2.75- 3 Stars

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller is an interesting read, but I just wasn't that into it.

About halfway through the book, I was still looking for that magic...that oomph... that "WOW" moment. There’s plenty of action and the pacing was great, but it just wasn't that exciting. The world building is creative, but not well developed. The plot does get interesting a few times, but it gave me Hunger Games vibes… and not in a good way. There were just way too much information on the rules and training on how to do this and that and not enough build-up or suspense.

So what kept me going? The main character, Sal, and the romance.

Sal is just so badass. They’re cunning, resourceful, driven and deadly. There’s something sinister and very dark about them -- they enjoy killing and see nothing wrong with it. But then there’s a side of them that’s also sweet, kind, funny and genuine. There’s a sense of goodness in Sal that makes them shine and you can’t help but root for them. They’re complicated in so many ways, devastatingly flawed, undeniably vulnerable, but also so darn lovable!

The romance was by far my favorite part of this book. The push and pull between Sal and Elise was actually more exciting than the actual plot. Their chemistry definitely had me swooning and I looked forward to every scene with them in it.

The cover of this book is stunning and that premise sounds really amazing, but I just wasn’t blown away. It did get a little better towards the end, but I wish there was just more development, more excitement and more suspense. I do appreciate the gender-fluid MC and diversity. We definitely need more of those in books so thank you Miller!

While this book didn’t quite work for me, I do think Miller has some great ideas and the potential to write an amazing sequel. I’m not too confident I can recommend this 100%, but just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean you won’t. Also, I'm still quite interested in reading the sequel because after that ending… well I just have to know what happens next.

Mask of Shadows, an action packed fantasy debut by Linsey Miller, sets a new standard for the LGBTQ+ community by introducing a gender fluid main character. Sallot Leon has been forced into a life of thievery following the destruction of Nacea. Without a family, Sal grudgingly became a shadow, merely following the orders of a wanted street thug named Grell, in order to survive. During a mission in which Sal robs a beautiful young noble woman, a new opportunity appears in the form of an open audition to be a member of the Queen’s Left Hand, an elite group of assassins. While Sal has never killed before, the opportunity is too good to pass up, as if offers a better life, as well as a chance at revenge. When the auditions prove to be incredibly dangerous, Sal develops a steel resolve, learns new tricks, and uncovers a few mysterious secrets as deadly events unfold.

The premise of Mask of Shadows is a competition in which “auditioners” fight to the death in a battle to become a new member of the Queen’s group of assassins. Although the auditions are open, those who wish to participate in the competition must provide proof of their skill or an “invitation” in order to participate in the anything goes battle of skill, stealth, and wit, on the condition that they do not harm anyone other than their fellow competitors. Upon being chosen by members of the current guard, each competitor dawns a mask with nothing but a number on it, ranging from 1-23. Based on their skill (or lack thereof) the auditioners are subject to training during the day from rigorous exercise regimes, sword fighting and archery practice, to healing and poisons, as well as everything in-between that might be deemed necessary for survival as one of the Queen’s elite group of fighters.

Outside of the competition and varied, yet increasingly intense training sessions, Mask of Shadows is very different from other novels in the battle royale, fantasy genre. Instead of being a forced fight to the death, the competition is optional. And, instead of a single task (kill one another), auditioners are given a few other tasks, including a foot race, a dangerous dinner with the members of the Left Hand, and a stealth task designed to hone their skills as an assassin. Furthermore, although the battle is on during the day (even during training lessons), throughout the competition, the auditioners are given down time where fights are forbidden.

While the world and character building could be improved upon, the competition itself and the idea of a powerful group of assassins under the control of the Queen were wonderfully fresh. I was drawn to the idea of masked assassins, each named for a ring worn on the Queen’s finger: Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald and Opal. The initial idea was enhanced through the use of colored masks to denote their rank and role. When paired alongside the gender fluid Sal, the use of masks as a whole really reinforces the idea of a fluid gender identity. For the Queen’s Left Hand, gender doesn’t matter. By putting a mask on each of the members of the guard, as well as the combatants, Miller makes a strong argument not only about the acceptance a fluid gender, but about gender equality as well. A person’s sex or gender identity doesn’t matter in the least where the Queen’s guard is concerned. Instead, the position is determined based off of ability alone.

Sal in particular, makes a stand for the idea of a fluid gender identity. Through Sal’s character, it becomes clear that gender doesn’t matter. Sal represents all of the frustrations with gender identity, as well. While many accept Sal as a person, it is clear, through speech, that the idea of a fluid gender has its fair share of problems where acceptance is concerned.

