ARC gifted by the publisher
Set in a reimagined 15th-century West Africa, when the warrior king abducts Òdòdó from her hometown and chooses her as his future wife, Òdòdó must tread carefully among shaky loyalties and ever-changing political alignments or risks losing everything—including her life.

MASQUERADE is a fast-paced and unputdownable debut based on the myth of Persephone. While there are fantasy elements, the story always retains its steam with just the right amount of world-building that eases the readers into this reimagined historical drama. Sangoyomi perfectly blends historical fantasy, thrilling plot twists, and character development into an adrenaline-filled story. I love following Òdòdó's journey as she navigates complex politics and hidden loyalties; I devoured MASQUERADE in a day and would happily read another 500 pages.

If you're tired of mainstream romantasy and want something different (read: more diverse), if you love reading about unhinged women, female rage, and morally gray characters, if you want to give fantasy a try, if you adore magical elephants (who doesn't?), then definitely don't miss MASQUERADE! I highly recommend this unputdownable debut to fans of KAIKEYI (Vaishnavi Patel) and THE POPPY WAR series (R.F. Kuang).

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notes
If you love KAIKEYI, you’ll love this even more! I enjoy the morally gray characters and great pacing. FMC reminds me of Rin from THE POPPY WAR series (yes to unhinged WOC haha). Love the inspiration of Nigerian mythology! What a great debut. So fun and unputdownable