Review: Beneath This Mask by Meghan March

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?
Kindle Edition, 232 pages
Published September 29th 2014 by Meghan March LC
Source: Purchased

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Our Review--

Shel: I met the lovely Meghan March in January at a NoLa book signing and ever since I've been searching for a quick minute to read her series. This weekend I finally had the chance to start this series and it was a really quick read. I loved that it was set in NoLa and it is obvious that Meghan spent time making sure her street names and the various areas of New Orleans were factually correct--this is a HUGE deal for me. I also appreciated that she didn't make us southerners overly cliched or caricatures of who we really are. ...and of course you want to know about the story and writing, right?  Court: (She's right. It was a beautiful depiction and the setting was a huge part of the book, I felt...but if it had been wrong. Shelley would NOT have read this book...yo, that girl is a NOLA girl over there...watch out. She'll cut a bitch for getting her stomping grounds wrong...but it was great, and I heard no complaints from Shel.)

Shel: The story of Charlie and Simon is complicated...mainly by Charlie. She's hiding her identity because of her heinous parents (especially her father) and her father's crimes and while she's done nothing wrong, she isn't quite ready to live under the spotlight and pressure of being his daughter. Because of her new identity, she tends to keep to herself and the few people she's befriended..that is until Simon becomes smitten. As she spends more time with him, she has to make choices about if and when to trust him and there's definitely some push and pull here. To Simon's credit--he's a perfect gentleman and so generous with his patience and time...until he's not.  Court: RIGHT! I swooned a lot for swoony, gentlemanly, Simon. SWOONED so hard I almost fell off my bed. Because...he is the quintessential southern gentleman...until he's not in both good and bad ways. Boy has as big a temper as our heroine here, and it is sparks flying and fun watching the two of them try to dominate the other...also in a fun way. But the gloves come off on his being a gentleman when clothes come off...whew. Hot and steamy times ahead, y'all and it was great. 

Shel: As the story progressed and we got to know more about these characters, I felt that the pacing and the dialogue and the prose started really coming together. There seemed to be less of the quintessential heroine/hero descriptions and internal monologues--something I noted at the beginning. I also felt the conversations seemed less rushed and the characters seemed more fleshed out than they seemed. Court: You hit the nail on the head, as always, friend. The beginning was the usual meanderings, but the thick of things, and especially the end surprised me. I've been devouring this book at break neck speed ally night...it was insane. After a few initial, awww, moments at the beginning which I surprisingly needed after the end of a long week...this was a really refreshingly good, feel good story...and I really loved it. I CANNOT WAIT TO DEVOUR BOOK TWO! 

Shel: By the time we reached the big reveal, I was flipping pages quickly to see exactly how these characters would get their HEA. And having finished it, I definitely want to check out the next book to see where this series goes next. Court: Girl...me too. I mean, the heroes name is Constantine...and he tattoos...and they're both men in uniform, which helps along my yearly challenge numbers quite well. Winning on all counts = Meghan March and this series!