Member Reviews

A fabulous debut by a major new talent! If you're looking for straight speculative fiction or fantasy, this isn't that. It's something different. A tale steeped in West African traditions, it defies strict genre categorization. If you love historical fiction that features a strong woman, you will love this book. I fell in love with Ododo. The final 150 pages were amazing!

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Masquerade does such an excellent job in weaving West African culture into the pretty well known myth of Hades and Persephone. It’s definitely more of a loose interpretation of the myth but still follows some of the same beats. Our main character Òdòdó works with her mother and aunties as blacksmiths (often called witches) until one day she is kidnapped to become the wife of the warrior king. I really enjoyed Òdòdó as a main character. Her growth throughout the story was excellent and complicated. Also the way African culture was so present and important to the story was so well done. I will say it’s not really a fantasy more fantasy light/speculative historical fiction. I do think the general pace slows a bit but that also might have been a me thing. I am very excited to see what O.O. Sangoyomi writes next because this was an excellent debut novel.

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I loved this book! An African historical retelling of the Greek myth Persephone set in a reimagined 15th-century West Africa? Yes!!!

The author did an outstanding job with the narrative and prose, the details in the world-building, and the character development. This story really makes you think about how far you’re willing to go to secure your future.

My only quibble is that this was marketed as adult fiction versus young adult, so I wanted a little more rawness. However, this was still a great story, especially for a debut.

Looking forward to more from this author!!

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I really enjoyed this one despite it being a little predictable. But the writing style was excellent and it had me hooked from start to finish.

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Masquerade is for everyone who wants a morally grey, scheming, power-hungry female main character. The court politics, complex characters, and lush world-building immediately captured my attention.

Set in a richly reimagined 15th-century West Africa, Masquerade follows a young blacksmith's sudden rise to power after the king abducts her to be his wife. Òdòdó’s character arc was incredibly satisfying. An ignorant young girl thrust into court life is always a set up for blundering and mistakes. But what I loved about Òdòdó was how ready she was to seize control and take advantage of her new life. She works through her mistakes and is quick to adapt to new challenges. Her journey to power was emotional, tense, and darkly satisfying.

I would highly recommend Masquerade to fans of She Who Became the Sun. On the other hand, despite the marketing, I would not recommend this as a retelling of Hades and Persephone. The ties to the Greek myth are very, very vague.

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I wasn't fully sure what to expect from this as I began it, but the more I read the more I was impressed by the characterization, setting, and slow build of tension.

This is a story set in 15th century Africa that focuses on the rise of Òdòdó from blacksmith to wife of the Aláàfin of Yorùbáland. For the most part the plot focused on political and military machinations with detailed world building.

The story begins fairly simply: a tale of a woman trying to grasp the comforts that come with wealth and status, but that slowly grows more complicated as she realizes that what she wants cannot be given to her by someone else. I was impressed by how much tension is infused into the story, it was hard to step away from watching Òdòdó grow in confidence and power. Her struggles and frustrations carried through the page so clearly. It was almost cinematic in how easily I could picture each scene.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The writing style seems very direct at first but the complexity grows with the story. The world was immersive and character of Òdòdó compelling.

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This book was absolute fire!!!! O.O. Sangoyomi's debut book Masquerade is an epic tale set in West Africa, exploring a young women's rise from laborious poverty to lavish royalty. Born in a household of women blacksmiths where they are regarded as witches in their culture, 19 year old Òdòdó is suddenly kidnapped from her home in Timbuktu and transport to the royal capital of Ṣàngótẹ̀ to become the bride of the Yorùbáland's warrior king. Taken from her home, she is asked to marry the Alaafin right away and forget about her past life as a witch forever. While accepting the marriage would be a life of luxury and supposed respect as a former witch, Òdòdó will soon learn that the luxury lifestyle comes with a price. She soon finds that the city and court are a den of vipers out to test her resolve and must learn how to navigate in order to survive while sudden eruptions of blacksmith rebellions threaten her safety. Òdòdó also finds that although she is a lowly woman who will marry the Alaafin, keeping the favor and attention of her fiance and having a voice will be her biggest challenge of all. Is her new life worth the pain and suffering she must endure, or will she go back to her life as a witch in silence?

