Love Unmasked follows Evie, a popular go-getter high schooler, as she attends a school trip to Venice. They're there to study art and architecture, but Evie also has secret plans to hunt down a hidden fan club for her favorite fantasy book series. To make it more complicated, she meets another fan who could possible be from their school but doesn't know who they are because they're both wearing masks. Plus, Evie's nerdy interests are kept secret from her friends at school in order to maintain her image. But her secrets are in danger of coming out when she starts for falling for the new guy at school during the day and her masked friend at night.
This book was a fun adventure through Venice full of good food, friendship, and sights. Evie and Gabe are an opposites attract type of duo, and the author does a great job at highlighting how their differences bring out the best in each other. This book is perfect for fans of Love and Gelato and Twelfth Knight, with a really great focus on fandom community. I would definitely recommend to patrons at my library.

When reading the description of this book, it sounded totally up my alley! Plus, I’ve read and really liked previous books by this author. I loved that it was set in Venice—some place I hope to go to one day. While this specific title fell a little flatter for me than the author’s other books, it was still cute and I appreciate that it’s a safe read for even younger teens.

Love Unmasked is a cute YA romcom that takes place in Venice, Italy on a high school art and architecture trip. I loved this book, I was swooning so hard. The mystery behind the masked characters was amazing. I loved the way that Evie and Gabe fell for each other in both worlds. I would u liked to see more of their relationship bud a bit more at the end when they make up. It was a sweet happy ending but I think an epilogue would have been nice like a flash forward to prom, or the trips ending, or maybe even their last few days of the trip. But overall this book was so adorable and addictive to read.

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing this one for reading.

Love Unmasked ticked all the boxes of a book that my teen self would have eaten up:
- booksmart (popular) girl with a secret book obsession that bled into cosplay
- broody guy who was pretty and teased with quips but was a loner
- mysterious guy who liked to cosplay, may be handsome (he wears a mask), but has a good voice and gets along with the main character
- foreign setting
- friends
- at home issues

In this story our female lead sneaks out of her hotel to head to a secret fanclub meet up in Venice made popular after her favorite book series. On the way, she runs into another cosplayer / fanboy who is wearing a mask, dressed as the male eye-candy of the books, and the two of them hit it off.

In the day time she is a people pleaser - booksmart, popular, and shy to admit she is a closet nerd. Her art class goes to Venice before she graduates. She goes not only for a grade, but because she heard of this fanclub / meet up somewhere in the city and she has to find it. The books mean a lot to her because it being a shared like between her and her now deceased father.

The guy she has been paired up with is a new kid who came at the beginning of senior year, whom she had the pleasure of taking on a tour of the school and hardly said anything to her. He also talked down to her, and chose to keep his distance. He is apparently taking her art class too and now they have to figure out a topic for their project.

Though I am past the age of this book, I think teens will enjoy it. The romance was slow between the mysterious man and the broody guy. At times it had me unsure who was the man behind the mask. But when I narrowed it down - quickly - it didn't matter because I was having too fun watching it play out between the two men who caught her attention.

Another reviewer brought up how odd the club was - had all these funds dumped into it, made it literally a Harry Potter-land building / world shoved into a four story flat. Apparently the author and the fandom threw money at this uninhabited building, cleaned it up, and use it as an official destination for those in the fandom. It's so popular people in the city play along with it by having symbols on shops / carts an if you ask a question you get a hint card that tells you how to find the spot.

It kind of made it cheesy for me because the fact at night our female lead and the mysterious guy were walking around in masked cosplays people would have to be catching on when groups of people start heading to on particular place. Why signs are appearing on shops and so on. Why the flat on 123 canal road (or whatever) got purchased and you hear partying in it late at night. A real stretch to me, honestly. I would have preferred it to be a place that changes monthly or whatever like secret cinema.

Another issue is that the whole project kind of fell by the wayside at times. Sure, they were working on it and doing things with it, but the farther the story / romance progressed we really never got a solid outcome at the end about their grades / the importance of this project.

Little things. Overall, I had fun! I'd recommend this to teen readers.

