I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest even though I enjoyed the first one so much. I though the concept was good but I wish I could have connected with the characters more.

As security chief of the supernaturals’ ruling council, Michaela Chui has seen more than her fair share of disaster. For centuries, she’s survived through caution and strategy. But when the only human councilor is viciously murdered, Michaela knows the coincidences that keep blocking her investigation are a sure sign of bad things to come. She needs answers fast. And her only ally is Cormac Redoak: wild, unpredictable, unreliable—and worse, distractingly attractive.
When I read this book, I had no idea it was a second book in a series. It was fast-paced and didn’t miss a beat. I really liked both main characters. I look forward to reading more from this author.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Michaela Chui ia a masquerada. They are a type of supernatural who take on different “masks”. They can become completely different people, with different looks, ethnicities and even genders. The more powerful the masquerada, the more masks they can have. With Michaela, we really only see two. The one she is currently wearing as Michaela and another as a Russian man named Yuri, who is a bit of a protector of hers. She does lose control and becomes him once in this story.

Cormac Redoak is a fey. He’s been exiled by the Queen of Fairy. He is tied to his forest in the Queendom. As his forest dies, because he’s unable to tend it, he’s also dying. He must get back on the queen’s good side or he and his sister will not survive. Cormac also has a secret. He’s much more powerful than the queen knows. If she finds out about his special powers, she will kill him as the queen did with his mentor.

Michaela is head of security for a secret council of supernaturals. When a human is killed in her office, she is tasked for finding the killer. Cormac is assigned as “watcher”. His job isn’t to be part of the investigation, but to ensure that the investigation is handled properly. There are some who believe Michaela could be the killer. What is is more likely is, she is the target. From the back, Hiro and Michaela look very similar.

As MIchaela and Cormac are investigating this murder, things get pretty intense. There is a lot of action and plenty of desire. Michaela and Cormac each have their own plans and neither consider mating as part of those plans, but things can change when life throws things at you.

There are several different supernatural species in this book, but masquerada is the main focus. In this one, we learn more about the fey and Fairy. We also learn a bit more about vampires. I think you can read this book without having read the previous book, though I really enjoyed that one too. I’m really excited to see where this series goes from here.

This was my first book by Ms Delacroix but it surely won't be my last. She has created a truly unique world with unusual, interesting characters. A very enjoyable read. Recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

While I’ve read the rest of the books in this series, I think you can definitely pick this up as standalone and enjoy the wild ride it takes you on! It has so many twists and turns that I found myself eagerly flipping through.

Michaela is a supernatural with the ability to take on “masks” which change both her appearance and personality at will. On top of being the security head for one of the least trusted supernatural races, she also sits on a council designed to be secretly in charge of the supernatural community. It’s on this council that she ends up being exposed to a gruesome murder in her office. Obviously tasked with finding the killer, but with the suspicion of the victim being in her office, she gets saddled with a babysitter in the form of an exiled fae.

Cormac has a lot of hidden agendas, but the primary goal he had when offering to “watch” Michaela was to find a way to obtain the victim’s forest and use it to get back in the fae queen’s good graces. All of that rapidly takes a back seat when he finds himself uncontrollably drawn to Michaela. These two definitely did not have an easy road (trust issues abound) but when they finally tumble into a relationship it is awesome! If you’re looking for a truly unique world, a romance, and a murder mystery all rolled into one book – this is definitely the book for you.

I did not read the first book in this series, but that was fine. Everything about this world was clearly explained so I never felt lost. The world building was good, and a lot of thought was put into the intricacies of the cultures and species. Michaela is a ok heroine, but I never felt connected to her. Cormac is a ok hero, but I didn’t really care about him either. Nor did I care about anyone else, villains included. This is a book with a interesting premise and has a strong heroine with a complicated past, it should’ve been something I loved. Instead I found myself struggling to stay focused.For most of it I found myself bored. It’s not a bad book, but for me it was not good either. I will not be reading the next book in this series.

I didn't realize this was the second of the series when I requested it. I didn't enjoy the first one, and unfortunately I didn't really care for this one either. I couldn't connect to the characters or story.

Alana Delacroix has done it again!! Masked Desire is the second story in her Masked Arcana series and it is a doozy! I absolutely fell in love with the Masquerada in the first book, Masked Possession, so I had high hopes for round two in Masked Desire. I was amazed by this story!

