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. 

Blog Tour: Sarah-Jane Lehoux - Women in Fantasy

I am part of Lehoux's Blog Tour and today she stops by to talk about women in fantasy. Welcome!

Years ago, when the first of the Lord of the Rings movie was being released, I joined an online forum to get info on the films (yes, I was a Tolkien geek back then), and I stumbled into an RPG thread. I thought it sounded fun and that it would be a good way for me to practice my writing. I was all set to create my Middle Earth avatar and join in, but then I read one of the RPG’s rules, which went something along the line of: If you are playing as a female, you are not allowed to be a warrior, and should be such things as a bar wench, farmer’s wife, etc. The reasoning was that women didn’t do stuff like fight.

And let’s face it: Tolkien’s world was pretty testosterone-based, so maybe this rule made sense to the thread’s moderators. But it pissed me off to no end. I loved the books just as much as any of the men on that forum. I wanted to create a character in that universe and have fun with it, just as much as any of the men were. But I was only allowed to join if I made my character become what they thought a woman should be in a fantasy realm: pretty much invisible or arm candy.

Thanks, but no thanks.

See, when I write, I like to bring as much of the real world into it as I possibly can. The fantasy aspect is a bonus, but it’s not the whole show. I like fully realized characters, and believe that even if they are only minor characters, they still need to be individuals, not just cut and paste copies of outdated gender role ideas. And since I base my fantasy world (The Sevy Series) on more than just a romanticized verison of medieval Europe, my female characters can be any damned thing they want to be.

Warrior? Sure. Assassin? No problem! Queen, priestess, healer, politician, pirate, scientist, philosopher…you name it, you got it. A simple Google search reveals that women have been all these things and more throughout the centuries, even if they aren’t often mentioned in history class.

And let’s not stop at profession. What about family structure? Sick of one man + one woman (ie his property) or one man + his harem? Me too. That’s why I love looking at different cultures, with different family structures. Guess what? The reality of humanity is that we are very versatile, and traditional fantasy has not even begun to explore all the possibilities that real life civilizations have.

See to me, that’s what fantasy is…possibility. It’s a tool I use to explore the human condition. So why on earth would I limit myself, my characters, and my world to such boring, played out stereotypes when I have thousands upon thousands of cultures, and millennia of history to draw inspiration from?

My female characters are not invisible. They are not arm candy. They are proud and strong because they are based on generations of proud and strong women.

In the end, I did not join that little Tolkien RPG thread. I joined another RPG thread, on another forum, and thanks to that, I created Sevy, my feisty orphan who grew up to be one bad-assed bitch. The main character of the eponymous series, Sevy was just the first of many female characters to fill my universe. Each one of them is different, as cookie cutters should be reserved for, you know, making cookies, not in helping making characters.

And now I want cookies. Thanks for that.  

thank you S-J!

Never trust a liar, especially when they’re telling the truth

Starting over isn’t easy, especially when the world isn’t ready for you to change. Sevy, thief turned assassin turned mercenary, isn’t having any fun adjusting to a normal, law-abiding life. Luckily for her, an old partner in crime arrives with an irresistible proposition: a getaway to a tropical island, an adventure of a lifetime, and an amazing friendship ready to blossom into an even more amazing romance.

Things are looking up for Sevy. That is, until a pack of maniacal fairies with a taste for human flesh arrive on the scene.

Now she must unravel a web of magical intrigue hidden behind the outwardly idyllic atmosphere of the islands of Belakarta. Nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. Trapped under the spell of a handsome and mysterious stranger, Sevy must fight fairies and tricksters to regain her freedom.

Or spend an eternity as a sorcerer’s plaything.