She has one job—attend a masqued ball and dance with a handsome prince.What could possibly go wrong?Everything, that’s what.After years of submitting to her stepmother’s unreasonable demands, Trystan finally has a chance to be free. The promise of a new life, in exchange for her help. Simple, right? After all, the old woman has only asked for one night. One night, one beautiful gown, one dance… … one beautiful gown, one dance… and one message to be delivered to a mysterious recipient.
It should be easy. Maybe even fun. Especially when she can slip away into the night after the dance, leaving no clue as to her identity.
But before she can escape the ball, Trystan makes a shocking discovery that leaves all her hopes in ruins. She will be forced to confront two very different princes—and choose whether to betray her kingdom… or her heart.
If she’s lucky, maybe she’ll even survive to tell about it later.
A thrilling, suspenseful retelling of Cinderella, Traitor’s Masque is the first book of the Andari Chronicles, a series of interconnected but stand-alone fairy tale retellings that feature strong heroines, romance, mystery, and deeply satisfying happily ever afters.
Recommended reading order:
- Traitor’s Masque
- Goldheart
- Pirouette
- Shadow and Thorn
- Daughter of Lies
- Interlude (A Short Story of Andar)
- Path of Secrets
more
What a delightful surprise this was! Definitely more than just a Cinderella retelling, though the bare bones of the fairy tale are there. Traitor’s Masque has a lot more intrigue and suspense than Cinderella ever did. You never would think it from the cover, though–it made me think I likely would find the story unbearably cheesy. I’m glad this was one case where I did not judge the book by its cover.
Trystan still has a wicked stepmother and two spoiled stepsisters, and her father did pass away. But the prince, whom she meets riding in the woods, is not just your dashing Prince Charming. In fact, he’s the younger and less attractive prince, nevertheless in line for the throne because his father favors him over his playboy older brother. (I found it interesting that the prince was not described as devastatingly handsome.) The ball is still the prince’s attempts to meet a wife from among the people, but Trystan is sent there for another reason entirely: a lady in the court invites her to attend in order to perform some act of intrigue that Trystan doesn’t understand, in exchange for her freedom from her stepmother. She agrees, not knowing that Donovan, her riding companion, is the prince in question until she gets there. She can observe him without being recognized, though, because it’s a masque. Little by little, Trystan realizes she’s empowered a coup to overthrow Prince Ramsey (as Donovan turns out to be), and she’s horrified at what she’s done. But once she puts it together, can she make it right?
There were a couple of moments in the story that I thought were very ill-motivated: Trystan needs to be at this place and meet this person, so the author contrives a flimsy reason for her to go, and a couple other things like that. But these were really my only issue with the story. Otherwise it’s engaging from start to finish, a refreshing twist on an old classic. Trystan and Prince Ramsey are both very easy to root for.
My rating: ****1/2
Sexual content: none
Violence: minor
Language: none
Political content: none
A wonderful reimagining of the Cinderella story with rich worldbuilding and lots of unexpected twists and turn. After finishing it I immediately purchased the next in the series.
This is a “Cinderella” retelling, but with real differences. It is a great book that I enjoyed thoroughly.
A fan of the classics and the “happily ever afters”, I really enjoyed this re-telling of the Cinderella story! Great writing style and some unexpected turns kept me turning the pages. Once again, young adult fiction has this 40 year old adult held captivated!
This was such a good book, I don’t think I have ever read a Cinderella story like this. This book has Cinderella who is not some weak needy girl, but instead a stubborn, prideful, young lady. This book is the first in a series of fairytale retelling. It was such a refreshing change from all of the other Cinderella books I had read before.
Trystan is not like the other Cinderella’s you have read about. Trystan was once the spoiled daughter of an artiscrate, but once he died she lost all the privileges she once received. Lucky Trystan is not left alone, she is blessed to have faithful servants to stay by her side. Unfortunately Trystan is used to having her way and she is still learning how to think of others. One day her life starts to change, she meets a young man who makes her life and smiles.
Prince Ramsey is at the end of himself. He finds himself in line for the throne when all he ever wanted was to just be himself But you don’t always get what you want and he is now hair to the throne and forced into finding a bride. Two things he wished didn’t have to happen. But when he finds himself in the presence of a young lady, he is immediately captivated. She is everything he could hope for in a bride, but he doesn’t know who she is or who her family is.
Ramsey was so sweet, I absolutely adored him. He tried so hard to be the kind of son that would make his father and to make sure that he was being a good king. But he so wanted to find his own way. But he is running out of time, his father wants him to marry as soon as possible and he doesn’t have time to try and court a girl. He must hold a ball and pray that the right girl for him to marry will come.
Trystan was such a complex character, she was unafraid and stubborn. But she was also quick and kind. She had a hidden heart and cared deeply for those under her care, especially her servants. I loved her as she found herself and learned to consider others.
This book has everything you could wish for in a book: a sweet hero, a strong female heroine and a love story. It also had adventure and mystery. This was such a good read, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I give this book 5 stars, I would definitely recommend it.
Author had a tremendous command of the English language. Not only did she weave a glorious Cinderella retelling, but her descriptions and words did not feel monotonous as so many romances are. This was a clean, wholesome, original tale that I thoroughly enjoyed!
I absolutely love this book! I’ve re-read this lovely retelling of Cinderella story many times andread the whole series.
A really neat twist on fairy tale re-telling. I usually stay away from this genre, but picked up this one and am glad that I did! The story was so well written that I’ve followed up with the second and third books in the series. I have the fourth one on my Kindle and am hoping that this author has written more books! The second and third books were just as good as the first one, I recommend this series.
This was a really interesting twist on Cinderella. While the original fairy tale was recognizable, it was a very different take on it.
New and interesting take on a Cinderella story.
This has become my favorite Cinderella retelling.
Great characters.
So original!
It was a fun read and a fun take off of the old Cinderella story with a ste mother and sisters who were only ugly on the inside but beautiful on the outside and a Grandmother instead of a fairy godmother.
Great twist on an old classic. I like this version better!
Loved this book, and so did my husband who doesn’t usually read fairy tales. It’s so much more than just a Cinderella story. The characters are well developed and there are quite a few surprising twists.