The Masquerade by Olivia Lynn Jarmusch // Book Review

Jane Akerly feels as if she's falling headfirst into a fairytale.

Spending Christmas Eve at the Palace of Tarsurella is everything Christmas songs and Hallmark movies are made of. But Jane knows better than to get her hopes up. At least, she should know better. Her friendship with Prince Asher is simply that...a friendship. Isn't it? Or will the twinkling lights upon the tree spark something new?

Meanwhile, the Royal Family is enjoying having Bridget back home for their beloved holiday traditions, including the annual Christmas Eve Masquerade Ball. But not everyone is looking forward to the holly-jolly event. Princess Hope feels it's wrong to host the party when so many within their Kingdom are still without power. Princess Chasity is battling doubts of her own, concerning the prim-and-proper James O Conner who insists on treating her like Christmas Royalty. Shouldn't she be flattered by his elaborate gifts and thoughtful doting?

A sparkling evening of shimmering ball gowns and vintage masks quickly takes a dramatic turn as a mysterious guest arrives. Is Hope seeing who she thinks she's seeing? Or is it simply a case of mistaken identity?

 

 My Review

 *Because I can't hide spoilers here like I can on Goodreads, I moved the end of my review to the top so you can just read the spoiler-free part if you want. Otherwise, prepare to have basically the whole book spoiled for you. Or you can click the link and see my review, spoiler free and in its original form, on Goodreads.*

LIVY!!!! What was that?! By the middle of this book, I was NOT happy. So much was going wrong. However, there was still a LOT that I loved. Why five stars to a book that made me mad? Well, it is a Tales of Tarsurella book, of course! 

This book certainly was a roller-coaster of emotions. Addison, Vanessa, Liam, & Bridget are definitely more in the background now, and we are more focused on Chasity, Hope, & Asher, but I love how well Livy weaves everyone in. There is a HUGE cast of characters and she balances it really well.

I just have to add here that there are adorable quirks about this series that I just love, like the capitalization of words that might not normally be capitalized and the occasional misspelling or something. I feel like they make the books extra special somehow. And as I've gotten to know Livy a bit more through Instagram and participating in launches for Tarsurella books, I love seeing how the things she loves shows up in her books. Sometimes it's really obvious, but other times, it's more subtle and I have to ask myself if it's really a connection or just me reading into things. I do think, however, that Jane is Livy in book form. And now book Livy, as Jane, got to go to her favorite place!!! Hmmmm, I wonder how much of THAT part of the book is real Livy's dream put into fiction?

!!!!!!!!!!! SPOILERS BELOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm starting with the bad stuff; the stuff that made me sad or mad.

#1 - Hope. That girl... I want to knock her upside the head!!!! I can't believe her attitude and that she is letting her emotions rule her head. She knows better! I don't hate Luke, but I also don't like him. He's okay, he's probably not as bad as I originally believed, but he's not doing things well and... there is David. Why can't Hope be with David?! I am just really upset with Hope right now. And I do get that the heart does things we can't always control but that is why we don't follow it!!!!

#2 - Addison. I used to really like him and he is making me so incredibly sad right now. I don't think all the things he is doing are wrong, but his attitude and motivation are. Seeing him angry and hurting Vanessa hurts my heart. I hope he gets better and SOON!

#3 - The anger against the monarchy. I know that we are getting the "nice" look at this family, but seriously, they love their people and Tarsurella so much. Why are the people so against the Royal family?

#4 - What Jane told Millie. When they are getting ready to leave, Jane tells Millie that Millie's greatest weapon is her childlike spirit. I get it, I do, but it also kind of rubbed me the wrong way a little bit because Jesus and faith are Millie's greatest weapons. Anyway, that's a small side issue.

Okay, I just need to say that, yes, I am aware that this is fictional and I am overreacting to things just a bit, but this is how I feel, okay? I am really invested in these characters and their lives and what is happening is making me so sad and angry. Like Millie being torn from her family and her home broke my heart. My little Millie. And she can't even be with Willie all the time!!

Whew. Deep breath. Now I should share the things I did like.

#1 - Charlie. He is fantastic. He brings joy and levity to this book and to situations and he's such a good friend to Jane. Honestly, since I'm a sucker for best-friends-to-lovers, I used to want Jane to end up with Charlie but they really are better as friends.

#2 - Jane and Millie. Speaking of friends, I LOVED Jane's special friendship with Millie. It is so sweet.

#3 - Asher's family "grilling" Jane. I thoroughly enjoyed how protective the sisters are of Asher, particularly blunt Millie. I enjoyed seeing Jane become friends with the family, mostly Millie and Chasity.

#4 - More Jillian and Jacob. It was a super small part of the story, but I LOVED Jillian talking to Jacob at the ball. She tells him things so straight up and he actually listens. Her advice here was FIRE. That girl has some serious wisdom.

#5 - JAMES IS GONE AND HANSON IS BACK!!!!! I'm so happy that things are FINALLY looking bright for Chasity and Hanson. At least one thing is going right.

#6 - Asher's character development. Asher and Addison seem to have sort of switched places when it comes to personality. I REALLY like who Asher has become, even though he does make a few foibles in this book, he has grown up so much and I just love him.


There are just a few massive developments in this book. For one thing, JANE AND ASHER ARE ENGAGED!!!!!! But that kind of jumps the gun since it happens at the end of the book. Sorry, I'm just super excited about it :) The biggest surprise - and it totally shocked me - is that DEBORAH IS JANE'S MOM!!!!! What?! That was insane and I'm going to not think too hard about THAT wrinkle in the family tree, what with Deborah and Steve being engaged and now Jane and Asher are engaged. Nope, not thinking about it.

I didn't used to connect much to Jane until now. Her thoughts on loss and grief really hit home for me. I felt her fears and doubts. There were two main conversations about all of that - one with Millie and one with Asher - and both hit home, while also being super encouraging. I also try to draw comfort from the hope of new beginnings that these characters have in the midst of a coming war and so much uncertainty. Yeah, it's fiction, but I want courage and hope like that.

Even though the next book is called The War (seriously, Livy, I'm scared just by the title), there is some positive development in the kingdom because Charlie might have found a way to restore power to Tarsurella, thanks to this super rare and powerful element that may or may not be the reason Jane's mom had to stay away from her all of her life.



If you read this rambling review, wow. You must be as big of a fan as I am!