I really liked the cultural story, I found it interesting. I also did not see how the story would have wrapped up. It did seem a bit of a slower story for me though, and I wasn't invested in the characters as much as I wanted to be.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade is set in a beautifully reimagined 15th-century West Africa, where power, betrayal, and survival entwine in a world that is both dazzling and cruel. Dripping with rich prose, the novel transports readers into a setting brimming with political intrigue and quiet, simmering rage. At its heart is Òdòdó, an outcast woman stolen from the life she’s known and thrust into a court where danger lurks behind honeyed words and masked intentions.

The novel’s greatest strength lies in its atmosphere. Sangoyomi crafts a world so immersive that each page feels like a doorway into a kingdom of secrets. The descriptions are lush, the culture deeply embedded in the narrative rather than an afterthought. It’s a world that demands attention, though at times, the weight of exposition slows the pace, occasionally verging on an information dump. But for those willing to linger in its intricacies, the reward is a setting that breathes with authenticity. The novel also does not shy away from difficult themes, nor does it offer easy resolutions. It leans into the complexities of survival when power is unevenly distributed, when a woman must find agency in a world designed to strip it from her.

However, I do find the comparison to Hades and Persephone slightly misleading as the relationship dynamics toe the line between uneasy alliance and forced proximity; I see the goal, but the landing for the trope isn't quite there. Anyone expecting a traditional romance arc might find themselves frustrated, especially as Òdòdó’s decisions occasionally read as impulsive, more in line with a YA protagonist than the hardened survivor the story tells us she is.

For readers who love historical fiction infused with a touch of magical realism, courtly intrigue and morally complex characters, Masquerade is a rewarding read. It may not be the story I was expecting, but it was still an undeniably memorable debut.

In Masquerade, author O.O. Sangoyomi pens the story of a young woman in 15th-century Yorùbáland (modern-day Nigeria) who embarks on a journey to better herself in a time when women lacked significant rights and agency. 

Young Òdòdó works as a blacksmith in the city of Timbuktu, a highly necessary craft but one reviled by the general populace. Òdòdó is abducted and brought through the punishing climes of the Sahara to the Yorùbá capital of Ṣàngótẹ̀ to become the second wife of the Aláàfin, the Yorùbá king. The soon-to-be-queen learns that under the courtly glamour lies secrets, betrayal, and danger that could threaten the very stability she seeks.

Steeped in West African culture and folklore, Sangoyomi immerses readers in a dangerous time when warlords vied for power, when women subordinated themselves to men, and when a ruler held the power of life and death in his very hands. I enjoyed learning more about the Yorùbá mythos, power structure, and culture, particularly the clothing. The book piqued my interest, and I'm looking forward to exploring more about this little-discussed era of history.

I struggled with Òdòdó’s character, however. At first, she's shown with considerable naivete, understandable given her undesirable position as a blacksmith under her mother's thumb. Her motivation for wanting to leave her life behind makes sense, and following her progression from abductee to future bride - though troublesome from a modern perspective - was logical.

The disconnect came from her sudden leap from learning about nobility, decorum, and strategy to suddenly transforming into a prodigy. Òdòdó outmaneuvers the most talented and prescient of the Aláàfin’s generals. I don't begrudge Òdòdó her abilities; it just feels unearned without more development. 

On the whole, however, I enjoyed Masquerade and look forward to more works from this author. Thank you to the author and publisher for a copy of this book via NetGalley!

Thank you to Netgalley, Tor Publishing and O.O Sangoyomi for providing me with a free review copy of this book. The below is my opinion, freely given.

So, I dove into Masquerade and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. It's one of those books that grabs you from the first few pages and doesn't let go. The whole concept of the 'masquerade' itself was super intriguing, and I loved how the author played with the idea of hidden identities and secrets.
The characters were a mixed bag, which is a good thing! They weren't all perfect, and some were downright shady, which made them feel more real. I found myself really invested in trying to figure out their motivations and who was telling the truth. There were some genuinely surprising twists that I didn't see coming, and I was constantly flipping pages to see what would happen next.
I'll admit, there were a few moments where I had to reread a section to make sure I understood what was going on. The plot gets pretty intricate, and sometimes it felt like there was a lot to keep track of. Maybe a little more clarity in a few spots would have bumped this up to a solid 5 stars. But the overall atmosphere and the suspense were top-notch.
If you're into books that keep you guessing, with a good dose of mystery and a touch of something different, 'Masquerade' is definitely worth a read. It's the kind of book you'll be thinking about long after you finish it, trying to piece everything together. Grab a cup of tea, settle in, and prepare to be thrown for a loop!

