I received this for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas Published by Macmillan on February 9th 2016
Pages: 352
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
Jane Austen meets X-Men in this gripping and adventure-filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.
England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.
My Thoughts:
When I heard this book described as “Jane Austen meets X-Men” I was immediately interested. I mean, Victorian England with superpowers? Sign me up!
I really loved the setting of this story. I think it was the perfect place and time for this tale. I mean, there were so many rules about how to behave in “good society” and so many people had things to hide. Adding superpowers to the mix just ups the tension!
The characters had promise. I love that the main character is a young woman set on bucking societal restrictions! I also really liked her relationship with her sister. There is kind of a love triangle but I honestly didn’t care that much about either of the guys in it. I actually didn’t find this book all that swoony in general. I was much more interested in the mani character coming into her power and being awesome!
I did enjoy These Vicious Masks, however, I don’t think the Jane Austen comparison does it any favors. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been comparing the characters/relationships to Jane Austen’s 🙂
Alexa S.
I really want to read this one! I didn’t wind up requesting it for review, though I was quite intrigued by the comparison. But it’s really starting to catch my attention since so many friends have talked about it recently. I definitely think I’m going to check it out at some point 🙂