Customer Reviews

The Mask of the Enchantress

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Victoria Holt is great! After LORD OF THE FAR ISLAND, MASK is my favorite book of hers.

Just when you think you have the plot figured out, she throws in an interesting twist. She always keeps you guessing with her books, and such is the case with this one.

This is a story of a young girl named Suewellyn who goes to live with her parents on a remote island in the South Pacific. It's necessary for them to flee because her parents are unmarried lovers: Suewellyn's father is actually her mother's counsin's lawful husband. Yet the family lives in peace and happiness on this island for several years...

...until Sue's look-alike cousin comes for an extended stay. The cousin is an heiress to a sizeable estate and fortune, and when she dies in the volcano eruption that devastates the island and claimes the lives of Sue's parents, Sue makes the cunning decision to assume her cousin's identity and inheritance.

The book held my attention till its conclusion. However, I must admit that the ending seemed a bit rushed, as if Ms. Holt was under a deadline to finish the book.

This Holt novel, unlike the prior one I read (Seven for a Secret), takes off right out of the starting gate and doesn't let you go until the very end. Yes, I could see some of the things that were coming from a mile away, yet others not so much. Holt shows an adept talent in this novel, moreso than the first I read, to twist and turn her plot enough to keep you glued and to care about Suewellen and the intrigue around the Mateland clan with their highly desirable castle estate.

True, there are similarities between this book and the first one--that being someone hanging themselves in a barn, identity swapping, and living among island natives, but the story itself moves quickly, and this is a huge asset.

Can Suewellen pull off the ultimate hoax and claim the Mateland castle for herself by posing as her deviously wicked half-sister, or will she be found out, resulting in a domino effect of disaster? This book is so delightful I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so you'll just have to read it for yourself. A thoroughly enjoyable read regardless of its flaws, I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good and involving novel of suspense.

After fleeing England with her newfound parents, Suewellyn grows up on an island in the waters surrounding Australia. Her life is somewhat sheltered, so when a catastrophe strikes the island, she doesn't know what to do. She decides to go back to England and claim her inheritance, even if it isn't really hers. That proves to be difficult, as she soon finds out.

This is one of the first Holt books I read, and it is one of the best!

I enjoyed reading this book and found I cared a great deal about the heroine and was curious about what choices she would make. I enjoyed the different locales and customs and some of the conflicts arising out of culture clashes. Unlike some others I did not find the plot twists so twisty, so the suspense was somewhat spoiled. I guess I have been reading too much for too long.
I found most of the relationships pretty believeable, but wish there was a bit more depth to the final romantic male interest.

This book was a great read. You are involved from page one!Even the parts that were unbelievable were believable. Normally if someone told me the heroine was going to attempt an identity switch with a devious half sister I would say:"No way, won't work." But somehow it did.
This novel weaves a tight mystery right to the end. Just when you think you have it figured out you have to say: "Oops."
Suewellen gets her birthday wish but later that old saying comes to mind; "Be careful what you wish for."
She is whisked away from a dull and boring existence by her new found parents to an island paradise she could only have dreamed about before. But just when things seem to be working out for everyone, a mysterious person from the family's past returns to leave the reader wondering what this will mean for the future of Suewellen and her parents.When her half sister meets a tragic end,Suewellen embarks on a scheming adventure in order to possess what she feels is rightfully hers. But will she find out too late the true character of the young women she chose to impersonate?
Read and find out!

I thought I could figure out the plot several times, but Victoria Holt spins away from the mundane. One never knows what's going to happen in the end.

diseption and romance mixed with adventure. you won't find a better victoria holt book! the 11th i read.