(I read this originally through the audiobook. I did not realized I got the digital version as well. Sorry/)

I absolutely LOVED this book! At first, it was a bit slow in pace when it was describing a lot of the setting and scenery when it came to the vibrant life of West Africa cities, but it picked up the pace when Òdòdó arrived at the capital. The vivid and vibrant descriptions read out by the narrator really brought the audiobook to live when it talked about the colorful backgrounds, the city markets and just the beautiful way each character was dressed in the book. When I first started the book, the story reminded me of a more intense version of Beauty and the Beast, but then I realized that it closely reassembled the story of Persephone and Hades. That was my bad. Listening to Òdòdó 's story about her struggles in court, trying to understand the culture around nobility and finding people to trust in the cutthroat setting made me feel like I was right beside her witnessing everything. The characters were well-written in slowly showing their deceptive personalities and then hearing about their actions against Òdòdó made me hurt for her, but I was excited when she started triumphing so well. I was completely rooting her to stay strong and become the phenomenal woman she was meant to be. I understand how the culture presented in the book degraded women and labeled every woman a witch for almost every little thing, but damned if I did not want to choke the life out of people for Òdòdó. Author Sangoyomi brought out so many emotions out of me that made this book even better than what I thought it would be. I was also absolutely floored by the ending being so good, and Òdòdó came out of the whole situation like the phenomenal Queen she was destined to be. I swear I jumped up and did a happy dance for all her victories but her last was the best one yet. I wish I could rate this book higher than 5 stars because I will say that this is the absolutely best book I have read this year! Truly an amazingly brilliant story!!

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The plot didn't capture my interest as much as I had hoped, and I felt disconnected from the writing style. Still, it might be a better match for others.

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Thank you, NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group | Forge Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the warrior king of Yorùbáland and the living condition in her blacksmith guild are now even worse than before, already shunned as pariah. Òdòdó is then kidnapped by the vagrant who visited her guild days prior, but now he's revealed to be the king, who has chosen her to be his wife. Now soaring to the heights of the society, Òdòdó is filled with power, after a life of subjugation. Òdòdó is now forced to scheme and plot and defy her cruel husband, in order to save herself and her own life, between lies, secrets and enemies hidden in plain sight.

Masquerade is loosely inspired by the myth of Persephone and you can't not fall in love with Òdòdó. Forced to life in subjugation, as a pariah in her hometown, her life is turned upside down when she's kidnapped and forced to marry a cruel king. I adored this book. Òdòdó is such a brilliant, complex and well written main character, who fights for her freedom and she's stubborn and fierce enough to do fight for her future in a complex world of intrigues, lies and secrets.
The story is intriguing and so evocative you feel you're there with Òdòdó in her physical and pyscologhical journery, in growing up and becoming a stubborn, fierce and smart woman.
Political intrigues, enemies hidden in plain sight, the enticing power given to someone who didn't get enough in the past, everything makes this book so good and so captivating! So recommended!

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Ooooh, this was extraordinarily unexpected in the best way. Not once could I guess where this wonderfully complex story was taking us. At any one time it was a political fantasy, a story of a young woman coming into her power, a love story (.... kind of? A very complicated, questionable love story, but yeah I'm still going to argue that she loved him. Despite everything.), a story about class, about power, about gender, about conquest. Sangyomi packed so MUCH into this book, and it's honestly incredible. 10/10 would read again and - which is a rare but very enjoyable occurrence for me - I did NOT see that ending coming. Not in the least. Not from a minute away, let alone a mile.

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Lots of vibes and an interesting idea.

The characters were a bit underdeveloped including the main character so her motivation at the end was confusing. The revolution was also underdeveloped so it wasn't as impactful as the author intended it to be.
The king or prince, not sure of his title, wasn't sinister enough for me as the reader to fear him.
Overall, I think readers new to fantasy will enjoy this but a veteran fantasy reader will find it a bit too familiar.

