This book was freaking amazing! The magic and court intrigue, secrets and silent blushes, were written to perfection, and the character growth of Leyna progressed at a good pace. I loved how I was able to see her grow into the person she became at the end of the book and how Finnigan also evolved so much in a good way. The setting swept me away and the flashback/s were well-placed. The overall plot and world-building was magnificent and the plot twists until the very end just made my stomach drop and return to normal like in a rollercoaster. The chemistry between Leyna and Finnigan was perfect and they are certainly part of my top fantasy ships now! I’m so excited for the next book in the Huskarl duology and I’m cheering for Leyna and Finnigan the whole way! The prose sometimes felt a bit underwhelming, considering that this is a fantasy novel, and that’s why my rating is 4 stars. Amazing read though and I will for sure keep my eye out for the next book! Kudos and congrats to Jay Pellegrin for writing this!

This book had an action packed, exciting opening chapter that I felt like really set the tone for what this book was going to be. After that, the story did slow down a little for me, but this book definitely is part political fantasy so there was a lot of plot development that had to happen. I did find myself a bit confused at some points but nothing I didn’t quickly catch back up on.

Once I got maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the way in the book I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. I really enjoy a fantasy book but love the romance plots too, and I think it really delivered on both aspects. I’ve seen some debate as to whether people liked the MC but I personally really did!

A very enjoyable and addictive read and I’m excited for the next book in the Duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 25%. The world-building and magic system were super and quite detailed. The first chapter was fast-paced and gripping and I enjoyed the inital setting being in a school for wizards, where if you don't follow the rules/go in out-of-bounds places, you actually see some real and serious consequences for the main protagonist! Initially, this arc seemed to have everything that I look for in a fantasy novel.

That being said, I didn't care for Leyna (MC) at all! Unfortunately, I just didn't find her very likeable and a bit dull and that made it difficult for me to carry on with this. Extremely sorry to DNF, I very much appreciate the opportunity to read this story.

“You see, I admire you so much, Leyna. It is easy for someone like the Jester to mock your bravery, or to make light of your achievements, but the fact remains that in these past months, when the world has near gone mad and threatened to fall apart around us, it is you who has been constant”

THE COVER IS SO BEAUTIFUL THATS WHAT DREW ME IN INITIALLY!!

this book had such a gripping first chapter, one of the best openings i have read in a long time!!

slowburn, pining at its finest here, such a great male lead. funny, sarcastic and even had a good sad backstory!

i liked all the side characters especially quinn. such a good backstory too!

the characters were i felt really fleshed out however i will say leynas character at some points did get annoying and i did feel the story dragged and was also repetitive at some points.

i did like the political side despite the confusion i had sometimes. it was nice to read something that felt fresh and well thought out.

HAVE TO END ON MY BOY THE JESTER HONESTLY SUCH A GREAT CHARACTER.

so good for a debut novel!!
would definitely read more from Jay Pellegrin

DNF at 20% - The story had a great concept, but the writing style just wasn't for me. Sorry! Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

From beginning to end, this book was a delight! The incredible cover art immediately caught my eye, and the premise captured my imagination.

Leyna is a 22 year old and we see her journey as a wizard and recruited by the castle. She is likeable and develops as a character. The Jester is phenomenal and had me cracking up at the way he would tease Leyna at times; he was my favourite.

The other characters were fairly well written, and aside from villains, didn’t really change or develop more in depth personalities. The Prince at one point almost takes his life, but then seems semi fine afterwards, which I thought a bit odd.

I loved the imagery and world building, from the outfits, to the demons and magic itself. This whole book was a thrilling adventure to be on and one I’d definitely reread in the future! I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Oh and the romance was just right, not too hot & not too cold. It added to the story instead of consuming/overtaking it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jay Pelegrín & the publisher BooksGoSocial for a copy.

* Received a copy for review *.
Fantasy romance takes a deft hand. There are elements of this book that I really liked. However, it got bogged down in all the mystery and fantasy and lost its way.
I look forward to reading more by this author because I see great potential.

This is a perfectly good romantic fantasy. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the characters. Perfectly serviceable if a bit too long.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pelegrín Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I don't have any dreams of my own, you see---at least, I didn't, until I met you..."

