I was very excited for this one, even though it has basically the same plot as practically every other YA fantasy at the moment. I was hoping that the idea of a gender-fluid main character would make it fresh and hopefully would mean that the author would bring other fresh elements as well.

Well as you can tell by my rating, I was sorely disappointed. There was nothing new or fresh about this one, and actually it was so poorly done in all regards that I couldn't enjoy it at all. I almost didn't finish at all but I kept hoping that maybe the end would make up for the miserable everything else. But no.

The writing was horrible. There was way way way too much telling and virtually no showing, and nothing sucked me into the story at all. There was no character development and I wasn't able to feel anything for any of the characters. I don't think the book did anything to help the position of LGBT characters in fantasy, since the gender fluidity of Sal didn't even really make sense, at least to me. Sometimes he, sometimes she, sometimes they? Based on what he/she/they chooses to wear?

Anyway, I definitely wouldn't recommend it. So disappointing.

So this is basically like the Selection where winner gets a court position but you kill your way to get there. The end (not really). There's more to it than that, and not any real magic as I was expecting, but it was a good and quick read if you like murder.

This is a hard book to review. I have a lot of mixed feelings on it, but ultimately it fell short. And it felt short, which is it's main problem. It's fast-paced in a way that sort of skips over the meat of things, over the description and over the things that would make us care about the main character and the plot. Normally fantasy books have the opposite problem, being too long-winded, but I think Mask of Shadows could have benefitted from having a little more wind.

Because man, it was kind of hard to care. Sal, our protagonist, felt really flat. Beyond being genderfluid (not that that is presented heavy-handedly, in my opinion for the record), there isn't much separating them from being Generic YA Fantasy Protagonist. Like, how many thief protagonists have you seen? Aspiring assassins? Have lost their homeland? Want revenge? A lot, and fairly often all at once. There's nothing about Sal that makes me want to root for them or like them beyond the fact that we're supposed to because they're the protagonist.

Even though, honestly, I don't feel like Sal is qualified for the "job" they're trying to land. [Or at least not qualified enough to have actually landed it. (hide spoiler)] As the book went on it felt like we were supposed to believe Sal is clever and capable, but somehow it just didn't quite work. They felt like someone playing at thief and assassin more than anything else, like they thought they were clever but they just weren't quite.

There's also our romantic subplot, which I really wanted to like, but like everything else it felt rushed and a little forced. It went from 0 to 60 real fast, not necessarily insta-love but a bit quicker than I felt the characters in question would have been. And I'm not sure I believe there's any reason for the two characters to really like each other, even. It's cute, sure, and I like a cute romantic subplot like a sucker, but.

The writing is also pretty bare bones, particularly in scene transitions. There were several times through-out the story where I had to stop and reread what I'd just read, thinking I'd missed something leading us to our next scene and found I hadn't. I found the descriptions lacking as well, overall making things hard to place/picture and hard to figure out what the heck was actually happening sometimes, sort of just having to shrug and continue on until it made some kind of sense.

3.5 stars. I don't usually deal in .5s but 3s are so rare for me, and I didn't necessarily dislike this book. I enjoyed some of it, it was just also kind of flat and eh. But it wasn't hard to get through, and I would read any sequels that come out (particularly since the ending does leave that possibility very likely).

Sal is a street thief who runs in a gang. One night he robs a lady and finds a pamphlet in her bag. The Queen is holding auditions for Opal, one of an elite group of assasins, all named after gemstones. The previous Opal had recently died, and these auditions were being held on the palace grounds, to the death. Sal, having never killed anyone before but wanting revenge on the people who caused genocide on on their country, thought this a chance that was too good to pass up. Sal kills the gang leader and takes his hand to the auditions as proof of intent to be the next Opal.

