ABOUT BENEATH THIS MASK
He loves me, and he doesn’t even know my real name. The limelight that follows him could expose everything I’m hiding. But even knowing the risks, I can’t force myself to stay away. I’m going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. Will we lose it all when I reveal what’s beneath this mask?
MY REVIEW
★★
I've been meaning to start this series for a while, especially after many of my book buds have raved about it. After finishing Beneath This Mask, I'm hoping that the series continues to grow and mature. Charlotte is running from a past that would destroy her name should anyone find out who she is. She hides behind excessive amounts of tattoos and overly dyed hair. The mask of shame weighs heavy on her day in and day out yet she is content to stay hidden. That is until she meets Simon. The son of a former politician who is about to begin his own political career, he appears to be the man of every woman's dream. Intelligent, good looking, a true southern gentleman, charitable etc. He is relentless in his chase of Charlie, determined to make her his. I wasn't a fan of the bad girl/good boy angle. I didn't find Charlie or Simon likeable nor did either of them provide any sort of levity to the story. Actually, I was pretty irritated with Charlie as she continuously made poor choices and put herself in physical danger while alone at night. Simon's character shows no improvement over Charlie's. He is portrayed as a do-gooder with some alpha tendencies; I was pretty bored with him. I didn't feel any sympathy for the things he deals with as a result of being ex-Navy, which I think stems from a lack of character development. Charlie and Simon together were no better. Their initial interactions went a little something like this - Simon chases, Charlie resists. Simon chases again, Charlie gives in, then Charlie resists. I think it was meant to be angsty but their behavior just came off as irritating and childish. When they finally got on the same page with their feelings, it felt superficial and not based on any real interactions that made their connection believable or genuine. I guess that's called insta-lust? Or insta-love? I don't know. It just didn't work for me. Also, I found their dialogue to be predictable and dull. There was nothing exciting about their exchanges and I hardly looked forward to them even having scenes together because it was so, uneventful. I would say that while its well written technically, the use of internal dialogue was completely over used, creating a story that was un-engaging with a pace that was sluggish and labored. I do plan to continue with the series but not sure I would recommend this one.