"Love Unmasked" is a sweet high school romance set against the backdrop of Venice. The story follows Evie, a straight-A student and rule-follower, on a class trip to Venice, which also happens to be the inspiration for the setting of her favorite fantasy series, Elven Realms. However, her excitement dims when she is paired with the moody Gabriel instead of her best friend. Despite her initial reluctance, Evie, ever the people-pleaser, agrees and is determined to pull him out of his shell.

Evie has another secret plan for the trip: to find a clandestine underground fandom event held every night. Only her best friend, who shares her room, knows about her love for the book series and her plan to sneak out and find it. During her nightly escapades, Evie meets Angelo, another student searching for the event. Their masks allow them to open up to each other in ways they can't with others, leading to a deep connection. Evie is torn between wanting to know Angelo's true identity and fearing the revelation.

The novel excels in its portrayal of the conversations between Evie and Gabriel, both masked and unmasked. The forced-proximity trope is well-executed, adding depth to their interactions. However, the story's believability falters when neither Evie nor Gabriel can recognize each other despite spending significant time together both day and night. This implausibility detracts from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Additionally, the nightly fandom event, complete with cosplay, LARPing, and food, seems unrealistic given the logistical and financial challenges such an event would entail. These elements, while imaginative, stretch the bounds of credibility.

Overall, "Love Unmasked" is an enjoyable read with charming moments and engaging dialogue. However, the implausible plot points and lack of deeper investment in the characters prevent it from being a standout. Fans of high school romance and fantasy will find it a pleasant, if not entirely convincing, escape.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. I know the description states that Evie is on a school trip but I didn’t think high school and I couldn’t move past that. I do love a good YA book but this felt like it should be students in college and I struggled. The story was great and I loved Evies day vs night but I couldn’t move past the high school age.

I would like to begin with thanking NetGalley and Delacorte Romance of Random House Children's Books for the uncorrected ebook.

My opinion is highly biased because I love softcore romances and this one hit me hard. If you are a nerd who is the part of one or many fandoms, this is for you.

Hardworking and straight-A student Evie in Venice for a school trip in the senior year but her hidden goal is finding a secret fandom event of her favorite fantasy series. And as much as she hates rule-breaking, she goes for that midnight stroll to find and join the event by getting the clues in the morning. She meets Angelo, a nice guy from the same hotel, who's also looking for the event, under their own masks. So who is this Angelo and why is he so intriguing?

Then there is also Gabriel, the antisocial guy, who Evie got stuck working with in a project because he has no partner and she cannot say no to her favorite teacher. Unfortunately for her, he seems to hate her but she's determined to make a friend out of him. Is everything as it seems with Gabriel?

Tropes:
•forced proximity
•popular h x unpopular H
•people-pleasing MC
•secret events
•YA
•bonding over fandoms
•third act breakup (unofficial and not dragged on)
•character development on both sides

This was everything that I was looking for from a mystery-romance element that I was looking for. The concept had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall way the characters were used in this universe. Becky Dean has a strong writing style and enjoyed the journey in this.

I absolutely inhaled this book! I knew from the first page I was going to love it and it didn’t disappoint. What a fun concept, and I love YA books where the characters learn to embrace their quirks, their “nerdiness”. The writing is witty and fun, the banter/dialogue feel so real. Our MC’s inner thoughts are so relatable! I adored every second. This is one of those rare books I could read over and over and love every time. Can’t wait to get a physical copy!

tl;dr
A super cute grumpy/sunshine high school rom com with a relatable lead and a fun supporting cast. Weirdly, the part about masks and a secret club somehow feels superfluous.

Thoughts
I'm incredibly split on this book. I showed up expecting the thread about book-lovers donning masks and seeking out a secret club to be my favorite part. It's literally the point of the book, right? But not only was it not my favorite part, I don't think I liked it at all? But let's rewind and start with what DID wind up being my favorite part. Evie and Gabriel are very cute together. We get a touch of grumpy/sunshine dynamic with a heavy dose of "got off on the wrong foot" energy, and it was very sweet seeing them slowly open up to each other. The little sparks of joy Evie gets when she makes Gabriel smile were exceptionally cute, and the progression of their relationship felt very natural. Plenty of blushing, hand-holding, and some sweet kisses tie up the daytime arc as a very cute rom com. Other highlights of the daytime events include Evie's outgoing friend group (and a bonus rom com happening off screen with one of them), and a family where problems eventually get solved via open communication. Hooray for open communication!

