WELCOME
Dear Readers, Aliens and Creatures – how adorable. 🤣 I give you the fantastical – Lord of the Masquerade.
BASICS
Official title: Lord of the Masquerade
My title: Unmasked Lord, Managing Minx
Author: Erika Ridley
Publisher: Erika Ridley – Author Collective
Fav character: Julian
Type: Book – series
5/5
INTRO
I am happy the author took the risk and I am happy I got to read about someone truly DIFFERENT, not just because she was a ‘bluestocking’ or ‘wallflower’ – which Unity Thorne probably would never have been.
I was going to wait until September (#pgmseptember ) to read this one, but I was too tempted. I am very happy I was tempted. What a surprising and lovely read. 👏👏👏
REVIEW
Unity Thorne is “British mixed (caucasian and afro-something)”, currently poor, currently in a tiny shared apartment and currently desperate to use her previous success as a business consultant, to start her own, sure to be thriving, business. A business of masquerades. A more challenging venture than the gentlemen’s club and the gambling den she previously managed, without much recognition.
To ensure her future masquerades at her future club are top notch, she MUST learn from the best. Which means she MUST attend the scandalous and highly exclusive masquerade parties held by Duke Lambley. She MUST. She just needs to figure out how to get in, and once she does, she needs to figure out how to stay.
She will use her cunning wit, her charm and her brains to finesse her way into the Masquerade and dare I say, into the heart of a perfectionist duke.
(Sidenote: IF ANYYYY of the above tickles you with IT’S SO UNREALISSTTTICCCCCCCCC 😒, never read this genre again… because realism is NEVER present. Ehem-)
A story about friends that appreciate your differences and strengths and that help you overcome challenges. A story about love in unlikely places. A story about determination being one of the keys to success.
OBSERVATIONS
▪️DISCLAIMER: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
▪️The author took a leap of faith and it paid off. I appreciate this fresh spin on characters we have seen before but always cloaked in ultra-paleness. It dare say it also seems to have inspired the author, the writing was fun and flowy;
▪️ I WILL say though, not only is Unity ‘Modern’ she is positively FUTURISTIC, lol, and I love it!
▪️Mention was made of the ‘freed slaves’ roaming London at the time and allusions to the descent of Queen Charlotte were highlighted. 👏👏👏 A true first for many of these novels I have read. While we may have seen a ‘Sampson’ as a butler, or trusted helper, or footman or some such thing, here we have a club owning Sampson, fresh and entertaining. We aren’t sure what he looks like exactly, but I am happy he exists;
▪️There was no mention of the Africans, who weren’t slaves, who would have also been mingling about; Diplomats and emissaries with gold of their own (these people usually tend to be forgotten). They would have been present and known in the society for their ‘difference’, contacts, ability to source goods and improve relationships.
▪️ We will ignore the fact that although this girl was CLEARLY British mixed and more than likely, based off the description, ‘white passing’ she was still labelled as ‘black’ 💁.
▪️ We will also ignore that her skin colour WAS so light- Not sure why much darker characters are harder to write, but hey…💁
CONCLUSION
I want to discuss writers taking risks and writing for readers who may have read ‘it all’.
I love the idea of trying out new ideas and massaging common concepts into uncommon situations. Sometimes a character that does not fit everything previously accepted is shunned and the writer may be shunned in turn, but they are noted and they are appreciated.
I’lo be making a video on this topic of authors taking risks because it is a discussion I wish to have about a few authors I have recently read (at the time of this post).
What do you think, was this novel ‘risky’ to you?
Pages: 250
Publisher: Self Published
Year: 2021
