I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
This does not affect in any way my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.

Masquerade by Joanna Taylor
Series: Stand-alone
Published by Piatkus on August 6, 2015
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: NetGalley
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Can a street-girl fool Regency London?
Lizzy Ward never meant to end up working the streets of Piccadilly. So when a mysterious lord pursues her, it seems her fortunes are changing. But Lord Hays wants feisty Lizzy for more than a night. He needs her to masquerade as his companion.
So can a street-girl navigate the fashion and faux pas of London society? And will Lizzy’s wild heart be too much temptation for Lord Hays?

At the beginning I was very attracted to the cover and thought the premise was good, but when I started reading the book I knew something was off . . . At the end of the book the author mentions that this story has been inspired by one of her favourite movies, but that is not hard to guess from the very beginning, since it literally follows step by step the original plot. I do like retellings, but this one didn’t strike me as one. There’s not much originality, it’s quite predictable and at times it’s all a bit too flat. I had to put it down more than once despite being a novel that it’s supposed to be read in a few hours.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me, but if you’re up for a light read and appreciate a story already told but set in another time period—which was the real fascination of the book—then you’re probably going to enjoy it.

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