This was a great YA fantasy novel. The plot was original and the characters fascinating. All of the men and women who were auditioning as the next Opal wore masks and were given numbers as names creating gender ambiguity. So, even though they were men and women, they became five, four, and in Sal’s case, twenty-three. Sal was also not gender specific. If Sal wore women’s clothes she was to be addressed with the pronouns she/her, etc. Dressed as a man, Sal was addressed as he/him. Sal’s sex was also kept from the reader, so you were developing feelings for this character not caring if it was a boy or girl, if the relationships and feelings they were portraying were the same as your own. I liked this unique aspect of the story and started paying more attention to the plot based on the person. Not the sex of them.

This book also had a lot of action scenes, including knife and sword fights, that were very well written. The contestants were auditioning with their lives at stake, so their feelings were extreme, amd the outcome could be gruesome, but that only added emphasis to the terrific dialog and plot. I really enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to see how Sal will enact their plans in the next novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Nothing sensational about this fantasy read. Nothing terrible either, just an OK book. Needed more world building and a chance to let the characters develop a bit more.

Tired plot line, vague character development, confusing characters (numbers for names got really confusing, really fast.) I really wanted to like this book from the description but it felt uninspired and just a bland reincarnation of the Hunger Games. I felt in no way connected to the main protagonist, Sal, nor any of the supporting characters. I also couldn't really relate to the revenge motive behind Sal's desire to attain a high position. Not enough was explained in a clear way to appreciate the full history of the land or people. I couldn't make an emotional connection to the characters which meant that I didn't care enough about what they were doing to carry my interest throughout the entire book. Hard pass.

There are various reviews roaming the internet about this book. I don’t think any had an issue with representation though, so I decided to give this book a try. The first chapter was amazing! Then it took a step back and did character introductions and a bit of world building, but then we were thrown right into the competition. Non-stop action, revelations, and exploring genderfluid as an accepted form of identification. While this story may not be new territory (think Hunger Games and Throne of Glass), I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the characters presented.

I’ve already started passing this around to friends because I need someone to talk to about this book! I also went ahead and pre-ordered a final copy to have another one to loan out. There is a cute pre-order incentive, which you can find here, and it enters you into a grand prize drawing with all kinds of exciting swag 🙂
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So, this has nothing to do with how I feel about the story contained within, but I do want to mention that Sourcebooks Fire outdid themselves with a really fun promotion that involved social media outreach, prizes, and great emails to the “auditioners” who participated throughout. I did win a random prize for an arc, signed bookplate, and stickers (which in no way affected my honest review), and the creative mask challenge was a neat addition. Here’s my entry! Thanks for putting all that together Sourcebooks Fire!!
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SUMMARY:

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.

The story sounded interesting, but in the end, I had to quit reading it because I couldn't find any connection with the main character. Now, I realize that lots of people are super excited about a "gender fluid" character, but when it came down to it, that was the exact thing that made it impossible to connect with Sal. Sal felt un-human, because gender is part of what makes us human, it helps define us. I was so unconnected to Sal that I just couldn't engage with the rest of the story. And I got about 1/3 of the way in and realized I didn't care. And when I don't care about the story, there's just no point in continuing.

The writing was decent but not stellar, and the characters were on the surface interesting, but I never felt drawn in by any of them. Overall, a disappointing offering.

*Just to be clear, the main character of Mask of Shadows is gender-fluid, and the author would like reviews to use they/them pronouns for continuity, so that’s what I’m doing.*
Sallot Leon is the only survivor of a shadow war that sacrificed their entire nation years ago. More than anything, Sal wants revenge. When one of the Left Hand—the queen’s elite quartet of assassins—dies, Sal decides to stop being a thief and become Opal.

But competition for the spot of Opal is fierce. It’s more than fighting. The competition also includes lessons in healing, poisons, and even reading—where Sal meets Elise, a scribe who’s also frustrated with the status quo at court. Only one apprentice becomes Opal. The rest die. And meals and lessons are the only violence-free times, so Sal must be alert always if they want to stay alive, while trying to find out just who was behind the massacre of their people so they can finally have their revenge. And winning would be nice, too.

