This sequel didn’t disappoint and was so worth the wait. Masquerade of the Heart, has excellent prose, shocking twists, tragic moments, and the great character progression. I can’t wait enough to see what else the author has in store for us.

Masquerade of the Heart is the perfect sequel and conclusion to Garden of the Cursed. Masquerade of the Heart opens with the catastrophic aftermath of the Vale-Falcrest wedding. Adrius is avoiding Marlow, Marlow is coming to terms with the identity of her father, and someone quite powerful is attempting to play God. Can Marlow lift Adrius' curse in time to save him from making a huge mistake? Can the team find out who is using the Grimoire and why? Ultimately, can Caraza be saved?

Masquerade of the Heart lives up to Garden of the Cursed. All of the characters are back, including Gemma, Swift, and Silvan. I absolutely love Silvan and am so glad we get a deeper look into his character. For everyone who wants a Swift spinoff - I'm totally in support! The book is action packed with lots of suspense. The ending is so satisfying. I will definitely be reading more by Katy Rose Pool. For anyone looking for an excellent YA romantasy with a great enemies to lovers trope, this series is perfect!

I want my Swift spinoff immediately, thanks. I would love a prequel story about him, hint hint.

Masquerade of the Heart was one of my most anticipated books of 2024 because Garden of the Cursed was quite frankly amazing and I wanted to finish Marlow and Adrius's story ASAP. And while I had my reservations in the first half...wow does the second half make up for it.
I think this was one of those cases where my expectations got the best of me. The part of the plot that I was most excited to see more of in book two (Adrius's curse) was resolved fairly early on, so I was a bit disappointed. Followed immediately by a ton of rich people drama, I had my doubts about the direction the plot was going. But there were several scenes that genuinely surprised me towards the end, and the action definitely picked up as the story progressed. The final scene was pretty good and, once again, there were a bunch of plot twists to keep me on my toes.
Our cast of important characters really expanded in this one, but I'll keep this short. Vale reminded me a little too much of Lehrer from The Fever King for my liking, and I hated him. Gemma reminded me a lot of Biana from Keeper of the Lost Cities and she grew on me. The same goes for Silvan and his little snake. Adrius got on my nerves a few times in this one, but I still think he's a really good book boy and Marlow is still one of my favorite main characters of all time. Swift, though, if you couldn't tell, is my favorite by far, and no, I don't take criticism.
Although I think I like the first book just a tad better, Masquerade of the Heart was definitely worth the wait and I'm so glad that I got to finish this amazing duology early.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4.25/5

I adored the first book in this series, and the sequel lived up to my expectations.

The world of Caraza and the spell/curse magic system remain unique and exciting; I would love to see more books set there.

I LOVE Marlow and Adrius, and Swift and Silvan. This book answers all of the questions you might have had, but the pacing makes it not as strong as the first.

What a thrilling sequel! I was so excited to read this and I was definitely not disappointed. Marlow is such a well rounded character, and I was so invested in watching her grow through the story. Adrius complemented her character beautifully, with a forbidden romance that was given a *chefs kiss* ending.
I loved Swift, Silvan and Gemma. They were each unique characters and it was fun watching them all work as a team.
The pace of the writing was also well done. I found it so hard to put this down. There was always something that I needed to know coming up in the next chapter, or a major scene that I needed to see played out.
It was really interesting to see the moral pov of the “villain” too. I always love the complex povs, and Katy Rose Pool did a great job with this one.
I can’t wait to see what else this author writes!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book.

Overall I’d give this book a 3.5 star rating. It didn’t match the first book imo. It wasn’t as exciting and I feel like a lot didn’t really happen. I did like the back and forth about Vale and how Marlow had to decide whether he was the villain or not even with his good intentions. I do wish there was a little more time to refine her relationships with other characters in the book. I’m looking forward to getting a hard copy when it releases this summer!

With Garden of the Cursed absolutely ensnaring me and being one of my favorite reads of 2022, to say I’ve been anxiously awaiting this sequel is an understatement. I LOVE the setting of Evergarden and Caraza and all the magical mischief, so I was very excited to start round 2!

