A lot of these books other reviews have me stumped... so many reviews complaining about not liking a romance book that starts with a kidnapping. apparently they all missed the note that this is loosely Hades & Persephone inspired. But more importantly this is not a romance. This is a story of a young woman finding herself in better fortunes and for the first time away from her mother. Ododo is someone who at the beginning of the story is incredibly naive and just happy to no longer have to work a cruel job that has her at the very periphery of society. And while she learns about politics and who to trust and how to move at court she also learns more and more about herself and to desire ever more.
This book is not perfect. Sometimes the jumps in Ododos abilities can come as a surprise because the passing of time isn't always clear. There's also a type of tendency of "telling not showing" that can be found in many modern fairytales and retellings (I don't mind it if it fits the book, which imo it did here). Odod is also has a very subtle tendency towards being and unreliable narrator in how she sees herself (which is where the misunderstanding of seeing this as a romance might come from because that is how she sees her and Are Mo's relationship for a big part of the book). readers who pay attention will however discover the underlying tensions that are there from the beginning.
I also have to add that the book did have a bit of trouble truly gripping me in the first third/half (but I was still never close to even considering dnfing) . The ending however is one of my favorite endings this year and truly exactly what I wanted to happen.
Overall I would call this a very good debut with flaws and I can't wait to see what the author has to share in the future!

Characters 9/10
Atmosphere 10/10
Writing 10/10
Plot 10/10
Intrigue 10/10
Logic 8/10
Enjoyment 10/10

Masquerade follows Òdòdó, the daughter of a blacksmith in Timbuktu. In this society, blacksmiths are women considered to be witches, and her status as a witch limits her opportunities within the caste system. After being abducted, Òdòdó is given the chance to live a life she never imagined for herself. With this newfound life, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to keep it—and whether it’s truly enough.

Just wow. This book easily ranks in my top 10, maybe even top 5 reads of the year. I couldn’t put it down. While some readers have mentioned that it reads like YA, which might be due to the limited romance, I personally love YA, so that didn’t bother me at all. I found myself completely engrossed in the story. The narrator did an excellent job, adding to the experience—I was audibly gasping throughout and didn’t see many of the twists coming. Overall, Masquerade is an amazing read. I’ll definitely be rereading it in the future, and I’m thrilled to have snagged the Fae Crate special edition. If you’re looking for a story with a badass, morally grey female main character that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the book for you.

OH MY GODS! This book pulled me in from page one and I was sucked into this story. I can’t wait to see what else this author gives us.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars--

The storytelling is decent, but the story is not. The politics of this book are *really* bad. Odede is a morally fucked character and apparently readers are supposed to be ok with that bc love? Even though the "love" story is really a story of self-interest and abuse.

Odede is raised by a strong, single mother within a guild of women blacksmiths who are persecuted by the larger society because they are suspected of witchcraft. Odede's life changes when she charms a young king disguised as a vagrant, who has her kidnapped and brought to the palace at the center of his colonial empire. They are engaged to be married, but Odede wants her mother to join her at the palace before she can truly embrace her new life of luxury as the king's second and favored wife. However, her mother can't be found as blacksmith guilds across the empire have gone on strike, disappearing from their forges. Unwittingly, it is Odede herself who has inspired the strikes, through her sudden social advancement.

But Odede turns out to be completely disinterested in the plight of anyone beyond herself. As long as she's in love with her abuser and living in a palace, she's super ok with colonization, slavery, and the social class of women she hails from being subject to poverty, violence, and poor health.

I kept waiting and waiting for there to be some big turning point moment where Odede would prove to actually be capable of some compassion. My prediction was that Odede's mom would return and convince her to use her power to back the strikes. But alas, this does not happen and Odede remains as shitty as ever. I think this book could have been a lot better with multiple POVs. After all, the Persephone myth is also largely about her mother, Demeter.