****this version of the book was a past edit of the book. This one did feel lengthy toward the beginning, as the world building needed to be put in place. The author has a revised variation after lots of initial reader feedback. The following is my review after the MOST recent edited version of the book, which is also available on NetGalley through another listing****

Leyna Saunders has a plan set in stone for her life: graduate from the Guild as a wizard and become a Huskarl of the Royal Guard, serving the king.

All this and more DOES happen, but at what cost? The picture-perfect life Leyna painted for herself is derailed as lies, courtships from a meddling mother, Royal politics, and a sneaky Jester shatter the life Leyna always thought she wanted.

Castles and wizards and magic, oh my! This BOOK. I'm a sucker for fantasy romance, so this one took my heart and RAN WITH IT. The world that Jay Pellegrin creates in "Wizard's Masquerade" is full of vibrant, magical wonder. There's nothing better than being sucked into a fantasy book and I was intrigued from the very first chapter!

I absolutely loved Leyna and her thorough character arc. She had a SET vision for her life, but when that vision didn't pan out as expected, reality sunk in and she was left with a life at the castle full of mystery and deception. Reading her from beginning to end was SUCH a treat. She's definitely a character that comes with her flaws, but I'm so excited to see how she grows throughout book 2.

JESTER. My sweet Jester. An absolute little sh*t, but I adored every second of it. He has his secrets, and divulging them was a hardship, but getting to know him was a WHIRLWIND. His character arc in particular was fantastic, and as he and Leyna grew closer, that emotional wall was chipped away bit by bit.

I was SOBBING BY THE END. I was in absolute SHAMBLES as the story wrapped up. Such a fantastic start to a new series! I highly recommend this if you're into fantasy romance, castles, magic, a charming Jester, fluffy little pets, a sloooow burn, and a protagonist with a good head on her shoulders! I can't wait to see how everything pans out in book 2.

Thank you to Jay Pellegrin and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

RATING: 5 out of 5 🤍

I have some mixed feelings about this story. While there were many things that I absolutely loved, there are also some areas where I was a little less than thrilled. I’m going to confidently give this one four stars because I did really enjoy it but there are a few elements that I felt could have been better for my experience with the story.

I love that this book is new adult, with all the elements that young adult fantasy readers love, but with older characters and more adult content. It is the perfect romantasy, a blend of fantasy and romance. The story world is going to be everyone’s new favorite wizarding school. I enjoyed the world-building and magic system, even if I wanted a bit more from it. There are whimsical settings and atmosphere throughout, perfectly reflected against some of the more sinister happenings.

This was quite a long read. Part of me feels like it didn’t need to be this long, and part of me wishes for more from certain aspects of the story. It was definitely action-packed but there were times where the pacing started to drag, particularly with the depth of the political intrigue (which, I admit, isn’t my favorite theme). I wanted more from the magic-side of this story because it was so interesting. I also felt that the plot arc was a little too predictable, the surprise reveals weren’t the revelations that they could have been.

I still have mixed feelings about the protagonist, and I’ve been stewing on these thoughts for days. While she is relatably flawed, she is also frustratingly annoying sometimes. And maybe that’s an intentional choice, just demonstrating the reality of humanity. But, ugh, did I want to slap some sense into her sometimes. Even so, I was hooked into watching her journey and her growth and I was invested in the character’s outcome.

The romance is swoon-worthy and slow-burn. I love the dark, mysterious jester - definitely some of my favorite tropes. His mysterious identity really drives the tension in the story. I like that he is a unique love interest from what is typical in a fantasy. And the flirty banter dialogue is absolute perfection, probably the strongest part of this book. I definitely wanted more spice (not sure why I had expected there to be more), for my own sake, but I think that many readers will like that it isnt too smutty.

Even with my few minor qualms, I loved this story and was immersed into it. I absolutely recommend it to other fantasy romance readers and I would love to read the next book in this series. I will definitely be following this author to see what the future holds!

