Do you ever read a book and have to take a break from reading for a while? That’s exactly what happened to me after finishing this book.

Wizards Masquerade is a long, slow burn fantasy novel that features wizards, demons, and court politics. I often found myself envisioning Hogwarts from the 1800s, as much of this book takes place in a castle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the romance in this novel, though much of the book felt like it dragged on. This book is over 500 pages long and took me 8 days to read. It’s not a book you can read in one sitting, and I found myself only able to consume it a few chapters at a time, otherwise I was too overwhelmed and drained to keep reading. In short, the world building is heavy and the court politics is very prevalent.

If you’re someone who enjoys fantasy with an edge of mystery, and romance as a subplot, then this is the book for you.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5033632000

I am obsessed, I don't know how much more there is to say, I started this and finished it in two days and loved every second of it.

Beautiful, haunting, dark, and magical, everything I look for in a fantasy is within these pages, from the sweeping scenery to magical creatures I'm in love with this book.

We begin with a trio of friends competing to finish their education at a magical academy so that they can begin their adult lives, through good and bad, life and death we see our characters blossom into the adults they were always meant to be.

Without saying too much I'll say this, Layla has lived a lifetime and died a thousand little deaths in this coming of age saga.

Having her trust and faith tested more than once we get to see her evolution just as her magic is evolving.

In the end this book is the perfect setup for the second book and I can't wait to get my hands on that one. After reading this it feels like Jay Pellegrin could write anything and I'd just say ok sign me up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pellegrin Books for this beautiful book, I've voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5

What initially drew me to the book when I saw it on Netgalley was the cover, which I think is absolutely gorgeous. I was excited to read this when I read the synopsis, as it seemed right up my alley. Courtly intrigue, magic, and fun romance? I was sold on the concept.

In reality, I ended up enjoying Wizard's Masquerade less than I expected. I think it has a lot of potential and I'm sure it will work for many people, but there were more things I didn't enjoy than the ones I did.

The book opens with our main character Leyna, as she is doing The Maze Exam, one of the finals she has to complete in order to graduate and move forward to the career path she wishes to follow. After she is injured, there seems to be little hope for her graduation but luck is on her side and she receives the offer to join the Royal Guard - her dream job. When she starts the job, things are not as she expected. The news of the attack on the king and queen reach the castle and any sense of normalcy is completely lost. Everyone at the castle seems to be harboring dark secrets and Leyna is lost in the middle of them all. Everyone, but especially the mysterious jester, who Leyna is both attracted to and suspicious of. She must make the most of her position in the Guard and discover the truth while protecting her heart from potential heartbreak.

So, to start off with the things I like. I will try to stay as spoiler-free as I can in this review. I really enjoyed the setting, I thought it was interesting and well done. I liked the idea of a magic academy the main character is going to at the beginning, the exams, and all of that. I thought the magic system was also really interesting. I wish it was slightly more explored and explained, but overall it is something I enjoyed. The world had a lot of promise, with magic, demons, other realms, and portals.

I do think this could've been slightly more explored as the beginning of the book seemed to be going in a different direction than the rest of the book did. The second half of the book gives much more attention to the intrigue and mystery of who is behind everything and the intricacy of lies that are all around Leyna, and less to the magic. However, the setting was still good and something I for the most part enjoyed even if it fades a bit as the book progresses.

I also really liked Jester as a character. I found him a bit predictable but at the same time fun and different enough that he kept my attention. His dialogue is good, he carries most of the banter in the novel and I feel like he is the most well-rounded, fleshed-out character. He has the most personality and the seems like a real person. His motivations, actions, and secrets were definitely what pushed me forward to read as I was genuinely curious to find out more. Jester is for the most part what pushed me to finish the book even though everything else felt like it dragged at some points. I did have a hard time understanding why he liked Leyna as much as he did, but more about that in a second.

Now, this leads me to the aspects of the novel I didn't really enjoy. My biggest problems were that much of the novel was too predictable, the plot dragged in the middle, and I couldn't really enjoy Leyna as the main character.

As for the plot, I don't want to go into the details as I would have to go into spoilers, but the true identity of some characters was entirely too easy to guess, and the who was behind some of the events was also a bit too predictable. I don't mind being able to guess these things as the book progresses usually, but I wish there was more mystery here. I don't enjoy being able to guess these things at the very beginning, as this makes the bulk of the book where the main character is in the dark seem redundant and unnecessary.