While I loved the idea of Sal, it was so hard to picture a physical character due to a lack of description. While the words “he”, “she”, and “they” are used to describe Sal along with descriptions of clothing, where Sal was concerned the descriptions felt vague. I also found it incredibly hard to relate to Sal. Not because of the gender fluid identity, but because I found it hard to believe that Sal would have the ability to go from a thief, to a trained assassin in such a short period of time. Surely revenge can drive a character to preform outstanding feats and develop new skills, but Sal makes regular comments about how the act of killing is repulsive in itself.

Although I found it difficult to connect, envision, and, at times, believe in Sal’s abilities due to vague details surrounding the character, I enjoyed the amount of detail given to the Left Hand (Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst), as well as Sal’s tutor, the beautiful and educated noble, Elise. Miller introduces Elise as a coincidental acquaintance – early on in the story, Sal robs her, but finds that it is difficult to forget her. When Sal, who spent a childhood on the streets, is given lessons on how to read and write, Elise is a willing tutor. As the events of the novel unfold, Elise transforms from a pretty noble girl, to a daring love interest, and the detail given to her character is beautiful.

Along with descriptions of Elise, Miller offered close attention to detail where lessons where concerned as well. From physical routines meant to strengthen combatants, to basic sword fighting and archery lessons, Mask of Shadows is full of detail. If you are the type of reader who appreciates the little things and is interested in the everyday lives of characters, Mask of Shadows is definitely for you. While scouring Goodreads before deciding to request the ARC, I noticed that many people disliked this level of detail, but I found that it helped to create a setting and mood that fit the environment of competition. When paired with the brief touches at romance, and small intimate moments between Sal and Elise, I found Mask of Shadows to be quite an enjoyable read.

Aside from the rather vague descriptions given to Sal, I felt as though it was difficult to envision the world itself. While Miller does include a brief historical timeline at the end of the novel, which was incredibly helpful, I would have loved to see more detail about places, people and history. While I could clearly envision the rooms in which the auditioners were held during their downtime, I couldn’t picture the world itself.

Mask of Shadows ultimately feels YA in tone. In itself, that is not a bad thing, but I did not enjoy the style going in. Miller’s sentences were too short for my tastes. I love description, so her clipped sentences and abundant use of contractions threw me off. At times, the sentence structure was jarring and felt too forced for my tastes. As the novel progressed, however, I grew accustomed to Miller’s style and found myself enjoying the more intimate moments and hidden secrets that color its pages, as they were both descriptive and beautiful.

All in all, Linsey Miller’s debut novel is a unique pick that will please fans of The Hunger Games who are searching for new reads. Not only does it touch on, and introduce, an incredibly powerful and inspirational protagonist in the gender fluid, Sal, but it offers enough action that readers will remain thoroughly entertained along the way. I will definitely be looking out for a sequel, as I can’t imagine where Sal’s journey will take us next.

When my book friend (Hi Hollis!) sent me the NetGalley link to this one, I was immediately drawn to the cover and comparison to Bardugo. Sadly, this book failed at every turn. Had it not been a NG review, I would have simply thrown in the towel around the 20% mark. This book felt like every popular dystopian/fantasy rolled into one convoluted, distracting mess. The political aspect and world building was also confusing and inconsistent. I felt zero emotion to the main character or their plight. I am not typically a harsh reviewer and this might be my only 1 STAR of they year. As an avid fantasy fan, I am so weary of the mediocre stories flooding this genre. I have no desire to read the next installment and sadly, would not recommend this one to anyone.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advance copy in exchange for this review.*

Big thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

MASK OF SHADOWS by Linsey Miller is book one of a new YA fantasy series. A story about revenge, survival, and auditioning to be the Left Hand of a powerful Queen.

Sallot Leon is our main character. Sal is a thief, and a very good one. Sal will stop at nothing to get off the streets and leave the life of a highway robber and dreams of making it up to the upper class. After stealing a poster that was announcing auditions for the Left Hand. These are the powerful collection of the Queen's personal assassins that are named for the rings that she wears - Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, and Opal. The audition is a fight to the death with circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and ex-soldiers. A life of crime is barely enough preparation for Sal, but they must conceal the real reason for entering - revenge.

So, I really thought this was going to have a unique premise. If you've read THE HUNGER GAMES then this book will sound familiar. A fight to the death and dystopian themed YA is a commonly used plot line and it's been overdone (in my opinion). The one thing that was really unique and new about this book was that Sal is gender-fluid. I know that's something the YA genre hasn't seen much of yet and it definitely added a new element.

Overall, I was bored and found it hard to get through. I haven't DNF'd a book yet this year, so I made myself push through it. It was a commonly used plot line, some continuity issues, and I didn't connect to any of the characters. The gender fluidity of Sal was the only thing that made this one stand out.

