This is a perfect summer read. A contemporary YA romance truly suitable for YA readers, this story weaves the complexity of grieving a parent, navigating setting healthy boundaries, as well as learning to be vulnerable with trusted friends in an adventurous romp through Venice Italy. This story gives all the vibes of a feel good early 2000’s high school flick in a beautifully described setting.

If you enjoyed Bye Forever I Guess but are looking for a slightly more mature romance look no further.

<I>"a mask let you choose to be anyone you wanted, and go figure, i had apparently decided to be one hundred percent me."</I>

<b>plot</b>
tbh...going into this, i had low expectations considering i didnt like hearts overboard, so that definitely helped because this book was extremely stereotypical. its popular group and nerd group and oh my gosh my social status is going to die if i get caught touching a fantasy book AHHH. that was like the only annoying part about it, and we could have gone without it. i enjoyed going on the little scavenger hunt for the secret club clues, and the shared love she had with her dad over the books (although i wish this was fleshed out a lil more), and the school assignment, but now that i think of it, we never saw the completed assignment LOL. anyways.

the theme was like "you can be a fan of something even if youre not totally obsessed"/ "you can say no to people and have healthy boundaries"/ "you can open up and trust people more without assuming theyre all bad" and ik this because it might as well have been lit up in a neon sign saying "THIS IS THE THEME. THE THEME IS HERE, AND ITS THIS". i got it, thanks.

but basically just expect lots of exploring in italy! and cosplay and secret fan clubs.

<b>characters</b>
ah, my favorite part

<I>evie</I>
so aside from her being like this:
"actually, i would likely crack under pressure and immediately admit the wrongdoing so no one else got in trouble, because I WAS A HUGE DORK LIKE THAT." (emphasis added by yours truly)
and the fact that she was so scared of her classmates finding out she liked fantasy books (ABSOLUTELY ABHORRENT LIKE HOW DARE SHE LOVE A HUGE GENRE OF LITERATURE OMG THE WORLD IS ENDINGGGGG) that she (prepare yourself) shoved a piece of paper in her mouth to hide it and then proceeded to gag it back up... um... mom pick me up im scared. how was she not more nervous for people seeing her throw up paper like a vulture?
but yeah, aside from that, she was pretty good mc! i liked her well enough lol. she had hobbies (art) and was kinda relatable!

<I>"you can never have too many rhinestones," gabe muttered.
"I'm putting that in the yearbook as your senior quote."</I>

<I>"i think he's the type i didnt know i wanted but that i need. the rumors are wrong. he didnt get arrested, he didnt go to juvie, he didnt terrorize hamsters-"</I>

<I>gabriel</I>
call him gilbert blythe 2.0 for how many times his eyebrows moved to express his emotions
anyways,
i was eating up gabe and evie's banter hehehe. theyre the perfect couple bc they have some similarities, but theyre personalities are so opposite. he's, in evie's words, "mr. zero words. mr. unappreciative. mr. broody loner." who is secretly a softie and very introspective (we all know and love the overused type LOL)
he barely smiled or laughed much so evie made it her goal to get him to and it was just so adorable. if youve read powerful it was basically a mak and adena situation.
not to make yet another reference to another book, but gabriel also did the mr. darcy hand flex LOL.
he's just a chill guy...the embodiment of unbothered, moisturized, happy, in my lane.
but someone get this man a canal.
he needs them to live.

<I>misc.</I>
ive never been more confused than when i read: "are you carrying a phaser? because your beauty stuns me. beam me up, hottie." WHAT LOL (dw it was not gabriel saying that)

i liked how the conflict at the end was fixed...like instead of one character going to make amends, both of them did. it wasnt just one person apologizing, and the issue didn't last very long which i appreciated bc i hate miscommunication

id definitely recommend if youre in the mood for a lighthearted palette cleanser! the vibes are fun and adventurous, perfect for summer :)

cw: kissing, romantic tension

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for accepting my request for this arc of Love Unmasked.

This novel seems like the perfect rom-com for the high school and maybe even college age. Although I wasn’t able to fully connect because I’m older, I will say there were some cute moments and the writing gives off a good flow that is easy to follow.

Definitely would recommend this to the younger audience or the younger people in my life.

3.75/4 ⭐️

Every time Becky Dean publishes a new book, I say it’s my new favorite Becky Dean book. And for Love Unmasked, it’s true yet again. I adore all her books, but the concept of a girl sneaking out to find a secret club for her favorite fandom and meeting a masked stranger is too good not to love. Pair that with strong banter, the best kind of romantic tension, and all the lovely details and descriptions of Venice, and I fell head over heels for this book.

I really love the way this story plays out. The juxtaposition of Evie during the day exploring Venice with her classmates versus Evie at night sneaking out to indulge in her favorite fandom is such a great vein to explore. I adore everything Becky Dean includes in this book about fandoms and nerd culture, and the theme of staying true to one self and what they enjoy has such a strong message for the YA audience.

