Review: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

The title reminds me of a line from the Billy Joel song, The Stranger: "We all have a face that we hide away forever." The only difference is that in the process of the book some of the masks are slowly stripped away.

Billed as "Jane Austen meets the X-men," the book pretty much lives up to its hype. It is a story set in the Victorian era, but with individuals with special powers. There are 3 groups. One is the group that doesn't know that much about their powers and is on the naive side. The second group knows, uses, and sometimes exploits their powers or the powers of others. And then there is a third group with no special powers.

Evelyn has come to London in search of her sister  Rosamund who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. On the way she meets Mr. Kent who arranges for her to stay with his sister and his parents and promises to aid in finding Rose. Evelyn meets Sebastian Braddock. Mr. Braddock claims that Evelyn and her sister both possess special healing powers. And he wants Evelyn to heal someone close to him. In return, he will help seek out Rosamund.

The book is very much a missing person mystery. Rosamund is gone and presumed in danger by Evelyn. After all wouldn't she take her medicine kit with her if she left voluntarily?

There is also a touch of romance. There is not quite a love triangle. The focus though is on finding Rose. There are dangers both mundane and extraordinary in the course of the search.

Evelyn especially is of interest. She doesn't care much for her role in society as a young unmarried woman. And she detests attending balls with her mother trying to set her up with some young man. She argues that there must be more to life. Her sister is milder in manner and appears to go along with her mother's designs at least at the ball in the beginning.

The ending was a surprise to me. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It could be read as a standalone, but it will leave you wanting more. Thank goodness the second book in the trilogy comes out March 14, 2017 from Swoon Reads.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good mystery with a touch of romance and a touch of the gothic. It is a YA book, but I found it enjoyable as an adult as well.

Teaser Tuesday: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Thank you for getting us out," I whispered to him. "I feared that would never end."

"The old bat detests being left out of a conversation. Sometimes when she's summoned me, I've resorted to talking to myself so I might be dismissed."

p.53-54 paperback edition

These Vicious Masks was published in February 2016 by Swoon Books. The sequel, These Ruthless Deeds, is due out March 14, 2017 from Swoon Books.

What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Waiting on Wednesday # 113: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Expected publication: February 9, 2016
by Swoon Reads

This week the book I am waiting on is These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas. It's due out February 9, 2016 from Swoon Books. 

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

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. 

Why am I waiting on this book? The first sentence of the synopsis intrigues me. It sounds like it will be an interesting read. 

You can read an interview with the authors at the Swoon Website.

What book are you waiting on this week? Please share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by!