Unmasked by Magan Vernon

Series: Standalone

Release Date: November 6th, 2017

Rating: 1/5 stars

I’m honestly flabbergasted by the number of good reviews for Unmasked. The premise of the book sounds cute, a bit cliché, but still an entertaining story. Most of the novel takes place during The Games, which only lasts for two weeks, which is not a realistic timeline for falling in love with someone. Also, the whole “bet” trope was not done well at all. Vernon uses it as a plot device to get her two main characters together. Still, it just underlines the fact that her “hero” is a dick, who objectifies women and that apparently being a successful and dedicated woman to her career is the equivalent of being a cold-hearted bitch.

Pretty much everything about Unmasked annoyed me. Kelly Johnson is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and is known as the “Ice Queen,” not for her skill but because she is so dedicated to her sport that everyone views her as stuck-up. This just pissed me off so much since it gives people the idea that Kelly can’t be successful and lead a well-rounded life… or at least a happy life. This point hits home when Kelly messes up a performance (which costs her the gold medal btw), that she’s been doing for 10 years, by the way, all because Blake (the hero) is watching. This is not just a *facepalm* moment but a *bang my head repeatedly against my desk* moment. Like, what the hell… Kelly has been skating since she was young and is now in her mid-twenties, and just because some guy is (supposedly) nice to her and watches her skate, she messes up? That’s not indicative of a two-time gold medalist!

Also, everyone (literally, everyone) was always on Kelly about practicing too much and not living her life, etc. I understand–to a certain extent–where some of them were coming from, but if you want to win an Olympic gold medal, you have to train a lot. And seeing as how so many of the secondary characters were also Olympic athletes, I found it insane that none of them understood Kelly’s POV.

Also, there was, of course, OW drama, and the OW was not only an Olympic athlete but is, of course, Kelly’s rival. Blake also doesn’t stop hanging out with her, even though he swears he hates the OW. Blake also blatantly thinks of using his ex (the OW) to make Kelly jealous *barf* and continuously states that he and the OW were never a thing even though he thinks of her as his ex and recounts the many times they hooked up. In sum, Blake is an idiot.

However, Blake’s idiocy doesn’t just lie in the fact that he’s a liar but also his rationale for agreeing to The Bet. As a background, Blake is 26 years old, and he was convinced to take The Bet because of:

1. Pride (he can snag any woman apparently) and
2. Cowardice (he didn’t want to look weak and didn’t know how to say “no, that’s stupid,” so he let two barely 20-year-old boys bully him into accepting).

The two most distinguishing factors between the two main characters were that Kelly was supposed to be the “Ice Queen”: very cold, reserved and stuck-up, and Blake was supposed to be this very chill, laid-back snowboarder. Except Kelly never really comes across as arrogant and snobby (except for her first meeting with Blake), even though Blake continually thinks of her as both. Also, Kelly always wonders how Blake can be so chill and not care what people think, but the plot of this whole book is built on the fact that Blake cares a lot about what others think about him, hence The Bet.

The absolute stupidest part of Unmasked was that whenever someone brought up The Bet (or the idea of it), it was always tied to “that only ever happens in cheesy romance books.” So by the author’s own hand, this is apparently a cheesy romance book. I don’t know if this was meant to be ironic, but it came to a point where it became pointless. Besides this ridiculous phrase, the reactions of the secondary characters post-Bet were insane. Blake’s “friend” who he made The Bet with (and who was also the guy to spill the beans to Kelly) didn’t come across as a friend anymore but an asshole who was filled with malice. Kelly’s sister agreed that it was an asshole thing to do (duh) but that his actions weren’t ones of a guy just looking for sex, that he deserved a second chance. My face dropped in shock. If someone did this to me–or any of my friends–I’d feel anger, betrayal, sadness, hurt and more! Blake deceived Kelly into thinking he cared about her just so she’d sleep with him. He’s scum, even if he fell for her during the scam, that’s beside the point. Also, as a supposedly protective sister, this was a strange reaction… as is the fact that she confides in Blake about her romance (doesn’t she have any friends?). Also, Blake’s response after Kelly found out was a lot of guilt (obviously), but since Kelly didn’t immediately forgive him, he gave up and started talking to his ex (the OW) again and avoiding Kelly.

Going back to the rivalry between Kelly and the OW, their professional rivalry makes some sense since they’re always fighting for Gold or first place, but the OW tells Blake they’ve never talked before, and Kelly “just hates her” for no reason. Also, how Blake describes the OW: she’s the cold bitch (and yet everyone likes her?), has a fantastic resting bitch face and doesn’t care enough to get mad at people. And yet the OW is seen many times being incredibly rude, mean and just bitchy to Kelly. And of course, in the end, it’s the OW who wins the Gold medal. So, not only is Kelly labelled a prude and arrogant, but she also gets conned by Blake and loses the Gold.

This is a horrible message: the fact that to get the guy you can’t be successful and you also can’t have a healthy and respectful relationship with your competitors (where’s the sportsmanship?). Unmasked was just an epic fail, and the only reason it gets the 1 star is due to its readability and HEA.

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