Paranormal/Futuristic
Torrid Tarot ~ Masquerade of the Cursed King
By Jenn L
Dec 19, 2007 - 4:10:08 PM

King Frederick “Erick” Duran has suffered many hardships and pain in his short life. Surviving the wars that have ravaged his lands he has lost all hope and far too many of his loved ones. On top of that he believes himself cursed. Unable to find release with a mortal woman he refuses to see what’s right in front of his eyes. He knows that the hybrid elf he’s known his whole life stirs something in his soul, but he is not prone to weakness and he refuses to believe that she may be the one to break his curse.

Eleanor “Ellie” Banora is a hybrid elf, but she is also a woman. One with a woman’s desires, needs and her own pain. Trapped in a prison that is her life, she must suffer daily as she watches the man she’s loved her whole life shun her. She wishes he could see that he has so much more to offer and that by moving forward he can begin to heal his people as well as himself.

These two fated lovers will find that the road to redemption and love is riddled with pain and suffering. Can they find the way to each other or will the past destroy them before they’ve even begun to love?

MASQUERADE OF THE CURSED KING is an in depth and utterly intriguing tale of two lovers meant for one another and yet kept apart by circumstance and tragedy. Reminiscent of Greek and Roman tragedies it is a novel full of emotion and a hero that is at times both infuriating and engaging. There were times as I read that I wanted to throttle Erick for his treatment of Ellie and at others I wanted to comfort him in his grief.

Both Ellie and Erick had their own strengths and weaknesses that made them likable and realistic. Ellie is that type of heroine I always look for in my romance reads. She was strong, dedicated and most of all she never gave up. She never let the many roadblocks in her path deter her from her goals and while she was continually knocked down she always managed to find her way back up. Erick too had his moments and in the closing chapters he was able to move forward and become the man Ellie knew he could always be.

Witty and cleverly written the world created in MASQUERADE OF THE CURSED KING is clearly one that Ms. Gilfoy could visit again easily. She did leave some secondary characters stories untold and I find that I still have unanswered questions, but all in all this is a novel full of rich imagery and well worth the time invested.