I give this one 2.5/5 stars! (rounded up for rating)

The curse of being a mood reader strikes again. I had a hard time getting into this book. Although I did like the storytelling, the first few chapters were cryptic and too fast-paced for me to stay focused (if that makes sense). I won't rate the book, because I didn't finish it, and there's a big possibility that I will pick up this book again.

linsey miller's debut fantasy, mask of shadows, follows a thief named sal through the audition process to join the queen's left hand. the left hand being the queen's special council of justice or revenge seekers, or assassins if we're speaking plainly. the audition process is arduous, dangerous, murderous. the queen's court is full of intrigue. the lands she saved barely stitched together.

sal is a fascinating character, i don't think i've ever read anything quite like this before. sal isn't exactly a he or she or them. gender fluid, sal is not that, but also all that. and it was hard at first to understand. i'm a cis-gendered, hetero, pass-for-white person. how could you be nothing but all things at once? it's not a feeling i truly understand but sal manages to explain it in a way that makes sense. so while i struggled at first to categorize sal, much like the characters around sal do, i learned to accept that sal is sal. and once i was able to stop fixating on this, the story just flowed.

if you like red queen or the hunger games, you will like this too. there's world-building and betrayal, deaths that just happen and deaths that cut to the bone. there is love too, and friendship. there's the fact that nothing in this world is stable and sal is just another person who wants it to crumble. partly because there is no way that things remain as is. and all sal wants is to survive the fall. well, that and revenge.

Sallot Leon, the protagonist in Linsey Miller’s Mask of Shadows, is out for revenge.  Sal is the sole survivor of the territory of Nacea.  Nacea and all of its people were destroyed when the land of Erlend started a Civil War with the land of Alona.  Erlend was supposed to protect Nacea but when mysterious and deadly shadows were unleashed during the war, the Erlend lords chose to abandon Nacea and retreat to safety.  Completely alone and forced to live as a thief in order to survive, Sal is determined to make those Erlend lords pay for what they did to Nacea. 

When Sal steals a poster advertising a contest to become Opal, one of the Queen’s group of elite assassins, it sounds like the perfect way to gain access to the lords and thus begin seeking revenge.  There’s just one catch – the competition to become Opal is basically a fight to the death, the last one alive wins.  So Sal’s plan is ultimately to get revenge or die trying. 



LIKES

I’d have to say that Sal is definitely my favorite part of the novel. They are charming, witty, and extremely resourceful.  Sal is also the classic underdog in this competition because the majority of the competitors are heavily trained in combat and other lethal skills, whereas Sal is used to getting by on their street smarts.   

You’ll also notice my use of ‘they’ as I’m referring to Sal.  Sal is a gender fluid protagonist, and in most cases is referred to as they, although Sal indicates that what gender pronouns are used should be dictated by what type of clothing is being worn. If Sal is wearing a dress, for example, using ‘she’ is perfectly acceptable.  I had never read a book with a gender fluid character in it before so this made for a unique read.  I don’t know much at all about gender fluidity but I thought Miller did a very nice job portraying it here.  I also liked that it was incorporated smoothly into the overall story and didn’t overshadow other plot points.  A few characters inquired about it in terms of how to address Sal, but otherwise they accepted it without question and moved on. It wasn’t treated as an oddity.

Another aspect of Mask of Shadows I enjoyed was the competition itself.  Yes, it was reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but it was still an exciting, action-packed part of the book regardless.  The rules were basically to kill as many of your fellow competitors as possible, but do so without being caught.  Since the competition is to become one of the Queen’s assassins, stealth is one of the most important qualities needed.  Miller does a fantastic job of building plenty of tension and suspense as the reader follows Sal through the competition, playing this ultra-intense kill-or-be-killed game, never knowing when a potential assassin might be hiding around any corner, or up in any tree, looking for the perfect opportunity to take them out. One distinct difference between this competition and The Hunger Games was that all of the competitors were referred to by numbers and wore numbered masks over their faces at all times.  They were only referred to by their numbers, which added an almost-dehumanizing element to the competition. I had mixed feelings about the masks because there were a few competitors I would have liked to know more about, but it was hard to connect with any of them since they were just faceless numbers. 

Also somewhat reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but in a good way (for me anyway) is that each competitor is assigned a servant to help them dress, bathe, ensure they have safe, non-poisoned food to eat each day.  Sal’s servant, Maud, was one of my favorite characters in the book.  She’s not allowed to give Sal any kind of advantage during the competition, but behind the scenes, she is hard core in Sal’s corner.  Why?  Because if Sal wins, Maud gets a reward and a huge promotion.  So she’s very excited each day that Sal doesn’t die.  She’s sassy too, so she adds a much-welcomed element of lightheartedness in the middle of what is otherwise just scene after scene of murders and attempted murders. 



