Cover Image: Wizard's Masquerade

Wizard's Masquerade

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Member Reviews

I first read this as an ebook before enjoying it so much that I was more than happy to reread it as an audiobook. The narrator does a solid job.

Leyna has only one goal: graduate at the top of her class so that she may join the ranks of the huskarls, the royal guard of wizards. And yet once she gets all that she has ever dreamt of, her convictions are tested by those who would see the kingdom fall, and by one mysterious jester who haunts her every thought.

This book started with a real bang, with Leyna fighting tooth and nail to survive her final exams. The magical school setting is a fun place to start, and I found myself missing it after Leyna graduates and moves into the castle. The story definitely dragged during the latter half when Leyna was trying to solve the villainous scheme that I guessed from a mile away, and I found myself losing steam… at least until we got to the Jester nuggets.

Leyna is a deeply flawed protagonist, which makes her story at times difficult to swallow while nevertheless paving the way for some good development. She holds so steadfast to her convictions that she makes the wrong choices, the nonheroic ones. But if there’s anything she has, it’s grit.

It’s truly a delight to see her matched up with Jester, to see her lawful nature clash with his chaotic one. He’s here to mess with her and inform her that she should really do something about that stick up her bum. 5 stars for Jester alone, honestly. He’s so much fun, and the mystery around him gave way to some unexpected heart. I just had to have a physical copy to highlight and tab up so I can return to his iconic scenes.

Honorable mention goes to the really neat side cast of friends and enemies alike.

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!!! THIS REVIEW FULL OF SPOILERS !!! BEWARE !!!

DNFed at 12%. I wanted to like this book, it sounded interesting and had an engaging premise, but, man, was the actual read incredibly disappointing.

First of all, Leyna is a dumbass. Not a single braincell in that pretty head of hers. I rarely find main characters as uniquely unintelligent as her outside of poor wattpad fanfics.

Her opening scene is that she girlbossed too hard and got turned around in a maze, and failed part of the practical exam, then engaged in combat with her rival, but his spell went errant and knocked her off a tower and broke her jaw, and she still somehow scored second place in the practical exam and is said to be one of the best in class when it comes to fighting. Bitch, WHERE????

Then she followed up that misadventure with studying for her most important graduation exams and said that if you fail, you repeat a year. Instead of being like “welp, studied enough, time to sleep” she went and joined her classmates in relaxation time (fair), they started drinking (I’m pretty sure she didn’t, so what’s her excuse for being dumb), and then decided they’ll go pull a prank. They snuck into headmaster’s office and while the rest were pulling the prank, she snooped and ended up being called to an ancient demon summoning book that she very wisely started reading from. Her rival—who mind you almost killed her not a day earlier, remember that opening scene—interrupts her, as one does cause he also isn’t smart and idk why he thought it’s a good idea to interrupt someone summoning a demon 🙄

So the demon is summoned, and it tries to eat her, eventually the headmaster defeats the demon, but not before it mangles her leg so badly, she might not be able to walk. (Her LI is probably that healer guy who fixed her broken jaw and mostly fixed her leg, too bad he’s not good enough healer to fix her dumbass brain.) So she wakes up 8 days later. Leg? Mangled and potentially not functional. Exams? Missed. Year? Has to be repeated. Her? Idk why not expelled for summoning a demon.

So like???? Why not just stay in character and not go on a stupid prank adventure and not miss your exams, when previous paragraphs said you, in fact, don’t engage a lot in student life outside of studying. She didn’t even drink to justify the lack of braincells in decision making.

Anyway, 0/10, would not recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

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I loved this book! But the audio! Oh my, the narrator really brought it to life for me. I’m very picky when it comes to who I listen to and she met all my check list.
The book itself is so different from what I’ve read so far. It’s a medieval setting with a main female character who’s strong and determined to follow in her dead sisters shoes to become something like a knight in the Kings guard and you have a sly jokester (he’s literally a jester) man who’s more than what the eye meets. It has love, mystery, demons, spies, and a little hint of magic. This was one of my top 2022-2023 reads!

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I ended up DNFing this audiobook, it was unfortunately not for me. I can see how it would be a good choice for other but personally wasn’t my cup of tea. Thank you so much to the author/publisher for an arc, I appreciate it.

