As Oscar heads for his meeting with the crown prince, Gabe, he is thinking it’s just going to be another day of watching this bastard prince while keeping his finger on the kingdom for the real prince.  Oscar knows it’s only a matter of time—hopefully a short time—before Casha returns, and then they can get rid of this madness.  However, when Oscar enters the room, he sees a Conglacio beauty that he has never seen before.  Just how he missed her is a mystery because as the First General of the Gonglacio he should have knowledge of everyone.  First things first though, there is no way he is going to let Gabe get his greedy hands on her so he promptly makes it so that he can escort Uriel to the upcoming ball. 

Uriel has no idea why her father is so upset that the crown prince wants to escort her to the ball.  Shouldn’t he be happy that she has captured the eye of the prince? Suddenly, Uriel’s escort has changed to the handsome and unknown man who just entered the room.  It must be okay as her father is now beaming and very agreeable.   Uriel quickly discovers that Oscar is much more interesting than the prince ever was and now hopes to understand why she is so attracted to him. 

Oscar knows that Uriel is his mate and he just has to court her and complete the courtship while keeping Gabe away from her.  Doing the runaround with Gabe is usually not a problem, but Oscar is so taken with Uriel that his normal patience in dealing with the prince is gone.  Uriel is everything that he has ever wanted in a mate, but why does she seem so familiar? Oscar also knows that Gabe is more taken with Uriel than he should be, and that places them both in danger.  Oscar will do anything to protect Uriel from the ugliness of Gabe’s actions even if it means bringing in the big guns.  

Love can bloom quickly in the frost of the Conglacio Afterverse.  Masquerade brings Oscar, a general firmly in Casha’s camp together with Uriel, a mysterious beauty from a leading family.  Oscar spends his time making sure things are ready when Casha is ready to return and collect his crown.  Uriel has spent her life away from her own court and is excited when suddenly the general wants her.  I was amazed at how quickly Oscar and Uriel came to terms with their attraction but it worked so well with their characters.  I loved how Uriel was both sweet and innocent while having the spice of a mature woman.  Oscar showed me how great he was when harm came to Uriel one fateful afternoon.  Talk about bringing in the big guns! Many loose threads were answered if you have been following the Eververse books, and yet more were left open.  I will be waiting for my next look into this world to see how everyone is doing after the happenings here.  Masquerade has action-packed and page-turning danger, sexy humor and justifiable judgment—all together, an amazing book.