The Royal Masquerade

The Royal Masquerade is the first and only book of The Royal Masquerade series. Chronologically, it is a sequel series to The Crown & The Flame and a prequel series to The Royal Romance and The Royal Heir respectively.

Summary
''It's the night of the Royal Masquerade, but will a lowly scribe like you get to attend? Choose your House, change your fate, and pursue love in this romantic epic!''

Chapter 1: The Royal Masquerade
"It's the night of the Royal Masquerade, but will a lowly scribe like you be able to attend?"

Chapter 2: A Noble Effort
"Your House is in trouble and all eyes are on you..."

Chapter 3: Predator and Prey
"You must represent your house in the social season's first event, The Grand Hunt."

Chapter 4: A Night Under the Stars
"Tonight is the Lunar Banquet, a grand feast among the stars! Will your blind date lead to marriage or heartbreak?"

Chapter 5: Valor and Vanity
"You've sabotaged Cyrus' alliance. Can you press your advantage at the joust?"

Chapter 6: Confessions
"When you cast off for a day at sea, will you find love upon the waves... or disaster?"

Chapter 7: Betrayal
"As time runs out, will you succumb to your fate or fight for a new destiny?"

Chapter 8: Sisters
"Annalisa has awoken! But what does it mean for your standing in your House?"

Chapter 9: A House Divided
"Renza's blackmailing your house. Can you turn the tables on her?"

Chapter 10: Wildfire
"Fire spreads all around you. Can you survive?"

Chapter 11: Court of Whispers
"You've announced your aspirations to the world... but at what cost?"

Chapter 12: Lovestruck
"How far are you willing to go to secure a Nevrakis alliance?"

Chapter 13: Love and Power
"Is power worth the price of your sister's happiness?"

Chapter 14: Secrets
"A new opportunity presents itself, but is it safe to pursue?"

Chapter 15: The Conclave
"The day of the Conclave has finally arrived! But is all as it seems?"

Chapter 16: Truth
"A new monarch has been chosen, but has Cordonia truly unified behind its new leader?"

Chapter 17: Unity
"Your enemies' endgame has been revealed. What will become of your reign?"

Spoilers

 * On July 5, 2019, PB teased in one of their blogposts that one of the upcoming books they have in store for Choices players is a historical fiction book where the players will fight for power in a Renaissance-era court.
 * On August 16, 2019, PB mentioned in their blogpost, "Three Years of Choices", that this book is currently being worked on along with other projects in the upcoming months.
 * On September 6, 2019, via Choices Insiders, the official title for the book was released.
 * The official description was also revealed in the following "Choose your House, alter your fate, and pursue love or alliances in The Royal Masquerade, a romantic epic set in the Cordonian Renaissance!"
 * On September 9, 2019, via a Choices Blog, it was revealed that this is in fact in the same universe as The Crown & The Flame and The Royal Romance series.
 * They also confirmed that we would get to know the existing characters' ancestors and descendants, and shape the story!
 * On September 10, 2019, PB confirmed this book is gender-locked.
 * On September 23, 2019, similar to the way in which Deanest found the Nightbound book covers and Silvrowl12 found the Wishful Thinking cover, BigLenny discovered that the same happened for this book as the potential poster was already available to view. Similarly, in order to see it, go to the Choices official Instagram. Hit the three dots in the top right corner, then hit "About This Account", then select "Active Ads" on the menu that pops up. If you scroll, you'll see the ad itself.
 * On September 30, 2019, the first teaser was released and confirmed that it will be released in October. It was also stated that the story will take place in the 1600s.
 * A second teaser trailer was released on October 3, 2019.
 * On October 7, 2019, PB released a video and revealed the release date being October 18th.
 * On October 8, 2019, PB released the first sneak peek presenting House Aster.
 * On October 9, 2019, PB released the second sneak peek presenting House Everhart.
 * On October 10, 2019, PB released the third sneak peek presenting House Rosario.
 * On October 11, 2019, released a picture of the three houses next to each other.
 * They also asked players in a poll which of the three houses they would choose. House Aster won with 41%, followed by House Rosario with 38% and House Everhart with 22% (with a total of 101%, likely a rounding error).
 * The summary for Chapter One was later released.
 * On October 14, 2019, PB released a sneak peek featuring Theodosia from House Nevrakis and Percival from House Beaumont.
 * On October 15, 2019, PB released a sneak peek with a customizable character who can either be Lord or Lady Hunter Fierro.
 * On October 16, 2019, PB released a sneak peek with another customizable character named Kayden Vescovi.
 * They also asked players in a poll which gender they would choose for Kayden.
 * On October 17, 2019, users discovered that the Chapter 2 description which contained huge spoilers was changed.
 * It was changed from "The queen is dead, and you're the top suspect! Will your new friends at court come to your aid?" to "Your House is in trouble and all eyes are on you..."
 * On October 17, 2019, PB released a sneak peek featuring the dog in a hat they had teased earlier.
 * On October 24, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 3.
 * On November 7, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 5.
 * On November 21, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 7.
 * On December 5, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 9.
 * On December 18, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 11.
 * On December 25, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 12.
 * On January 1, 2020, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 13.
 * On January 9, 2020, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 14.
 * On January 10, 2020, PB released a PSA about the book going on a break and told players to look out for sneak peeks.
 * On January 29, 2020, PB announced that the book will be back next week.
 * On February 5, 2019, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 15.
 * On February 19, 2020, PB released a sneak peek for Chapter 17.
 * On February 21, 2020, PB confirmed that it is a standalone.

