The first few chapters of this book really started off strong. The characters are introduced halfway through one of their final tests that will determine whether or not they can become a wizard. Main character Leyna suffers a fairly serious injury, but passes, only to be severely injured by a demon soon after, leaving her sure her career is over before it's even begun. To her surprise, she's given an offer to join the Royal Guard, which she accepts. From here, once they reach the palace, the pacing slows waaaay down and things almost grind to a halt. The interest that the beginning built into the story fades away, and I had a hard time slogging through the rest of the book. This ended up not being the book for me, and while I was disappointed with it, there is a good story here and I can see how others will enjoy reading it.

I honestly feel that the world building could’ve been more elaborate and gave more details on the importance of the royal court, huskarls, etc. The jester is such an interesting character (A WALKING GREEN FLAG) if I may, but I think there could’ve been more instances leading up to the attraction for one another. All in all an interesting read and would definitely read the next one to find out what happens next!

This is a new adult fantasy romance following our lead as she attends her formal magical triangle and then onto her position as kings guard, where she meets a suspect court jester whom she falls for. If you like romance forward fantasy with a magical school setting and the miscommunication trope this book will not disappoint.

For me personally, while there were lots of elements of the book I enjoyed the overall story fell flat for me. Specifically, while extremely entertaining and fast paced I felt that the dialogue and overall writing to be a bit sophomoric. The plot also was extremely focused on the romance elements, and often failed to flesh out a lot of the magic at play or the vastness of the overall world.

This was a fun entertaining read and I'd be interested to see what this author writes in the future, the writing style however and this book was not my favourite but I expect this book to find it's niche reader and flourish.

This was a complete new venture for me as I'm a complete noob to the world of fantasy. This was a fantastic step for me from reading the ACOTAR series. I LOVED the characters, especially Leyna and Jester. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I just couldn't stop reading!

4 STARS
**While writing this review I did learn that the author has listened to ARC reviews and is making changes to the finished book to reflect feedback. some of the changes listed were things I talk about in this review**

Wizard's Masquerade is a heartwarming romance mixed with a unique and dangerous magic system that will lure you in!

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the E-book ARC in exchange for my completely honest review.

WHAT I LIKED:
*The opening of this book had me hooked right away. I really enjoyed the introduction to the magic world and the royalty and the dangers of magic and demons. I was very intrigued by the promise of what the world could hold!

*My favorite character by far was the jester, he carried the book for me and I found him a bit more interesting and complex than the FMC. His romance has my heart!

*The romance and budding relationship between Jester and Leyna. It was *chef's kisses* and i loved that the (TWO) spicey scenes didn't involve an ample amount of vulgar language and play-by-play. They were spicy but they were still beautiful.

WHAT I DISLIKED:
*I felt that some of the characters were not relatable or likable, mainly Leyna; which was disappointing.

*The book uses the "MC asks a million questions" trope to give the reader information and I wish it would have been delivered in a different, less repetitive way.

*The second half of the book dragged a little and lost interest.


CONCLUSION:
Overall, i liked the worldbuilding and wish there was more of it. There was so much more that could have been explored there that would have opened a world of possibilities. I am hoping they are explored more in the next book in the duology! The romance was the main reason for giving it 4 stars, and I will likely read this book again when it releases as i am excited to see what changes the Author has made to improve both Leynas character and the pacing!

I really enjoyed this fast paced, fantasy romance! It was unique and well written! The world building was interesting and magical. I loved the romance. I can’t wait to see what will happen next in this series!

My Review
I received an Arc of the book from NetGalley. Book comes out 30 September 2022
Few things about me, I love fantasy. Anything to do with magic and I’m there. I also love enemies to lovers romance. I don’t mind slow-burn romances as long as there is romance, I’m good. Bonus if there’s an HEA.
I didn’t care too much when I saw the slow-burn tag. I just nodded and began reading, but they were not kidding when they said slow-burn! I was literally screaming get together already! That aside, once this book got going, it was a lot of fun. I loved the world-building. I was like, how do I become a part of this world? The characters likeable and the story was a lot of great.
Would I read more from Jay Pellegrin? Yes. Would I continue? Absolutely. I want to know what happens next.