Overall this book is a FUN TIME. I was screaming and giggling for sooo much of the first half. Marlow and Adrius, those two lovesick idiots have my whole heart. Loved seeing a bit more of Silvan, though his character didn’t do quite as much as I was anticipating. Lots of things I wasn’t expecting, which was stressful but thrilling!

This book is very fast-paced, I finished it all in two sittings! I don’t think it’s quite as strong as the first one—there were a few plot points that seemed random and unexplained, especially towards the end. The SIKE OUT at the end had me in full body terror but I loved the epilogue! I think this is a really fun finale and a good ending to the series. Would totally be up for more stories in this world. (Also, I need more Toad.)

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for approving me for this ARC!

As a Veronica Mars fan and someone who tepidly enjoyed book one, I needed book two because I had to see where this would go and if our cursebreaker would have more mystery to solve, more romance to figure out, and more clean up of her town / marshes.

I can safely say, all of that and more is present in this book.

As a VMars fan it's hard to take your blinkers off. You know that Meme of Will Smith from Fresh Prince of Bel Air looking out of the taxi in wide-eyed wonder. Picture me doing that with this book, knowing what seasons, characters, and moments made their way in as inspiration / nods to the show.

If you're familiar with S3 of VMars, and the take-down Veronica, Max, and Wallace did to the university harddrive? Yep. That's pretty much the plot of this one here. Only spun in a different way with magic and focus on Minnow getting closure regarding her mother.

The problem I also have for the books is that while using the show as a guide, it doesn't really stand strongly on its own. Aidrus' sister, the other families don't really have any sort of 'character' to them, but if you're familiar with VMars lore, they do. Minnow, Swift, and Aidrus are too reactionary and don't have a lot of depth - even as loosely inspired versions of Veronica, Wallace and Logan.

If people who never watched Veronica Mars are enjoying this, then I hope it gets people into the show. It is a lot like this duology, and it's nice to see someone writing their own spin on it, but it doesn't quite come close to the original but it sure scratches that itch.

This is probably more of a 3.5 star read, but I’m rounding up because while this was a mixed bag for me, I believe teen readers will be more forgiving–and it is a solid sequel/conclusion overall. It’s just there were far too many “Wait. What?” moments for me, and several of the mysteries and plot points carried over from the first book were answered with a narrative shrug rather than the emotional one-two punch I expected. Also, I continually kept thinking something was off during several scenes–particularly those narrated by the new POV character–and expecting it all to lead to some sort of twist, but no, a spade was just a spade and none of it went anywhere. I’m not sure if this was intentional to create a sense of unease or if it was just me reading into things. Needless to say, I have questions.

That said, I still did enjoy the book and absolutely adore Marlow. She is such a delightful mess and fully believable as a teenager in over her head whose bravado might not be enough to save her this time–and whose libido might not always lead to the best decision making. Call it bravery or stupidity, our girl’s got heart and a dogged determination that is nothing if not admirable. The rest of the cast continues to shine, and the few new faces introduced are certainly memorable.

The storyline here shifts from the noir-esque mystery of the first book to something more akin to a suspenseful quest. Indeed, the story is pretty straight forward this time around. Marlow has a handful of goals that she needs to accomplish without raising the suspicions of her newly revealed doting-father-and-possible-power-hungry-monster, Cormorant Vale. And that’s what she sets out to do, more or less, with a hefty bit of romancing on the side. (Fans of Marlow and Adrius have a lot to look forward to.) The plot moves along at a solid clip, and the tension is high as Marlow navigates a city where far too many people want her dead, be it the gangs she’s crossed in the Marshes or the aristocrats offended by her very presence in their gilded halls. But Marlow isn’t one to run from a fight; the only question is how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to clean up the mess that is both her life and Caraza city. And can she do it before Vale enacts his own far more brutal plans to bring order to the chaos?

All in all a flawed but still enjoyable read that I think will mostly satisfy readers and which brings Marlow’s story to a sound close.