’t care for her at all.
Love that Marlow and Adrius both do not give a shit anymore and have just reached a YOLO outlook on life and their situations.
Because of course, the evil curse man is his ancestor.
There was way too much back and forth about who could really fix Caraza and Marlow wondered ‘Huh…maybe Vale is right?’
Cool motive, still murder
There was far too much build-up up for the ending that we got and I will stand by that. Too many plot holes were left unmentioned.
The gangs
Cassandra
The literal ghost haunting Adrius
Iris and Adrius’ engagement
Amara and the rest of the five families
Vale going to jail and their kissing does not feel like a good enough ending