There’s been a big deal made about Sal being gender-fluid, and the novel itself shows a dichotomy of sorts. 1) The characters in the novel really don’t make a big deal about this. Sort of Oh, you’re gender fluid? Cool. Whatever. 2) Sal gets emotional when someone treats them like the gender-fluidity is no big deal, as if it has normally been a big deal in the past. Which one of these things is accurate? Because I don’t think they can both be accurate: it’s either a big deal, or it isn’t. I noticed the dichotomy, but it didn’t detract from the story for me.

That issue aside, I enjoyed this book immensely. I’ve also seen a ton of “Oh, this is just like The Hunger Games” comments. Yes, there’s the whole there-can-be-only-one-survivor competition angle that’s the same, and…that’s the only similarity I saw, so I wouldn’t say just like The Hunger Games. The history in the novel wasn’t super clear to me—I did not get a clear picture of the political climate and what happened with the destruction of Sal’s nation—nor did I find out as much as I wanted to about the shadows, but the book was a great read, with plenty of action and conflict, and a unique main character that I liked a lot.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

****Huge thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!****

There seem to be a lot of mixed feelings on this book with people either DNF’ing their ARCs or loving them, fortunately I was one of the people who LOVED it! I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed “Mask of Shadows” everything about it was entertaining and it really blew away all of my expectations!

Trigger Warnings: Misgendering and Much Violence (gets pretty brutal at times)

Plot

As you can see in the descriptions right away this is being compared to books by both Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo but let me tell you I thought this book was so much better than those! You can see the similarities to the plot of this book and that of “Throne of Glass” right away, which I did, but trust me when I tell you I thought this was far better than “Throne of Glass”. “Mask of Shadows” was essentially everything I had wanted “Throne of Glass” to actually be: full of action, brutal violence, and a main character who isn’t all talk! So I personally thought the descriptions didn’t do this book justice, or it did in case you’re a big fan of either of those authors I suppose.

I really loved how we are tossed into some action immediately at the beginning of the story and we don’t waste anytime getting into all the action the synopsis promised! Of course considering the fact that Sal is auditioning to become part of the Left Hand there is quite a bit of training in many various areas so those parts can become a bit tedious, I personally found them enjoyable though. I also liked how none of the contestants were messing around either, they were hardcore! I actually really liked how brutal and violent the lot of them were because this means the author wasn’t sugar coating the fact that these people are trying out to be ASSASSINS. That’s what they do.

While the pacing wasn’t necessarily fast and went kind of back and forth a little bit, I still never got bored while reading since there was always something going on. The action definitely wasn’t lacking here! But as I said the pacing did go back and forth pretty erratically.

The plot was very entertaining, even though it seems it could be a run of the mill YA fantasy plot. Sal’s thirst for revenge and the lengths they go to achieve the revenge was interesting to read about and definitely had me rooting for them.

Another thing that was very well done was the world building but I could have used a little more of it as well. I thought one of the most interesting points were the “shadows” which I won’t go into detail about but the descriptions honestly terrified me! I personally never felt like I was being “info dumped” on but I could see some people getting annoyed with the amount of info being spilled all at once throughout reading.

There were quite a few shocking plot twists and that ending definitely has me dying to read the sequel!

Characters

One of the best things about “Mask of Shadows” is the fact that the main character, Sal, is gender fluid, that’s right we have a gender fluid main character in a YA fantasy! While I personally cannot say whether this was represented well or not I read a review from an amazing blogger I follow (Avery @ The Book Deviant) who has an own voices review up that I will link for you to check out!

It’s stated in the book that Sal prefers to use the she/her pronouns when dressed as a woman, the he/his pronouns when dressed as a man, and they/their pronouns when dressed as neither. Since this is just a book review I will refer to Sal using the they/their pronouns.

Sal was a fantastic character and I really adored them, they just had so much spunk and spirit. However, they also came with their flaws as well from the rough past that they’ve had and what they’re willing to do to get their revenge as well. I LOVED that Sal came into the competition with a realistic set of skills and admitted that they didn’t know everything and did their best to learn other skills worthy of an assassin. That is so unbelievable refreshing, a main character that doesn’t magically have ALL the skills!