This ties into what I mentioned about the plot dragging - it seems like Leyna was making no progress in her investigation, she was running in circles for way too long. It seems like a good 100 pages for sure could've been cut from the middle of the story. It made me feel less and less interested and she remained clueless but also seemed to be doing nothing at the same time. It was frustrating to read.

Now, I would've probably been able to 'forgive' some of these things had I enjoyed Leyna as a character more. I genuinely really enjoy character-driven stories and the character aspect of a book is very important to me. My issue with Leyna was that she seemed like your generic main character, the blueprint for something that's not finished yet. I wasn't attached to her at all throughout the story at all. She seemed intentionally clueless and frustrating. Her personality felt underdeveloped, she really had nothing to drive her forward. She spent a lot of time saying that being a Huskarl, being in the Royal Guard was her dream, her ultimate goal in life - but she couldn't really say why at any point. It seemed to me like something a child would pick because 'it looks cool' and then spent no time actually thinking about it. I'm sure there were reasons for her decision, it just felt very shallow, she seemed genuinely unable to say why exactly she wanted to be a Huskarl.

Leyna also often comes off as childish, immature, and quite naive. She is often jealous of others but there is no character development for her anywhere in sight. I think she finishes the book just as she starts it, maybe having learned a thing or two, but mostly unchanged. This comes back to what I said about not knowing why Jester was interested in her in the first place. He seems drawn to her almost immediately, and while in the beginning, the purpose of his interactions was to jest (pun intended), he seems to care for her almost right away, for no good reason. He does tell her some reasons I know we're supposed to believe, that she is passionate and courageous and whatnot, but that feels empty as I've not seen any of those qualities in her. Often in her investigation, she said stupid things without thinking and asked questions that made her seem genuinely suspicious all while she was supposed to be secretive. She turned her back on morals for the sake of her job and I simply didn't enjoy her as a protagonist.

All in all, what I liked of this book (both the plot and romance) was that Jester was involved. Leyna was disappointing to me, but I hope there will be some improvement in the next book. I'm not sure if I'll be reading the sequel at this point. I am interested to see where the story goes and what happens with Jester, so I might. Don't let me stop you from reading the book if you are interested though, I think this just wasn't for me!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I am so glad I gave this book a try! I went into it not knowing what to expect but I was in the mood for a romance and I was not disappointed!

The plot itself was interesting but I would say that it is slower in the beginning but once you get about half way through it gets more pacy and by that point I was flipping through this book at rapid speed.

All the characters were indepth and I found myself being able to predict their reactions to things just because I felt that I knew them so well.

I really found it interesting how the MC had all these achievements she wanted for herself but when she got them she noted how underwhelmed she was when it became a reality. Even though she was extremely arrogant and conceited at the beginning I could see that this was a part of her that was going to change as the book progressed and I was glad to see I was right.

The romance was SO good. I guessed who Jester was from the offset but that doesn't ruin anything, it's fun to see the MC wonder who he is and how she behaves when she is around him and his other identity. I loved the interactions they had throughout, the Jester was amazing and so fun!

I'm grateful to have received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
The first thing that drew me in was the cover, and then the blurb seemed interesting.

I almost gave up on this book several times. It's so slow in the beginning, and Leyna initially comes across as a vain, proud and truly shallow person. I mean how to you attend a school for 7 years and not have at least one friend, or even try to make one till your final week? She seems to see the worst in the people around her, and the beginning chapters are just tiring with Leyna taking random comments as insults. I honestly couldn't stand her. It got even worse when her mother got introduced and was just another hysterical matchmaker mom, which is a character I'm getting rather sick of.
However I am a completionist, and the world seemed interesting, and I was curious about the Jester so I stuck with it. I am glad it did, but I was almost halfway through the book when the incident mention in the blurb on the back of the book happens, and that's when the story finally starts going somewhere. It's also when Leyna starts to evolve into a likable character.
There are several instances in the the book of Leyna getting a win, just to get knocked down again almost instantly. It ends up being a bit depressing.
The relationship between the Jester and Leyna also starts out kind of tiresome, but as it evolved I think it worked. His identity was pretty easy to put together, but I enjoyed it all the same. Though there were some parts that drew out a little there too, I'll give it a pass as we're dealing with two characters who have to protect a lot of secrets, so it did kind of make sense.
Like I said the story, romance and intrigue start to gain speed at the halfway point in the book, and that's when you get to the part that's worth reading. While I wasn't really surprised with the reveal of the villain, I did enjoy Leyna doing her best to piece things together, and her starting to examine her life choices a bit.

