Masked Intent: A Modern-Day Morality Play By Kimberly Greer

• ASIN: ‎ B09FMP4BYP
• Publisher: ‎ Words + Muses Publishing (15 Sept. 2021)
• Language: ‎ English
• Print length: ‎ 492 pages
• Genre: Women’s Literary Fiction

The BookViral Review:

A novel about falling in love and the choices we make, Masked Intent: A Modern-Day Morality Play reminds us that what makes a debut novel special has much to do with the relationship between reader and writer.

To this end, there is real craft and ingenuity behind Greer’s prose. Narratively and stylistically there’s control and clarity with enough freshness in her approach to make Masked Intent feel wholly original. But the real gem to be found here is how plausibly, and how patiently, Greer fills the spaces of ordinary living with characters who are vulnerable but undauntable to the last glorious cliffhanger of a page.

Both Alexa Winston and Mateo Da Rocha yearn for meaningful connection with Greer maintaining a warm but rigorously unsentimental tone despite material that could have easily lent itself to mawkish sentimentality. Her narrative at its best when it’s least definite, when the conversations are full of awkward holes and the relationships are in flux. And keeping us on edge so that we’re with Alexa and Mateo every step of the way, sharing in their relationship victories and the jolting setbacks.

Told from alternating perspectives Greer not only creates meaningful conflict but emotional honesty and endearing tenderness. Moments when cracks open in the narratives Alexa and Mateo have constructed to deal with their past. Revealing their loneliness and their aching to share life with someone they can truly trust.

There are times when the angst between Alexa and Mateo might have bordered on the insufferable were it not for Greer’s wit and a lightness of touch which not only adds a sense of fun to her narrative but makes Alexa and Mateo feel wholly relatable.

A superb read that comfortably avoids the genre’s many saccharin pitfalls Masked Intent: A Modern-Day Morality Play sets the bar for future releases from Greer and is an unreservedly recommended 5 star read!