Some elements might come across a little predictable, but I appreciate the lengths Becky went to keep readers guessing as to who might be under the mask. The theme of masks in general was also nicely done all around.

In addition, I adore Gabriel and his perspective so much. I love when two characters can complement each other in such great ways. I also like that the characters learn there are consequences for their actions. Not enough YA books address this in a realistic way.

Love Unmasked has everything that I expected from a Becky Dean book--great descriptions of a place that give me a longing for travel, banter and adorable romance, great friendships, and layers of story that indulge both the cute and fluffy moments and the serious, soul-searching ones. This is easily one of my favorite reads of the year!

Evie is on a school art trip to Venice to study art & architecture and unexpectedly gets paired with the new student, Gabriel, on their class project. At first, Gabriel seems like a loner and immune to Evie's perfectionist, friendly charms, but Evie is initially more worried about finding a secret Elven Realms underground fan club devoted to her favorite fantasy series, which is also set in Venice. With her best friend's help, she's able to sneak out in her self/designed costume and ends up meeting the mysterious Angelo, another student staying at her hotel who is also an Elven Realms fan. Throughout the week, they explore the club, but keep their identities secret.

Meanwhile, during the day, Evie grows closer to Gabriel, but is he Angelo, or is it someone else? This was the only part of the story that wasn't quite believable. They spend all night together in a mask, but yet don't recognize voices/mannerisms, etc? It was obvious that Gabriel was Angelo! However, the fun of watching Evie truly be herself, share her fan art, and learn to stand up for her own needs while falling for Gabriel and learning why he often withdraws from others made this a strong read. I love the magic of Venice, & Dean does such a great job describing the city with its winding canals, many bridges, and terra cotta buildings. Our high school kids who love cosplay/fantasy would like get a kick out of this!

Thank you to Netgalley & Delacorte for the e-ARC. This one is out July 15th.

Evie is universally liked by everyone. Except Gabriel. So of course he becomes her partner on what feels like the most important project ever. Beyond being a lighthearted romance though, this book dives into the lasting effects of grief, the fear of the unknown, and the doubts we have about ourselves.

I enjoyed all of the aspects of this read and recommend it for teens and adults.

I'm trying to fairly review this as an adult who didn't realize this was a high school romance, but overall I didn't love it. I think the concept of another book series being the focus of this one really worked. I was pretty bored by everything to do with the Elven Realms. Otherwise I thought it was fine and cute. If someone is looking for a clean romance for their teen, this would be a good one. Personally just felt like it dragged a bit. I have read and enjoyed other high school romance books (ex: Lynne Painter) so I know it's not only that I felt like I was reading about children.

4.5 stars, rounded up for netgalley

My Quick Takes:
- 4.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
- Language 🤐 none
- Spice ❤️‍🔥 none/brief kisses
- Content 🤔 past death of parent

Let’s hear it for a TRUE 👏🏼 YA 👏🏼. Love Unmasked gives The Lizzie McGuire Movie meets Lord of the Rings cosplay and I ate it up!! This story was SO CUTE! And perfect for the high school aged reader.

The main characters are 18, on spring break in Venice, and working through big topics like fitting in, where to go to college, and what career to pursue, as well as fun teen topics like “is he flirting with me” and hand-holding/first kiss kind of butterflies.

For the extra cautious parent, the main character sneaks out at night, violating the school’s spring break trip rules.

This is the first book I’ve read by Becky Dean and oh my word I can’t wait to read more!

I loved this frothy and fun romp through Venice! The discussion about fandom and identity reminded me so much of myself in high school, college, and young adulthood. I'm jealous of the balls she got to attend and the whole concept of The Club in general. I loved sweet Evie and her people pleasing ways. The ending was so sweet-- my own wish is that there was an epilogue!

This is a sweet story written for a younger teen/ YA audience that shows readers what it's like to support your friends and the people you are in a relationship with, Venice is of course a fun setting and having been there myself I was glad to see some of the other towns and their specialties mentioned as well. This of course requires the same sort of suspension of belief that a movie like A Cinderella Story requires in that people don't know who it is behind a mask and don't recognize the parts of their face they can see and/or voices, but in the same way it is easy to love A Cinderella Story anyway, it is easy to love this story as well. I really liked the character development of both the male and female lead. I enjoyed their friend group and the way they helped each other to start becoming exactly who they are regardless of other people's expectations.

I wanted to like this one, but the multiple pop culture references throughout the book made it hard for me to get into the book and I ended up DNFing it at around 20%. I did enjoy the writing style, but when a book has multiple real life references, it pulls me out of the story a lot of the time.

Another great YA RomCom from Becky Dean!

As I've come to expect from Dean's protagonists, I really liked Evie and her journey through this story. Also, I'm definitely a sucker for slow burn romance, which this definitely delivered!

The setting was beautiful in this story (which is not something I often say about YA in contemporary settings)! Venice was definitely the right pick for this class trip!

The humor was also great in this story, I highlighted so many quotes in this book that made me chuckle.

