Thanks to BookSprout and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook and this is my freely given opinion...

This is a time travel romance where a modern woman travels back to Regency times. There is a prequel called Betrayal in the Ballroom that lays a back story for this book, and this story references back to that frequently.

Mackenzie, aka Mickie, is a costume/set designer who used to work in the theatre until a betrayal from her lover. Broken hearted, she leaves all that behind to start a new career working for a specialty historical magazine. During a photo shoot, she touches a devil mask and is whisked to the Regency period where she is presumed to be Margaret, the daughter of a Duke, affianced to the eldest son of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, Sebastien Ferrer Wellington. There is significant family drama, back biting, and conspiracies in this story between Sebastian, the Duke, and Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of the Prince Regent, who plays a significant role in this story. Mickie lands in the midst of this drama and is swept up in it, drawn into the mechanisms of Caroline, and a sudden attraction between herself and Sebastian, who cannot understand the sudden new draw to his reviled fiancee.

This story plays fast and loose with history, primogeniture/inheritances, and I found that the writing was very jumpy and the motivations of the various players and how they behave do not make sense for me.

For example, this story makes it seem like Wellesley and the Duke of the story were childhood friends of equal status, and the implication was that Wellesley has been a duke for awhile - BUT, he did not become the first Duke of Wellington until 1814, and this story occurs just before the battle of Waterloo (1815), and starts in Betrayal in the Ballroom a couple of years prior (1813), before Wellesley becomes Duke. So why would the Duke feel such an obligation so many years ago to a person who would have been quite below him in status (Wellesley was not even a baron - Baron of Douro, until 1809)? The Duke wants to manipulate his daughter's marriage with the idea that whoever marries her would a) have their offspring inherit the dukedom, and then later b) by wedding her, become Duke. Not necessarily right. There is the entire issue of Sebastian's parentage as well as they treat him as a bastard, but in this story, Wellesley did marry his mother, apparently a Portuguese lady who died, but was estranged from her family. While the story implies that he is not accepted as a legal heir to Wellington and the equivalent to being a bastard - it does not explain how in a satisfactory manner - other than this is a way to explain the existence of this fictional character. Also, WHY does he want to continue to live in the house of his hated fiancee and disdained father in law to be - he does not want to marry Margaret, hates her and her father, but refuses to leave - WHY?????? Let's not forget that both he and the Duke were having sexual relations with the estranged Princess of Wales.... Also, some of the lingo was just not right either - such as references Regency women's undergarments as "briefs".

This was a fractured, irregular, confusing story. I enjoyed story of Mickie and her new job and life more than the so-called romance and time travel aspect.

2 stars out of 5

1.5 ⭐️/5

I wasn't a fan of this book. I would've DNF'd anyway but it also expired in my Netgalley app. I read 48% and I wasn't interested as in the concept as the story went on.

I understand this was a prequel but I felt my interest waning the more I read. There was a lot of info-dumping within the first few chapters and that isn't something I enjoy in a book.

Also the spice was too quick and Sebastien was unlikable. I know he didn't want to get married to the girl he was promised but him sleeping with whoever he wanted because his needs weren't met with his lover didn't sit right with me.

The one thing I enjoyed was the talk about the costumes. I found that interesting.

I probably won't pick up the rest of the series unfortunately.

A fun read for those who love time travel and romance. I love all kinds of time travel books. The enemies to lovers aspect was fun to read. This is a great book to read on a beach or while traveling. A lot of fun, well written and entertaining.

The premise to this sounded interesting, but unfortunately, I just didn't care for Hershey's writing style in this.

"A Timeless Masquerade" by Audra Hershey is a steamy time-travel romance. Mickie, disillusioned by love, finds herself transported to Regency England after discovering an antique mask. Mistaken for his fiancée, she faces the loathing and eventual desire of Sebastien Ferrer Wellington, the illegitimate son of a duke. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic unfolds amid the intrigue of a midnight masquerade, where betrayal and passion intertwine.

"A Timeless Masquerade" delivers a captivating blend of time travel, romance, and Regency-era intrigue. The plot is engaging, centered around Mickie’s unexpected journey to the past and her tumultuous relationship with Sebastien.

The writing is vivid, bringing the Regency setting well to life. The time-travel element serves as a delightful backdrop to the romance.
The characters could have used a bit more development. Especially the male main character Sebastien could have been made a bit more likeable.
The pacing parly could have been improved, too but the overall writing style was very nice.

Overall, "A Timeless Masquerade" is an enjoyable read - with a few weaknesses - that combines historical charm with passionate romance.