I’d also like to take a moment here to discuss the cases of misgendering Sal that occurred in the book. This happens in one instance at the beginning of the story and Sal corrects them right away explaining how they liked to be addressed according to what they are wearing and it doesn’t happen again. However, there is a more villainous character that misgenders Sal more than a few times and Sal challenges it immediately, which I loved. There is just one thing that goes along with this that I wanted to mention was that Sal states they like to be addressed as they dress: dresses for she/her and trousers/tunics/leggings for he/him. Now I KNOW this is just a fantasy and most clothing is gendered and that’s accepted but when Sal is misgendered by what they are wearing they state that “clearly” they are a woman/man by how they are dressed and would get very angry (which is understandable of course). I just kind of didn’t like this considering the fact that women and men can dress in whatever clothes they like and not have to identify as that gender based off of the clothes they are wearing, especially since this is a book about a diverse character.

Food for thought and hopefully that made some sort of sense.

AS for the secondary characters I really enjoyed quite a few of them but mostly I adored the other members of the Queen’s Left Hand: Emerald, Amethyst, and Ruby (MOST OF ALL RUBY!). I didn’t have too hard of a time keeping track of the other contestants but it did get a little annoying at times considering they were only ever referred to by number. Elise was also a pretty great character and I loved that she was diverse as well (either bisexual or pansexual) since she states that she’s interested in more than just men.

There is a romance in this story but it doesn’t take central stage and is more of a minor plot device. It really wasn’t anything special though and was more of your run of the mill YA fantasy romance.

In Conclusion

Overall I really did have a great time reading this book and it surpassed ALL of my expectations!

What I Loved:

-Genderfluid and overall fantastic main character
-Stabby plot that doesn’t sugarcoat!
-Interesting world building
-Great secondary characters (mostly Ruby…)

What I Didn’t Love:

-Erratic pacing
-Sal’s outlook (or just the book’s) on gendered clothing

Recommend?

I highly recommend checking out this book whether you’re looking for a fun new YA fantasy or if you’re looking for a great diverse read as well!

This review and others posted over at <a href="http://milliebotreads.com/"><b>my blog.</b></a>

I was intrigued by the genderfluidity of the main character, but wary of the assassin competition aspect of this YA fantasy. I didn’t hate the book (which we know is kind of rare for me and YA) but I really wasn’t loving it either.

My first thought after reading is: why was Sal gender fluid? I liked the idea, but the way it was slapped into the story felt like it was an effort to check a box that’s not often checked in YA fantasy. Sal’s gender is reflected outwardly by how they dress. When they meet someone new, they explain that if they’re dressed as a male (I took this to mean pants and a shirt) they’re to be referred to as ‘he’ and when dressed as a female (a dress) ‘she’. If Sal’s outfit was more ambiguous (meaning...???) then it was ‘they’ – I didn’t pick up on this last one happening at all, so I’m not sure why it was mentioned.

All of this made sense to me. It also made sense to everyone in the book that Sal explained it to. No one questioned Sal’s motives or asked why they chose to live their life this way or even really insulted their choice (except the one exceptionally douchey competitor, because of course, he was being douchey so we’d hate him) – so my question is, why did this even need to be explained several times? If the world Sal lives in is 100% accepting of their lifestyle, why should Sal ever have to talk about it? Why couldn’t Sal just be referred to as he and she throughout the book without a long-winded clothing-based explanation that felt more for the reader’s benefit? I just wish this had been handled more naturally. I had no problem keeping my mental image of Sal androgynous and shifting genders based on the scene cues and I wish I’d been allowed to do so on my own.

Sal was an interesting character, but no one else really caught my eye. Obviously, most of the other competitors are shallow, as they’re expendable. The final few obviously weren’t going to beat Sal out of the top spot (or it wouldn’t be much of a series, I imagine) so they didn’t really matter either. One of the competitors, Four (they go by numbers), apparently did what he could to look out for Sal, for no apparent reason, and I assume this was to make me care a little more about him, but it didn’t. Why would people competing to be a royal assassin bother to make friends?

