Review: Masquerade (Andalucian Nights #2) by Hannah Fielding

Title: Masquerade
Author: Hannah Fielding
Series: Andalucian Nights
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, Adult
Publisher: London Wall
Publication date: August 6th 2015
Pages: 442 (Paperback)
Source: Received from author (Thank you!!)






From the award-winning author of The Echoes of Love. Love, mystery and desire under the scorching Spanish sun. 

A young writer becomes entangled in an illicit gypsy love affair, pulling her into a world of secrets, deception and dark desire. 

Summer, 1976. Luz de Rueda returns to her beloved Spain and takes a job as the biographer of a famous artist. On her first day back in Cádiz, she encounters a bewitching, passionate young gypsy, Leandro, who immediately captures her heart, even though relationships between his kind are taboo. Haunted by this forbidden love, she meets her new employer, the sophisticated Andrés de Calderón. Reserved yet darkly compelling, he is totally different to Leandro but almost the gypsy's double. Both men stir unfamiliar and exciting feelings in Luz, although mystery and danger surround them in ways she has still to discover. 

Luz must decide what she truly desires as glistening Cádiz, with its enigmatic moon and whispering turquoise shores, seeps back into her blood. Why is she so drawn to the wild and magical sea gypsies? What is behind the old fortune-teller's sinister warnings about 'Gemini'? Through this maze of secrets and lies, will Luz finally find her happiness... or her ruin? 

Masquerade is a story of forbidden love, truth and trust. Are appearances always deceptive? 

Goodreads

Masquerade is the second novel in the Andalucian Nights series. Earlier this year I read Indiscretion and I really liked that one. So I was excited to find out that it was part of a series. Masquerade follows the story of Alexandra’s and Salvador’s daughter, Luz de Rueda. The book is again set in Andalucía, Spain, but this time it is in the 70’s.

I really like the writing style of Hannah Fielding; it is excellent for historical fiction. She brings the world alive with her descriptions of the sceneries and cultures. Fielding did a great jog bringing the beauty and the culture of Spanish society. And that is exactly what I am looking for in a historical fiction book. I like to learn new things when I read a book and since it is set in the past it is important that it is as accurate as it can be. Besides I do not know much about the 70’s in Spain so it is nice when the author describes everything so well.  

Luz was a fun character to read about. She has a really strong personality, once she has set her eyes upon something she has a hard time to get her mind of it. And she cannot be persuaded to do so even when she knows that it would be the right thing to do. Luz also had a strong sense of pride and you better not hurt it because she was not someone who easily forgets about it. And that is exactly what I liked so much about her; she might not have been the easiest person to be around but at least she was real. So often characters are way too perfect; but Luz had her imperfections and that made her so much more special to me.

But there are also a couple of things I liked less about this book. The biggest problem for me where Luz her love interest(s). She did not know Leandro she had just laid eyes on him for a minute, yet she claims to love him. Clearly she did not know the difference between lust and love and it annoyed me. Then there was love triangle that was thrown in. I am not the biggest fan of them, never will be, so I would not have minded if it had played a lesser role in this book. And my last point is that at some moments during the book there was not enough action for me. There were a couple chapters where nothing really happened and I just feel like it would not have hurt the book if it had been a bit shorter.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions are beautifully done and the overall storyline is good if you are looking for a nice romance story. You do not need to read the first book in the series in order to read this one. I would still recommend it if you want to avoid spoilers and to give you more of a background story. I cannot wait to read more books by this author and I hope that the next book in this series will come out soon. 

Elien