Set in a reimagined 15th-century West Africa, Masquerade follows Òdòdó, a blacksmith abducted by a warrior king and thrust into a world of power and political intrigue. The premise had potential, especially with the Persephone-inspired elements, but the execution fell flat for me.

The writing was lyrical and the world-building was immersive. I loved the exploration of power, particularly how women can use society’s underestimation of them to their advantage.

But while the themes were strong, the story itself didn’t fully grip me. The pacing felt uneven and the story meandered without a strong sense of purpose. Òdòdó often felt like a passive participant in her own journey, and the stakes never fully gripped me.

The conflicts didn’t always land with emotional weight, and the characters’ motivations—especially the villains'—felt unconvincing and underdeveloped. Unfortunately, this made it hard for me to stay engaged.

Overall, Masquerade is a book with a lot of promise, but I needed more direction, tension, and emotional depth. That said, I totally get why others are raving about this book. If you love slow-burn political fantasy, morally grey heroines, and rich atmosphere, this might be for you!

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group for providing an eARC for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a 4.5 star read rounded up.


Masquerade, whoa my goodness. I truly enjoyed the way the Orisha were spoken about in this book. I love how it portrayed ATRs and the hierarchy.

Now, Òdòdó, girl. Firstly, I don’t like how they went and snatched you up out of your homeland - they didn’t care about her desires or needs. Just kidnapped my girl away from her mother & the other blacksmiths. What I will say, is the character building, the lessons she had to learn, coming back from the great beyond & standing 10 toes down behind her own desires and the needs of the people!!?

Whew. I definitely can’t say that I anticipated the ending of this book. Not only was I caught by surprise.. I wasn’t mad at her decision.


I would read this book again and again.


I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley.

I spent most of this book waiting for Òdòdó to wake. up. Naive and selfish and painfully slow, she seemed to trust everyone and everything even when it was so obvious she was being mislead. Treated horribly, she accepts it from everyone in her life. She has brief moments where she might realise she could be and do so much more but it quickly devolves and appears forgotten. But this slow build goes from painful and tedious to wonderful, and I went from considering DNFing to wishing this was the start to a series.

It wasn’t perfect, but it sure was good.

Another book as of late that has made an excellent exploration when it comes to African mythology. A very thrilling and enjoyable read.

Incredible!!! The world and culture is so engaging and seeing how the MC changed in reaction to her environment was perfect. The ending still left me shocked in the neset possible way. Absolutely fantastic,!

In Masquerade is a story about survival. It's about a reversal of power and perspective. For Òdòdó, her entire life has changed in the blink of a moment. And who will watch out for Òdòdó? Who will make sure she's safe in the eye of the storm? For Òdòdó, she's sort of thrown headfirst into the water. She has to figure out these new dynamics, power plays, and power. How can she influence with subtle touches and invisible hands? Masquerade explores both the brutality of warfare, but also one woman's journey to discovering her own power and survival.

Òdòdó has followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a blacksmith in Timbuktu, despite the social shunning and poor living conditions that come with the vocation. After the city is conquered by the king of Yorùbáland, Òdòdó is kidnapped and only realizes when she arrives in the capital city that she's been picked to be the king's wife. Her rapid escalation from the bottom to the top of society is not a popular change among many (including the king's mother and many of his advisors), but Òdòdó is determined to make the most of it without losing track of her past.

Very loosely based on the myth of Persphone, Masquerade is a fascinating tale that brings to life western Africa before the transatlantic slave trade. As with all books that take place so far in the past, and in a culture with which I'm not particularly familiar, I wonder how much of this is based on actual traditions and events, but really, it doesn't detract from the story at all. It's an excellent book, and I highly recommend it.

(Note: why this book was ever marketed as fantasy is beyond me. Is it just because it's non-Western and the names are hard to pronounce and spell for us? I hope not.)

This was such a rich, inventive story, immersive in the West African setting and powerful in the themes it explored.