It's hard to rate this one as I feel I would be generous to give the first half 2 stars, but had the whole book been like the second half I would probably enjoyed the whole experience a lot more. I'll give it 3, because one shouldn't have to fight through a book to get to the good part.

Our heroine, Leyna, initially dreams of joining the Wizarding Guild, and the book starts out with the fairly-terrifying Maze Trials, and from here she goes to a wizarding school, reminiscent of Harry Potter's Hogwarts, where she makes friends and rivals, until she is injured in a terrible conjuring accident.

The story picks up when we meet the Jester, who honestly lights up every scene he's in, and though I never really grew attached to Leyna herself, he is a delight. We also have a mystery involving a Demon Book and the murder of the king.

However, I don't think this was quite the book for me -- I was drawn in by the promise of romantic fantasy, with sparks practically flying from that glorious cover and a blurb that focuses more on the romance than the magic and the mystery. Too much time is spent in exposition and unnecessary dialogue. The characters discuss everything that is on their minds, and this unfortunately brought down the pace of the story. I think a reader looking for more of a coming-of-age story would have enjoyed reading how Leyna got where she was, but I would have preferred if the story started afterwards.

The magic system was intriguing, and I would have loved to see it developed more. The story has a lot of potential, and I know some readers who will love the leisurely pace -- I just prefer a bit more unpredictability.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to review!

I have enjoyed my time with Wizard's Masquerade, even though I fell a bit short on reading it in the time I had with it. It acts as a solid introduction to the fantasy world it wants you to occupy, and I enjoyed the time spent with Leyna. I hope the second book follows it strongly, because much of my optimism is based in that having a strong resolution to what was established here.

I felt the whole range of emotions reading this anger, disappointment, joy,anxiety, heartbreak , I laughed so much and ohhhhh the romance. It’s slow burn which is my favourite, not very much steam, but so many soft romantic moments, it’s just gorgeous. But it hurt to read the end I’m so sad but so excited for the next ! I need the next now

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Wizard's Masquerade is the first book in the Huskarl Duology by Jay Pellegrin. I had a chance to review the first published version from BooksGoSocial and today I am going to review the version by Pellegrin Books.
This medieval fantasy romance tells us a story about young wizard Leyna who has a dream to become a huskarl (high-ranked soldier in the service of the king) and made her kingdom a safer and better place. But everything changes when a great massacre happens and the king and queen with their best soldiers are killed. Unseasoned and naive Leyna and her best friend Grace are suddenly the only two wizards in the Huskarl unit protecting young prince Seth and Leyna is decided to figure things out. Strange things happen. Is obvious that in the castle lives a traitor. As you can see, the main plot is still the same.
Leyna still makes huge mistakes. She acts stupid and prejudiced. For the second reading, I liked her less.

A magic system and whole worldbuilding are still the same. This book has great potential. It avoids cliche about the perfect main character but some plots are obvious from the very beginning. I have not seen improvement. I still do not like how it was between Leyna and Finnigan and even with Jester.

This is a lovely romance, spiced with a little bit of mystery and politics. It is not Game of Thrones. It feels for me like a YA (but it is not, because of some scenes).

Thank you Pellegrin Books and NetGalley for eARC!

Thank you Netgalley and the author for the arc.

I loved this novel!!

What I adored were the characters. The differences in all their personalities were well done.

The story itself is quite interesting. The world-building is light, you insert yourself quite easily into the story. And we start off with a bang with action right from the beginning. The magic system with the otherworld is something I haven't seen before. Just the general relationship with the other world was super intriguing.

The different settings were interesting as well. The characters developed differently in each different setting.

As for the characters themselves, can't say there's one I didn't enjoy reading about.

Leyna was struggling with her dreams, her aspirations, and what the world actually gave her. In a new part of her life, where she wanted to settle but no. Changes upon changes kept happening and had. her morals were questioned all throughout.

The Jester. By far my favorite character. I won't go into too much detail about him as I want the other readers to be as mesmerized as I was. So mysterious, funny, conniving, yet sweet and all the good things. He truly brought a smile to my face whenever he appeared on the page.

And obviously had to mention Floofy. Our mascot for the story. May I just say that I want one very badly.

Overall highly recommend it! I cannot wait to see where this story goes CAUSE I CANT STICK WITH THAT ENDING.