The cover and opening chapters promised great things, but I found the rest of the book quite tedious. The pacing felt slow and it was difficult to fully engage with Leyna as a main character. Honestly, I just didn't like her. Jester was the reason I kept reading (the same for a lot of readers, I suspect)
The concept of individuals needing a license to do magic had some legs, but the magic system itself felt confused and convoluted. The final plot 'twist' was predictable after some very ham-fisted hints throughout.
There's a lot of potential going into the sequel, and I hope we can see some development.

When I tell you I stayed up till MIDNIGHT to finish this book because I just HAD to know what happened I mean it.
This story follows Leyan has she graduates from the wizard school and get picked to be a Huskarl for the royal crown. Turns out it isn’t everything she thought it would be and this pesky Jester won’t leave her alone.
This story has magic, a slow burn romance that I loved from the beginning, and witty banter with political intrigue. While I loved this story it does have some faults like the first 10 chapters I think being in the wizardering school when the symptoms made it sound like you would open up with Leyan already being a Huskarl. I didn’t mind it too much but I did feel a little lied too because of it even though some of those chapters were my favorite. I also didn’t always love some of the choices that Leyan made because they didn’t seem very thought out and sometimes she was all about rules and following them and other times she didn’t care. She seemed very childish at times and I just wanted to shake her. Also the ending wasn’t my favorite because again, what seemed to me, as poor character choices happened again but overall I didn’t have a lot of issues with this book.
As you can see by my five star rating I was able to over look these things because I just enjoyed the plot and romance so much. This is honestly the perfect book for readers who are wanting to move over from YA to New Adult fantasy. I wish I could better articulate my love for this book but please please pick up a copy as soon as you can!

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

This book fell a bit short of expectations, but the dazzling cover set them very high. The beginning was very slow, taking almost a third of the book to set off what the description implied was the inciting action. With that out of the way, I did really enjoy this read. The suspense was effective, even if the twist was fairly obvious. The romantic plot was where this book truly excelled, however. I would not quite qualify it as enemies-to-lovers as it is advertised, but the scenes between the romantic leads are where the main character's personality and growth shined the most. Frankly, while not mind-blowing or earth shattering, this book is definitely worth the read, especially for fantasy lovers who prefer romance to be at the forefront of their plots.

I picked this up from Netgalley out of curiosity for the gorgeous cover, and did not expect it to consume the better part of a week.

Leyna has only one goal: graduate at the top of her class so that she may join the ranks of the huskarls, the royal guard of wizards. And yet once she gets all that she has ever dreamt of, her convictions are tested by those who would see the kingdom fall, and by one mysterious jester who haunts her every thought.

This book started with a real bang, with Leyna fighting tooth and nail to survive her final exams. The magical school setting is a fun place to start, and I found myself missing it after Leyna graduates and moves into the castle. The story definitely dragged during the latter half when Leyna was trying to solve the villainous scheme that I guessed from a mile away, and I found myself losing steam… at least until we got to the Jester nuggets.

Leyna is a deeply flawed protagonist, which makes her story at times difficult to swallow while nevertheless paving the way for some good development. She holds so steadfast to her convictions that she makes the wrong choices, the nonheroic ones. But if there’s anything she has, it’s grit.

It’s truly a delight to see her matched up with Jester, to see her lawful nature clash with his chaotic one. He’s here to mess with her and inform her that she should really do something about that stick up her bum. 5 stars for Jester alone, tbh. He’s so much fun, and the mystery around him have way to some unexpected heart. I just want to have a physical copy to highlight and tab up so I can return to his iconic scenes.

But really I gotta say, poor Leyna was getting Pavlov’ed hard by those jester bells. Iykyk.

Honorable mention goes to the really neat side cast of friends and enemies alike.

Really hope the next book comes out soon bc I need more of these two!

Thank you to Netgalley and Pellegrin Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was certainly interesting, however, it did not seem to be my cup of tea.