Trivia

 * The loading screen contains various quotes and proverbs, most of them by La Rochefoucauld and Montaigne (at least five, respectively), followed by Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius (at least three quotes), Ovid (at least two), Shakespeare, and Machiavelli. The Cordonian proverb states that "A tree is not judged solely on one bad apple".
 * The character Theodosia is first referenced in The Royal Heir, Book 1, Chapter 13, if Olivia prays to her Nevrakis ancestors. Zenobia and Diavolos are also mentioned.
 * Queen Kendra is first referenced by Queen Charlotte in Desire & Decorum, Book 3.
 * This is the second series where you can pick your character's sexuality before the book begins, the first being The Elementalists.
 * Premium scenes in Chapter 2 contain several references to The Crown & The Flame, such as Kendra being a descendant of Kenna, a book depicting the conflict with The Iron Empire (this can be seen on the Diamond Choice 19, if you choose to visit the studio with Crown Shield. The Book is called "The Ducitorian Wars"), myths of people turning into dragons, and Val being on a playing card, depicted as a "Seven of Swords".
 * Chapter 6 shares the same title as The Haunting of Braidwood Manor, Chapter 6, "Confessions".
 * In Chapter 7, as you struggle to remember the name of the poison Renza put in your drink (which affects the mind), one of the options that shows up is "Canterbury". Choose that and Crown Shield will ask: "Isn't that the name of a book?", which is a reference to The Canterbury Tales.
 * In Chapter 13, Emery quotes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet but changes Juliet to Emery and Romeo to Cyrus-o.
 * Chapter 14 shares the same title as The Haunting of Braidwood Manor, Chapter 5, "Secrets".
 * The message at the end of Chapter 16 states that the next chapter will be the finale of the book.
 * Chapter 17 contains further mentions of characters from The Crown & The Flame: in a premium scene, Fabian mentions he cannot quite believe that he is descended from Kenna Rys who "defeated the Iron Empire, single-handledly united the Kingdoms of Cordonia, rode dragons...", calling her a "hero of legend". In the epilogue, if Pompadour ends up at the library, Kana will mention Lia from Ducitora (the Iron Empire).
 * Another reference in the same premium scene with Fabian is to Italian Renaissance painter Sofonisba Anguissola.
 * In a premium scene of The Royal Heir, Book 3, Chapter 9, Your Character (The Royal Romance) finds a book titled "The Royal Masquerade" with Percival Beaumont on its cover while searching Barthelemy Beaumont's office with her spouse.
 * In a premium scene of The Royal Heir, Book 3, Chapter 9, Your Character (The Royal Romance) finds a book titled "The Royal Masquerade" with Percival Beaumont on its cover while searching Barthelemy Beaumont's office with her spouse.

Click here for the walkthrough of this book: The Royal Masquerade Choices.