Carole's SUnday Review: Masquerade - Hannah Fielding

Author: Hannah Fielding

Title: Masquerade (Andalucian Nights #2)

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 442

First Published: August 2015

Where I Got It: My shelf (given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

A young writer becomes entangled in an illicit gypsy love affair, pulling her into a world of secrets, deception and dark desire. 

Summer, 1976. Luz de Rueda returns to her beloved Spain and takes a job as the biographer of a famous artist. On her first day back in Cádiz, she encounters a bewitching, passionate young gypsy, Leandro, who immediately captures her heart, even though relationships with his kind are taboo. Haunted by this forbidden love, she meets her new employer, the sophisticated Andrés de Calderón. Reserved yet darkly compelling, he is totally different to Leandro but almost the gypsy's double. Both men stir unfamiliar and exciting feelings in Luz, although mystery and danger surround them in ways she has still to discover.

Luz must decide what she truly desires as glistening Cádiz, with its enigmatic moon and whispering turquoise shores, seeps back into her blood. Why is she so drawn to the wild and magical sea gypsies? What is behind the old fortune-teller’s sinister warnings about ‘Gemini’? Through this maze of secrets and lies, will Luz finally find her happiness… or her ruin?

Masquerade is a story of forbidden love, truth and trust. Are appearances always deceptive?

This is the second novel of Andalucien trilogy. I read the first one a while back and I had liked it a lot. This one follows the story of Alexandra's and Salvador's daughter, Luz and her journey is the lavish Spain of the 70s.

Again...I am in love with the writing style of the author! It brings not only the world alive, but the characters as well. She creates so much emotion and feeling. I highly applaud the writing! She truly did justice with bringing the beauty and drama of Spanish society alive yet again. It makes me want to read more by the author.

Ooooh poor Luz. I do feel bad for her, oddly, because all she really wants is love and to have a perfect life in Spain. However, her parent's past is now haunting her unknowingly. Leandro's mom has revenge in store for Luz, even though Luz had NOTHING to do with what happened years previous - she wasn't even born yet! Yes, I do feel bad for Leandro as well (kinda) even though he felt entitled to help out his mom. I am annoyed that they fell so quickly for one another. They pretty much had lust and love from the moment they locked eyes. At first I was on team Leandro, but then he leaves her with a broken heart, so I am on team Andre. However...I don't trust Andre all the way either. 

I must admit....I did like the love triangle. WHAT? Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. It worked well and it made the story way more interesting. The two men are similar in looks, but they are polar opposites in lifestyle, but I don't trust either of them. Andre did earn major points in the end, but I still don't fully trust him.

The middle did have a dry spot for a few pages. Once the dry spot was over, I could hardly put it down.

THE ENDING!!! Ugh! Such a cliff-hanger. So many loose ends that need to tied up! Hopefully there is a continuation of the story. 

In the end, this was good. I liked it as much as the other one. I think I connected with Luz more so than Alexandra. Oddly enough, I liked the love triangle. It worked well and it mixed well and made sense. I am team Andre, buuuuuut I still don't trust him entirely. I don't trust either of the guys. I truly hope the next book is a continuation of this story, because I felt there were so many loose ends that I need a conclusion for. I highly encourage reading book 1 before diving into this one. There is so much back story that is essential to this story (at least in my opinion). Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4.