Eight hundred years ago the world was different, the discovery of magic changed everything. Eight years ago, a young girl was mistaken as a magic user and tortured. Seeking revenge for her sister, Ramona Adrienna puts together a team of oddities, each with their own mysterious pasts. Together they sneak into the queen's annual masquerade ball in search of a weapon that can liberate the dictated world they live in. What will happen when their secrets and lies start to conflict? What will happen when they get caught? The Masquerade is the first book in the Crystal & Chain series. It explores themes of vengeance, love, loss, and persisting through hardships. The author used real world experience to convey important messages about grief and human connection. While entirely fictional and based in imagination and fantasy, Crystal & Chain Part One: The Masquerade tells a story about siblingship that feels real enough to transcend from the page. The effects of sisterhood weave into the book and create strong character interactions that show the passion, love, and childhood innocence between women and girls. The responsibility and maturity that comes with brotherhood is a strong base for the development of the plot and the characters' own personal arcs. Overall, The Masquerade is dependent on humanity's best and sometimes worst qualities to tell a story of overcoming the things we don't show on the surface, and learning to live after tragedy.Canadian author L.V. Myles, aged 16 at the date of publishing, hopes that this book reaches the people who need it most, whether it is because they are grieving, seeking revenge, or just because they need a good fantasy read. "There's a phenomenon, a ringing in the ears when hearing something grievous...Her mouth felt dry and sticky at the same time. Her lungs felt as if they'd stopped working."