DISLIKES/ISSUES

My biggest issues with Mask of Shadows had to do with pacing, which was slow at times, especially when the author was detailing Sal’s backstory and the reasons why they wanted to become one of the Queen’s assassins.  I lost interest a few times along the way and only came away with a vague notion of what the world of Mask of Shadows entailed so I would have loved more world building, but without it being in the form of info dumps.

I also had issues with the romance, which I found to be out of place and unfortunately distracting from the main storyline.  Although I thought Sal and Elise had a lot of chemistry when they first met (while Sal was robbing Elise), as the story went on and they are reunited as part of the competition, I preferred them  as teacher and student rather than romantic partners. 

Overall, I think more action-packed competition scenes and little or no romance would have better served Mask of Shadows.



FINAL THOUGHTS

While I did have some issues with it, overall I still enjoyed reading Mask of Shadows.  While parts of the storyline are in some ways reminiscent of The Hunger Games, the similarities did not bother me because there are still enough differences to make it a unique and entertaining read. 



RATING:  3.5 STARS

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Linsey Miller, and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to preview this book.  This in no way shapes my opinion of the book being reviewed.

This is fantasy at its best! Gender fluidity was new to me, but it was beautifully handled. Sal, the main character, is totally focused on the competition to become Opal, an assasin with the Queen's Left Hand. He is determined to win so that he can get closer to the nobles who were responsible for the destruction of his town. There is romance too, beautifully done. I also loved Maud, Sal's servant during the competition. An incredible book, a real treasure, delightful, haunting, action-packed and thrilling

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley. It is a YA fantasy novel with a gender fluid protagonist named Sal. Sal is a thief and a former street fighter, who is the only surviving representative of a nation called Nacea. His home country was wiped out during a brutal war in which magically created shadows were killing humans until they were stopped by a powerful mage turned queen of the entire land. In defeating the shadows, the Queen also banished magic from her land.

The Queen has a team of four assassins who are collectively called the Left Hand, and one of the positions on the team is open to all willing and deemed fit to compete for it. Sal decides to enter the competition, and the story takes off from there.

One thing that surprised me about this book was how violent and bloody it was. In that aspect it did not feel like a YA novel. I also had some issues with the plot. The main story line was centered around the competition for the assassin job. The author also did a fairly good job introducing the world, the history and the politics. However, the ending was very abrupt and confusing. I did not understand if it was left open-ended for a possible sequel or it was an actual ending. The story also was unevenly paced. Some portions seemed dragged out and I really had to push myself to power through those. Overall 3 out of 5 stars. A solid, interesting premise, a unique world, and a likable main character. But the plot and pacing could be improved.

I was intrigued by the sound of Mask of Shadows, because the main character is non-binary and throughout the story, asks to be addressed by pronouns that match what they're wearing -- and by neutral pronouns (they/them/their) if they're ambiguous. I thought it was reasonably well done; people didn't get too obsessed with finding out, and not everyone was a total douche about it either. The narrative didn't linger on it, either.

On the other hand, it's basically Throne of Glass with a bit of The Hunger Games, apart from maybe the figure of the queen, who is intriguingly ambiguous in the end, although she starts as a saviour figure. There is some interesting world-building -- the shadows -- but really, it feels so much like Throne of Glass. I enjoyed Throne of Glass well enough, but I don't want to read it again.

There's a couple of issues with pacing too -- sometimes the story seems to jerk forward, leaving me wondering where something came from. But for the most part, it's fun; just not original.

Review link is live from 1st Oct 2017.

I stopped around 15%. It was just eh. There wasn't anything about it that kept me interested. I was looking forward to reading about a gender-fluid teen and a competition to become Opal, one of the queens warriors. The gender-fluid part was so small and nothing else was mentioned after that. I didn't like Sal too much either. I couldn't connect with her/him. And I put it that way because she/he wanted to be called by the pronouns as she/he felt and dressed. So if she wore a dress then she would be a she and if he wore pants and dressed masculine then he would be he. Great, fine, I can go with that, no problem. But the author writes in first person and there aren't ways to use pronouns if it's all I, me, mine. Plus, there was the whole thing about killing. Sal hadn't killed before but killing the boss of the robbers was easy, like second nature, for Sal. I have better books to read and I didn't want to continue to read a ho-hum book.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publishers.

Mask of Shadows is an intriguing fantasy that deftly mixes thieving, revenge, assassins-in-training, and a little bit of romance in a world once haunted by shadows that could kill.

The first thing that drew me to this book when I first heard about it was that the main character - Sal - was genderfluid. Right away I knew I had to get my hands on this book. It wasn't until several chapters in that Sal described their fluidity and the type of pronouns they preferred. Just depended on what they were wearing that day. Sal even preferred "they" if someone couldn't grasp it or if someone kept misgendering them.