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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC to review, To be honest I only got 9% of the way into this audiobook. I haven’t listened in several weeks. The concept is interesting however the first several chapters besides one part don’t feel as if they match the teaser blurb. I can’t say beyond that why it hasn’t grabbed me. I think it could be enjoyable for some readers but not my cup of tea.

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An appealing fantasy/romance/mystery with an enemies to lovers type dynamic and medieval castles.

In all honesty, I was only able to reach the 50% mark as I had an issue with my phone that deleted all of my downloaded netgalley audiobooks, however the half that I did listen to was engaging, fun and romantic. I hope to listen to the end soon in order to wrap up the mysteries and the continued character development in time for the sequel. I can't wait for more of The Jester, the literary crush I didn't know I needed.

Kathryn Vinclaire acted wonderfully in the audiobook production, her voice smooth and distinct to each character.

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I was captivated by the cover art when i first saw this book, but being a lengthy 1500 pages I knew I could not read this physically anytime soon. Was so glad when the audiobook became available!
The Wizard's Masquerade was not what i expected, and I think the synopsis prompted you to think this was heavy romance focused, but for me the story itself wasnt that romance heavy. For one, its an extremely slow burn but with some great banter between Jester and Layna. For another, there were so many other great elements of the wizarding world and magic school, demons, medieval court life, balls, masquerades and a mysterious murder. This is why the book is so long, but to be honest I enjoyed the narration and story telling so much it went by so quickly. I fell in love with the world that Jay Pellegrin has created, and there were some twisted in there I didnt see coming which is also such a lovely surprise.
Also who doesnt love a fluffy mysterious animal companion? This book had all the elements of providing such an enjoyable time.
Overall 4.5 stars

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This book was kind of wild but in an amazing way! If you love a burn as slow as cooling lava and political intrigue this is definitely a fun read. But like for reals the steam is low, so definitely go into this with the understanding that it’s more of a fantasy with a touch of romance and not the other way around. The narration was also really engaging and well done!

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Someone in the castle is a traitor, but who?

We start out very Harry Potter and the goblet of fire. In a maze where the last wizard standing passes; this being the final exam they needed to pass in order to graduate from the Guild as a wizard.

But much like Harry, things get a little bit out of hand annnnnd we end up in the hospital wing where we met Dumbledore. ... I mean Emsworth. 😂 And our main character Leyna is bit of a mess, but don't worry we got a cute mysterious man to heal us and get us...well, not dead, but no sooner than we can get up we find a demon book, and all hell breaks loose.

I picked this book up at the worst time for my work week because I was so busy and didn't have time to sink into this world because every time I did it's claws would sink in and I would need to know what's happening!

Yes, it's a little clique but I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke 😂

But also.....do I have a mask kink 🤔because the jester might have awakened something in me 😅

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I want to preface this by saying this is just my opinion. I give no offense to anyone, I was so excited to read this book and I was so disappointed. The beginning was so intriguing. The story starts off with so much action. However, after that I just felt like I personally couldn’t get into the story, I’m sure there are plenty of people who will love this, I ended up DNF this book. I did enjoy the narrator of the audiobook though!
*thank you to NetGalley for an arc.

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This just wasn't for me. On the plus side the fantasy elements were strong enough to support a story rather than just window dressing for the romance. And the style is easy and engaging. But I just didn't gel with any of the characters. I must be well outside the target audience because almost everyone seems to love the jester whereas I found him juvenile and irritating, and I raise an eyebrow at him basically negging the heroine for the duration of the book. It's only banter if both people get off a few zingers. Layna just didn't interest me at all and that wasn't helped by the fact that every difficulty she faced was endured for thirty seconds before being whisked out of her way. I like a slow burn but only if I'm invested in the characters which sadly I wasn't. I'm not going to rate this because since I'm so far outside the target audience I don't want to influence the overall rating. It literally wasn't written for me. I imagine if someone wants to try fantasy for the first time or is looking for a low stakes, low plot story that concentrates on a slow burn romance, this could work for them.

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3.5 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨.

I listened to the audiobook and followed along in the book, both gifted by Netgalley and the publisher. There is great worldbuilding, the narration is done well and magic elements that will have any fantasy reader captivated. The narrator did a wonderf job making the story and characters come to lfie.This medieval fantasy needs to be on your TBR.

