Masquerade (Heven and Hell Series Book 1) by Cambria Hebert

 One night when it was dark, Heven was attacked and mauled.  She ended up with permanent scars on one side of her face.  Ugly and large scars.  Obvious to everyone who saw her.  People stared at her, whispered behind their hands.  It changed her.  She had been the popular cheerleader with lots of friends and a social life.  Now she was a recluse.  She shied away from everyone and wore hoodies and her hair down so that it would cover her scars.  She was quiet.  And her social life was almost non-existent.  Her only friends being Cole and Kimber, who went to school with her.  Cole and Kimber were dating and had been for quite a while now, even though they had the occasional breakup.
   Then a new guy shows up.  Sam.  He is tall and super handsome.  It seems to Heven that he is interested in Kimber, who was bent on giving Cole a hard time while they were broken up by making him insanely jealous.  And it works.  They get back together and it becomes very apparent that Sam is more into Heven.  He tells her she is beautiful.  And he is the only one who has ever touched her scars.  It takes Heven a while to really start believing that Sam actually likes her, and wants to be with her.  All the while, he is also trying to keep her from being the victim of another attack.  What she doesn't know is that Sam knows exactly what happened, even though Heven can't remember.
   Sam and Heven are on a tough road.  Through a series of attacks, Heven realizes just how much her life is in danger.  And Sam has a confession to make.  He is a hell hound.  And Heven was attacked by a hell hound.  Sam unknowingly drew attention to Heven by being so interested in her before they ever met.  He accidentally saw her one day and was charmed, pulled in by her.  And because of that, China, the "leader" of their little group of hell hounds attacked Heven.  And she intends on finishing the job.


   The story line in Masquerade is a rather unique one to me.  I have not read too many books that involved hell hounds, especially ones that morph into humans and fall in love.  But Sam and Heven do fall in love.  He always feels like he is undeserving of her love and she feels like she isn't good enough for him because she is so scarred.  But what is truly going on is the fact that she is holding herself back.  Once she starts opening up again, people flock back to her, glad to have her back to "normal".  This creates some tension and jealousy between Heven and Kimber.  It makes Heven start questioning their friendship, but that story must be continued in the next book because it is not completely played out in this one.  There are bigger things going on in this first book.  Like how Sam is appointed Heven's guardian when they find out that she is a Supernatural Treasure and will be in quite a bit of danger.  The two of them together could turn the tide of whether good or evil will reign on Earth.  It is a big responsibility and I cannot wait to see more in the next book!!

*images via Cambria Herbert