Masquerade: A Novel (Large Print General Series)

Rating:
Summary: More of a mystery than a romance
Review: In the cassette version of Masquerade, the relationship between Remy and her lover doesn't really factor in to most of the story, and is left open, allowing the book to become more of a mystery novel than a romance.

Synopsis: Waking from a head injury, Remy Jardin finds herself in the middle of a life she can't remember. A member of one of the wealthiest families in New Orleans, the lover of a man her family despises, and the guardian of a dark secret that someone is willing to kill for.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, the shame!
Review: Living abroad and starved for English language books drove me to read Masquerade, one of the few available options. What a book. You want to say that it's a must-read on its own terms, but you can't- the best you can do is that it's an okay-read. The prose is stilted and repetitive, and while Dailey is decent at using this repetition to build up suspense, she doesn't take it anywhere, so it just kind of fizzles. Furthermore, the love story set in the middle may provide a parallel, but it has no place in her novel- she either couldn't come up with enough plot or couldn't devise a way to throw in a third love scene between the two main characters. I'm new to the romance genre, but if this is among the best of what it has to offer, I'll be searching elsewhere for good reading soon. Masquerade is a nice try, but the plot isn't compelling, and the steamy scenes just aren't steamy enough. All in all, read it if you have to, but try to avoid it.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, the shame!
Review: Living abroad and starved for English language books drove me to read Masquerade, one of the few available options. What a book. You want to say that it's a must-read on its own terms, but you can't- the best you can do is that it's an okay-read. The prose is stilted and repetitive, and while Dailey is decent at using this repetition to build up suspense, she doesn't take it anywhere, so it just kind of fizzles. Furthermore, the love story set in the middle may provide a parallel, but it has no place in her novel- she either couldn't come up with enough plot or couldn't devise a way to throw in a third love scene between the two main characters. I'm new to the romance genre, but if this is among the best of what it has to offer, I'll be searching elsewhere for good reading soon. Masquerade is a nice try, but the plot isn't compelling, and the steamy scenes just aren't steamy enough. All in all, read it if you have to, but try to avoid it.

Rating:
Summary: It's an "OK" read.
Review: Remy Jardin is in France as a masquerade ball when she stumbles upon a conversation that she is not to hear. Realizing she is in danger she turns to leave- being discovered by one of the participants in the conversation. He catches up with her. They argue. He hits her, knocking her to the ground where she hits her head on the tree. She is discovered by a couple of tourist. They get her to the hospital where she is discovered to have amnesia. Remembering nothing. An article about her identity is placed in the newspaper w/her picture. Her family sees it and sends someone after her to bring her back to the US, back home-Cole Buchanan, president of the family shipping company, and former lover/boyfriend of Remy. While Remy is busy trying to regain her memory with different flash backs- she stumbles on an insurance scam dealing with a company oil tanker that was lost at sea recently. She starts asking questions that someone is feeling threatened by- enough to beat her up again and tell her to stop being nosy. Did that have to do with the conversation that she over-heard in France? Is Cole involved and is that why they had broken off their relationship? The read is ok. At one time the maid tells Remy how the family got their fortune in the beginning having to do with a love affair between a rich cajun debutante and a yankee ship owner that was disapproved of by her family, ending in death, grief, loss of love, and the birth of an illegitimate son left with a fortune. I enjoyed that story more than the actual one. Read it for yourself and see what you think.