My first thought when reading the first chapter was that it seemed to be extraordinarily similar to another popular wizard/fantasy series. I understand that there is only so much worldbuilding one can do centering around this particular type of fantasy genre, however, the similarities were too on the nose for me to truly immerse myself into it. For example, the scene in the maze, the descriptions of the school, the titles of the teachers, and so forth were disconcertingly similar to the point where I was confused as to what I was reading. On top of that, the worldbuilding was very odd combination of too much and not enough. In the beginning, readers are tossed into the world and left to sink or swim. The further we get into the story, the more obvious it is that some elements of the worldbuilding should be explained thoroughly while others need to be explained less and just left up to the reader to interpret. There is a very fine line between the two, and even a casual reader needs to be equipped with the tools to navigate between the two without becoming lost in the abundance of story concepts and wordplay.

The main character, Leyana, fell short in terms of both as a well-written female character and a full-dimensional one. She took on this Mary Sue persona from the very beginning, getting herself into dangerous situations multiple times within the span of just a few chapters only to come out of it miraculously unharmed (mostly) and absolutely fine. There seems to be no sense of any consequences of her actions. Most of the conflict surrounding her just vanishes into convenient exits with no real substance or development. I did enjoy how flawed of a character she is, though. I just believe that her character as a whole could have been further expanded upon. The other side characters lacked engaging personalities for me to care about them.

The plot of the book centered around mysterious forces and exciting adventures. Despite the thrilling events, I found myself almost bored by all the action. To me, it seemed to be just conflict after conflict with no story around it. I would go as far as to say I didn't quite understand what the climax was.

All in all, I feel as though there are many places this book can improve upon to make readers immerse themselves into the story. Seeing as this book is one of a duology, to keep readers engaged it needs to have something more substantial to latch onto.

Another review will be up on my Goodreads. Thank you once again for a chance to review this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jay Pellegrin for this ARC.

I absolutely love the cover. I think it's one of the most beautiful covers I've seen for a book.

... but that's one of the only good things I can say about this book 😕

Let's start talking about the first chapters of the book: The Maze Exam. It was kinda boring at first. Not the best way to grab my attention at the start? The introduction of Spectators was te only thing that kept my interest until things got eventually more gripping.

The Maze Exam exists because we have a Harry Potter style academy in this fantasy world. I thought that would be one of the main points of the book but we quickly learn that this was just an excuse to give the main characters a background story and an explanation for their magical abilities, and that's pretty much it.

The magic system is interesting but I would like to have learnt a little bit more about it.

If we cut the tiresome and lengthy description, the redundant dialogues and the extreme infodumping, the book could have been at least 250 pages shorter. I think the book wouldn't have been so long if the characters didn't go in circles all the time and Leyna wasn't so incredibly oblivious and, dare I say, dumb. It's like the characters had a secret agenda to fill the book with mostly non-sense to make it longer, instead of having clear motivations and rational thoughts in the plot.

I have the impression this book was marketed mainly as a fantasy romance while the romance was quite a secondary plot that covers like 20-30% of the book, being the main focus the mystery around the Demon Book and the Royal affairs. Unfortunately, not even the mystery was interesting enough for me, it quickly became dull. At least the Jester was thrilling 🤷‍♀️.
Even the cover implies the romance is the point of the book, while it really isn't. The people who came here for the romance could feel extremely disappointed and bored, specially because even the little bit of "romance" we get just doesn't check the expectations.

The mystery's revelation wasn't even a revelation because it was obvious from the start. And well, what can I say about the ending? It was bland, its only use to wrap this arc and hint the publication of a second book, and the only good thing about it is the fact that the book finally ended.

This book had the basic elements to be a 5 star read, but they were executed poorly. I personally think this wasn't the authors best book to debut, but I think she has the potential to develop as a great writer in the future. 1⭐️

I liked it but it isn’t the best.
The FMC is a twit and up her own arse I actually can’t stand her.

The romance I liked that’s one of the reason I carried on reading

Because the Plot was predictable

I loved the that the jester was the love interest.

The first few chapters were really good but it lost me in the last couple chapters

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.


I absolutely loved this book. There is no other way to put it, I was just captivated by it from start to finish.

Don't get me wrong - it had it's imperfections, which is why I chose against giving it five stars. The at times predictable plot and lack of development in the magic system made me remove a star from my rating, yet the romance between Leyla and the Jester, along with the easy to follow writing completely makes up for it.