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I was really excited when I was approved for this novel because it sounded really interesting. I'd never read anything set in medieval Africa and Hades and Persephone is my favourite Greek myth.

They weren't kidding when they said it was loosely based on the myth! Really all it had in common was a ruler kidnapping a woman.

It took me a while to get into the book. I found the plot very slow and it didn't start to pick up until about 80% in.

I didn't like the main character, Òdòdó, at all and found myself questioning almost everything she did. She never seemed to fully think out any of her decisions or the situations she was in (like, she never really even seemed all that concerned over being kidnapped!).

There were a lot of modern terms/dialogue used that would take me out of the story.

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In the reimagined 15th century West Africa, “Masquerade” takes us on a lyrical journey—one where freedom comes at a cost, and self-discovery is both a blessing and a curse. Our protagonist, Òdòdó, finds herself at the heart of political machinations, battling for her future and her people. This novel weaves together African mythology, historical intrigue, and a morally complex female lead. Captivating and enjoyable!

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I am a little late with my review because I was in the middle of moving when it was published, but I adored this book! It will definitely be ordered for my library. The ending is one of my favorites in recent years!

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

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Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi intrigued me with its African-inspired setting and premise, promising a rich cultural backdrop. However, despite this allure, I couldn't finish the book due to significant shortcomings. While the political intrigue within the king's court was compelling, it unfortunately perpetuated misogyny without adequate challenge. The main character, initially poised as a strong female lead, disappointingly succumbed to Stockholm syndrome and internalized misogyny, which made her unlikable. Moreover, considering the publisher's reputation for fantasy, I anticipated more magical elements that were regrettably absent. These factors combined left me ultimately disappointed and unable to continue with the novel.

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Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.

The author described this as an Nigerian/Yoruba Retelling of Hades and Persephone and as soon as I knew that, I have wanted to read this book!
This is a solid debut, the world-building was rich and well thought out and although I would say this book leans more Historical fiction than straight-up fantasy it still does have plenty of fantastical elements to love!

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4.5 stars! Wow! One word: deception. This book is full of it. Every time I would doubt Ododo she made me a liar. This was so rich in the writing and history. It kept me engaged the whole time and shocked me to the upmost. I’m still shocked at the ending but it needed to be done!

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“The men could only fathom victory if it was achieved through strength. But as I was quickly learning, power was no less valid when subtle; after all, an ember was never as feared as a flame, yet it burned just as hot.”

If you are looking for a historical read that will immerse you in 15th century West Africa with light fantasy elements, this is the book for you!!

Masquerade tells a story of feminine rage, power dynamics, and one woman’s struggle to cling to power for the first time in her life.

I loved how immersed I was in the setting. A lot of care and attention was taken in the descriptions throughout the book. The buildings, people, clothing, food, everything was highlighted in stunning detail. It made for a bit of a slower read at the start, but then once the action picked up about halfway through it really took off!

I loved Òdòdó, she was such an interesting character. She sees the opportunity she has been given, and then decides to fight tooth and nail to keep it no matter what. She was so clever, manipulating the men around her to get what she wants when they don’t think her capable. I loved where her story ended up going to, it was such an interesting choice.

My main complaint is that I felt like I didn’t know what the book was until about 60% through. I wasn’t sure if it would end up being a romance, something darker, if the focus was going to be on her escaping or staying. I felt sort of adrift for most of the book. Now once it solidified into a surer plot I was really hooked, it just took a bit to get there for me.

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Inventive and fresh, Sangoyomi blazes onto the fantasy scene with the kind of book I just could NOT put down. I knew from the cover I would love it, but her writing, the twists... I'm just in love.

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4 stars! This is a stunningly well-written novel. The language is vivid which makes the scenes come to life. Parts of the book did drag a little, but overall, I really enjoyed it! I highly recommend this if you love historical fiction set in Africa, morally gray characters, and royal intrigue. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC. I look forward to more from this author!

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