But as much as I enjoyed the characters and their interpersonal interactions, I simply could not get into the plot. The promise of Evie using a mask to be "more herself" seems only half-fulfilled, as she doesn't really behave any differently as Fantasma. I'm not asking her to be an axe murderer in her downtime, but I had expected her to be a little more exploratory under the cover of anonymity. Maybe go back to all that piano she liked, but wasn't allowed to do? The closest we come is that she shows fanart to more people, but she was drawing fanart in front of Gabriel already, so even that doesn't feel like a huge leap.

Angelo is likewise very similar to his daytime self. I imagine his identity isn't supposed to be a huge secret for the reader, but I definitely expected there to be a starker contrast between the two of them in-world. An art-lover who doesn't care what other people think of him, encourages Evie to think more about herself, and makes clever jokes? I'm shocked Evie didn't pick up on it by night three even though by her admission, they have the same physical build.

But I think what threw me the most was the club itself. I expected a modest underground library or LARPers in a gym. Instead, we get something the scale and cost of a certain wizarding world, packed with a night market, a bar, an art gallery, monthly balls, LARP battles, and a fully recreated forest. It's an all-year convention, but at a significantly higher budget, run entirely by volunteers. How is this place functioning at all? Apparently the author funded the purchase of the building, but how is it still running? And surely the city of Venice can't be happy about this extremely large daily event where alcohol is being served. I would have believed it more if it turned out they found a literal portal to an elven realm. If I sound like a curmudgeon with all my gripes about where the money comes from and food service permits, I get it. It's supposed to be about the magic and connection and community that books bring us. I'm not supposed to overthink it. But it's the scale that really got to me. We've moved past the fan community into something that's starting to feel a little more commercial. It's big and grand and the focus winds up on being on how great the place is rather than the connections made with the other attendees. The "belonging" that Evie was hoping for feels superficial at best.

The daytime story is sweet and cute and a great high school romance packed with blushes, crushes, and learning to be more true to one's self. Fans of Becky Dean will almost assuredly love the ride. I just didn't find the nighttime arc to land nearly as well.

This book had some fun moments but I felt overwhelmed with everything going on. It is a fun story but not memorable. Characters are delightful.

Becky Dean has done it again! I truly resonate with the main characters of her books every time. This time the main character is on a class trip to Venice with her art and architecture class during her senior year. What her teacher doesn't know is that she is a huge fan of a book series that is based out of Venice. Each night she sneaks out to visit the fan club and meets a "stranger". I knew from the getgo that the stranger was going to be her complicated last minute partner, Gabe. Even so it was a sweet story and talked about her struggles with perfectionism.

Becky Dean has written another spectacular novel with “Love Unmasked”. Some might call it swoon worthy, and it certainly is! My favorite part of her novel though isn’t just the romance between the leads, but the everyday life that her characters are dealing with. In Love Unmasked, Evangeline “Evie” Whitmore is a self-conscious popular girl who lives to help others. She has a hard time saying “no” and when her teacher Mr. Owens asks her to partner with Gabriel Martinez, the new student who gives off loner vibes and seems to be the only person who does not like Evie, she once again gives in and agrees to be his partner. Evie has secret plans to find the fan club for the Elven Realms books while in Venice, but because of her fear of not being accepted by her peers for her “nerdy fangirling” she keeps this part of herself hidden from all but her best friend Natasha. While trying to sneak out to find the club, Evie befriends another masked student who is trying to locate the club as well. During the day, Evie and Gabriel start to learn to work together and realize that they may have judged each other hastily when they first met. Through her time in Venice, Evie must decide who she wants to be and whether she should let others see her true, authentic self. Throughout the novel the theme of being authentic to yourself and not hiding behind masks is present. I think this is a valuable lesson for all of us today. We cannot be afraid to be who we are. There were elements of learning not to judge others too quickly or assume others won’t accept you for who you are in this novel as well. I highly recommend it, and I love that Becky Dean writes in a way that I can feel comfortable putting them in my 6th-8th grade library. My students love her books and always eagerly await her newest one!