If your looking for a story with:
-Grumpy x sunshine
-Dislike to friends to more
-Humor
-and a trip to Italy

Then this might be the perfect RomCom to pick up this summer!

Becky Dean delivers another delightful YA romance with "Love Unmasked"!

We follow Evie and her class along on a senior class trip to Venice, Italy, where Evie ends up stuck with the last person she wants as her partner for an assignment.

Evie was a great character and I really liked that she began to learn, as a people pleaser, that sometimes some boundaries are okay. Also, the supporting cast of her friends and love interest were very fun! While it was predictable who her fellow mask-wearing friend was (at least to me), knowing that didn't detract from the story at all in my eyes. Actually, I'm pretty sure the reader is supposed to figure it out a long time before Evie, plus knowing helped build some tension for the reveal at the end when they both realize who the other person is. And speaking of the reveal, I thought it was done well!

The secret fan club for the book series the MC loves was something I really enjoyed (and I wish I could go there!). It added an additional element of whimsy to the book, which I loved.

Some highlights:
-The beauty of Venice, Italy
-Grumpy x sunshine
-Dislike to more
-Lots of humor
-Slow burn romance

If you're looking for a sweet, clean, YA RomCom to read this summer then this book is for you!

We're definitely looking forward to carrying this at our store!

Evie, a popular kid at school, gets the opportunity to go on a class trip to Venice, which is the place where her favorite book series was inspired from. She seizes this opportunity to meet up with other fans, while simultaneously keeping this a secret from her classmates.

I absolutely loved the setting of story. It was very atmospheric and really shaped the story. Evie and Gabe developed such a cute dynamic throughout the book, which I really enjoyed, but I didn’t care for the plot line with Angelo very much. I do think this was pretty predictable, although it was still entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance for providing an e-ARC.

+ Evie is on a trip in Venice, Italy with her art class but she has another ulterior motive for being there which involves her favorite novel series, Elven Realms. Everything is going to plan until she is paired up with the new guy, Gabriel Martinez, who doesn’t seem to like her at all.

+ This one was a little predictable but I did love the setting of Venice, Italy and Evie wearing a mask around the mysterious and romantic city, trying to find clues about an Elven Realms event.

+ The romance was cute, he’s grumpy and she’s sunshine. This one is definitely for the teen readers and young YA crowd.

~ This story was a little bit too young for me. This one is definitely for the teen readers and young YA crowd. Also I kept wondering how she couldn’t recognize Gabriel behind the mask. They spent basically all day together!

Final Thoughts:

My favorite thing about this book was the setting of Venice, Italy. How nice to be on a class trip there. Overall, I think younger young adults would enjoy this one.

Give me everything Becky Dean writes! I absolutely love her books. The descriptions of the wonderful locations are awesome and you cannot go wrong with a Clean Romance.
I will always purchase her books for my students.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Such a cute read with adorable characters in a gorgeous setting. I liked the plot of this and as a YA book it was such a fun quick read!

Becky Dean writes YA contemporaries set in interesting and fun locales and this one was no different - it is set in Venice! Everything about the setting came to life. I’ve been to Venice before so that helped, but it was nice to revisit my memories of Venice - and the book made me feel like I was there and made me want to go back! That’s how lifelike the setting was.

The story is centered around popular girl and people pleaser Evie, who secretly loves a fandom and doesn’t want anyone to know because she’s afraid they will judge her. She is most excited for the trip to Venice because there is an underground club celebrating the fandom so she sneaks out to meet up with others. She wears a mask to hide her identity and meets up with a guy (also masked) and they decide to attend the fandom events together.

This story had major vibes of The Lizzie McGuire movie, from the Italian setting (though the movie is set in Rome) to the main character sneaking away from her school group. I happen to LOVE the Lizzie McGuire movie so that made the book even more enjoyable for me.

<img src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/83d335662c56a57fb92686c487e3035f/tumblr_inline_nuinj9nkqS1qb0zgx_500.gif" width="400" height="300" alt="description"/>

I liked experiencing Venice again through Evie’s eyes and how she becomes friends with the offish Gabriel, who pushed her out of her comfort zone a bit. The story was sweet, and while predicable, the anonymous romance was enjoyable to read about.

A perfect light, summery read!

“Beyond everyday magic,”

I love it. That's all I have to say about that.

Honestly, it took me maybe a quarter of it to get into it but once I was in, I was in. Like, get irritated with my cute toddler, don't want to eat in. Gabriel and Evie are such an awesome couple. A quintessential opposites attract. I love how they come together because of their differences and they don't try to change one another. Definitely try to help each other grow but only to emphasize the good. I appreciate that.

If you like Venice, fantasy novels (this is a contemporary romance about a fantasy novel) school trips, masks, canals, fun side characters, and art, check this one out!

The nerdy adorableness was fantastic! I loved that issues were resolved fairly quickly, and that the whole book was a short journey of growth, nerdiness, friendship, and support. Honestly 10/10 what I want for all young adults.