The same goes for the nobility whom Sal was dead-set on getting revenge on. Their names were rather similar and there were too many to keep track of and because Sal’s backstory was crammed into large paragraphs of dense, boring, infodumps throughout the book, I didn’t really care about any of them, or take them as a threat.

Sal’s romantic interest felt forced and I honestly don’t think there needed to be romance in this book. That’s not to say Sal can’t have a relationship, I do find that interesting, but amid trying to stay alive, killing other contestants, trying to plan how to exact their revenge and training in the arts of swordplay, archery, poisons and antidotes, healing, etiquette and reading and writing, they found time to fall in love too!? Spare me. Sal met this girl, decided they kind of liked her and then randomly decided (mentally, to themselves) that the girl liked Sal back and suddenly, lo and behold, the girl declared her romantic interest in Sal and added in the fact that while she’s supposed to be interested in men, she’s not only interested in men. Again, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with these aspects, but the way they were presented was awkward.

I knew the assassin competition plotline wouldn’t be fun for me – I already learned that thanks to Throne of Glass and my feelings towards the idea aren’t any different here. Why would any king or queen hold auditions for an assassin, let alone one that’s open to the general public? It made even less sense in this story (it pains me to say) because the queen specifically invited eight people to compete for the spot – isn’t that enough? And if they all failed to live up to expectations, then comb your list for eight more, or maybe then ask the locals and peasants to try out. But…still. No matter how you cut it, it doesn’t work for me.

Okay, I know it seems like I really didn’t like this book. But that’s not the case! I had issues with the characters and the assassin school, but I liked most of Miller’s writing and I especially loved that Sal actually killed people! What’s that? An assassin that assasses!? Why yes! Within 8% (was reading on my Kindle), Sal had already brutally murdered someone. Finally! Sal was certainly fairly badass and while most of the training was boring, they did seem to learn and they had some skills, to begin with. I believe Sal killed about eight people throughout the book and because this is a book about assassins, I felt like it delivered on that standpoint.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions in this post are my own.

This book was like a really weird combination of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass Series and Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight Chronicles. On Goodreads this has been shelved as fantasy but I honestly did not notice a single fantasy element in this story. Something to keep in mind when you are reading.

Characters…

I’m honestly not sure how I felt about the characters. Gender fluid Sal was interesting. I have never read a book with a gender fluid character so it was cool to read about one. I don’t know how accurately they were portrayed but it was definitely informative. However, I felt the author put too much emphasis on this aspect of the character. I would have liked to have more of a backstory and how Sal feels and what drives him. We learn about Sal’s mission but we don’t get enough to really connect with Sal’s emotions. I know Sal’s gender fluidity was an important part of their character but I prefer when a character’s sexuality just is and they don’t have to constantly remind people about it. But that is just my personal reading preference. If the author’s goal was to show how important this was to Sal, then that was definitely communicated well.

The other auditioners were not developed at all. I know almost all of them died and maybe the author didn’t explain any of their backstories because of this but even if we never hear from any of them again, I still would have liked to be able to connect to at least a few of them. I feel like Sal’s relationship with all of the other characters were not very developed but not for lack of trying.

Maud, Elise, and Sal’s tutor (I can’t remember her name sadly) were the only other characters that really mattered to me. Ruby was interesting but I was confused a lot of the time by her role. I just wanted so much more from these characters.

Plot…

Like I said above, this is like a weird combination between Throne of Glass and Nevernight. There was a competition for the next Opal (one of the Queen’s right hands). The auditioners had to kill each other off and not get caught while participating in training and passing tests. There was a lot of action throughout the book but they were all short, fast paced scenes that lasted for three-four pages at the most. In fact, the entire book was so fast-paced that there was no suspense no time in-between to get to know the characters.

This book takes off within the first chapter. There is no build up to help the readers connect with the story and help them understand the world and what’s going on before all the action starts. Just like in the characters themselves, I wanted more.