Now time for the parts I didn't like about this book. So much information! It was just too much from the get go, so much information and history that it was hard to keep track of even until the end of it. I managed to understand bits and pieces of it but it's just too much! There are times when the pace of books starts slow and runs so fast you're left wondering what happened to make it go so fast?

As I was getting to end it didn't feel like there was much of a climax. There was just no pizzazz leading up to the nail biting moment of this book. Maybe it's just me but that's the way I found it to be. This is the author's first book so hopefully by the second book things aren't as confusing and the information and history isn't flung at you so hard you can't remember most of it.

<em>Mask of Shadows</em> was just some random fantasy novel I requested on NetGalley in exchange for a review, and then I started hearing all about it elsewhere. Linsey Miller’s debut novel features a genderfluid protagonist trying to become the next assassin to the queen. Sal is a thief and one of the few survivors of a massacre that wiped out almost all of their countrypeople. They view the assassin position as a chance to align themselves with the queen who ended that war and drove back the shadows—but by getting involved in nation-level politics, Sal might have bitten off more than they can chew.

One of the central elements of <em>Mask of Shadows</em> is a trope I really enjoy and one I’ve built into my own eternally-WIP fantasy novel: the story takes place <em>after</em> the Big Bad is vanquished. In this case, the Big Bad are the shadows that infiltrated this world. It’s about a decade since Marianna da Ignasi kicked the shadows out of the world by getting rid of all magic. That in and of itself might have been an epic story to tell, but for whatever reason, Miller didn’t choose to start there. Instead we start with Sal, embittered by the slaughter of their family and countrypeople by the shadows.

Sal’s spur-of-the-moment decision to try out for a role as royal assassin might seem strange to those of us who are just meeting them. As the book continues, though, and we learn more about Sal, it starts to make more sense. It’s as if Sal’s entire life since the destruction of Nicea has been an interim period, where Sal has been floating as this thief and highway robber, waiting for an opportunity to become involved in something bigger.

The assassin competition itself was OK. These types of stories, to be honest, seldom do much for me. The repetitive nature of having to eliminate the various members of the competition until only a few remain for the climax gets dull for me, fast. Miller does a lot to make it easier. In particular, the other members of the Left Hand are a delight. Similarly, their rules for the auditions make sense; I can actually imagine this type of assassin-audition setup working.

I’m a little ambivalent about how Sal goes in with almost no experience in this field and very few other skills and the Left Hand is basically all, “Yeah, we will train you at whatevs.” But I think that’s Miller trying to show us that this world has slightly different mores than the cookie-cutter fantasy we’re used to. There is a sense of compassion running through the social interactions in this story: almost all of the upper-class characters respect and treat servants well, and people in authority, like the Left Hand, generally want to level the playing field. This is, of course problematic in and of itself, as it is framed paradoxically within a feudal society wherein social mobility is very limited and imperfect. I’m willing to cut Miller some slack here—it’s hard to interrogate all these ideas in a single novel, especially when limited to one person’s perspective. I’m curious to see where this goes in subsequent novels.

<em>Mask of Shadows</em> is steeped in conflict, and not just the violent kind. Miller does a good job presenting people who are, on the face of things, reasonable people whose goals merely conflict with Sal’s. In some cases this leads to compromise; in other cases it is more … fatal. Similarly, we encounter situations where Miller invites us to disagree with Sal’s beliefs, goals, or actions. This is an imperfect protagonist. Sal’s drive and determination to become Opal and then to use the position as a way to enact revenge is powerful yet very unhealthy, and Miller does not hesitate to underscore this latter fact. I really appreciated the frank conversation between Sal and the Queen near the ending of the book and for the glimpse it offers us of Marianna da Ignasi’s character.

As I said earlier, these types of competition plots seldom interest me. This was true for this book—but I still had a really good time! I was so interested in what Sal would do next, in what mistake they would make or plot they would hatch. Overall the character development is very uneven: there are some twists and reveals that seemed mainly there for dramatic effect, and some of the characters are very flat. The same can be said for the worldbuilding. Miller errs on the side of less infodumping rather than more, and while that is the correct side of the line to be on, in my opinion, sometimes she veers a little too far away from giving us information that could deepen our understanding of this world. I don’t want to have to wait for a timeline in an appendix to give me that.

Critiquing the presentation of Sal’s genderfluidity isn’t in my lane. However, I did like that Sal’s gender identity is not a big deal in this book. There are a couple of instances of unintentional misgendering and at least one instance of intentional misgendering, but by and large, even the people who have a problem with Sal take care to use the correct pronouns and apologize when they mess up. Similarly, Miller includes numerous other queer characters. We even learn, near the end of the book, that one character is aromantic—she mentions it in passing (does not use the term), so it’s easy to miss, but it got me really excited. So, in general, I like how Miller handles the diversity of her characters by making it a foregone conclusion that they are <em>everywhere</em> instead of people who must be announced, discovered, or otherwise explained.

