LOVE UNMASKED

Evie Whitmore has a lot of secrets.

She doesn’t need the allergy pills she keeps in her bag, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, and she’s a die-hard fan and closeted cosplayer of the Elven Realms book series. When she goes on a senior class trip to Venice with her Art and Architecture Club, she knows she should concentrate on the project she’s doing with her reluctant, brooding partner, Gabriel Martinez, but Elven Realms, which is set in Venezari, an alternate Venice, has a secret fan club—and Evie’s determined to find it. She’s always been a rule follower, but sneaking out every night to find the club is worth the risk. When she meets a mysterious masked boy who’s on the same mission, they click. Evie attempts to balance her nightly escapades with daytime tours and research, falling for both Gabe and the mystery boy, all while trying to keep her fandom tendencies a secret. This solid if predictable love story will engage romance readers and cosplayers alike with its enjoyably nerdy capers. The logistics of the Elven Realms club, which is located in a formerly abandoned palace that the series’ author helped purchase and is run by volunteers who hold nightly events, requires some suspension of disbelief but adds to the overall magic of the sweet romance. Evie is cued white, and Gabriel presents Latine.

An adorkable love story about being true to yourself.