TL;DR: Masquerade is a great debut by Sangoyomi and I was so pleasantly surprised by it. I will say that while this is categorised as historical fantasy, there is very little in the way of fantasy about it. Nevertheless, it was a compelling story about a woman’s rise to power and the lengths she would go to pull herself out of a life of poverty and subjugation. Òdòdó is a fantastic morally grey main character who has a very compelling arc that made it surprisingly easy to root for her, despite making decisions that place her very solidly in the unlikeable camp. I found myself somewhat shocked at the lengths she would go to, but also admired her dogged determination to not be bested by people she knew weren’t better than her. Her arc was so unique and made this story unputdownable. I chose to go the immersive reading route for this (audio + ebook) and I enjoyed how the narrator brought Òdòdó’s story to life. I’d recommend this to readers who love a good historical novel, especially one that’s not Western-centric, and a story about an underdog who comes out on top because there’s nothing quite so satisfying as seeing horrible people get their comeuppance! 🤭

Sangoyomi’s writing has a highly readable quality to it that made this historical fantasy a surprising breeze to get through. The author does an impressive job weaving the rich history of West Africa and Yoruban culture and mythology into the story! For the most part, it was also well paced and I never felt overwhelmed by all the knowledge that’s given to us at the beginning. I thought the richness of the context and setting made it even easier to become fully absorbed in Òdòdó’s story. While I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t more of a fantasy element, there were some moments of magical realism involving deities that I found amusing, and I wished that there had been more of a clear reason as to why we got these scenes, aside from the events that cause them to happen.

That said, as much as the world-building was enjoyable, it was Òdòdó’s characterisation that really made this book for me. She was such a fantastic character and one that I think will stick with me for a while! Her journey from ‘blacksmith witch’ to ‘bride of the Alaafin’ (aka the most powerful woman in the kingdom) was so fascinating! It was refreshing to see her character unhesitatingly embrace this new life that she’s been literally kidnapped (or dare I say trafficked) into and all at the whim of a King who saw something he liked and simply had to have her. I was so absorbed by her arc and how quickly she shed much of the naivete she carried with her at the beginning to become this cunning woman who knew how to charm and manipulate the right people to gain the power that she so craves. I absolutely loved that about her and how she slowly learns to play the game of politics, and learns it well enough to become the master of it. Her willingness to do anything to get what she wants and justify those actions places her solidly in the morally grey, and as much as I felt some actions crossed the line, I also couldn’t help but root for her because of everything she’s been subjected to throughout her life. Her rage was empowering as much as it was terrifying.

As much as this was her story, I also found the other characters we meet along the way quite interesting. General Rotimi, Kolo, the twins, and even Aremo played very interesting roles in Òdòdó’s story. I found myself particularly sympathetic to Rotimi’s character and would’ve loved to see more of him on page! If there was one character that I felt conflicted about it was Aremo. If Òdòdó’s presence in the capital wasn’t enough of a reason to think he’s the worst, we are told often of how terrible and cruel he is, but we don’t actually see much of it. It’s interesting because while Òdòdó understands that he has the power to destroy whomever he wishes, seeing him through her eyes means we get a very skewed perspective of him, as she sees him as the man who has gifted her freedom and has the capacity to grant her the power she desires. I almost wish that she took even greater advantage of him because he would’ve very much deserved it and I think it would’ve been a fiercely triumphant moment for her (and us as the reader, lol). And call me blood thirsty, but there was one character who deserved so much worse than what she got for all that she did to Òdòdó and while it was satisfying to see her get her comeuppance, I wish that she had sharpened the knife just a little bit more. 🤭

Overall, I’m really glad that I came across this book because I would’ve missed a fantastic read otherwise. This was a very solid debut from Sangoyomi and I’m highly looking forward to seeing what she will publish next!

Have you read Masquerade or is it on your TBR? 😉

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