<em>Mask of Shadows</em> feels like a debut novel. The writing, particularly the characterization, is uneven. It recycles a lot of common fantasy tropes. Parts of it are clunky. At the same time, however, it tells a great story, has a satisfying arc to it, and it leaves me wanting more. Parts of it are brilliant. I’m curious to see where Sal goes from here, and whether their responsibilities will conflict with their personal goals.

(Review to be published on Goodreads on August 30, 2017).

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal Leon steals a poster announcing open auditions for the Left Hand, a powerful collection of the Queen's personal assassins named for the rings she wears -- Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, and Opal -- their world changes. They know it's a chance for a new life.

Except the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. But Sal must survive to put their real reason for auditioning into play: revenge. (via Goodreads)
I received an eARC courtesy of the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a signed physical ARC through a giveaway!

Reviewers Note: Sal is genderfluid, which means that their pronouns change to suit their gender at the time. For clarity and to not be an asshole, I will be referring to Sal with they/them pronouns throughout this review. I will also be warning for classism, murder, violence, explicit violence, drugs/poisons, misgendering, and self-harm.

I want to start off this review by saying that I adore the cover and the artwork inside this book. It's perfectly suited for the subject matter and it. is. stunning. Y'all ought to know by now that I am a sucker for good art in any form, and this book was a delight to the eyeballs in all forms.

Secondly, Sal was a really interesting main character to follow. They were very driven to their goal, ruthless when they needed to be, but still polite and kind whenever they could be, which was a nice change. I loved that we got to know all of the minor characters, to know their ambitions and needs.

I also enjoyed the worldbuilding. We discovered things along with Sal, and we also learned what they already knew before they got there. The world, and the plot, were familiar enough to keep us seated, but intriguing enough to keep us on the edge of it. My only complaint was that the ending was very abrupt. I am interested to see where the next story takes us.

I won't speak to the genderfluid representation, but I have others who have spoken to it. I loved that nearly everyone asked Sal what pronouns they should use, and Sal expressed anger every time it was incorrect. It was normalized for so many, and I loved that. You can read Avery's ownvoices review here! You can read Dill's review here! You can watch Kav's review here!

If this sounds like the book for you, and I think it may be, you can pick up a copy on Amazon or Indiebound.

I've been having a really hard time writing a review for Mask of Shadows, mainly because I so badly wanted to love it and in the end I just feel pretty ambivalent towards it. First I want to say how much I love the fact that Sal is a gender fluid main character, I love that this was just a part of who they were and wasn't used as some kind of cheap plot device. I was also really pleased that in general most of the other characters didn't make a big deal of it, the only one that really mentioned it in a negative way was the group bully who was just looking for anything negative to say and since theres always one that didn't bother me. Most of the characters initially asked Sal how they wanted to be addressed (Quote: I dress how I like to be addressed—he, she, or they. It’s simple enough.) and then happily went along with their choices.

Where the story fell down for me was in characterisation, I don't actually feel that I got to know Sal that well even though the story was from their point of view. I know they're gender fluid, I know they have a plan to get vengeance against the people who killed their family and that's about it. The world building was seriously lacking, I needed more history of the world. I needed to understand exactly what had happened to Sal's world and why they were so keen on vengeance. I still don't quite understand how the queen saved Sal's country. Was she the reigning queen when the massacres occurred or did she come along from somewhere else entirely and put a stop to it? How is the world structured? How many different countries are there? What caused things to go wrong in the first place? I'm so unclear about all of it that if it was included in the book then I completely missed it.

This first book focuses on Sal's attempt to become one of the queen's elite assassins so perhaps we'll get more answers to those questions in the next book but to be honest I'm not hooked enough to really want to continue the series. If I'm this confused now then there is no way I'll be able to jump into the second book in a years time without a reread and I just don't have enough interest for that. The auditions to become a member of the queen's left hand are basically a fight to the death as a group of candidates battle against each other to come out on top. Apart from Sal we don't get to know any of the side characters well enough to become invested in them which is a real problem in this kind of story. Books like Hunger Games work so well because even though you know going in that Katniss is almost guaranteed to survive the games you care enough about side characters to feel the fear of something happening to them. If you don't feel the intensity because you're not worried about anyone potentially dying then nothing has the impact it could have.

The same goes with the romance in this story, Elise could have been a fantastic addition to the story but I never felt the connection between her and Sal. It all felt too instant and unbelievable for me so I didn't really care if they made it as a couple or not.