Michaela is the security chief of the high council that oversees the Law and how it polices all of the Arcane members. They try to ensure human protections as some of the Arcane believe they are a sub-species of sort, and should just be annulated. So when a human councilor is viciously murdered in Michaela's office, everyone takes notice! Everyone, including Michaela herself, is deemed a suspect. When Cormac, an exiled Fey, offers to be a Watcher of Michaela and her investigation, she's not sure what his end-game is. The Fey are known to have many secrets, have no loyalty to others, and are rather self-centered. Michaela is bristling at having Cormac under foot every step that she makes. He seems to relish keeping her off-balance, and Michaela doesn't like the way he makes her feel vulnerable. They find they must work together to wade through the facts of the murder, deal with the different Arcane-and their vastly different political views, and quite possibly must deal with each other who, oops!, became mated by accident, right in the middle of it all! Whew!

This book was so much more than your typical paranormal romance. The Masquerada can take on any form-or mask, they choose. They take on those traits of that mask. So if you are a hulking Russian mobster, you are that actual persona-not play acting as one. They definitely are and interesting bunch. They have lived for centuries and have seen their fair share of heartache, but also love, and happiness. Add in the Fey aspect, and this is super intriguing! The Masquerada do not know much about the Fey-and that's they way the Fey want it. I loved learning about them and what makes them tick. With all the upheaval, it's hard to know what is real and what is fake. Everybody knows war is on the horizon, but just who can be trusted is the big question.

I can't stress enough how much I would love for you to read this book! It is well-written, sexy, out of this world original, and yes it's all wrapped around a good romance! I loved Michaela and Cormac together! He was just so inviting, Michaela didn't stand a chance! Under her icy resolve, she just wanted to be loved-and Cormac gave her what she'd kept so deeply buried. Both of them never realized how unbalanced they really were until they were together. Everything clicked and we have that wow factor!

Here's looking forward to many more additions to this awe-inspiring and remarkable series!

This is my first read in this series, so I jumped right into book 2 with no difficulties in picking up what was going on.

Michaela is a masquerada, someone who can take on anyone’s appearance, and sits as a member of the highly secretive council for the Arcane.

When another council member is murdered, Michaela, chief investigator, is teamed up with Cormac, a pretty powerful but exiled fae, who volunteers to be a watcher (supervising the investigation).

Michaela is not the trusting sort so when they accidently become mated in the middle of their investigation it only exacerbates their ability to weave through the differences between Arcane factions, political views and power plays. Even though it’s a paranormal romance, Delacroix balances the paranormal and romance aspects seamlessly keeping both side strong.

Fun, fast and entertaining. Delacroix blends a strong balance mystery, murder, mayhem and fantasy.

I received this ARC copy of Masked Desire from Kensington Books - Lyrical Press. This is my honest and voluntary review. Masked Desire is set for publication April 10, 2018.

Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Alana Delacroix
Series: The Masked Arcana
Sequence in Series: 2
Print Length: 303 pages
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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Alana Delacroix has done it again!! Masked Desire is the second story in her Masked Arcana series and it is a doozy! I absolutely fell in love with the Masquerada in the first book, Masked Possession, so I had high hopes for round two in Masked Desire. I was amazed by this story!

Michaela is the security chief of the high council that oversees the Law and how it polices all of the Arcane members. They try to ensure human protections as some of the Arcane believe they are a sub-species of sort, and should just be annulated. So when a human councilor is viciously murdered in Michaela's office, everyone takes notice! Everyone, including Michaela herself, is deemed a suspect. When Cormac, an exiled Fey, offers to be a Watcher of Michaela and her investigation, she's not sure what his end-game is. The Fey are known to have many secrets, have no loyalty to others, and are rather self-centered. Michaela is bristling at having Cormac under foot every step that she makes. He seems to relish keeping her off-balance, and Michaela doesn't like the way he makes her feel vulnerable. They find they must work together to wade through the facts of the murder, deal with the different Arcane-and their vastly different political views, and quite possibly must deal with each other who, oops!, became mated by accident, right in the middle of it all! Whew!

This book was so much more than your typical paranormal romance. The Masquerada can take on any form-or mask, they choose. They take on those traits of that mask. So if you are a hulking Russian mobster, you are that actual persona-not play acting as one. They definitely are and interesting bunch. They have lived for centuries and have seen their fair share of heartache, but also love, and happiness. Add in the Fey aspect, and this is super intriguing! The Masquerada do not know much about the Fey-and that's they way the Fey want it. I loved learning about them and what makes them tick. With all the upheaval, it's hard to know what is real and what is fake. Everybody knows war is on the horizon, but just who can be trusted is the big question.

I can't stress enough how much I would love for you to read this book! It is well-written, sexy, out of this world original, and yes it's all wrapped around a good romance! I loved Michaela and Cormac together! He was just so inviting, Michaela didn't stand a chance! Under her icy resolve, she just wanted to be loved-and Cormac gave her what she'd kept so deeply buried. Both of them never realized how unbalanced they really were until they were together. Everything clicked and we have that wow factor!

