Unmasked Heart by Vanessa Riley | Fall into Historicals
Romance at a Glance is a podcast where hosts Bridget and Shani review romance novels and interview some of romance’s biggest authors diving into candid conversations about life, relationships, and sexual desires. Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor. Leave us a rating and review on iTunes.
Full transcript available below.
Book Review at a Glance
Worth the Read?
Shani: ⭐⭐
Bridget: ⭐⭐⭐
Heroine Rating: Gaia
Shani: 🍑🍑
Bridget: 🍑🍑🍑
Hero Rating: William
Shani: 🍆🍆🍆
Bridget: 🍆🍆🍆
McDreamy to Mc Steamy:
Shani: McDreamy
Bridget: McDreamy
Classy to Nasty:
No sex - We were not happy about it
Romance at a Glance Reviews Unmasked Heart by Vanessa Riley
Shani says, “This book had too much God in it. I wanna do things that are ungodly hahahaha.”
Happy 1 year anniversary from launch for us!! It has been a year since we launched our first podcast episode with The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham! We didn’t really get everything focused until February (which is when our official analytics start due to Bridget being too cheap to pay for a hosting service when we first started and then us not trusting our websites analytics!), so that is sort of our real anniversary. But this is our literal we uploaded our first episode a year ago anniversary!
If you want to help us celebrate, drop us a review on Apple podcasts! Send us a screenshot via email or Instagram and we’ll send you out some free stickers! Win win :)
Now on to the book!
Vanessa Riley came recommended to us by a lot of our friends (maybe even you!) on the old Instagram. But a different book, so maybe, that book would have had a little more open doors, and a little fewer plot lines, but this book was not that for us.
This book was very heavy on praying to God and trusting in God. Each character was doing this at least once per chapter, so if that isn't your thing, this book isn't for you. As Shani says, "I wanna do things that are ungodly hahaha."
Some major points we discussed:
Gaia’s dad being a dick
Gaia finding out about her mixed heritage - coming to terms with it and pride in it
William and her meet-cute (cursing at the cliff)
Gaia’s longing for “the boy next door” and why we felt it lasted too long in the plot
Book picked up for me when he proposed to her
Plot was a lot! Dark secrets on both sides, attempted murders, kidnapping, multiple suitors, sister betrayal, cinderella story
Lots of god talk
Lots of her crying. Pull your shit together Gaia (except when she tells the black servant to watch the baby)
Where was the sex? --- the kissing scenes were good though
His crazy cousin was a lot and predictable.
William’s bestie being the one the wife loved
The love triangle aspect
On Romance at a Glance, we review all genres of romance novels, as well as get into the nitty-gritty of real-life romance, relationships, and sex... while cracking each other up. Expect some spontaneous singing, funny anecdotes, honest reviews, and naughty language.
Quick Guide Review of the Book and Notes
Book Title: Unmasked Heart
Author: Vanessa Riley
Audio Narrator: Gwyn Olson - Shani does not recommend the audiobook
Part of a Series: Standalone
Genre: Historical Romance - Biracial Romance
Cover Art:
Shani: Pretty blah for me. Thought she was wrapped up in a sheet!
Bridget: Like the font and that I understand that it is a period piece from the clothes. Appreciate that I can see that she’s a POC protagonist on the cover.
Synopsis: Shy, nearsighted caregiver, Gaia Telfair always wondered why her father treated her a little differently from her siblings, but she never guessed she couldn't claim his love because of a family secret, her illicit birth. With everything she knows to be true evaporating before her spectacles, can the mulatto passing for white survive being exposed and shunned by a powerful duke who has taken an interest in her?
Ex-warrior, William St. Landon, the Duke of Cheshire, will do anything to protect his mute daughter from his late wife's scandals. With a blackmailer at large, hiding in a small village near the cliffs of Devonshire seems the best option, particularly since he can gain help from the talented Miss Telfair, who has the ability to help children speak. If only he could do a better job at shielding his heart from the young lady, whose honest hazel eyes see through his jests as her tender lips challenge his desire to remain a single man.
Heroine Rating: Gaia
Shani: 🍑🍑 She was incredibly whiny
Bridget: 🍑🍑🍑 Liked that her character had a definite arc and that she learns to embrace herself, her past, and stand up for herself, but the crying was a lot.
Hero Rating: William
Shani: 🍆🍆🍆 He is generally understanding and stepping in to take care of his suspect birth daughter.
Bridget: 🍆🍆🍆 He was ok for me. I liked that he really liked and respected her. And was always stealing kisses and telling her he wanted her. Thought it should have been obvi his bestie loved his wife and the cousin was the bad guy. Did really enjoy how he treated her brother though, never talking down to him.
McDreamy to Mc Steamy:
Shani: McDreamy
Bridget: McDreamy
Classy to Nasty:
No sex - We were not happy about it
Favorite Lines in the Book:
Favorite Review:
Shani’s from Goodreads:
Loretta rated it it was ok
I did not finish this. Too much time devoted to the heroine worried about her secret. I would have preferred more elaboration of the teaching methods concerning the children and their difficulties.
Bridget’s from Goodreads:
Bridget rated it 4 stars
The story was a good one, and I won't rehash what others have written about the plot, but holy holiness I would have liked a heads up about the prevalence of religion and prayer and bible references in this book. A total turn off for me, but that's a personal thing. And I enjoyed the main character, Gaia, but I would have liked less weeping. Much less. I will try another book by this author, just to see if another one will be better, and that's just because she made me like the characters.
Worth the Read?
Shani: ⭐⭐ Nope.
Bridget: ⭐⭐⭐ This one was ok for me. I didn’t hate it and laughed at some of the parts and after the initial chapters it picked up for me. The ending had a LOT of plot being wrapped up. I wish that there were one or three fewer subplots.
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Full Podcast Transcript
Recommendations:
Welcome to Romance at a Glance, a podcast that uses romance novels to dive into candid conversations about life, relationship dynamics, and sexual desires.
As hosts Bridget and Shani review books and interview some of romance’s biggest authors, they explore the breadth of the genre, openly embracing the sex, diverse couplings, and taboo in order to create a safe space for listeners to be exposed to different lifestyles, fantasies, and to pique their naughty curiosity.
Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor.
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