Can you imagine Harry Potter mixed with Hamlet mixed with demons? Yeah, I didn't expect it to work, but Jay Pellegrin managed to do it!

Honestly, it was not what I was expecting based off of the cover art. If you are looking just for a smut in this New Adult novel, turn around. While there IS romance, there is lots more included in the storyline, such as politics, secrets, personal growth, magic, demons, and more...

An intriguing new voice to fantasy and New Adult fiction. I'm looking forward to the next book in this duology.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an advanced ebook of Wizard’s Masquerade.

This book was so engaging, from the very first page it held all of my attention. I read it in 2 days! The pacing was amazing, the slow burn romance and the mystery of the mass murder of the court kept me glued to the screen, there was never a dull moment.

The romance felt exciting, until the betrayal chapter, that was really painful to read. I wouldn’t call it steamy though, there wasn’t much spice. The only time it actually occurred they were interrupted! How could you do that to us!

Jester was the man of the hour, I knew instantly he was Cornelius because every time she looked at his eyes the color was never mentioned! But he was a treat. I can’t believe he just left her, that wasn’t much of a goodbye.

The ending was a nice twist regarding her sister being a highwayman. EVERY twist honestly was really well done. It was obvious Grace was into Quinn but I guess because of Leyna’s lack of social awareness, it was a surprise to me that Grace and Quinn are a couple.

The reasons I deducted 1 star are (1) because Leyna is spoiled, entitled, and naive. She grows as a character, but I’m excited to see how much she’ll grow in the sequel. Her actions didn’t always make sense. She goes and tells Jester things she could have been quiet about, though I understand the story wouldn’t have progressed in the direction the author wanted, but then she couldn’t follow a normal conversation with him sometimes? (2) I don’t see how she never got any backlash from all the unladylike behavior the court saw from her (3) how come only Fry called Leyna out on her privilege? (4) that prank should have been followed by a lecture.

I just personally want Leyna to be more mindful of her position in society and of the people around her, though I know it’s not up to me. But on a different note, it was actually good to see how disappointed she was in her chosen profession. It happens to so many people, it’s all about finding one self, though I guess in Leyna’s case it’s finding Finnigan.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and the author for this ARC.

After reading the very promising premise for this book, I was really excited to dive into a new fantasy world. And what can I say… I absolutely enjoyed reading this book.

The story starts with a suspenseful scene in a maze, where we already meet our lead protagonist Leyna who is in the middle of one of her exams. This scene already grabbed my attention because we get everything a good fantasy book needs on the first page: a strong and maybe a bit stubborn female protagonist who doesn’t give up. Magic. Suspense and mysteries. I was definitely hooked.

Apart from the beginning, I also liked our different characters. In my opinion, the main and side characters were all interesting to read and I didn’t feel like there was someone who didn’t add anything to the plot. My favourite character was Leyna because I admired her loyalty and loved her character development. I think it was nice and authentic to see how she struggled when she had to question the dreams she grew up with.

Another character I enjoyed reading about is of course the jester. Finding out his real identity is definitely one of the things that kept me reading all day. I loved his banter with Leyna and that he is such a complex character. Also, his and Leyna’s relationship is so good! If you love a slow burn romance, then this is definitely the book for you

I’m also a fan of the plot (especially the plot twists!) and the world building. However, I feel like there could have been more information about the magic system and the two kingdoms in general. Furthermore, I personally think the book was a bit too long.

To conclude, Wizards Masquerade is a great fantasy debut with complex characters, a steamy slow burn romance and shocking plot twists. I give the book 4,5 stars :)

The perfect soft fantasy romance to curl up with and get swept away.

Leyna is a recent graduate from wizard school who achieves her dream of becoming part of the royal guard. However it’s not everything she imagined it would be and things get further complicated when tragedy befalls the kingdom. She doesn’t know who to trust or what the right thing to do is. Also she’s being pursued romantically by the court jester?!

I love an unusual love interest and boy does Jester deliver. From the first moment he appeared I knew he was going to be such a fun character. He’s charming, beautiful, witty, flirty, and mysterious - he probably never lies but he has a way of not answering questions and getting Leyna tangled up in wordplay so you’re never sure if he’s being honest.

Leyna was the perfect match for him. She has limited life experience and is so hyper focused on her goals it made her easy to tease and Jester really made her question everything she thought she knew. At the same time though, she’s no pushover and she gave as good as she got.