This book really seems to be a polarising one, two of my friends gave it five stars but I struggled to finish it (it took me 8 days to get through and I usually read 4-5 books a week!) so don't let my review alone put you off trying it. I'd recommend checking a mix of positive and negative reviews and perhaps trying the free kindle sample because who knows you may end up being one of the people who loves it. I'm so disappointed that I wasn't one of them too.

Source: Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Bes, I just want to say I am so confused about this book. I had an idea what’s going on but I still find myself confused. I don’t even know how to review this because I felt like I didn’t read any of it.

First off, I don’t feel comfortable reading a book with the main character as a gender fluid. That’s just me, personally. However, I would’ve looked past that if the book itself isn’t confusing. I don’t even know why I find it confusing.

Aside from the confusion I felt towards this book, I’m also not feeling it. The book didn’t catch me. I’m already on 30% and I’m still waiting for it to have a hold on me. It didn’t happen. I wasn’t hooked and I wasn’t feeling it. So yeah, you’re right, I DNF-ed the book. Hehe. There’s just nothing in the book that made me think again my decision of DNF-ing this. I hope there is but there’s none. I tried pushing more but it’s just not working. I’m not feeling it so I’m not forcing it.

And because I DNF the book without feeling anything towards it but confusion, this review will only be this. Haha! I know, I created a book review post for this and it only consist of less than 500 words. I just want to put here my thoughts about it, so here it is.

To wrap this up –ha. There’s nothing to really wrap up. Still, if you bessies found yourself curious upon reading the blurb of the book, go ahead. Read it. As for me, it didn’t work.

Foreword: I had received an ARC(Advanced Review Copy) of Mask of Shadows from the publisher to do a review on it. This kindness in no way affects my opinions or how I viewed the book. This review is to be honest and state my opinions on the matter.

"You shouldn't kiss people who could kill you."
- Linsey Miller, Mask of Shadows

4.5/5 stars

Linsey Miller writes her debut novel, Mask of Shadows, a wonderful book full of twists and turns, a gender-fluid character, and a story anyone could enjoy. It all starts one day while Sal is out robbing and flirting with rich ladies, and Sal steals a flier that grants them admission to a prestigious event for becoming the Queen's Opal with just a price of a life. Unlucky for Sal, they gets in, and survives through attempted assassinations and kills their competitors for a chance to become the desired position of Opal. It all goes perfectly to plan with Maud becoming a trusty friend and Elise becoming a love interest to Sal until shadows start reappearing. Sal keeps telling everyone of the troubles Erlend may face, but no one believes due to the competition at hand and the Queen's loyalty of her people at stake. Killing is not an option anymore for Sal but a necessity to keep her new home safe as she ascends to becoming Opal, as long as she does not die first by the hands of one of her many enemies in and outside of the competition.

Discussion:

While I was reading Miller's Mask of Shadows, it reminded me a lot of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It has the audition for becoming the ruler's assassin, the tasks that need to be completed when enrolled in the auditions, and swoon-worthy scenes of a romance with a noble-born that made my heart stop and made the story just right. Plus, this book has a kick-butt character who can rob people of what they want, disarm in a flick of a wrist, and kill while making it look like an accident. Now, enough chit-chat since it is time to talk more about the details and plot of the story.

First, Sal was the main character in Mask of Shadows, and is so awesome, period. This is all I really need to say to describe Sal, but there is a lot more to they than just that one word. I loved the aspect of a diverse character who is gender-fluid, which is a person who does not associate themselves with just one gender or no gender at all.(Even though I like seeing this diversity in a character, I am scared that I may be getting the pronouns wrong or may not be addressing Sal in the correct way.) Sal starts out as a thief in the beginning and makes their way to the top when they applies to become an assassin. I loved Sal's sass and ruthlessness when they goes to the beginning of the auditions and every time they talks to someone. I also really like how relatable Sal was, especially when she was running since I am also a runner and when she would try to play off things as cool or okay when they never really were while their temper was running wild. There were many characters in this book, but Sal stood out the most to me due to their diversity and how we are similar due to us wanting to be tough and having to hold back a lot of emotions to complete a goal.

Just because a book has a lot of action and suspense that keeps the reader guessing what is going to happen next, there needs to be a little romance for the reader to be rooting for. Mostly, there are many romances in a book, but in Mask of Shadows, there is only one: Sal Leon and Elise de Farone's. I loved this relationship and the sexy scenes between them. I loved how Elise told Sal how she does not like just men and also how their lessons were full of playful flirting. They were so cute; I wanted their relationship to work out so badly, but of course, bad things always have to happen that separate them. I was so heartbroken when Elise's dad took her away since Sal found out that Elise's father was conspiring against Nacea with Horatio del Seve.

