[ARC Review] The Final Masquerade by Ariana Nash
For his entire life, Brice LeChoix and his younger brother, Charon, have been warned never to fall for the fae's deceit. Yet every year, Brice gets invited to the Masquerade - a party where human and fae alike can throw inhibitions aside, dance, and do much more. And every year, Brice ignores the invitation. Until he's dragged into this inexplicable and untamed world and finds answers to mysteries, decades-old plots for revenge, and a love Brice could have never anticipated. With fae trickery around every corner, Brice can't even trust his own senses. But as time goes on within the warped world of the Masquerade, Brice just might finally learn to trust his heart.
What a ride this was! The Final Masquerade was quite a bit longer than I expected it to be, so this book took me longer to get through - but I definitely was not complaining. Nash's writing style immediately pulled me into her story setting, complete with old world charm and magic where you might least expect it. The details were truly vivid, both in the mortal world and especially within the Masquerade; even when the LeChoix family home was is disrepair, Nash made the scenes so descriptive and real. It was easy to picture every location and surrounding and get transported to this world in my mind.
And as the locations pulled me into the story, the characters kept me there. The three main players in this story - Brice, Charon, and Raoul - were all wonderfully complex characters. But truly, none of the characters in The Final Masquerade were the same people by the end of the story; they all grew, adapted, and found their true self throughout this journey. And I loved that none of these characters came from the same framework. They were all uniquely different and motivated by vastly different things. With these dynamic characters, Nash built a thoroughly dark and twisted world within The Final Masquerade.
Despite all the lies, deceit, and danger, Brice LeChoix's tale was, at its heart, a story about love. As those around him did terrible things in the name of love, Brice came to love himself and love the last person he ever expected. None of that love was easy to come by, and Nash represented the struggle well. All that being said, though, there are scenes within The Final Masquerade that very much fall under dubious consent/non-consent, both physically and mentally/emotionally. The fae in this world are beautiful, yes, but do not live by the same morals as humans. If blurred lines, altered mental states, and dub con/non con are triggers for you, you may want to avoid Brice's experiences in The Final Masquerade.
The Final Masquerade was quite an adventure, and Nash quickly pulled me into this dark world that still contained hope. The overall plot was grand in scale, and the love Brice found might have been a rollercoaster of a ride but it was exactly what he needed to be the best version of himself.
A huge thank you to Ariana Nash and the team at Gay Romance Reviews for sharing a review copy of The Final Masquerade!
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Release date: 12/17/21
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: Gay Romance Reviews
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