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whit_lovesbooks 's review for:
Masquerade of the Heart
by Katy Rose Pool
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a wonderful, if not a little rushed, conclusion to Marlow and Adrius’ story. Not gonna lie, I started getting worried towards the end that there wasn’t going to be enough pages to finish what needed to be done, but they pulled it off.
Some things I liked about this book:
- Swift. He’s literally the best side character EVER. I honestly cared more about him than I did about any of the other characters, including the main ones.
- I ADORE the atmosphere of the story. I can’t explain it properly, but I can picture everything that happened in the story with perfect clarity, and LORD it is beautiful. It just feels cozy and mystical, the blueprint for a perfect fantasy to be set in.
- The story is very good. Though I had issues with how a lot of it played out, the story itself is solid and interesting.
- The magic system is very cool. Magic cards are something I would like to see more of in fantasy. Or magic objects in general!
- Maybe this should count with the first point, but Swift and Silvan were my favorite subplot. Their romance was super cute (and very obvious to me, even long before it was obvious to Marlow).
Things I took issue with:
- Marlow was so back and forth with her thinking that it started giving me whiplash. I had a very hard time connecting with her in this installment (which is a shame because I loveddd her in the first one!)
- the pacing was not great. There were parts where it felt like I was riding a small bicycle up a very steep hill, and then there were parts where I was riding that same bicycle down that same very steep hill. It was also giving me a little bit of whiplash- I started getting anxious that “slow” moments would turn out to be something major. So…I basically felt anxiety for the whole book.
- The conclusion was very rushed. How everything worked out was fine, it just happened so quick that it was akin to blinking and missing it. Then, the epilogue gave us no closure on how the political system worked after that. How did the relationships around Marlow and Adrius react to any of it? How did they recover from it? It wasn’t super satisfying in that way, which disappointed me.
Overall it was a good story. The author is great and has a lot of potential to write an INCREDIBLE high fantasy story. It’s clear she’s got the brains for it! (Though that may not be her cup of tea, which is fine.)
Some things I liked about this book:
- Swift. He’s literally the best side character EVER. I honestly cared more about him than I did about any of the other characters, including the main ones.
- I ADORE the atmosphere of the story. I can’t explain it properly, but I can picture everything that happened in the story with perfect clarity, and LORD it is beautiful. It just feels cozy and mystical, the blueprint for a perfect fantasy to be set in.
- The story is very good. Though I had issues with how a lot of it played out, the story itself is solid and interesting.
- The magic system is very cool. Magic cards are something I would like to see more of in fantasy. Or magic objects in general!
- Maybe this should count with the first point, but Swift and Silvan were my favorite subplot. Their romance was super cute (and very obvious to me, even long before it was obvious to Marlow).
Things I took issue with:
- Marlow was so back and forth with her thinking that it started giving me whiplash. I had a very hard time connecting with her in this installment (which is a shame because I loveddd her in the first one!)
- the pacing was not great. There were parts where it felt like I was riding a small bicycle up a very steep hill, and then there were parts where I was riding that same bicycle down that same very steep hill. It was also giving me a little bit of whiplash- I started getting anxious that “slow” moments would turn out to be something major. So…I basically felt anxiety for the whole book.
- The conclusion was very rushed. How everything worked out was fine, it just happened so quick that it was akin to blinking and missing it. Then, the epilogue gave us no closure on how the political system worked after that. How did the relationships around Marlow and Adrius react to any of it? How did they recover from it? It wasn’t super satisfying in that way, which disappointed me.
Overall it was a good story. The author is great and has a lot of potential to write an INCREDIBLE high fantasy story. It’s clear she’s got the brains for it! (Though that may not be her cup of tea, which is fine.)