Until next time peace and happy reading.

"She felt like she belonged there, in his arms. She was found. She was seen and wanted.

And she wanted him as well."

Leyna is days away from completing her exams, passing her 7 year long studies at the Wizard Guild, and her dreams of being a Wizard and Huskarl, a guard to the royal family.

Everything about her dream isn't playing out the way she had envisioned all her life. Starting with an accident that almost set her back a year, that perfect dream is cracking. After finally getting her offer letter to be a Huskarl, Leyna leaves the Guild with Grace and Quinn, friends from her class, to head to the castle and accept her official Huskarl title from the king.

Only a couple days after arriving, word arrives that the king, queen, and their entire court and guards were attacked while traveling. With her world completely thrown off its axis, she is determined to figure out what happened.

The more she digs, the more she begins to question everything she's ever known. It isn't much easier with the Jester constantly around. She knows he has secrets, and is possibly dangerous, but can't help but be drawn to him. Leyna has to figure out who to trust, including unraveling her life and ambitions as a Huskarl.

MY GOD THIS BOOK IS CAPTIVATING!! Jay Pellegrin's world takes me right back to the years of reading fantasy as a teenager, but higher stakes, and definitely with an adult spin on it. We have magic schools, a castle, spells, wizards, shapeshifters, demons, royal hierarchy, secrets and betrayals, AND A JESTER!!

This is a world you really can immerse yourself in while reading, and characters that develop really well throughout. Pellegrin admits herself that Leyna is a "strong flawed female protagonist" and it's a perfect description for her. She has a one track mind, only dreaming of ever being a Huskarl, and she is naïve, selfish, jealous, spoiled, and infuriating when the book starts. Everything that is happening around her forces her to dismantle her belief system, and it really isn't easy for anyone, especially with Leyna, it's like pulling teeth. By the end it's like a huge sigh of relief, she had wonderful character development and her story is set up perfect for more growth into the second book of this duology.

The shining star of this book is Jester. We are told right off the bat that he is dangerous and charming. But are so true, and he is the perfect MC in a story with lies and secrets. We are along with Leyna on the journey and get to watch her figure out how much she's going to let him in. He is snarky, rude, and dazzling to say the least. I was constantly looking forward to any scene with him in it, because it really forced Leyna to think and evolve. I fell in love with him and I really hope there is a lot more of him in the next book.

The story is very long and could definitely do with a lot of trimming for some parts that felt repetitive, but Pellegrin announced on Instagram that they worked with editors and are cutting it down, so I have high hopes that the published copy will fix this issue. I definitely think we could have gotten a little more back story from the side characters, especially Grace, Quinn, and Seth. Their relationships with Leyna would give her that extra bit of dimension that I think she could benefit from.

Overall this is a fantastic first book, and Medival Fantasy Romance. I am 100% invested and will be reading the second one. It's out soon and I think is a great read if you want a longish romantic fantasy that has reverse grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers, lots of banter, a flawed (BUT EVOLVING) FMC, dances in castles, magic/wizards and a smidge of spice.

OH AND ALSO. JINGLING BELLS *WINK, WINK*
Thank you Netgalley, Jay Pellegrin, and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 4.5 stars

The Wizard's Masquerade by Jay Pellegrin is a medieval fantasy following the main character Leyna, a mysterious Jester and her fellow graduates from the Guild - Grace and Quinn.
Leyna goes on a stressful and harrowing journey to graduate as a Wizard. She has worked for 7 years to achieve her goal as a Royal Guard but an escapee demon almost jeopardises this. After a second chance, she and Grace journey to the Court to begin their careers and huskrals - a type of royal guard.
A series of dramatic events, frustrating Jester's, a nagging mother and a traitorous group seek to interfere with Leyna's new life.
I found this book was excessively long. There were lulls in between events that I found boring. This book was very political, allowing the reader to learn about the royal family and the role of everyone surrounding this. I found the character reveal of the Jester reasonably obvious but I did not mind too much. The romance subplot was really fun to read. It appeared that Leyna's mother didn't want her daughter as a Royal Guard following the loss of Leyna's step-sister when she was eight. Her mother wanted her to marry and pursue the stereotypical life of a woman.
The creatures were also fun to read about. I loved Floofy and the story behind this pet.
The only thing that prevented a higher rating was the excessive length of the novel. I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the romance. Plus the cover is gorgeous. I will definitely be reading book 2!