Even though I enjoyed reading about Sal and their many adventures, I did not like how they got away with murdering a man so easily. In the middle of the auditions, Sal says enough is enough and decides to kill a long-time enemy of theirs named Horatio del Seve. Seve is just having a grand time with his late night tea and brandy when Sal kills him for abandoning and conspiring against Nacea when the shadows went there when Sal became the last member of her family and possibly her home country. Through the whole audition, Nicolas del Contes is spying on all the contestants and this event just happens to slip through the cracks. I am sorry, but this is not how the world works, even though this book is set in a different world, which is in a different universe with different rules. So, Miller has got me there. Also, I did not like how much concentration it took sometimes to read a passage. It is very easy for me to get distracted while reading, and a couple times I found myself reading without absorbing any of the information. I would have to reread sections to find out what was happening at that point in time. This is all I really disliked about the book, though, so that is why I gave it four point five out of five stars.

I especially loved the world Mask of Shadows is set in. I really liked how the world was built up and how little snippets of information coming from Sal's flashbacks or other people describing their past began to erect a new world I am ready to see more of in the future. The pacing was fantastic, and I loved how the story started in the middle of action when Sal was doing their usual job of robbing and making quick comebacks with people who were interesting enough to play a part in this story. I cannot wait for the second book in this duology, if I am correct, and any other books Miller puts out into the world.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Love,
newbookcats

When I first heard about this book I didn't care about anything except the genderfluid character. It was the only reason I added it to my TBR. Unfortunately, after reading it, I don't feel much different.
Sal is a thief who wants nothing more than to escape the life they were given. So, Sal enters into a competition to become part of a team created by the Queen. The audition is a fight to the death and Sal has no choice but to make it.
Ok, so I had a couple problems with this book. The main one being there was absolutely no world-building at all in the story. There was all this talk from them about this huge war from before and how it killed all their people, but we (the readers) KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT. There wasn't even a foreward to tell about it. This made it impossible to care about something that Sal cared about so much, because I had no idea what was going on. I just totes went with it because it was in the story. It made it feel choppy and definitely made me lose interest in the story.
And then, for there to be SO MUCH MAGIC in this story, there is no explanation of it at all and I'm still confused on what happened and why it was even relevant. I gotta say, it seriously made me think I missed out on a prequel or something because I have (and still have after I've finished reading) so many questions. I really need Miller to release a prequel with some of these answers.
And then, this may just be my opinion, but for the book to specify that Sal was genderfluid, it was hardly mentioned. I get that it was to show that it was a "more accepting" time, but there was nothing there, for an already underdeveloped character and it made me lose more interest in them. It would have been nice to know a little more information about them.
The only reason I didn't DNF this, was the killing, and action, and overall stabiness of the book. That part was done so good and I REALLY wish the rest of the book had been done the same way. It would have made all the difference.
In short, this was nothing like I was expecting and that made me extremely sad. It really fell short for me. I was expecting so much more. Hopefully book 2 will provide these answers.

If you hadn’t guessed already I really loved this book. When I first read the synopsis I thought it sounded very Throne of Glassish, and I guess in some senses it is, but I found the story to be quite different and really gripping.

(Disclaimer, Sal is a gender fluid character but for the review I’m going to say ‘she’ because it’s easier).

Before I talk about the book I just want to say, those first few opening chapters. Wow, just wow.

The main character, Sal, was awesome. She is so sassy and sure of herself and that means that she never needs to rely on anyone to help her. Despite this she doesn’t shun people or help just because she feels full of herself which was really nice. Even though there were a lot of characters, 23 auditioners and 3 assassins just to start with, each one had their own personality and quirks and recognisable features. I really loved this because it meant that the plot was always fleshed out and attention grabbing.

Speaking of the plot this was just another thing that made this book a joy to read and such an adventure. We aren’t info dumped right at the beginning which was such a relief for a debut fantasy novel. So often we are given a characters full backstory within the first few chapters which leaves no mystery. Instead of this Linsey Miller adds details in about Sal’s past in conversations she has with other characters meaning we learn about her as the plot develops and the other characters are introduced. It is a really great way of telling the story that always keeps the reader interested.

This style of storytelling also means that there are multiple storylines and backstories that the reader learns about which all weave into each other and create such a rich story and setting.

Also, those auditions were crazy and you could totally have created a dumb ways to die video from the variety of ways that Linsey Miller came up with killing off the auditioners. You will never know their names but they certainly died in creative ways.

There honestly isn’t much more I can say about the book without spoiling it, but it is definitely a book that you should dig your teeth into as soon as possible. Especially if you are a lover of kick-butt fantasy stories. I can’t wait for the next one.