Masquerade is a standalone historical fantasy novel written by O.O. Sangoyomi, published by Solaris; a story that blends together a loose retelling based on Persephone's myth, with a bigger plot that explores the history of Yorùbá people. Sangoyomi not only creates an excellent female main character, full of nuances and whose growth during the story is incredible, but also brings to the spotlight a rather forgotten part of history as it is Yorùbáland.

Òdòdó is a blacksmith living in the recently conquered by the Yorùbá city of Timbuktu; a rather naive and young person, she's abducted and brought to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀. Aláàfin, the warrior king of Yorùbá, wants her to be his wife, a situation that takes Òdòdó from one of the lowest social stratum to the top of the society; but surviving and dealing with the complexities of politics and nobility is another problem of its own magnitude. Òdòdó won't only have to deal with the rejection from Aláàfin's mother, but the relationship with the own king will show to be a difficult one, born with an imbalance of power that fights with the love they feel.

Sangoyomi puts the main narrative weight on Òdòdó's character; born in a low social stratum, and due to its naivety, abducted to be part of one of the highest. You can see how she's really in love with Aláàfin, but the rest of the court doesn't help with that; navigating and surviving to make firm her position will require of many sacrifices. Òdòdó's arc is not only a growth one in age, but in wisdom, learning how to cope with the difficulties, and finally understanding the hard truth behind her relationship with Aláàfin; her own example will be followed by many blacksmiths in Yorùbáland, starting a conflict that will push her position to the limit at many times.
Secondary characters are a layer of nuance to the story, creating a wider scenery of nobility intrigue and politics; each one has a set of goals that they will move towards, and all will influence in Òdòdó's life.

It is refreshing to see low fantasy proposals that explore civilizations that are criminally underrated, as it has happened with most of the Subsaharian Africa history; Sangoyomi, with a prose that borders the lyrical, paints a vivid portrait of the great moment of Yorùbáland, one of the empires that gained control over this particular region, putting attention to details such as the Ṣàngó's religion.
The pacing is relatively closer to be a slowburn, which puts many pieces in the table before starting to move all of them into the great finale.

Masquerade is simply excellent; a novel that puts the focus on a character such as Òdòdó, going far from conventionalism, a low fantasy proposal that I recommend everybody to read. An excellent debut novel by O.O. Sangoyomi, a voice that promises much in the future.