I did enjoy the story, however. You give me a book with assassins and you can pretty much guarantee that I will love it. The premise of the story itself was interesting enough to make me want to love it. I also loved that the main character wasn’t the usual characters you normally see in young adult books these day. Is this considered young adult? Honestly, I’m not sure. Overall, if you read the synopsis and it interests you then I recommend giving the book a try. While it’s definitely not one of the best books I have ever read, I really did enjoy it and am looking forward to see where the series will go.

3.5/5 Stars

Being a fantasy fan I jumped at the chance to read Linsey Miller's Mask of Shadows. It's got revenge and assassins set in a kingdom that's on the edge of war. How could I not pick this one up? This book has go a lot going for it especially when it comes to Sal. Our gender-fluid protagonist is a thief trying to become the next member of The Left Hand, a super exclusive group of assassins serving the Queen.

And these trials are no joke folks. Competitors are out to kill each other while training to become the best they can be. From physical tasks like running, swordplay, and archery to the finer subjects like etiquette, literacy, and healing, Sal is under a constant barrage of attention and demands. Thankfully Miller doesn't shy away from the actuality of assassins with lots of violence and action.

Revenge is Sal's motivation and that's where the politics and worldbuilding come into play. The Queen has brought together two nations at odds with one another but not all members of society are pleased. Unfortunately Sal's home nation of Nacea was destroyed by shadow magic when this occurred and they hold a bit of a grudge. Given all this, being a member of The Left Hand may be the only way Sal can get what they want.

While I totally enjoyed this one I found a couple of issues that irked me. In the middle of the novel there was a lot of drag but then at the end everything hurtled at a break neck pace. I also felt like most of the side characters lacked any depth which is probably why I felt a disconnect at certain points. Plus I want to know about the magic that has disappeared. Hopefully in the sequel will get more.

Overall Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller was a compelling story with lots of action and emotion. While it may not be my fave fantasy ever, there was plenty to enjoy within these pages and Sal's journey was definitely intense. With political intrigue, assassins, and possible enemies at every turn, this one is a great choice for fantasy fans. Definitely recommend giving Mask of Shadows a shot!

I found this to be an enjoyable enough story, I found myself wanting to pick it up rather than putting it off. Since finishing it I have read several reviews which compare this story to others such as The Hunger Games and upon reflection I can see why however, this didn't bother me as I enjoy these types of stories. This book is about Sal who finds a poster asking for people to come and take part in a competition to be the new member of the left hand, which is the Queen's elite assassin squad. We follow Sal and the others who take part in the competition and all of the action and excitement that ensues. There are also some side plots which I will come to later.

This main plot line of the competition is what I enjoyed the most about this story. I liked the action and how fast paced the story was and although it was somewhat predictable this didn't bother me. I did however find that I was sometimes confused with what was happening and why things were happening. To me this happened more when we were reading about the side plots and Sal's reasons for joining the Left Hand. I found the writing jumped around a lot and this was sometimes hard to follow. I enjoyed the fast paced nature of the story but I feel that if some chapters slowed down a bit and offered some more explanation the side plots would of been easier to follow. I was also a bit disappointed in the world building. I would of liked some more depth to this. It would of been nice to learn more about the history of the lands, the magic system and the wars.

I loved the fact that the author included a gender fluid main character, any diversity is a hit for me, and I liked how it was accepted in this world. However, I would of liked to have seen a bit more about Sal growing up and dealing with their gender fluidity. I would of liked to see how they challenged others views, overcame difficulties and came into their own. To me this would of made Sal a stronger character. I did like the portrayal of Sal however, and I liked how feisty and kick ass they were.

I also wasn't a massive fan of the romance. This is one of the aspects of the story that I found to be quite confusing. I appreciated that there was diversity in the romance however, I didn't quite get how they went from competitor and teacher to a couple. Again I think this was due to the writing jumping around a bit.

