Unfortunately I just couldn’t connect with this book like I wanted to. I am the type of reader who lives romance and wants the heroine and hero to interact constantly throughout the story and I just didn’t feel like that happened in this book. The lack of romance in what I thought would be a romance filled novel is what kind of killed it for me. That being said, I did love the setting and aesthetic. The imagery was fantastic and I could practically picture the fine outfits and ball room during a particular scene. Although this book wasn’t for me I would be interested in ready more of Pellegrín’s work as I lived the writing style. A big thank you to NetGalley and Jay Pelegrín for this ARC.

Overall: 2.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I had major character disconnect here but I really did like some parts of the story and the writing

Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖 - I found the plot overall interesting and intriguing, though it definitely could have been cut

Feels: 🦋🦋🦋 - I had some tingles in the beginning half but they fizzled to nothing with my annoyance

Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔

Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡ - There were hints of it that could have been amazing but ultimately it was too little too late and fizzled for me

Romance: 💞💞💞 - I thought the hero did some romantic things and I appreciated that

Sensuality: 💋💋 - I found the sex scenes lacking a bit – I’m not sure if it was just because I disliked the heroine so much at that point or if I wanted more explicitness...maybe a bit of both

Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑

Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥

Humor: Yes, a bit, especially within banter with the Jester

Perspective: Third person only from the heroine’s point of view

Should I read in order?
Yes. This book does end on a cliffhanger for their HEA and they are separated. Book 2 should be out sometime in 2023.

Basic plot:
Recently graduated wizard Leyna gets her dream job as a Huskarl on the Royal Guard. Tasked with protecting the royal family, she is intrigued and equally suspicious of the court Jester that is much more than he pretends to be.

Give this a try if you want:
- Not much romance and prefer plenty of action, intrigue, and mystery to take precedence
- Low steam – there is 1 full scene, a couple kisses and a dream sex scene that is on the short side
- Fantasy medieval setting with magic and wizards that pull their ability to perform spells with ‘the other side’. New creatures as well as demons roam.
- A bit of sunshine and grump feel – heroine is grumpy and mopey and hero usually is teasing and spunky
- Heroine overcomes a bit of a disability – her leg is damaged in an on page demon attack and is never the same after. She has a limp and some weakness in it that its unknown if she will overcome it.
- You’re okay with a cliffhanger ending – It feels a bit like a happy for now, but they are also separated and things are not left cleaned up between them.

Ages:
- Heroine is 22, hero is 30

My thoughts:
I love the time Pellegrin spent in the beginning giving details of what to expect including content warnings. Love seeing that attention to readers, thank you!

I was so excited for this novel. A jester hero?? How fun and different is that? And I have been liking trying fantasy elements lately in romance and also love medieval feel for historical so I thought this would be right up my alley.

But, I also NEED my main characters to be together in the story. Like, A Lot. I know I complain about this a decent amount, and if you don’t care if your characters are together, this probably won’t bother you. But I felt like I was just waiting and waiting and waiting for them to be together. And then I would get a little bit of that I LOVED it. I loved when they were together. But then I would have to wait and wait and wait again. And I started getting bored and annoyed. I started tallying and by over 80% into the book, if I was being generous they were on page together for only 29%. Unacceptable to me. And a lot of that counting was like...a page or two of multiple pages so it really was less than that. Even if they were together every single page for the rest of the book they were only together half (or LESS THAN half more likely) of the book.

About halfway through the book I realized I really disliked the heroine. I know I can be hard on the heroines so I’m trying to make a conscious effort to not be an asshole and see the best in people here, especially our heroines that face so much extra pressure just being the female lead in a story. But...I just couldn’t here. I couldn’t. She has no redeeming qualities I could find and I am left thinking she is probably one of the worst heroines I have ever met. She’s sullen, envious of everyone around her, but does nothing to seem to better herself. She mopes around wanting everything but working hard at nothing. Shes just genuinely unlikable. I was thinking there was going to be plenty of character growth for her as she started to make smart decisions, gain self confidence, FIGHT FOR SOMETHING other than just follow orders blindly. But I didn’t get any of that. She stayed like this the entirety of the book.

So this is just a character disconnect for me that was compounded by things I dislike in romance (hero and heroine not being together) and the fact that the entire book is from her perspective I was just stuck listening to someone I didn’t like.

I loved the writing overall. I think in a different book I could absolutely adore this author. I would definitely be willing to try her again. I am pretty sure I will not be following up with this series though, unless reviews show the heroine seems like a different person (lol) then maybe I could possibly like her.

The steam was almost nonexistent in this one. I am going to start taking ‘steamy’ on the synopsis or cover to just mean there is at least one open door sex scene. :( I was hoping for more.

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately the writing style is not for me. I could not connect with any of the characters and I found myself getting bored and skimming. A big thank you to NetGalley and Pellegrin books for this ARC!

Thank you Pellegrin Books and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book debuts on 30 September 2022, part one of the Huskarl Duology.

Let me just say I requested this book because of the cover. It was GORGEOUS. I didn’t even read the blurb until I got approved, ops!

Leyna, the main character, was ambitious, but vain and might I say, snobbish. I quite like her persona because her character development then was wonderful to read. Despite her vanity, she was also quite fragile and soft inside.

I like Jester, too. His scenes with Leyna were lovely. Their slow burn was not exactly torturous but satisfying. Although, he seemed to have multiple personalities that got quite tiring.

What I don’t like is how Grace’s character was very wasted. She didn’t have any real role despite her awesome capabilities, so that was a bummer. There were quite a lot of characters that were introduced but written off poorly. The scenes during the dungeon were also kinda out of character for our Jester and I don’t like that, at all.

