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A review by _christinacreads
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
2.5
I have mixed feelings about this book and I think it's mostly cause this seems to be mis-marketed as a Hades-Persephone retelling. Instead this is a straight up historical fiction novel. Perhaps if you squint, the idea of Hades and Persephone is there, but the comp does an extreme disservice as the novels stands on its own without it.
I enjoyed the stunning prose, the court intrigue and highly dynamic power plays, the themes and the idea of a woman trying to survive in an extremely patriarchal society, and the vibrancy of the world that was built - I felt transported into 15th century West Africa.
However I didn't like that while the idea of the novel is about her fighting for freedom, her idea of freedom is changing hands from one abuser to the next. To the very end, there didn't seem to be a reason WHY she was fighting left and right to stay with an abuser she met all of one time that kidnapped her off the street - was it the potential of a crown? The promises she deluded herself in believing when no one else was promising the same? I don't quite know.
Overall, I was quite frustrated throughout the novel as I couldn't quite garner any sympathy for Ododo or the choices she made. I did really enjoy the spiraling of the plot towards the end of the novel.
I enjoyed the stunning prose, the court intrigue and highly dynamic power plays, the themes and the idea of a woman trying to survive in an extremely patriarchal society, and the vibrancy of the world that was built - I felt transported into 15th century West Africa.
However I didn't like that while the idea of the novel is about her fighting for freedom, her idea of freedom is changing hands from one abuser to the next. To the very end, there didn't seem to be a reason WHY she was fighting left and right to stay with an abuser she met all of one time that kidnapped her off the street - was it the potential of a crown? The promises she deluded herself in believing when no one else was promising the same? I don't quite know.
Overall, I was quite frustrated throughout the novel as I couldn't quite garner any sympathy for Ododo or the choices she made. I did really enjoy the spiraling of the plot towards the end of the novel.