I'm always up for a good time travel romance so of course I grabbed this!!

Mickie has been burned by love so she swears off of love! However, she finds herself thrown back in time amid the midnight masquerade. She is mistaken for Sebastien's fiancée and is the target of his loathing. Sebastien is the illegitimate son of a famous duke and he tolerates his position at the edge of society. He despises his arranged engagement but now....she seems different. He had planned to humiliate her but after doing the dastardly deed, he deeply desires to haver her as his own.

Soooooooooooooooooo I wanted to like this so much, but damn Sebastien was a total asshat. I get it....his original fiancée was not great and vapid but man....he's not nice.

I also really hated spending so much time on his dalliance with Caroline. UGH. I feel like we spent more time with them in bed then his "soul mate" Mickie. *rolls eyes* Meh.

Poor Mickie...I cheered when she FINALLY stood up for herself near the end there. GOOD. Screw Sebastien and Caroline. They deserve each other. I'm made she caved so easily when he came begging (not a spoiler - you know he would).

NOOOW the ending was very sweet and I adored the epilogue. That was the best part of the book. It was so nice seeing them ACTUALLY together and being in love and him not being an asshat.

All-in-all, there are some parts I really liked like the epilogue. So sweet. However, Sebastien didn't deserve Mickie 95% of the book. The last tine chunk he had a complete turn-around....but dang it was hard to even like him. I'll give this 2 stars.

ONE WORD SUMMARY: Okay

Mackenzie has been burned by love and wants nothing more to do with love. She is propelled back in time as she is looking at masks to Regency England where the Sebastien Ferrer Wellington who thinks she is his fiancé who he doesn’t want to marry. Will he find out who she is? Will Mackenzie fall in love with him?

The novel has an amazing story line that made me see it happening. Even with the twists and turns, I saw the events falling in to place. What an amazing book! One of the best romantic time travel books I have read!!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was really looking forward to this because I rarely come across a time travel romance on Netgalley. I was disappointed. In the beginning, I was so confused I felt I was missing something but supposedly this is a standalone. I did like how the main character had to try to fit into the past but the main characters interacted maybe 3 times and all the sudden they are changing their entire life? It was just not for me.

ARC Rating 1.5/5 ⭐️

I found this book very disjointed felt it didn't flow nicely. I did read the prequel, and think they could be combined. If the beginning was edited down I think the story would've been more engaging.

I would have also loved more time with the characters together and their interactions with each other, but they only meet 35% into the story and then are mostly kept apart.

And for a story that's blurb includes "erotic enemies-to-lovers romance" there is more smut between everyone bar the FMC and MMC together.

Thank you, NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Audra Hershey, for sending this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I found this book underwhelming.

Wordy, verbose, filled with incomplete sentences and fractured thoughts that should have been caught long before ARC status, this book takes far too long to get to the point.

The FMC has a sympathetic edge due to her circumstances, but the MMC has no real redeemable qualities. They only end up together (not a spoiler; this is a romance, after all) basically because chemistry and animal attraction wins out.

Find a better author who knows how to structure a thought and a sentence.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘎𝘰𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Loved reading the wonderfully written story. When Mickie gets thrown back in time, she meets the alluring man, Sebastian, and feels drawn to him, but Sebastian thinks Mickie is Margaret, his fiancé, who he wants nothing to do with until now. Read the highly recommended and a must read riveting romance story.

I loved the idea of time travel and a historical romance all put together in one book. Add in a bit of spice and you have a winning combination. Unfortunately for me the writing was a bit difficult and the flow a bit sluggish. But a good idea

The beginning...was confusing and scattered. I had to keep reading paragraphs over and over trying to parse out what was happening. I honestly feel like I could've skipped multiple chapters in the beginning and not have suffered for it at all.

When the MMC is finally introduced...he's extremely unlikable. But then again, there's not a single character I liked in this book. I started liking the FMC towards the end when she tells off the MMC and another character...but then she immediately caves and forgives the MMC for being horrible. Also the way the author writes about women in particular is straight up hateful at times.

Overall, definitely not my style, not my kind of book.

Thank you for BooksGoSocial for providing me with a copy for review!

This story takes us on an emotional ride with a whole lotta heat and a little suspense as the characters draw you in and have you invested in their happy ever after.

Loved this idea! Time travel and an enemies to lovers romance? Sign me up!

I really enjoyed the romance here. The build up was good and they had a lot of chemistry.

I thought the time travel was fun and the author did a good job not making it too complicated.

A fun book!