Other pet peeves:
-Odede is not a girl's girl. She sees the other women in the palace--the Alafin's mother, his first wife--as her enemies more than the man who kidnapped her and spies on her. She resents other women who assume she's weak. She wholeheartedly buys into the patriarchal bargain--she seeks power by playing into roles set by men. Throughout the book, female friendship is manipulated for personal gain.
-Odede loves her abuser. Odede is not all too concerned about her abduction and treats it as an overall positive thing and a sign of the Alafin's love.
When Odede begins to feel trapped and surveilled in the palace, she blames anyone but the Alafin. She is constantly praising the Alafin's skills over her own. She risks her life for him even when he abuses her and has no trust in her.

Many thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm here for Ododo's rights and wrongs!

It took me wayyyy to long to finally get into this book and I was close to DNF'ing it a couple of times but I've finally finished it and I can definitely say it's a solid debut.

I love a corruption arc - but honestly, I wish it didn't come in last 2 pages lol. We get little bits and pieces of Ododo realising she craves power but it's not enough. But that ENDING, sign me up for a sequel PLEASE!

Òdòdó is a strong blacksmith from Timbuktu where she lives with the other members of her blacksmith guild. Blacksmiths are already viewed as outsiders within the community, and now that the warrior king of Yorùbáland has conquered Timbuktu conditions have deteriorated for her guild even further. Things go from bad to worse when Òdòdó is kidnapped and brought to Sàngótè where she is forced to marry Àrèmo, the warrior king who is responsible for the conditions she and her guild finds themselves in. It seems that a simple kindness to a beggar, who was the warrior king in disguise, has lead to this predicament, but as tensions continue to grow between rival states Òdòdó sees an opportunity defy the king, but first she must repair the strained bonds that her new, unwanted position has created, or potentially lose her life along the way.

Masquerade is said to be loosely based on the myth of Persephone, which is what drew me in at first. The more pages I read the less I could see the comparison–the similarities are so very few–but I still found Masquerade to be a very entertaining story full of strong female characters. Òdòdó is a remarkable individual and I took delight in joining her on her journey. I loved watching her growth as the story went on. Sangoyomi is a masterful storyteller, using words to paint spectacular scenes and events, creating a page-turner that kept me hooked.

I also greatly enjoyed the audiobook. The inflection and changes of pace effectively conveyed the various feelings, emotions and experiences of the characters, creating a tone that fit well with the story, and the voices and accents used for the characters brought them to life. Blake’s presentation of the narrative greatly added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

This book was not what I expected, in a number of ways! I found it compellingly and skillfully written, but also perplexing and surprising from start to finish. I actually went and read some other reviews of it just to get my head around my reactions, and was a little baffled to see it called a fantasy, and intrigued by the marketing saying it's loosely based on the myth of Persephone. I can see that part a bit, in retrospect, but it wouldn't have occurred to me if I hadn't been told. What it felt like to me was historical fiction, in a time and place (pre-colonial Yorubaland) that is very unfamiliar to me, which was really fascinating to read!

It's also so unusual, at least within my reading wheelhouses, to encounter such a detached and morally gray first-person protagonist. Òdòdó felt like a mystery to me, even though the reader is theoretically inside her head; it seemed like some of her most impulsive actions and reactions were not only a surprise to me, but also a surprise to her. The masquerade is at every level, somehow! I didn't really find myself rooting for her, but it was intriguing to watch her lean into the brutality of the system she was kidnapped into, and gradually turn it for her own gain. Like, badass, but also it's unusual to watch a character have so many chances to take a moral stand and always choose the most self-serving one, without ever being really sure about why or how she feels about these choices. Maybe this is just my taste, but I guess I wanted a little more of Òdòdó's interiority!

But overall, as a look into a history I know nothing about, it was compelling. And had really interesting structural things going on—a brief dip into second person, some mirroring plot points between Òdòdó and the king she's engaged to marry, some twists the reader is meant to see coming and some that are shockers! A page-turning read.

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!

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!