The world building was good and I suspect we would get to know Kormend in the next instalment. Can’t wait!

Update: Based on feedback, the author made some revisions to the book - and in my opinion, these have only strengthened an already very strong, well-paced narrative. My rating remains a solid 5/5 - this book is a delight and I am so excited for readers to have the chance to check it out!

I picked this up purely based on the cover art, which I found so beautiful and intriguing that I simply had to know what this book was about. I tried not to get my hopes up - I’ve been pulled in by too many beautiful covers before only to be disappointed. I am happy to report, however, that Wizard’s Masquerade is a wonderful romantic fantasy that far exceeded my expectations!

The Plot:

“After surviving a horrendous injury, Leyna knows her chances of becoming a wizard are dashed—so no one is more surprised than her when the Wizarding Guild allows her to graduate and she receives her offer to join the Royal Guard.

But when tragic news arrives of a monstrous attack on the king and his court, Leyna devotes herself to hunting down the traitors responsible and restoring the kingdom’s peace and way of life.

As Leyna is drawn deeper into a web of secrets and lies, she soon becomes entangled with the jester in a treacherous game of trust and betrayal.”

I loved our heroine Leyna - she’s ambitious, strong-willed, and a bit stubborn. This makes her slow burn romance with the Jester who just can’t seem to stop teasing her absolutely delicious. Their dynamic is one of my favorites, and I miss them already. And speaking of the Jester - never did I expect that a man wearing bells could make me blush!

This book is also simply a pleasure to read - the prose is elegant and the story flows along at the perfect pace. The settings and spaces are described so well that I could perfectly envision them, and I found myself wishing I could occupy a cozy little corner of the castle myself. I adored the side characters, who all got the chance to shine. I cannot wait for the next installment!

If you love slow burn romances, ballrooms, gowns, political intrigue, courtly manners, spies, steamy encounters in secret, and of course, magic, Wizard’s Masquerade is the book for you!

5 Stars ⭐

Wizard’s Masquerade will be released on September 30, 2022.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC!

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

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 🤍

"Could she reimagine herself and her beliefs? Because if she could, it was like the opening of a mental portcullis, the lowering of a drawbridge, and there, beyond the rigid walls she'd built for herself, a world of possibility awaited.
It was liberating to realize that her past self's convictions did not have to dictate her future."

Leyna is days away from completing her exams, passing her 7 year long studies at the Wizard Guild, and her dreams of being a Wizard and Huskarl, a guard to the royal family.

Everything about her dream isn't playing out the way she had envisioned all her life. Starting with an accident that almost set her back a year, that perfect dream is cracking. After finally getting her offer letter to be a Huskarl, Leyna leaves the Guild with Grace and Quinn, friends from her class, to head to the castle and accept her official Huskarl title from the king.

Only a couple days after arriving, word arrives that the king, queen, and their entire court and guards were attacked while traveling. With her world completely thrown off its axis, she is determined to figure out what happened.

The more she digs, the more she begins to question everything she's ever known. It isn't much easier with the Jester constantly around. She knows he has secrets, and is possibly dangerous, but can't help but be drawn to him. Leyna has to figure out who to trust, including unraveling her life and ambitions as a Huskarl.

MY GOD THIS BOOK IS CAPTIVATING!! Jay Pellegrin's world takes me right back to the years of reading fantasy as a teenager, but higher stakes, and definitely with an adult spin on it. We have magic schools, a castle, spells, wizards, shapeshifters, demons, royal hierarchy, secrets and betrayals, AND A JESTER!!

This is a world you really can immerse yourself in while reading, and characters that develop really well throughout. Pellegrin admits herself that Leyna is a "strong flawed female protagonist" and it's a perfect description for her. She has a one track mind, only dreaming of ever being a Huskarl, and she is naïve, selfish, jealous, spoiled, and infuriating when the book starts. Everything that is happening around her forces her to dismantle her belief system, and it really isn't easy for anyone, especially with Leyna, it's like pulling teeth. By the end it's like a huge sigh of relief, she had wonderful character development and her story is set up perfect for more growth into the second book of this duology.

The shining star of this book is Jester. We are told right off the bat that he is dangerous and charming. Both so true, and he is the perfect MC in a story with lies and secrets. We are along with Leyna on the journey and get to watch her figure out how much she's going to let him in. He is snarky, rude, and dazzling to say the least. I was constantly looking forward to any scene with him in it, because it really forced Leyna to think and evolve. I fell in love with him and I really hope there is a lot more of him in the next book and the chance for them really explore their feelings.

The story is very long and could definitely do with a lot of trimming for some parts that felt repetitive, but Pellegrin announced on Instagram that they worked with editors and are cutting it down, so I have high hopes that the published copy will fix this issue. I definitely think we could have gotten a little more back story from the side characters, especially Grace, Quinn, and Seth. Their relationships with Leyna would give her that extra bit of dimension that I think she could benefit from.

Overall this is a fantastic first book, and Medival Fantasy Romance. I am 100% invested and will be reading the second one. This first part of the duology is out soon, and I think is a great read if you want a longish romantic fantasy that has reverse grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers, lots of banter, a flawed (BUT EVOLVING) FMC, dances in castles, magic/wizards and a smidge of spice.

UPDATE 09/23/22: Since reading this copy, the author has made many changes based on feedback provided by readers! From the author's suggestion, I went back and reread the end of the book and absolutely loved the changes. Overall there is more jester in the story, and minor story changes that made the book flow better! I will be (not so) patiently waiting for the second half of this duology.

Thank you Netgalley, Jay Pellegrin, and BooksGoSocial/Pellegrin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 4.75 stars