I felt a whole range of emotions reading this book: disappointment, anger, surprise, I laughed so much, and I absolutely swooned over the romance. I will say it was lighter in romance than I expected - it takes a fair bit of time for the romance to really begin and then there’s only two particularly intimate scenes if I recall correctly. We do get lots of softer moments typical in historical romances like close dancing, kisses on the wrist/palm, and some moments that feel like they might lead to more but unfortunately get interrupted or put on hold because he insists on courting her properly.

I can’t say I “loved” the ending because it physically hurt to read but I’m so excited for book 2! The world building was really interesting and I hope there will be more books in this universe. The wizard exams alone deserve more time to shine. Overall an incredible debut.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Jay Pellegrin for the ARC)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 🌶️ 5/5
Alright. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC, and this does not influence my review. I literally have no words. DISCLAIMER: slight spoilers
Let’s start off with that gorgeous hot cover, like damn. You already know what the jester is going to be like. Jay Pellegrin had a great writing style, and I absolutely adored this book. The world-building was great, and I was genuinely invested in both the plot and the romance. The book delved straight into action which was great. I loved the chapter titles as well! This book was very realistic in reality vs. expectations and could be classified as both young adult and new adult. This book was like Jester by Brielle D. Porter and the Jester reminded me of Usui from KWMS!!!
Tropes included: grumpy/sunshine, court intrigue, hidden identities, wizard academy, guy falls first (head over heels;)) ballroom, hate to love, secrets and spying, witty banter, secret admirer, slow burn SWOOONWORTHY romance, touch her and you die, betrayals.
The FMC was a smart, witty, and hard-working woman and I loved her brains! Whenever she was stuck in a situation she would be willing to play along. We don’t get many of those in books. The JESTER GOD DAMNNN he was a tall dark and handsome, mischievous, hot, flirty, gave BUTTERFLIES🦋🦋🦋🦋. Overall their chemistry was off the charts!!! I loved it!!!!!! And the fact that the jester was very ballsy and never shied away from his feelings, but when <spoiler> the FMC was getting a little spicy, he acted like a gentleman🥲🥺</spoiler>. And did I mention he’s hot??? I will literally print the book cover and look at it. Some of my favorite moments were: <spoiler> the searching scene😏😏😏😏, the chasing scene (and when she overheard some stuff), when ahem ahem came to court her, the meet the parents (and impress the parents🥺🥺🥺🥺) the FMCS dream!!!😳😳😳 </spoiler>

The cover instantly drew me to this book. The artwork is incredible and paints a beautiful picture for the story.

This book was wonderfully good. The characters and detail of the story are superbly written. With detail to spare we follow Leyna through her journey of accomplishing her dreams, only to find out not everything is as she imagined. After meeting Jester she will find he isn’t the only one with many faces.

I can’t wait for the next book. I’d love to see where Leyna finds herself next.

It was a very interesting read. I love the medieval fantasy theme with all the magic school, court politics and intrigues, and slow burn romance. I guessed about who the Jester is right of the start, but I enjoyed the story. It was easy to follow and the fast pacing was pretty great. Leyna is a nice lead, as she is curious and went about her way in discovering what she wanted to know about. The ending felt a little flat for me after all the build-ups, but overall I really enjoyed it.

This book seemed to have a very interesting premise; I am a huge fantasy fan, and was excited to dive into this world of magic and royalty and demons. The cover art is what drew me to request this books, and I had high hopes! Unfortunately the book was kind of a let down. I think with a few more rounds of editing this could be a wonderful book. I found a lot of the writing to be repetitive, wordy, and overall confusing. The sentence and thought structure left a lot to be desired. Many sentences started with. "and, but, then, etc.." and in most cases would have benefitted from becoming a compound sentence. There were also moments where the author clearly used British slang terms, making the book less accessible for me personally. There are many points I highlighted in just the first few chapters where a slang term confused or hindered my reading. In one instance a British slang term resulted in what we consider in the US to be a derogatory slur. Location 88: "...the ****** of sky showed the sun hadn't set yet". This could easily be replaced with a non-slang term, ie. slivers, shards, chips, fragments. I don't expect myself to be recommending this book; but with the proper edits I would happily consider giving it another try.

