Des Sweet's Underneath the Mask, a masked stalker romance, was published on October 7, 2024 to Amazon. You can read it there or for free as part of Kindle Unlimited. This was my first time reading any of Des Sweet's books, but she currently has 24 titles on Amazon. She writes dark, fantasy, paranormal, and spicy romance stories.

I received an ARC through BookSirens. Here's my review!

3 STARS

I think if you're into masked stalker romances, this could be your cup of tea. I'm newer to this specific subgenre of masked stalker romances and I personally found this novella a little one-dimensional. I did see the ending turning out the way it did about a third of the way through, but the plot twist which wasn't really a plot twist for me was still nice to see revealed because you want that HEA. The story wasn't too over-the-top when you look at the individual elements, but I think when you put everything together, there were some unrealistic scenes that maybe with more character development wouldn't have seemed unrealistic. The unhinged stuff didn't phase me much, but it did seem a bit odd when you think about who is actually committing the acts. I can't really say more in the review without spoilers, but the ending didn't really give me the closure I craved to put all the pieces together, if that makes sense. Also, even allowing for suspension of disbelief, some of the FMC's reactions were a little silly and annoying.

The biggest thing for me is that I love dubcon in darker romances, and this FMC just gave in pretty easily when the masked stalker and her finally interacted. I think for all the build-up of tension, there could have been more toying and resistance in the actual bedroom scenes. You're waiting for the big payoff, but then the payoff is over before you know it. With more development, this story could have been a lot more fun, personally. More solid fightback and resistance from the FMC would have turned this up to a 4 stars for me. 

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*This part of the review contains spoilers!*

There were some things that threw me out of the story at times. The disconnection between the mask personality and her boyfriend was just so stark that it seemed like they were just two entirely different, unrelated people. Also, there are some inconsistencies in the timeline, like at the beginning when the masked stalker chases after the imposter, yet is at home when the girl gets back, having made dinner for her. Unless the girl runs really, really slowly, it's a little strange that he was back there at about the same time as her, even after chasing the imposter down.

I like the idea of the masked stalker being her boyfriend the whole time, I just think it could have been executed a bit more realistically because right now they seem like two completely different personalities, and one would think that some of the masked personality would have shown up in his interactions with Amanda before or during their relationship shown in the books. To have him completely not touch her at all and make her so sexually frustrated, yet be such an unhinged deviant mentally, took me out of the story. I get the reason for it, but I think it could have been executed better. Also to have her not even recognize his build when he's following her around--that also took me out of it. Still, I get it's just supposed to be a fun story not to be taken too seriously.

Overall, some more development would have helped with the execution. 3 out of 5 stars.

About the Author: Des Sweet

You can find out more about Des Sweet and her books here.

To read what others think about Underneath the Mask, check out the book on Goodreads.

You can purchase Underneath the Mask on Amazon or read it for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Note about ARCs:

I was not paid for this review; I simply signed up on BookSirens, and was able to choose which books I wanted to check out in exchange for a review. Clearly, I'm in the mood for Halloween!

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