Unmasked

By: EM Kaplan

Narrated by: TJ Richards

Mel can sense the blood beating through her companions' veins. She can count the moments between heartbeats to tell who is sincere and who is lying. She can make herself stronger for short periods of time, heal small wounds on her body, and manipulate light to change her appearance subtly. These abilities are useful skills for a Mask - a preternaturally sensitive, cloaked and imposing, impartial arbitrator, both revered and feared by everyone.

Mattieus Ottick, or just Ott to his friends, comes from the frozen north to hunt the strange ogre-like creatures, or trogs, that threaten the northern mines. Magical beasties? Nightmares come to life? The world as Ott knows it is about to change. Blessed by easy charm and good looks, Ott is used to the attention of females, but, gods above, he is knocked flat by the kiss of the ethereal woman he rescues.

©2014 EM Kaplan (P)2017 EM Kaplan

Lots of Plot Twists

I got this ARC via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. This story took more than 13 hours to tell. The narration was not very swift but was done well. This is a story that had many plot twists and lots of scenes. I liked the story although at times I had to put it down and go do something else. Magic, trolls, strange stones, evil stepfathers, betrayal, and love are woven throughout the story.,I enjoyed the ending. There were several parts that could have been left out because they did not go well with the story but they were few and far between so I guess they did not take away from the story. It took me three sittings to finish the story as it got boring at times.Not to say that the overall story was boring, there was just a lot going on. I still want to know what happened to some of the characters. So I hope there is another book that will tell us about them.

Enjoy!

fantasy, action-adventure, romance

The characters are fascinating, the descriptives are unbelievably clear, and the plot is full of action that moves very quickly. Excellent fantasy!
TJ Richards did a great job as narrator!

Masks aren't supposed to feel!

Mel is a Mask - someone who wears a mask that completely hides their face so their expressions can’t be betrayed. Masks are unbiased arbiters whose opinion is the law of the land. Their judgment in matters of arbitration is final and respected.

in the opening scene Mel is kidnapped by a vicious troll… and then is subsequently rescued by a masculine stranger. Nothing wrong with that, you might say. In fact, sounds a bit like a romance should! But as a Mask, Mel is not supposed to have feelings as this is part and parcel to being a Mask. The first thing that Mel notices about her rescuer hero is that he smells… well, wonderful - to the point where it lights a fire between her loins. Literally. No, not literally, but to the point where she immediately attacks her rescuer with kisses. Hot steamy kisses.

The seed is planted there between them and they can’t forget each other, no matter what happens to them in the book. Disasters, trolls, kidnapping, murder, heartbreak, and intrusive parents. Mix in a little inter-species breeding and you have a very interesting story.

It’s a good book. At its heart this is a book about a girl wanting her life to go in a different direction than her parents planned. Layered over top is an epic adventure. I liked the concept of the Masks, how they are the judicial system in Ms. Kaplan’s world she created. I think a lot more could be done with their backstory in future books.

TJ Richie’s performance was very good. She did a great job with the male voices, and was fantastic with the dialog.

This audiobook was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fairytale PLUS without overload

Parts fairy tale, myth, and fantasy, Unmasked draws you in, then when you think it’s going to be boring, it throws you another whoa!?
I believe this to be all original work, but it gives you the feel of an old fairytale rewritten like Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl which my mom had translated for me from an old German book of fairytales.
I would classify this as just over the line into UpperYA with all adults being able to enjoy. Unless you’re into Noir.
Richards does a good job with narration.
Recommend. I will definitely be checking out book 2 to see where this goes for Mel & Ott.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Amazing fantasy listen

LOVED this book! Well crafted world with complex characters, and an intriguing storyline that kept me hooked from the first sentence. Excellent narrator as well, she really brought the story to life. Will definitely be listening to the other books in this series. I recommend this one for fans of Patrica Briggs and Robin McKinley. I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.