Overall I did enjoy the main crux of the story but I did have some issues with some aspects of this book. Initially I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on with the series but since looking into it a bit more I have found out it is a duology so I think I might pick up the next one just to see how the story concludes.

I have eagerly awaited reading this book, especially since it was compared to two series I absolutely love, Shadow of Bones and Throne of Glass. Unfortunately that may have been the beginning of the down fall with this book, because knowing those series, I went in with very high expectations with this book. Unfortunately this book left me with a lot to be desired. That pains me to say that, because this book was one of my most anticipated reads this year.

While the plot, and world building were good, this book's biggest struggle for me was the characters. They may have been fun to read about, but in depersonalizing them for the story, something I understood for the plot, it also did that for me as a reader. Unfortunately that's what hurt the story for me. The characters were too important to not have a personal connection with. Even if the system they're training for wanted them to feel otherwise. Giving them numbers as names didn't work at all for me either. It started to feel like another popular YA series, and began to feel like an excuse to not fully develop the characters with the way they were written.

Props to a diverse book with a main character who's gender fluid. Sadly where this book could have shined with Sal's character, it failed to make that trait important to the character. Because of that, I felt like that was just thrown into the book to call it diverse. Aside from spending first half of the book confused on if Sal was a male or a female, I was most disappointed with feeling that Sal could have been such a great character. I wanted Sal to be a favorite character of mine. I wanted to feel like I understood and connected to Sal on some level. Unfortunately not only was Sal a character that lacked I connection with, they completely lacked any character development as well.

As a reader, one of the most disappointing things is walking away from reading a story feeling like it could have been so much better if only there was something more I got from the character. Especially when it's for one of your most anticipated reads. There was such an over emphasis on depersonalizing Sal for training, that like the other characters, they were all depersonalized to the reader. You can not write a book like this and not have any character development. This is complex story that should have thrived on character connection, and development. Instead it's completely fallen flat, and left me feeling like it could have been so much better. I'm frustrated by that. I wanted so much more from Sal and the characters. I wanted to see them thrive and grow as characters. I wanted to be excited to pick up Sal's next book and find out what was in story for the characters.

One of the many things I love about YA books, is getting to 'meet' characters whom you may have nothing in common with. I love that feeling when you finish reading their story, and walk away feeling a connection with them on some level. I've read countless books where this occurred, and have loved those books for that. I wanted that from Mask of Shadows. I love a well written YA fantasy/dystopian, but no matter how fun the story is to read, how well written the plot is, or how well crafted the world building is, without a character connection I end up finishing the book feeling like it was just okay, when I wanted to love it.

There are several different things that I want to applaud this author for because they tried to make it a point to include diversity within this book!!

Gender fluidity in a YA FANTASY although it could have been more prominent than what it was. There wasn't as much emphasis as their could have been! Miller did an amazing job showing the character and how gender fluidity was such a part of who they were. Diversity which included prominent People Of Color, People with disabilities, bi-sexual/pan-sexual love interest. Not always is there this amount of representation within a book, but also for a YA FANTASY!

I feel like the whole battle to the death thing has been used so much with Mass and Bardugo and many other authors I really didn't have it in me to read about another. Although I will admit it was good, but not on the level of Bardugo and Maas like it said in the blurbs.

For a debut novel there are things that would have made it better but with growth comes changes and there are other books set to come out in this series!

Mask of Shadows is an excellent to an elite fantasy group of assassins. In a world of intrigue and violence, Miller delivers a character you can respect and root for. This is the fantasy assassin story we need. (And the assassins DO kill people, unlike some fantasy assassins <side eye>.) Strong build-up for the rest of series and maybe more stories in the larger world. Ending is a touch abrupt and could maybe be called a cliffhanger (I'm neutral on that, but I know some people have strong opinions).

Strongly recommended if you enjoy Tamora Pierce, Hunger Games (the competition aspect), and maybe Throne of Glass.

With Mask of Shadows, Linsey Miller introduces readers to Sallot Leon, a young thief just trying to survive, on a quest to rise above their challenges and fulfill their dream of becoming a member of The Queens Left Hand.