The story is very detailed and has a slow pace with some spicy scenes. The Jester and his antics are entertaining and I found Leyna's character interesting. The drive to succeed as a wizard in the Royal Guard, her friendships with her fellow wizard students and a mother that keeps on pushing her into the arms of unwanted suitors, are all elements that add to her character and her perseverance to rise above society's expectations. The banter between Leyna and Jester had me smiling and I can just imagine the lovely artwork that could be made for them when they share scenes.

I found the story to be more espionage than romance, but there are some romantic moments. Lovers of slow burn romance will have the time of their life. There is also a prison with a magical door, betrayal and a secret admirer. I got so excited when Leyna read the note from her secret admirer, I hoped that it would be a certain character and I was right. The joy I experienced when it turned out to be that character was next level. I became so invested in Leyna and that specific character's relationship.
This is the first book in the Huskarl Dulogy and I'm excited for the next book since so much happened near the end, some characters have undergone major change and I'm curious to see what Pellegrin has planned for them.
I'm still not over Jester! Please, we need character art!

》 Magic
》 Secrets
》 Hidden identities
》 Court politics
》Friendship
》 Banter
》 Spicy scenes


All opinions are my own.

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I initially received an ebook arc of this via instagram directly from the author in august of 2022, my original review is as follows:
"
January 11, 2023
First off, this was my very first ARC, so thank you so much Jay Pellegrin for trusting me with your book 💚 I am so honored to have gotten this ARC because it was AMAZING!

I was really intrigued when the book was described as Midieval Harry Potter meets Night Circus and it did NOT disappoint!

One of the main plot lines is that Leyna (and pretty much everyone else) is trying to figure out who killed the king. Throughout the book, there were times where I was 💯sure who the culprit was, only to be surprised by a plot twist. Now don’t get me wrong, there were parts of this that were pretty predictable, but by the end we still don’t know whodunnit.

The romance was built beautifully. I was a little skeptical because the main love interest is a Jester, and honestly I thought it might be a little cringe at first but I was also intrigued. I’d never read anything like that before so I wanted to give it a go and it was soooo worth it. By 50% I was having a hard time putting this down and looking forward to the next scene with him. This is a slow-burn romance and not a lot happens in this book so I’m giving it 🔥🔥.

It was pretty clear that at the beginning the author pulled inspiration fro Harry Potter which was fun. Please note that the plot described in the blurb didn’t really start until about 40% into the book. I got to about 35% and had to stop and think “wait? What is this book about?” Because we hadn’t reached the main plot yet. But please know, that once the book started moving, I could NOT put it down.

My only other complaint is that the dialogue seemed stiff at times; it was almost as if it was a little too straightforward and reminded me of how children’s books are written with very simple dialogue (even though it’s an adult book). It also took me a while to connect with our MC and she didn’t seem to show much emotion until halfway through the book.

Wizard’s Masquerade comes out on September 30th this year and will be available in pretty much all formats including audiobook and I cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy because it was SO GOOD.

(And how gorgeous is that cover art?!?!?)

"

After receiving an alc of the audiobook, I have made a few additional notes to my review:I forgot how much I love Leyna as a character. She is so driven and by the book and she gets so flustered and annoyed with Jester 😂 and like all of us, she’s flawed. Her best friend is mourning and Leyna is so consumed with her career she forgets that her friend might need her. She has worked so hard to be where she is that when she finally gets the life she’s always wanted, she looks around her and wonders “is this it? Is this really where I want to be in life?” She’s a beautifully written and relatable FMC and I love how the story ended for her! I cannot WAIT to see what is in store for her in the next book!

I

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I really got into this one once I was able to get through the first couple of chapters. It took me a while to get through the beginning two chapters but once I was able to get through I started ti love it.

The interaction between the characters are amazing. Lenya is one of those characters that you can fall for quickly. She had so much thrown at her and she grew so much during the book. She was thrown some hard challenges to what she grew up knowing and the truth of the world. I loved how she didn’t take things for face value and she questioned everything.

The Jester! I am not going to lie I didn’t like it at first but I fell for him quickly.

There are lots of twist in this one that I didn’t see coming but was so excited when everything came to light.

I loved how this book got me so excited to find out what was going to happen next. Definitely recommend this one if you enjoy magic and far off lands. It might take a while to get into but stay with it I promise it is worth it.

