The Masks We Wear

False-Kin Chronicles, Book One

By: BD Carpenter

Narrated by: Michael Gallagher, Jeannie Sheneman

Mythological creatures live among us in secret—even to each other—fearful of what humans would do to them if discovered.

Beau is a genius Gnome with ambition; his inventions could change the world, if only his common sense could keep up. Meep is a Lynx, with inhuman gymnastics skills and a desire to do something more meaningful with her life than serve coffee. With the appearance of one bizarre stranger in their mundane little town in the Pacific Northwest, the destinies of Beau and Meep collide in the most unexpected ways.

They must question everything they think they know and team up with witches, goblins, and fae—who are also hiding in secret—to save the world as they know it. The problem is, the further they wander into the dangers that lurk in the shadows, the more they realize a startling truth. Is anyone what they seem to be?

©2024 B.D. Carpenter (P)2024 B.D. Carpenter

A very fun read with great narration!

So I read this book before, but unfortunately I didn't retain much because I tried to read it while on vacation with a 3-year-old. I knew it was coming out in audiobook format so I just waited because I enjoy listening to audiobooks so much. And I'm so glad that I did. The narrators did such an incredible job with a characters and it made the listening experience so much more enjoyable. The characters are so endearing, you can't help but love them. And oh Beau... You're so awkward but watching you grow is so much fun. I absolutely loved Meep and how she battled with her standoffishness and her desire to help those around her. The world building is very interesting and pulls you right in as the characters discover right along with the reader / listener. This is definitely one you'll need to listen to a few times and on the second round you'll pick up hints you didn't catch before. This is definitely a rereading kind of book, and I can't wait for the rest of the series.

A great coming of age story for new adults

I really enjoyed this book, even if some of the characters didn't click with me initially. I really hated Jeremy at first, which is something I think we're all supposed to do, but he grew on me as I got to understand more of his back story.

The story centers on Beau and Meep, two people who are actually hidden creatures. I enjoyed the split POV, and never had any issues following the different characters in their individual arcs. I also enjoyed a lot of the social commentary on relationships, including some very good advice that many young men should be taking with regard to forming the kind of lasting relationships that they're looking for.

One thing that seemed challenging was a bit of a seesaw from confidence to a pile of self doubt for the main characters that I didn't think was entirely in keeping with their development, but I think they're also young adults and the wild swings make sense when looking at it through that lens. There's a lot of weight put on their shoulders in a short amount of time.

Overall a really good book, and the performances were quite good. I slightly preferred the range of Beau's narrator with regard to characterization, but both were very good.