Going into Masquerade, I wasn’t sure whether to expect realistic historical fiction or something more in the realm of fantasy. With that stunning cover, it looks like a fantasy novel, right? I’ll warn you now: This is historical fiction, with a few elements that feel surreal, but it’s not fantasy. It draws from the myth of Persephone as well as Nigerian mythology, setting it all in a reimagined 15th century West African empire. Òdòdó is a blacksmith in Timbuktu when she meets a charming vagrant. But he’s actually Àrẹ̀mọ, the Aláàfin (warrior king) of Yorùbáland, and he intends to make Òdòdó his wife. So he has her kidnapped. Before she’ll agree to marry him, Òdòdó wants him to find her mother to gain her blessing. In the meantime, Òdòdó becomes more and more involved with the politics and secrets of her new home.

Òdòdó is an interesting character; she doesn’t always see things the way I would, but she’s true to herself throughout the novel. At first she seems surprisingly okay with the fact that Àrẹ̀mọ had her kidnapped so he could marry her. Is this some kind of “dark romance” situation? But for Òdòdó, despite the problematic methods, she views this as an opportunity to improve her life. Instead of a poor blacksmith, distrusted because people see her as a witch, she’ll now have luxury and influence as his queen. And right away, Òdòdó wants to wield that power.

Masquerade becomes quite political, and we get to see Òdòdó relying more and more on her acumen. She may be naive at first, but she quickly learns who she can and can’t trust, how to gather information, and how to manipulate others accordingly. She must prove herself to Àrẹ̀mọ, and in so doing, hopes to achieve more power as his queen than most woman in her world ever could. There are numerous side plots and missions that she gets involved with and works to unravel—the blacksmith strike, a situation with elephants’ ivory, a rescue mission or two. Òdòdó is ready to take on real control, alongside her (soon-to-be) husband or not.

Readers might think Òdòdó is totally naive and has some Stockholm Syndrome. How can she trust, let alone love, the man that kidnapped her? This youthful innocence may be part of it for a while, but it largely reads as her making a choice. As bad as this option may be, she sees it as a huge step up from her life as a blacksmith. She wants the power and the relative ease of life, and she’s willing to sacrifice a lot to attain it.

I love the discussion of how much power a woman can have, even as queen. Òdòdómo is always in danger, with others trying to harm or even kill her. Despite his flowery language, Àrẹ̀mọ might never respect Òdòdómo or any woman, seeing them as inferior in some way. To have all she wants, Òdòdómo may need to choose a different path. Is Òdòdómo a likable character? Does she make the right choices? Hard to say. She, like most of the characters here, is morally gray. But the book is intriguing from start to finish!

Audio
Ariel Blake does an incredible job of narrating Masquerade. The accent she gives Òdòdómo makes it feel much more immersive, whisking me into 15th-century West Africa and the mind of a young woman whose life is drastically changing. Her narration keeps the book engaging throughout, both in the slower portions and in the more high-action sections. The audiobook elevates the book and makes Masquerade that much more enjoyable.

Final Thoughts
Masquerade is a captivating novel for anyone who likes historical fiction, different mythologies, politics, and a richly drawn West African setting. It’s about a woman seizing power in her life through unusual opportunities and a mind for politics. I loved this book and hope to read more from O.O. Sangoyomi.

I really wanted to like this book. I did not reread the synopsis before going into it, which I feel was a mistake. I expected magic and more fantasy elements that were not there. Which is more on me than the book, but I feel like that contributed to my overall feelings.

The choices that Ododo made throughout the story, especially in regards to the people she blindly trusted kind of floored me, and after people showed their true colors she didn't really seem to learn from the past and protect herself, which frustrated me. I was practically yelling at her at some points because she was being so naive. And for what happens towards the end of the book, I just wish there had been more gradual nods to the character development throughout the story. I feel like this would have made me root for her more.

The imagery of this story was beautiful, and I really felt like I could picture all of the settings. I also loved the narrator, she had such a lovely voice to listen to and did well with the pacing. I felt like the second half of the book I was more engaged in than the first half, and the end of the book was relatively satisfying. I would give this author another try at some point.

In a sea of highly promoted white male authors, my journey to finding enjoyable fantasy written by BIPOC women continues. This one, loosely based on Persephone, starts off well but Òdòdó and company began to annoy me before the end. If you have the chance to listen to this on audio, I found the West African narration quite pleasing. The narrator, Ariel Blake, is Black and Guyanese, but has a background in acting.

In this tale of capture, and pseudo-love, Òdòdó is brought to Ṣàngótẹ̀ to marry the king. He already has one wife he mostly ignores. I never truly trust a romance based on Stockholm syndrome. Don't call it enemies to lovers. Don't call it dark romance. He kidnapped her. He has more power than her. She has no choice.