A great page turner. Unpredictable plot so many twists and hidden truths, would have love a bit more development with the parents.

Although it took me a chapter or so to get into, I really enjoyed this book. As a fantasy romance, it was so unique which I loved!

The whole book had a regency-esque kind of vibe, especially because of the court dynamics and the courting and the ballrooms and all and I definitely loved it and the uniqueness of it all.

The love interest was also AMAZING he had my heart from the moment we met him and I thought he was such an intelligent, funny character and just ADORED HIM.

The only reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars was because I found myself feeling frustrated with our protagonist, Leyna, at times. She seemed immature for a 22 year old which did have an effect on the choices she made.

I also thought some of the twists were very predictable, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book nonetheless and was practically unable to put it down until I had finished!

This was such an easy read that I couldn't put down, I devoured it. It was well written with great character development, good worldbuilding and well developed characters. I loved the romance in the book and the mystery which kept me guessing. I cant wait to see what comes next.

Jay Pellegrin made an awesome work in fantasy romance. I am not really a fan of romance genre. But, Pellegrin sure had change my mind about romance in fantasy. Also the cover is truly beautiful

I openly admit I requested this based on the little snippet and the cover. I thought I will get through this for those two things alone.
Instead I found a main character whom I loved in all her little ways, a great world and magic system and also a confusing use of demons.
This book gave me the same feelings the Mirror Visitor series gave me and something I didn’t think I’d find again.
Also Jestie I love you.
Leyna was a delight and while some of it was a bit confusing and distracted I followed along with the magic system and the good times of huskarls and royal life. I feel like I could also feel the chamberlain’s hand every-time it was mentioned and I did not enjoy that ha
It was a fun ride with a little bit of spice but nothing too much and also the longing and that letter was very Austen-y and I highly approved ((I’m a cheeseball everyone)) also went ahead and pre ordered the ebook so I can book mark my favorite passages ((I wish it was a paperback))
I’ll revisit this and can’t wait for book two

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Some romance, but it isn’t the main point. Some heavy politics, violence, death, manipulation and, of course, a jester watching it all.

Solid characters who are flawed but fun.

The situations are sometimes a bit too real, the politics a bit too political. I found myself feeling for the main character as she struggles with achieving her goals to find they aren’t all that.

At the same time, disillusionment doesn’t stop the world and it doesn’t stop people from continuing to work through ever changing situations.

Magic doesn’t magically fix all situations and cure all wounds. As it shouldn’t.

A fun ride, I look forward to the second book in the duology. Also, if looking for a light relaxing beach read, this isn’t the place. This is more Outlander than Cozy Witch Mystery. (less) [edit]

First of all, the cover for this book is simply stunning and along with the blurb, I was really drawn towards this novel.
I found this a good first novel, but it didn't live up to my high expectations after that stunning cover and premise. I loved the idea of the plot, but at times it felt as though the main character never truly faced any real obstacles along her journey. There was a problem but then it was rather conveniently overcome and I wanted Leyna to be more pro active. For a MC it took me a long time to like her. She initially comes across as rather whiney, superior and not at all bright although she's supposed to be. There was an incident towards the end of the book where she had the opportunity to redeem herself, however, she made a rather poor decision and then felt hurt due to how others had acted.
However, I adored the character of Jester and his many aliases. As a love interest he was well written and intriguing. He was definitely my favourite aspect of this novel. I feel this author has a lot of potential and as I read the ARC I'm hoping the issues with the book are ironed out prior to publication as Pellegrin's writing style did manage to keep me hooked throughout a long book and I would certainly like to read the follow up and see how Leyna's journey continues.
Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This book wasn’t my favorite, it was slower paced than what I’m used to and a little repetitive after a while. I wasn’t a fan of the FMC and tolerated the MMC. I didn’t feel the chemistry within the romance aspects and it seemed to come out of nowhere. It just didn’t pull me in emotIonally in the way some do. Everyone has their favorites, unfortunately this just isn’t one of mine.