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This book was a pleasant read — a bit predictable, but in a good way. I’ll be honest and say that it’s longer than it needed to be and slow in some parts, but overall, a nice and cozy fantasy read with murder mystery vibes. I’m reviewing the arc and heard that the final will be trimmed a bit so this may not be true for the final release. There’s so much packed in this story (magic, wizards, demons, and mysteries), but Pellegrin’s writing style is easy to follow. I also liked that the characters are older and not “coming of age”. There’s way too many of those already. Leyna and Jester’s relationship was so adorable, and I found myself waiting for the moments when they’re together. Whether it was as “Jester” or another persona…

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Thank you to NetGalley and Pellegrin books for the eARC.

The worldbuilding for this book was great, including the unique magic system. Certain characters, such as the Jester, were well done. His quirks and the mystery surrounding his identity were fun (even though the identity was easily deduced). The narrator for the audiobook was very enjoyable (I listened at 1.25x).

This had the potential to be a five-star read except for three massive flaws (in my opinion).

1) The main character was incredibly unlikeable. She's meant to be this strong-willed, moral woman, but instead, she's an elitist snob who is dreadfully naive and easily manipulated. Over and over again, I groaned when she fell for the stories told her simply because it was said convincingly/said by someone she deemed superior to her. It was frustrating, especially since you can't yell at a character.

2) This book was about 200 pages too long. Repeatedly, we were told something happened, then shown, then it was discussed some more. Circular dialogues, long-winded internal monologues, too-detailed descriptions, weak scenes that should have been cut—this book had them all. Honestly, I enjoyed the 85% to 98% mark the most...out of a 23-hour, 34-minute audiobook.

3) The ending was weak. I won't tell you more so I don't spoil it, but I didn't feel a burning desire to get the next book in the series.

With some more editing, many cut scenes, a stronger ending, and a less naive main character...this could have been great.

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I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator was great, I really enjoyed her interpretation of the different characters! I thought the storyline was interesting and kept my attention easily. I’m a little sad Leyna didn’t quite get her happy ending, but there wouldn’t be another book if she did! I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book!

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I really enjoyed this book! I liked the narrator and felt that they went good with the story. I hope to read more by this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and to the author for the ARC!

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What a unique and interesting story! I saw this book described as a mash-up of Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice and that’s TOTALLY accurate. It’s almost like two books in one - half the book is a kind of dark academia, wizarding school thriller but it’s layered with a slow burn, will they or won’t they romance that’s just delicious.

Leyna has always dreamed of being a wizard and a huskarl (royal guard). In her last year of wizarding school, she runs into a series of major obstacles that almost prevent her from graduating. She’s given help by a mysterious admirer, but she thinks little of it. Later, she’s sent to the Rosarian capital and finally becomes a huskarl, assigned to guard the crown prince. She ends up in a bit of a game of wits with the court jester… but he’s MUCH more than he seems. When a horrific tragedy occurs, Leyna must try to help figure out what happened and save her friends, while also attempting to unmask the mysterious Jester.

I love how driven and single-minded Leyna is, she’s a wonderful, strong FMC. I had my suspicions about the love interest early on, but it was fun not knowing for sure for most of the book! Though I liked the academic and thriller storylines, I loved the romance and I hope there’s more in the next book!

As far as audio goes, I loved the narrators voices for everyone except Jester. She had wonderful accents and it was easy to tell everyone apart,, but Jester sounded like an old man and it was weird with him being the love interest.

Definitely a great, immersive read! Thank you to Jay Pellegrin and NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

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Wow. This is what I can high fantasy! The world building, the intrigue, the concepts that hold the world together. It’s really interesting and exciting once you get all of the information straight.

It took me a while after all of the Christmas romances I was reading, to get into something to intricate. But the romance and tension between Laina (I don’t know the spelling because I listened to it) and the Jester is 👩‍🍳 💋! Perfect! TENSION.

The narrator was good, I really enjoyed her take, and for some reason the accent always does it for fantasy. 😂 The husky voice is perfect. My only qualm is that the MMC sounded a little like an old man at first… something about the sound. I don’t know why, but it was a strange aural sensation. Anyway, it didn’t matter much because he was the MMC, so you knew he wasn’t old.

The end of this book was painful, and I hate that, but I’m looking forward to book two. So I guess it did what it was supposed to. 😭🫠

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