Here's looking forward to many more additions to this awe-inspiring and remarkable series!

reviewed by Deb

Masked Desire by Alana Delacroix is the second novel in the Masked Arcana paranormal romance series. A murder-mystery, unintended allies, and betrayals made Masked Desire, a riveting tale with a steamy, swoon-worthy romance. The romance wraps up in this tale as does the murder-mystery but the danger to the council and the supernatural world continues. The author has a vivid imagination, and I appreciated the different takes on the supernatural, their gods and hierarchies. There is an overall arc thread to this series that continues, and for that reason I recommend these stories be read in order of release. I look forward to the next book.

Review goes live on the blog on April 6 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: I SO love this world, like wow!
Worldbuilding: God, I LOVE the fascinating world of the Toronota arcana, with the masquerada, Pharos council and intrigue going on; the trip into the Queendom (epic name, btw xD) was short but fascinating nonetheless.
Characters: Michaela is a centuries-old masquerada. She’s kind of uptight and very proper in the beginning of the story, but she also has a temper that flares every now and then (to my utter delight!). Much fun. As the story unfolds she confronts her deep fears and evolves awesomely. I will say though that I found some of myself in her (not the masquerada with kickass skills part, sadly, lol) and it diminished a bit of the fun – I’m not sure how others feel about these things, but I don’t really enjoy identifying with the character in a story; it’s the experience of other-ness that I love.
Cormac is fey and just hilarious, hahaha! I loved his protective side, even if it went overboard here and there (and Michaela put him in place as needed). There was this doubt hovering over his values and priorities via Michaela’s eyes, and it made him intriguing and layered and kind of exciting to watch. He was also super sweet at the end, like “Awwwwww!!” level.
They had very hot chemistry, delicious banter, and fab one on one.
Plot: It was an interesting spin on the forced/accidental mating trope, slow burn romance galore. The action was alert and engaging, and the relationship-building was very convincing and tense, which I really enjoyed.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative, her/his POV. Loooove the banter between them and Cormac’s mischievous voice.
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking blurb – impulsive buy material for my PNR needs. Also auto-buy author name for me, because I loved the first one in the series – and this baby also delivered xD -.
I recommend Masked Desire to fans of original shifters, clan politics fans, and diverse PNR worlds with kick-ass characters. I’m loving the series so far and am looking forward to the next one!

I received a copy of Masked Desire by Alana Delacroix from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book by Alana Delacroix that I have read and the summary is the first thing that caught my attention. Normally I am a little leery about jumping into a series without reading the first book lest I miss characters or nuances that the first book set up. Happily, even being the second book, Masked Desires did not confuse or disappoint as I got up to speed. The author didn't retread the first novel, but did introduce the characters and plot in a way that gave the reader knowledge, without bogging things down.

This was an enjoyable book from start to finish - and a quick read - with a good mix of murder mystery and romance, likeable characters and witty dialogue. A fun romance/fantasy novel to unwind with.

The second book in this wholly original series and with this story the author has well and truly found her feet. I read the first book Masked Possession and liked the concept but failed to be wowed so I requested this with some trepidation.
I'm very happy to say that right from the start I felt fully engaged in the plot and interestingly the abilities of Michaela and her fellow Masquerada enhanced rather than overshadowed the story. Michaela is a member of the highly secret council that polices all the Arcane members to ensure that the humans are protected . So you can well imagine that with the murder of a human council member the entire council is in uproar. Can Michaela discover who the murderer is and more importantly why ? No one is above suspicion so enter Cormac, rogue Fae and downright nosey male who seems to delight in tormenting the cool, organised Michaela . They have to work together but Cormac has secrets of his own !
I really enjoyed this as it's a book that has helped to flesh out the world that these characters live in. Whilst the idea of people who can completely change their physical appearance is a startling one it's easy to understand certain aspects a lot more as this story unfolds. What truly added to my enjoyment was Cormac and the way the Fae are incorporated into the plot. We also have the knowledge that Vampires, Weres and Meres are also invested in upholding the law but not everyone wants to remain hidden. This unfortunately means war seems inevitable but just who is an ally and who an enemy is not yet set in stone.
Yet as much as this book focuses on what's happening within the Arcane population it's also a very credible romance. Michaela has been let down so many times that she's hidden behind a wall of her own making. Cormac exists in exile yet his interest and subsequent frustration with Michaela frequently made me smile. Neither of them need saving and yet somehow that's exactly what they do. Well written, steamy and imaginative and yes I'm already wanting to know what happens next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair