UNMASKED: Volume One Paperback – June 10, 2014

Alex was dealt a raw hand in this life from the moment she was born. She’s been sheltered from the world by her parents, trained to survive by her father. But all things must change and so she went out on her own, sticking to the night hours and always masked from the world. Then one night she witnesses a murder and a man comes into her life, a man with secrets who will change everything.Daimon Rousseau comes to the woman who hides in darkness with his own agenda, one he does not share and that we don’t find out a little about until the end of this volume. He keeps himself hidden from her as she does from him and it seems that he gains a semblance of her trust as he breaks down her defenses. But not everything is as at seems in this alluring tale filled secrets, mystery and betrayals.This is the first volume of a three part serial. Normally I wait until serials are complete before reading but this blurb seemed to fit the mood this reader was in and it was of a decent length. I was not disappointed and read this piece in one sitting.This was an intriguing and suspenseful tale with many truths to be discovered. If you have a good imagination you will know who knocked at her door for the identity would enhance the storyline if it were true. You can somewhat figure out her malady before it is revealed from the way the character hid her looks but you will not see the twist at the end coming though you might wonder why the cigarette butt she found was of such interest to her. You’ll know why it was at the end. We are NOT privy to her innermost thoughts, she keeps many things from us and that makes the story more interesting.This reader was left to wonder a number of things which if you haven’t read the story you will not understand. Why did she choose to do what she did? Did she really care enough to avenge? Things happened quickly, is it possible the act she perpetrated was not as final as it seemed? Who put the fruit back from where it had been tossed? Or was it just her imagination? This reader thinks not. This reader is looking forward to the next installment and will be wondering where the author will take us next.

After being hidden away by her parents for so long, eighteen-year-old Alex moves out on her own but still chooses to keep to the shadows. She only goes out at night, and even then Alex wears a hood, sunglasses, and black clothing. She lives a simple life, but she is no simple girl. She was trained from a young age to be a lethal weapon by her Special Ops father.Alex’s life is monotonous until one night she witnesses a murder on her way to work. A detective shows up at her door to question her and make sure she’s okay, but Alex isn’t sure she can trust Daimon is who he says he is. She begins to let her guard down and let Daimon into her life bit by bit, yet something is still amiss in Alex’s world. She’ll need to figure out what’s going on and protect herself if she wants to survive another day.Unmasked is a dark romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat wondering just what is going on and what’s going to happen next. There’s not much I can tell you without spoiling the plot other than it’s a wonderful page-turner. The story is definitely dark, has elements of romance, some mature scenes, and it’s intriguing.The author’s style was very matter-of-fact, although that didn’t seem to hinder this book at all. We don’t get a ton of background information, and I was left with some questions like why Alex was so paranoid and why she had all of this military training and a stash of weapons. But even so I thoroughly enjoyed the book.The romance with Daimon was thrilling and hot. There was lots of chemistry and sexual tension between Alex and Daimon, and I enjoyed how he brought her out of her shell a little at a time. He accepted her with no questions asked and determined her beauty not by her looks but by the person who was on the inside.This story is volume one in a series, but it stood well on its own. Not everything is resolved at the end, but it came to a satisfying conclusion. The loose ends actually seemed to fit with the dark theme of the book.Overall I really enjoyed this novella, and I’d definitely read more by this author and more in this series.For more of my reviews, please visit https://rachlawrencebooks.wordpress.com/.

I'll start out by saying I LOVE this author so I will patiently stick with this series, at least through the next book which might help me more than Volume 1 because I honestly have no clue what is going on. Alex is a trained killer, learning her moves from her father who trained her in their basement which is sadly where most of Alex's life existed. Why was she kept hidden? Alex remembers being in school as a young girl & being teased about her appearance. Alex's mom also made it sound like her appearance was hideous. I'm not sure if this is a case of parents trying to shelter her by telling her lies or if her parents were purposely cruel to her. Alex finally has the guts to move out on her own but she is struggling with living in the real world, spending most of her time in the dark hiding her face. At 19 years old she has never been touched which again tells me something about the cruelty of her parents. A series of unfortunate events lands Detective Diamon at her door. His French accent is sexy as is the way he touches Alex. Alex is taught to never trust anyone so she follows Diamon & whatever she finds is enough for her to label Diamon as a traitor & she seeks her revenge. Again I was so confused as to what Diamon did & I hope this isn't the end of Alex & Diamon because I really liked him. He treated Alex as if she was beautiful & really opened her from the shell she had lived in. I love the way Alex learns more about herself as a woman & how she is able to handle her life completely but seriously, I'm very confused about the whole storyline. I guess it won't hurt to read the second book to see if some of the holes will be filled in because this author is one of my favorites.

All I can say, is thank heavens I got this for free. If I had paid money for it i would be asking for a refund.Confusing, improbably, complete lack of credible storyline( actually complete lack of storyline). Finished it, in the vague hope something might actually make sense eventually.This book was not written, it was thrown together. a loose jumble of cliches.I have not been so disappointed in a book in a long-time.Bookbub - how could you foist this on me!!

I really liked this book. There was suspense, intrigue and good steamy chemistry between the two lovebirds.My only complaint is, just when it was starting to get juicy, the story ended!! URGH frustrating. I also feel a little cheated that it was so short, hence why I am knocking off a star.I am looking forward to the next part and I hope that it is longer (and just as good!).

What a disappointment this book turned out to be! The plot was so disjointed...especially how quickly the relationship progressed! I don't understand some authors...they start off promising a great story and fall so flat, hard to understand what they were thinking! Got to 60% and realised it wasn't going to get any better! Kicking myself for getting to that point :(

A very mysterious read that leaves you wanting more. Alex is a mystery she lives in the dark, she's not like other people. I was fascinated in how this story would turn out and wished it was a little longer. The ending is something you don't expect and leaves you wanting more. I can't wait for book 2.

What a fantastic book full of mystery who are they?????? What are they doing????? Gobsmacked!!!!!I can't wait for book 2 to be released, this is going to be another cracking series.Well done Cassia a truly brilliant book.