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Masks The Lord Jester Legacy Book 1 eBook EM Prazeman

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Masks The Lord Jester Legacy Book 1 eBook EM Prazeman

I love fantasy that has characters in same-sex relationships and treats them just like any other person. For that reason alone, I would recommend this book. But there's so much more to like. Unique world-building with magic I've never seen. A protagonist I cared about and worried about from the very first page. Romantic elements that enhance the plot but don't take it over.

Only a few things kept me from giving it a full five stars. The world-building could have been explained more clearly, especially early in the book, so that the reader could more fully enjoy the lush culture and setting. There was a time or two where the characters motivations didn't seem entirely clear to me, although I was so taken with the story that I went along for the ride anyway. Readers who demand that the plot arc have a clear resolution at the end of the novel may be disappointed.

Since this is the first book of a series, I look forward to seeing if the writer grows as the series moves on. Definitely I will be reading the rest of the series!


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Masks The Lord Jester Legacy Book 1 eBook EM Prazeman Reviews

From the first chapter I wanted to jump into the story and protect the main character, Mark. Even as he gets older and can handle himself quite well, I still had that feeling. I found myself chastising the villains around him for treating him as they did. This book was hard to put down and I ended up late from lunch one day because of it. Politics, treachery and the church all play a major role in his journey to find out how to navigate the vast world yet stay true to his convictions. In the midst of it he has many infatuations that are sometimes heartbreaking and other times hilarious. I love the world created which has remnants of renaissance combined with a slight hint of steampunk. A wonderful read but don't do it while at work. You may get in trouble for neglecting your work.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book despite some flaws that kept me from outright loving it.

The best parts of the book were hands-down in the second half. Without going into spoilers, I'll just say that lots of world building happens in the first half without much accompanying explanation, but the second half takes advantage of that and gives the reader some nice payoff as the nuances of the world start to actually be relevant to the plot.

On that note, the world building and the setting were both amazing! I loved Seven Churches, the ship, the island... it was all really well fleshed out and quite gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of the lushness and warmth of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (I mean that as a compliment, I always associate that movie with warm, bright, vibrant settings).

Ok, so after all that my main gripe with the series is that it's actually just a little bit *too* mysterious. I like when authors withhold information to create a sense of unfolding mystery, generally speaking. But in this case, the super-detailed world building and complicated plotting worked against the momentum of the story. When events unfolded and details were finally revealed I was often so confused about what was even going on that the impact of those twists was completely lost. Hopefully some of this clears up in the next book. I'll definitely continue with the series! The world building and concepts of jesters, demons, and politics is too good to pass up!
Mark Seton is a terrific character. Abused, and unsure of himself, Mark does something he knows is dangerous and fool-hardy, embarking a journey that is fraught with peril, some clear and some hidden.

As his alter-ego, Lark, Mark has courage and strength. But in order to bring Lark's true powers to fruition, Mark must decide who he is, and grasp that chance, despite the fact that it will both make and destroy him.

The other characters are well conceived--Lord Jester Gutter is intriguing and sinister. Obsidian is also a mystery--Colonel Rohn Evan is a mystery, hard to know, yet compelling. You like and dislike him. The motives of the players are never what they appear.

The setting is rich, opulent and slightly degenerate. The underlying themes of this book bode well for the rest of the series, as do the characters that were introduced.

If this book has a flaw it is in the proof-reading. It is clearly an indie production, editorially, and that is the ONLY reason this book is getting 4 stars instead of 5. But the characters and the story drew me back in every time I was knocked out of my reading reverie by a glaring cut & paste error, or some other thing that could have been caught before publication.

I am definitely buying the next installment on this series.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS

I wanted to like and finish this book, but it bounced around between different plots too much for me. First the main character's a kid trying to save his family's estate. Now there's a time skip and he's the ward of this guy we barely meet, and there's important yet vague abuse/drama going on between characters that happened in the time skip. Now he's part of some duel/murder plot. Now his father's ship is on fire, and maybe it was caused by this other character? He's not sure, but he'd better get on this boat to deliver this message, quick! Now he's signing up to be this guy's jester, which brings me to my other problem with this book halfway through (which is about where I stopped) there is still no clear explanation of what jesters in this world are. Assassins? Spiritual whipping-boys for rich people? Both? It sounds interesting, but the book doesn't bother to explain it or show any jester-ing before the halfway-point to give me something to understand.

On the positive side, the writer does a good job with the actual writing as far as grammar and sentence structure. Prazeman also does well at making the M.C. feel real and not a flat character. So despite not having anymore interest in this series, I would consider reading other books by this author.
I love fantasy that has characters in same-sex relationships and treats them just like any other person. For that reason alone, I would recommend this book. But there's so much more to like. Unique world-building with magic I've never seen. A protagonist I cared about and worried about from the very first page. Romantic elements that enhance the plot but don't take it over.

Only a few things kept me from giving it a full five stars. The world-building could have been explained more clearly, especially early in the book, so that the reader could more fully enjoy the lush culture and setting. There was a time or two where the characters motivations didn't seem entirely clear to me, although I was so taken with the story that I went along for the ride anyway. Readers who demand that the plot arc have a clear resolution at the end of the novel may be disappointed.

Since this is the first book of a series, I look forward to seeing if the writer grows as the series moves on. Definitely I will be reading the rest of the series!