Masked Desire

by Alana Delacroix

• ISBN10: 1516103653
• ISBN13: 9781516103652
• Publish Date: 10 April 2018
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 290
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

Michaela Chui ia a masquerada. They are a type of supernatural who take on different “masks”. They can become completely different people, with different looks, ethnicities and even genders. The more powerful the masquerada, the more masks they can have. With Michaela, we really only see two. The one she is currently wearing as Michaela and another as a Russian man named Yuri, who is a bit of a protector of hers. She does lose control and becomes him once in this story.

Cormac Redoak is a fey. He’s been exiled by the Queen of Fairy. He is tied to his forest in the Queendom. As his forest dies, because he’s unable to tend it, he’s also dying. He must get back on the queen’s good side or he and his sister will not survive. Cormac also has a secret. He’s much more powerful than the queen knows. If she finds out about his special powers, she will kill him as the queen did with his mentor.

Michaela is head of security for a secret council of supernaturals. When a human is killed in her office, she is tasked for finding the killer. Cormac is assigned as “watcher”. His job isn’t to be part of the investigation, but to ensure that the investigation is handled properly. There are some who believe Michaela could be the killer. What is is more likely is, she is the target. From the back, Hiro and Michaela look very similar.

As MIchaela and Cormac are investigating this murder, things get pretty intense. There is a lot of action and plenty of desire. Michaela and Cormac each have their own plans and neither consider mating as part of those plans, but things can change when life throws things at you.

There are several different supernatural species in this book, but masquerada is the main focus. In this one, we learn more about the fey and Fairy. We also learn a bit more about vampires. I think you can read this book without having read the previous book, though I really enjoyed that one too. I’m really excited to see where this series goes from here.

**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Michaela Chui is the security chief of the supernaturals’ ruling council. As a Masquerada she takes her role in this secret council seriously. When one of the councilmen turns up butchered in her office, she sets out to solve the case and protect the rest of the council members. Cormac, an exile from the court of the Fairy Queen, needs to know why the councilmen were killed and if it is because of a deal, he was working. Needing to be closer to the investigations he recommends himself as Watcher much to the chagrin of Michaela.

I find the idea of the Masquerada intriguing. While they have strict rules, they can take the form of different people. They spend years honing these "masks," in fact, Michaela is a mask. They also have incredible insight, organizational skills, and analytical minds. Michaela didn't have a pleasant childhood and because of that, she chooses to wear her current mask. 

Ah, the Fey. Of all the supernatural creatures they scare me the most. LOL Cormac was once a military leader but was exiled when the Queen took power. He carries a secret, and a heavy burden. When we meet him he is looking for a way to appease the Queen. Cormac is smart, sexy and unnerves poor Michaela.

The tale is equal parts murder-mystery and romance. As these two characters work together, they begin to let down their guard and open up. Michaela accidentally bonds them and from there, things got quite interesting. Intense action scenes, monsters, danger and heated scenes kept me flipping the pages. We even get to travel to the Fey world which was both beautiful and terrifying. Delacroix tests our couple, and it was beautiful watching them move from co-workers to lovers.

The romance wraps up in this tale as does the murder-mystery but the danger to the council and the supernatural world continues. The author has a vivid imagination, and I appreciated the different takes on the supernatural, their gods and hierarchies. There is an overall arc thread to this series that continues, and for that reason I recommend these stories be read in order of release.  This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer