Quirky Cat
Book Summary:
Marlow Briggs has many talents - the biggest of which is her ability to get into all sorts of trouble. She may be a curse-breaker professional, but sticking her nose into everything is more of a passion.
That’s probably how she got into this situation. The Five Families want her imprisoned (or dead); two different magical gangs are out for her head, and that’s just the beginning. Worse, the whole city may be in danger if Marlow can’t sort things out.
My Review:
I don’t know why, but I’ve been garbage about reading the second halves of duologies lately. Diving into Masquerade of the Heart is my attempt to correct that mistake. This is the second novel in the Garden of the Cursed series, and I’ve been dying to know how it ends.
Masquerade of the Heart did an excellent job of maintaining, if not raising, the stakes in this world. Marlow kept finding herself in bigger and bigger disasters; it was highly entertaining, to say the least.
That said, I didn’t love the conclusion as much as I had hoped. For one thing, I found myself lukewarm on the romance here. There is too much drama and insufficient emotional development or attachment, you know?
My other problem is the pacing. The first half is fine, but some scenes get rushed somewhere during the second half to ensure the book concludes. This results in some twists/turns that are left unexplained, and it bugged the heck out of me. (One of the biggest mysteries in Harlow’s life, and it’s changed in a paragraph without explaining how? Seriously?).
After everything has been said and done, I’m thrilled to have finished this series. I got to see it through, and while I would have liked to see some bits changed, it was a solid conclusion for this world.
Highlights:
YA Fantasy
Cursbreaking
Complex Magical Society/Politics
Stubborn character who knows everything
LGBTQ+
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