"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐, 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦; 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦."
Let me start my review by telling you this was a solid 2,5/3 star read for me. Your Masked Valentine by Pru Schuyler had a concept that felt new and refreshing within the dark romance genre, and it was incredibly easy to read. I finished it in a single day, which already says a lot about the pacing. I also have to mention the cover because it’s honestly adorable—the pink and red color palette fits the Valentine’s theme perfectly and immediately caught my attention. For me, this book worked best as a palate cleanser. It’s short, quick, and very easy to get through, but I wouldn’t go into it expecting something that will completely blow you away. The story doesn’t really focus on deep character development, a complex storyline, or shocking plot twists. Instead, it leans more into being a fast, easy, smutty read with some darker themes and trigger warnings sprinkled throughout. It leans heavily into insta-lust and obsessive attraction right from the start, which isn't a bad thing, but I like my (dark)romance with a little more backbone and story. So if you don’t expect a deeply layered story or complex character arcs, than you’ll probably have a good time with it.
"𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺,𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥."
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅:
• One thing I did enjoy was the bromance in this book. It was fun to see those friendships on the page, and it honestly made me feel like the author is already setting things up for at least two more books in this series. The side characters definitely have that “future main character” energy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of their stories later on.
• I also liked Bates as a character. The way he took care of Serena had its sweet moments, even if his actions didn’t always make complete sense and were, let’s be honest, a major red flag at times. Still, that protective and attentive behavior is very on-brand for dark romance, so it didn’t feel completely out of place in the story.
• I also agree with some of the other reviews that mentioned the book giving Lights Out vibes. I think that comparison mostly comes from the “stalker who secretly takes care of you” trope like cleaning your house, ordering food, and generally watching over the heroine from the shadows. That element definitely felt familiar. However, I would say you shouldn’t go into this expecting the same level of depth when it comes to the storyline or character backgrounds.
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅:
• The emotional foundation between Serena and Bates just didn’t feel strong enough for me, which made it harder to fully invest in the romance as it developed. Because of that, the relationship sometimes felt more driven by physical attraction than emotional connection. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you’re looking for something quick and spicy, but it did make the story feel a little surface-level to me.
• Serena; yeah ... I didn't like her. I can understand her not wanting to date hockey players but where is the major emotional depth behind it? Where is her huge plot twist reason for this? Her father not wanting her to date the players when she was a teenager feels like a lacking reason when she is a grown up woman who has her own business. Also, her hate for Bates felt empty and I truly couldn't understand it because he didn't do anything to deserve it.