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A review by shanaelyse
The Masks We Burn by Lee Jacquot
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
I was sent an ARC of this book and it will not affect thoughts or opinions on this book in my review.
I'll preface this by saying that I have not read any of the Emerald Falls novels prior to reading The Masks We Burn, but this was described as a standalone novel that could be read without the other two prior to this. It's always nice to have a collective series, but I did enjoy that I was able to read this without having to go and read the other two!
I love Amora. I love her arc and I really found myself connecting with her. Character spoiler, not plot spoiler:I grew up without a lot of money. For a while it was check to check for my dad, as he was the only one in the house generating income since my mom was on disability. And there were plenty of times where we didn't have the money to keep food in the house. So Amora's fear of going back to that was something that I really found myself relating to.
The biggest complaint that I have with The Masks We Burn is the writing style. Again, I haven't ready a novel by Lee Jacquot prior to this. But the writing style really lacked to me. All of it just seemed so...unrefined to me. The first person POV fit and Jacquot does a great job of making sure that each chapter told by each characters sounded as if each character was literally relaying the story to you. But that was what I disliked so much. I think this would have benefited if it was from third person POV with a focus on each character. (Again, I know that is a completely ridiculous request because this is the third in a series, but still.) There also felt like there was so much unnecessary detail that was added in about the characters actions.
If I had to read the word "bro" one more time I was going to throw my laptop across the room. Most of the dialogue with the women were great. I loved Amora's voice and her attitude and the other women. But god, the men made me want to rip my hair out. I thought that the banter between the characters was great. Every little "spat" felt genuine and I could easily hear an actual voice in my head when reading the characters.
The spice scenes? Chef's. Fucking. KISS. My partner was tired of my ass reading a couple chapters and then putting the phone down and dragging him away from his own tasks. They could wait. One of the things I hate in romance novels is the spicy scenes and the dialogue between the two characters is so cringeworthy. But this? Amazing. Spectacular. Wonderful. Sexy. Fantastic. 10/10.
Spoilers Below:
More focus was put on Wiliam's half of the bargain than on Amora's half. I love fake dating/fake fiancé stuff. It's what my dreams are made of. But there's literally two scenes about their fake engagement, one at the beginning when she announces it to her parents and then one when they both go to brunch with Amora's parents. The friends were in on it and even William's parents were in on it. And I understand that his parents knowing was supposed to be a parallel to her parents not knowing, but it was kind of like Peter Parker's secret identity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Everyone knows. Knowing about the fighting ring and all of that for William was cool, but I wanted awkward moments trying to keep up a fake engagement to the parents, trying to fool their friends. All that good stuff.
I thought every single paragraph including a description about how sexy the other was or how much the other one wanted to sleep with the other was too much. Every paragraph did not need a description of it. I get it. They're hot for each other. From the jump though it took me out of the story and I thought it wasn't believable. Especially at points where they were trying to be serious. It really undermined the seriousness of what was going on.
My final review is really along the lines of a 2.5/2.75, but I'm gonna round up to a three. I'm looking forward to reading the next set of books that Jacquot has coming!
I'll preface this by saying that I have not read any of the Emerald Falls novels prior to reading The Masks We Burn, but this was described as a standalone novel that could be read without the other two prior to this. It's always nice to have a collective series, but I did enjoy that I was able to read this without having to go and read the other two!
I love Amora. I love her arc and I really found myself connecting with her. Character spoiler, not plot spoiler:
The biggest complaint that I have with The Masks We Burn is the writing style. Again, I haven't ready a novel by Lee Jacquot prior to this. But the writing style really lacked to me. All of it just seemed so...unrefined to me. The first person POV fit and Jacquot does a great job of making sure that each chapter told by each characters sounded as if each character was literally relaying the story to you. But that was what I disliked so much. I think this would have benefited if it was from third person POV with a focus on each character. (Again, I know that is a completely ridiculous request because this is the third in a series, but still.) There also felt like there was so much unnecessary detail that was added in about the characters actions.
If I had to read the word "bro" one more time I was going to throw my laptop across the room. Most of the dialogue with the women were great. I loved Amora's voice and her attitude and the other women. But god, the men made me want to rip my hair out. I thought that the banter between the characters was great. Every little "spat" felt genuine and I could easily hear an actual voice in my head when reading the characters.
The spice scenes? Chef's. Fucking. KISS. My partner was tired of my ass reading a couple chapters and then putting the phone down and dragging him away from his own tasks. They could wait. One of the things I hate in romance novels is the spicy scenes and the dialogue between the two characters is so cringeworthy. But this? Amazing. Spectacular. Wonderful. Sexy. Fantastic. 10/10.
Spoilers Below:
I thought every single paragraph including a description about how sexy the other was or how much the other one wanted to sleep with the other was too much. Every paragraph did not need a description of it. I get it. They're hot for each other. From the jump though it took me out of the story and I thought it wasn't believable. Especially at points where they were trying to be serious. It really undermined the seriousness of what was going on.
My final review is really along the lines of a 2.5/2.75, but I'm gonna round up to a three. I'm looking forward to reading the next set of books that Jacquot has coming!