I think the story has an interesting premise and a lot of potential. Moreover, making a jester a love interest and one of the main characters of the story was something I had never read before, so bonus points for that (the cover is also absolutely gorgeous!). However, it was, unfortunately, not for me, and here are a few reasons why:

The characters:

Overall, a lot of the characters felt one-dimensional, not much was said about their past, and some were clearly there was one purpose only or had no purpose at all. I found it hard to sympathize with them. I quite liked the Jester, if I'm being honest (I've always had a soft spot for sarcastic, teasing characters) but that's pretty much it...Leyna, being the main character that's supposed to be strong, the best wizard of their class, and smart, only came off as insecure (always asking "why them and not me" kind of questions), immature (a 22-year-old acting like a 15-16-year-old) and almost completely ignorant of the actual characteristics and living style of a royal guard/Huskarl (which is supposed to be her dream job, the ultimate goal for her). For someone who's said to have studied 7 years to become a wizard and a royal guard (and who's grown up in the castle as a royal family member) she sure didn't seem to know what she was doing. She kept making mistakes that she should not have been making as an alumnus and one of the best students there was. She would often question her superiors (including the King) and be out of line, especially for a 2-day-old royal guard...She had been described as "self-righteous" by one of the characters which made me hope it was done on purpose and some character growth would happen but it, unfortunately, did not. Overall, she was quite unlikeable and I couldn't root for her. She was also always judging others, thinking she's better than everyone (which she has failed to show on multiple occasions) and thinking about what people would think if a lady of her standing were to be seen around x, y, z person, or how people would react if her friends didn't follow proper court etiquette. The truth is the rules and etiquette are very often talked about and no one seems to care. Also, the organization of the Huskarls as a group was very confusing, they didn't seem to have discipline, a routine, or meetings (or not as often as you would expect a royal protection organization to have). The investigation was a mess.

The flow:

I knew it was a slow burn, so that is not what bothered me. It's rather the fact that the same information would be repeated but in different contexts (as an inner monologue, every time a new character needed to be filled in, when another character would mention it, when she was questioned about it, etc.). It was a lot and did kill the flow on numerous occasions.

Some pieces of information that would seem crucial to the world-building or the characters were never explained (for example, how normal Quinn being a wolf seemed to be to everyone, but no one else had the same ability...is he a creature, a werewolf, is it a family trait?). I'm hoping that some of it is going to be in the second book but it would have been helpful to have it earlier in the story. I felt a little disconnected from the world.

DNF at 42%
I swear I tried but every time I pick it up the same problems resurface. First Leyna is stupid, she always asks the dumbest questions, judge others for their lack of etiquette but never respect it herself. Second the number of time I had to pause and look back to see if I hadn’t read the same pages multiple times happened too many times. And it’s not like things are repeated because it’s been awhile since they’ve been mentioned, no it was mentioned either the page before or on the same page. This book clearly needs more editing (it could shrink from 545p to 500 very easily.)
Things happen but they don’t add anything to the plot (I can excuse a plotless book if it has a good atmosphere and great characters sadly this book contains neither.) she gets injured twice in a very short period of time and it doesn’t add anything to the plot, she could have met the love interest any other way. As I’ve said I DNFed at 42% which is 230p and nothing relevant or entertaining happened, I was sooo bored. It’s supposed to be a fantasy romance (therefore heavy on the romance) and they’ve met twice (actually I don’t know they never exchange anything relevant though) and it doesn’t even feel like a slow burn because we hear him talk about how he’s attracted to her ?? I won’t even comment on the ennemies to lovers (actually it’s not really an ennemies to lovers but more of a “I don’t like you because I think I’m better than you to lovers) (yes leyna is the definition of god complex).
I hope this book gets edited because I can see myself really liking it if I don’t feel like reading the same entendes over and over again.

A very magical fantasy novel that gives a good balance of romance, world building and character building.