ARC provided by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t connect with this book like I wanted to. I am the type of reader who lives romance and wants the heroine and hero to interact constantly throughout the story and I just didn’t feel like that happened in this book. The lack of romance in what I thought would be a romance filled novel is what kind of killed it for me. That being said, I did love the setting and aesthetic. The imagery was fantastic and I could practically picture the fine outfits and ball room during a particular scene. Although this book wasn’t for me I would be interested in ready more of Pellegrín’s work as I lived the writing style. A big thank you to NetGalley and Jay Pelegrín for this ARC.

Overall: 2.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I had major character disconnect here but I really did like some parts of the story and the writing

Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖 - I found the plot overall interesting and intriguing, though it definitely could have been cut

Feels: 🦋🦋🦋 - I had some tingles in the beginning half but they fizzled to nothing with my annoyance

Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔

Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡ - There were hints of it that could have been amazing but ultimately it was too little too late and fizzled for me

Romance: 💞💞💞 - I thought the hero did some romantic things and I appreciated that

Sensuality: 💋💋 - I found the sex scenes lacking a bit – I’m not sure if it was just because I disliked the heroine so much at that point or if I wanted more explicitness...maybe a bit of both

Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑

Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥

Humor: Yes, a bit, especially within banter with the Jester

Perspective: Third person only from the heroine’s point of view

Should I read in order?
Yes. This book does end on a cliffhanger for their HEA and they are separated. Book 2 should be out sometime in 2023.

Basic plot:
Recently graduated wizard Leyna gets her dream job as a Huskarl on the Royal Guard. Tasked with protecting the royal family, she is intrigued and equally suspicious of the court Jester that is much more than he pretends to be.

Give this a try if you want:
- Not much romance and prefer plenty of action, intrigue, and mystery to take precedence
- Low steam – there is 1 full scene, a couple kisses and a dream sex scene that is on the short side
- Fantasy medieval setting with magic and wizards that pull their ability to perform spells with ‘the other side’. New creatures as well as demons roam.
- A bit of sunshine and grump feel – heroine is grumpy and mopey and hero usually is teasing and spunky
- Heroine overcomes a bit of a disability – her leg is damaged in an on page demon attack and is never the same after. She has a limp and some weakness in it that its unknown if she will overcome it.
- You’re okay with a cliffhanger ending – It feels a bit like a happy for now, but they are also separated and things are not left cleaned up between them.

Ages:
- Heroine is 22, hero is 30

My thoughts:
I love the time Pellegrin spent in the beginning giving details of what to expect including content warnings. Love seeing that attention to readers, thank you!

I was so excited for this novel. A jester hero?? How fun and different is that? And I have been liking trying fantasy elements lately in romance and also love medieval feel for historical so I thought this would be right up my alley.

But, I also NEED my main characters to be together in the story. Like, A Lot. I know I complain about this a decent amount, and if you don’t care if your characters are together, this probably won’t bother you. But I felt like I was just waiting and waiting and waiting for them to be together. And then I would get a little bit of that I LOVED it. I loved when they were together. But then I would have to wait and wait and wait again. And I started getting bored and annoyed. I started tallying and by over 80% into the book, if I was being generous they were on page together for only 29%. Unacceptable to me. And a lot of that counting was like...a page or two of multiple pages so it really was less than that. Even if they were together every single page for the rest of the book they were only together half (or LESS THAN half more likely) of the book.

About halfway through the book I realized I really disliked the heroine. I know I can be hard on the heroines so I’m trying to make a conscious effort to not be an asshole and see the best in people here, especially our heroines that face so much extra pressure just being the female lead in a story. But...I just couldn’t here. I couldn’t. She has no redeeming qualities I could find and I am left thinking she is probably one of the worst heroines I have ever met. She’s sullen, envious of everyone around her, but does nothing to seem to better herself. She mopes around wanting everything but working hard at nothing. Shes just genuinely unlikable. I was thinking there was going to be plenty of character growth for her as she started to make smart decisions, gain self confidence, FIGHT FOR SOMETHING other than just follow orders blindly. But I didn’t get any of that. She stayed like this the entirety of the book.

So this is just a character disconnect for me that was compounded by things I dislike in romance (hero and heroine not being together) and the fact that the entire book is from her perspective I was just stuck listening to someone I didn’t like.

I loved the writing overall. I think in a different book I could absolutely adore this author. I would definitely be willing to try her again. I am pretty sure I will not be following up with this series though, unless reviews show the heroine seems like a different person (lol) then maybe I could possibly like her.

The steam was almost nonexistent in this one. I am going to start taking ‘steamy’ on the synopsis or cover to just mean there is at least one open door sex scene. :( I was hoping for more.