While this had all the puzzle pieces to being a story I could truly enjoy, the stupid decisions Òdòdó ends up making make this hard for me. I had to double check that this was an adult fantasy, because her character reads very young adult. Perhaps you've come here from my other reviews. Perhaps this sounds similar.

However, unlike those other reviews, I did enjoy this for the most part. I am rather unfamiliar with African mythology, and even more ignorant to West African mythology. I'd love to learn more. I think we'll be seeing some exciting things from this author in time. I plan to read them.

📚 Buddy read with Ekene

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me listen to the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was alright, the beginning and middle were a bit slow and most characters were not very likeable, but the end was fantastic. Some parts of the book didn't add to the story it just left a lot of loose ends and plot holes. For example, the whole idea of her mom being such an important figure to her but, also never mentioned a single good thing about her. The chemistry/romance was not there between the FL and ML.

I liked the story message and the overall theme but the story had too many plots and things going on that didnt add anything, however the ending saved it from being a 2.5/3 star.

This is a complicated book for me to review. There were elements that I really liked, and elements that I found confusing and frustrating.

The prose itself was stunning, and the world was lush and clear without having any infodumping sections.

But as a reader, I really like to feel like I’m living inside a character’s head as I am reading, and I found myself really unclear about the main character, Òdòdó, her motivations, decision-making, and actions. The romance element was extremely flat, I didn’t know if I was supposed to be rooting for them to be together or not. The basis for their relationship was instantaneous, and although they spent time together, I didn’t feel like I saw their relationship grow.

While the main character was unclear, the rest of the characters and plot felt predictable, which made the book frustrating to read. It’s one thing if you know a character is walking into a trap, but also why they believe they have to or trust the other character, it’s another thing to watch a character just be oblivious to everyone around them.

I think this book is more for the political fantasy / historical fiction crowd than it is for the high fantasy or Romantasy crowds. What Òdòdó seemed to care most about was gaining power, and rising from a lowly position to that of a Queen. If you love books about feminine rage with a lot of morally gray characters, I think you will really love this one!

I think if there had been a little more emotional intimacy between the characters, I would have absolutely loved this book. I look forward to reading more from this author!

🎧 I loved Ariel Blake’s performance so much! Her accent was so beautiful, it made the audiobook really immersive.

Dnf’d at 37%
The writing was good and the storyline wasn’t bad, but I just couldn’t get passed the fact that the male lead had the female lead drugged and kidnapped and she was perfectly fine with this fact and was more than willing to marry him because he was rich and pretty.
I really don’t like to dnf a book, and really tried to push through it. But it just really bothered me and I couldn’t get passed it.

While wildly different from what I usually read I found Masquerade to be enchanting and loved following Òdòdó's journey from blacksmith to queen. I loved the loose mythology retelling and didn't realize the inspiration at first, but looking back it's so well done. The narration was well done and I highly recommend the audiobook. Plus that cover is absolutely stunning!

3.5 ⭐️Started off strong but then the pace dropped off. It’s a retelling of the Persephone myth, which I had a vague knowledge of. The author’s prose is gorgeous which I loved. The story picked up again near the end. Overall I did enjoy it.

Wow. What an absorbing debut. O.O. Sangoyomi’s lyrical retelling was beautiful to listen to. Her settings were vivid, the pacing of the story was fantastic, and her characters felt alive. I am looking forward to anything she may write in the future.

This was a very slow read. I couldn’t get into the story. I didn’t enjoy the dynamic between the characters at all. For the right audience, this will be a favorite, but I am not that audience.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced listener’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was in awe of this book from the first chapter. It oozes beautiful prose and the world building had me locked in from really early on. I hadn’t realized this was meant to be a lose retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth when I first requested the audiobook but the similarities were felt and appreciated. This felt like a love letter to the role of the maiden in the myth, a role that has to claw power for herself despite the love she feels for her husband.

From the jump this felt like a fairytale, honestly, not the kind that ends with ‘if you are kind you will get a good life’ but the kind that warns children that death is an outcome for doing wrong and the pay out of the ending of this book, without any spoilers, made good on that promise.

For those who care, this is a standalone as well! (Me, I’m people-who-care, I love standalones so much). This is a gorgeous book that I cannot recommend enough. This is one for the people who love a woman with rage and love in her heart in equal measures.

Even though I enjoyed this story, I do feel as if the synopsis did no favours to what is on the pages. Ododo decides to grab the life offered her as she refuses to be tied to a skill that only brings disdain and ill-treatment. So when given the chance to ascend, she does and uses the interest and desire that Oremo has for her to her advantage. But although she is smart and becomes an important adviser, there are other political games at play that she is naive to. There were points when she exasperated me with her naivete and belief in the goodness of those she interacts with. And even with that ending, I needed more groundwork to be laid to believe that the outcome for her would be that favourable. I would have enjoyed this more if there were more elements of fantasy included in this story.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for my review audio copy, my opinions are my own.