I usually am not a sucker for romance, however these two were a delight to read about. The banter, the chemistry, the angst, the dialogue and the just spicy enough scenes had me reading chapter after chapter yet dreading to reach the ending, knowing I will have to wait to read more of them untill the sequel comes out.


I cannot wait for the second book to published! Thank you net galley and book sirens for providing me with an arc!

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wizard's Masquerade follows Leyna, on her journey to graduating from the Guild and becoming a part of the Royal Guard... when tragedy hits and her world is not as it seems.

Leyna (our FMC) is an ambitious, smart, self righteous, talented, level headed, naive, and gorgeous wizard. I did not really connect with her character she often frustrated me throughout the whole book and didn't seem that strong as a FMC. She felt cold and indifferent to me. With the exception of one scene towards the end. Her inner monologue and dialogue didn't seem to round out or make that much sense. There is a bit about her past but again I wish there was a bit more to help me connect with her.

Jester (our MMC)!!!! The man of many faces! I'm not going to say much about him because it could potential lead to spoilers and I don't want that to happen. I love the depth and his character so much. He made me laugh and swoon. I just wish there was more of him in the book. His character ARC definitely was more polished then Leyna's.

Let's be real Floofy was the main character of this book 🤣 kidding!!!! But I did love him. I only wish Jay Pellegrin would have stated what type of creature he is. I loved Grace and Quinn!!!! So so much! Now those two characters I did connect with 🖤

What to Expect:
▪︎NA 18+
▪︎Fantasy Romance (which I feel the "Romance" could have been kicked up a notch)
▪︎ Sexually Explicit Scenes (keep in mind there a couple scenes and while explicit they weren't crazy out of the left field sex scenes
▪︎ Demons
▪︎ Wizard's and Magic
▪︎ Book One of a Duology
▪︎ Interesting Magical World (I wish we were more outside in that world instead of at the castle most of the time)
▪︎Mild Fantasy Violence including death/execution
▪︎ Mild reference to suicide ideation
▪︎ A man in a mask 🥵 (I mean this is the hottest part)

I know Jay has been working diligently and taking our recommendations to heart. And changing some things to round out the story so it moves smoothly on to the second book. I have every faith she has improved this book before it's release date. Unfortunately for me I have not read the new changes because I was already too far into the book. With that being said will I read book two? Absolutely!!!! And I'll read the final draft right before I read the second book. This world is intriguing and I need more of the Jester!

**My review may be changing in the future!**

Rating: 5/5
I was gifted this book for my honest review

WOW, I loved everything about this book, but I SERIOUSLY wait a whole year to find out what is going to happen next!! NOOOO.

I really enjoyed everything in this book from the magical moments with the wizards, to the charming but annoying Jester, to the determination of Leyna to find out the truth in everything and no matter the cost. I loved the MCs of this book so much I thought they were well written and adapted, even the side characters were written well and fit perfectly with who they were.

Leyna is smart, beautiful, ambitious, and determined. For me I found her relatable and yes to connect with. She does have her flaws, but she has her reasons for them and honestly it just makes sense that she would, she is young and how she was raised helped in making who and why she is this way. I can’t say too much because I do not want to give anything away.

I loved the Jester so much! He is annoying, funny, handsome, romantic and his banter with Leyna really brought the book together. I love that with the Jester, Leyna would try her hardest to give back just as good/if not better than he was. I love how he has many different sides and how he shows these different sides to different people but with Leyna he started to show her all of himself. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the Jester was and the little hints throughout the book up to the point where it was revealed, I was so happy that I got it right and I couldn’t stop smiling while reading.

The plot of the book was well done. It had a lot of action, romance, drama, and heart. I did like that the plot never drifted away from the main point of the book and the cliffhanger at the end of the book, wow. I am so happy that she was able to work through a few things and reach a decision on what is next in her life, and therefore I am so excited to read book 2. I thought the setting of the book was right on point, I could picture the beauty of the scenes and the horror/fear of other times.

Be prepared when reading this book, you will fall in love with the characters, the settings, and the book. However, be ready for some tragic scenes but nothing gruesome and there were a few steamy scenes but for me they were at a level 2.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait until book 2 comes out to see the rest of the story unfold.

I want to thank NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and the author for allowing me the chance to read and review this book.