It really is a fight to the death to even reach the level of being considered for the position - Auditioners are presented with challenges that they must accomplish, and taking out your opponents is both an accepted and implied challenge in itself. The only rules are to follow are the rules set up by the current members of the Left Hand, and they're not there to help you succeed. Provide guidance, lessons, yes. Protection? Each Auditioner is on their own.

Sal is inexperienced as far as many of the challenges go. They are a thief, not a trained assassin, which are worlds apart in these circumstances. They are accustomed to daily survival, fight to get the goods and get out quick as you came, and any death that happens at their hands is a last resort. With no weapons skills of note, Sal's journey is that much tougher than that of their opponents. Most everyone has some sort of skill, possesses some sort something that gives them an upper hand. All Sal has is their dream and the attached determination to be Opal, and often times, that's just enough. Of course, having revenge as a driving force is also a great motivator ;-)

The pace of Mask of Shadows is super-quick fast and often intense, and starts immediately on page one with nary a dull moment. Add to that, Sal comes close to biting the big one on several occasions, and all of the above made this tale so utterly addicting. My only complaint with MoS was the confusion I felt at the very beginning concerning the purpose of the masks and trying to keep everyone straight when they're assigned only numbers. And while the story progressed, reasons and explanations were given for the how's and why's of the masks, but it took quite a long time for it to fully be explained. Or perhaps it just took me too long to fully grasp the purpose, which isn't the fault of the author. But I still had a hard time differentiating between many of the Auditioners - without defining characteristics, it's not easy to remember who's who. Some personalities were stronger, easier to remember, while others only had subtle traits which made them easily forgettable. Overall, the adventure and the super-interesting world surrounding the Queen and her assassins was so rich and dynamic that any sort of grievance I had with any part of the story was easily forgotten in this fast-paced and compelling tale.

Overall, Mask of Shadows was such a fun story, steeped in adventure and danger, with a badass, gender-fluid main character. There's a little bit of romance mixed in with the murder and mayhem, and I loved, LOVED the flirty scenes between them. Highly recommended, and I certainly can't wait to see what life throws at Sal in the second book of this duology.

Mask of Shadows is thrilling and compelling, a tale of survival and revenge, of shaky alliances and unexpected truths.

Sal is a thief, but they're a determined thief. Willful, skilled but acknowledges that they have flaws and weak points. Maybe a little broken, a little lost and lonely. They're on a mission, they have a purpose. Revenge. To expose those who left Sal's homeland of Nacea a scorched ruin. But first, Sal has to make it through the audition, survive the plots and plans and poisons of their fellow hopefuls in order to make it to the top, The Left Hand of the Queen.

One important part of this story is that of Sal and their identity, their being gender fluid. In no way is this a coming out story. It's just how it is. Sal knows who they are, how they want to be addressed on certain days depending on what they're wearing or how they're feeling. Which is great to see, especially in fantasy. How Sal was accepted warmly (with the exception of a few who didn't care if they misgendered Sal) and how so much of the book's focus was Sal's revenge, their honing their assassination skills, and their struggle to survive to the end.

What is revenge? For Sal, it's important. It pushes them forward, drives them, but at times it blinds them. More than one plot is circling, and there are those besides Sal that might want to change things in Igna. This is a rather dangerous, rather complicated tale of a young thief looking for revenge and those around them, those who help and those who hinder. I would definitely recommend this to those looking for something different and diverse in fantasy, in a land drained of magic but rich in secrets and shadow.

Petty theft pays little for Sal and the orphan street gang they've been with since they were eight years old, so when the opportunity to audition for the queens squad of assassins, The Left Hand, falls into their lap, and with nothing to loose but their own life they set off for revenge.
To become the new Opal Sal must overcome, physical and mental challenges and training, as well as learn to read and write with from the alluring young noble they once robbed at knife point. Plots hatch, nobles flirt, and almost everyone dies not hard in an assassin competition to the death.