Masquerade is a reimagined 15th century West African tale that is loosely based on the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, but this story is so much more than the Greek tale, this is a RICH tale full of politics, twisted love, toxic relationships (of all sorts), learning to thrive is a world that the main character was not born to, kidnapping from the edges of the Timbuktu market to the palatial capital city. Ododo has been a blacksmith her entire life when she finds herself stolen away from her guild and is now the bride to be for the Alaafin (ruler of the Yorubaland).
Thrown to the political wolves, Ododo has to learn to swim and make herself indispensable to her future husband, while dealing with piranhas masked as important people.

The pace is slower, but this allows for more development of the characters and larger plot lines. I loved Ododo, I felt so much for her story and development, her strength and how she learns to survive.

This is a fantastic story told through audio, I loved Ariel Blake's voice as she told the story of Ododo. I was entranced from the get go and it helped me so much with understanding how names were pronounced, I highly recommend listening and reading with your eyes because the prose is fantastic.

Highly recommend, and that cover is spectacular.

A great book for fans of the movie, The Woman King! Ododo is a young blacksmith who is abducted by the warrior king who is conquering his way across Africa. Ododo agrees to marry him but only after her mother, also a blacksmith, is located and gives her permission for the wedding. In the meantime, Ododo engages in training with the other women in preparation for childbirth and the warrior king also works with her on self defense techniques. All of this training and Ododo’s determination allows her to assume a position beside her fiancé in battle. When the other blacksmiths (also known as witches) in the kingdom decide to revolt, Ododo finds herself in an impossible situation as she has now fallen in love with her abductor.
I listened to the audio version of this book and it was excellent! The story was captivating and the narrator made it exciting - it was hard to stop listening. Listening to the accents and pronunciations really made the story come alive. Ododo reminded me of the Woman King - such a strong and likable character. Definitely not a predictable story though - just thoroughly engaging and enjoyable. Highly recommended!

First, the narrator was so good! I really enjoyed this book. It was very nice to read a book about pre-colonial times. This one takes place in West Africa. I really enjoyed Ododo as a character. I loved the elephant Aja! This was a great story of resilience and the power of women. What a great debut by the author!

This book is a standout debut that deserves attention! Masquerade blends African-inspired political fantasy with elements of the Hades and Persephone myth, focusing on a woman kidnapped by a warrior king who wants her as his bride. It's not your typical romance but a story of reclaiming agency and navigating power dynamics with gritty realism. Despite its low-magic setting, the narrative explores themes of strength and independence among women. I highly recommend it—plus, the audio narration is superb!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but everything pulled together at the end. Òdòdó frustrated me in the beginning due to her naïvety, but she grew from that and firmly settled into her rage. Àrémó claimed to love her, but it wasn't healthy or true, especially since he had her kidnapped to become his bride. The story had a slow but consistent pacing. I am not familiar with Persephone's story, but this lack of knowledge did not hinder my understanding and enjoyment.

Content warnings: murder, violence, kidnapping, animal death, confinement, rape (minor, past), sexual assault (minor), toxic relationship, gaslighting, slavery (not MC), forced sterilization

This was a ride! I don't know where I expected this story to go but in the end, I was shocked, cheering, and just happy to be where we ended up! It was so many ups and downs starting with Òdòdó's kidnapping... by a handsome king. Well how am I supposed to feel about this? I'm kinda here for it. LOL. This is only the mere beginning of our flower's tumultuous journey. I didn't know who she could trust. (Spoiler Alert: No One!) And after a certain point, what really matters? I must say I thoroughly enjoyed all of the twists and turns in this ancient mythological tale!

I don't think I've ever listened to an audiobook performance from Ariel Blake but I think her voice was perfect for this story.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

An incredible debut! Masquerade is a vibrant historical fantasy with roots in pre-colonial West Africa. This story is action-packed and filled with political intrigue. I loved speculative insight into the tangled web of power, love, and freedom.

I listened to this on audio. Thank you @macmillian.audio for the gifted ALC!

Ariel Blake’s narration is bewitching. I was completely enthralled by her storytelling.

I loved it so much that I had to grab a physical copy for my shelf. 😍 This cover is absolutely gorgeous too!
My rating: 4.5⭐️

What to expect:
Political intrigue
Corruption
Folklore and mythology
Love vs. possession
Strong FMC

I truly do not have enough good things to say about this book. Ododo is one of the most beautiful complicated and intricately developed characters and her determination to be the master of her fate kept me hooked from the very first chapter.