It would've been hard for me not to like this. 15th century West African fantasy!!!! I mean WOW. And this was GOOD. I want this book to get so much more popular than it is because it's told so interestingly. Lots of politics and cool lore and lots of interesting relationship dynamics. Loved this one a lot.

Such a fantastic book!

I’ve gotten into the fantasy genre recently and I absolutely loved the world in this one. And the perspective.

History and African myths in a Game of Thrones style book. It’s just so good. As a debut, I am so excited to see what this author comes up with next.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

First, a thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I really waffled between 3 and 4 stars - I think in the context of just a book, I would give it 3 stars. In the context of creating a space where more books like this one get recognition, where more are published, where we lift up the voices, histories, and mythologies of people who often don't get a seat at the publishing table - I would give it 4 stars, so that's where I'm landing.

I was really excited to read something that had similar roots as Skin of the Sea, which was part of a duology I immensely enjoyed. I haven't read nearly enough books 1) set in Africa & 2) books that are based on African folklore/mythology. So I was really excited to see talk of this one, even if it was described as being a Persephone/Hades retelling (is it though? I guess, loosely?).

Here is what I will say: the world-building is amazing. The details of the lives of the characters is amazing. But the characters themselves? I had a really hard time relating to them, especially to our main character, Òdòdó. Sure, I felt sympathy for her, I felt anger when she felt anger, but I still didn't feel that spark of connection that I typically really look for and need out of a story. And I can't really pinpoint why I didn't relate to her. It wasn't the writing, it wasn't necessarily the plot.

I will say, the ending was originally unexpected (although I wasn't totally surprised), and it did feel very satisfying.

All that being said, Sangoyomi is an author to watch. I will happily read any other book she publishes. While I wasn't blown away by this book, I do recognize its importance and how it deserves a space at the table for an epic historical fiction. I also really wish I had listened to the audiobook of this, even though I tend to have a hard time with fiction audiobooks, because I hear the audiobook narration is really good and it would be nice to have the correct pronunciation in my head.

I don't regret reading this book, and I eagerly await what Sangoyomi will write next.

I wholeheartedly agree with this from the Acknowledgements:

In Yorùbá culture, true death occurs when something or someone is forgotten. In this sense, I believe the undertold histories of precolonial West Africa are dying. This was my primary motivation for writing Masquerade - to help breathe life into these rich histories by sharing them. Thus, first and foremost, to whoever is currently holding this book: thank you for reading this story, giving it life through your memory.

This is definitely not what I would call a Persephone and Hades retelling but that doesn't make it any less interesting. The magic part is also quite subtle which makes it mostly historical fiction.

But if you like stories featuring resilient women that use men's underestimation of them to stab them in the back then this is definitely the story for you. Watching our main character, Òdòdó, adapt to her new surroundings by trying to make her own place in it felt realistic, and had me rooting for her to succeed. I really felt for her at every single turn whether good or bad.

The setting was written with a lot of detail that made it immersive. I enjoyed learning more about the history of the region. The politics went a little over my head once or twice but for the most part it was easy to understand what was going on. A few twists were obvious but some a little shocking, especially that ending. Phhewww!

This was a great story! Mad at myself for waiting so long to read it! This story as full of complex characters, adventure, betrayal, deception, and so much more. I find I really love African mythology and this one was interesting and immersive. The story had great political intrigue as well.

While marketed as a Hades/Persephone retelling, I personally don't think that's totally accurate - as this book went beyond the typical framework of a Hades/Persephone retelling, However, I still enjoyed reading this book. The story is also a historical fiction, set in medieval, pre-colonial West Africa (15th century), which was a nice change of the fantasy I typically read. The ending leans far into the fantasy realm though.

Ododo is a blacksmith who has to marry a King who fell in love with her. The political intrigue was top-tier and kept me engaged throughout the whole book. Ododo grew into her strength and agency, and I loved seeing all of the women of the book take advantage of the way the men of the book underestimated them.

I loved this debut from O. O. Sangoyomi, and will look out for more books to read from her!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC copy.

I really enjoyed this book, and I couldn’t believe that this was the author’s debut! Òdòdó was a wonderfully written morally grey character, and I loved seeing her journey throughout this book. The book was a slow burn, and it was absolutely worth it. There were some plot points that were predictable, but I do not think it took away from the story at all. I would have loved to see some of the fantasy elements explored a bit more because I loved the snippets we did see. I highly recommend this book!