This book held some expectations for me with having such a tagline as being compared to Throne of Glass and Shadow and Bone, but the book didn't hold a lot of action or captivate me. I was hoping to be swept away and enjoy this book, but had a hard time investing in any of the characters. It was not a strong read for me, and took me some time to finish. It had some world building, but had a lot of comparisons to the Hunger Games, but wasn't written as strong. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Fantastic story. Couldn't put my Kindle down once I started reading this, got pulled right in to the different story lines and can't wait to see where the story goes. Love the dichotomy of the main character

I really liked the genderfluid main character, Sal, but tracking their movements through the court of Our Queen was monstrously difficult to follow. I had no idea why politics were the way they were, or why magic was involved, or why everyone wore masks. This needed a lot more editing in the plot department.

This book is brilliant. Expertly written, it takes a new approach to YA "contest" fiction. It's not afraid to get bloody and take things into the darker side of court life, which I adored. Things aren't all sparkle and kisses. As a nonbinary person, I felt represented by Sal. The introduction of their genderfluid ID and how it played into their character of an assassin was perfect! I want MORE!

This story is so well done. It's often that I read an assassin story that's all "I don't *want* to be an assassin but I gotta for reason xyz" but this story isn't that. Sal just wants to get out of being a thief and is all about serving Our Queen. I loved this.

Plot: Really though. My only con is that I felt like I could skim a bit of the text while only reading the dialogue. But I find that I catch myself doing that often. That's a Sam thing and not a book thing. The plot was super fast paced and intriguing through the whole bit.

Characters: Sal was so great. They explained the whole gender fluid bit really well. Specifically which pronoun to use when. Sometimes she was she and other times he was he but if you were ever confused it was they. ADDITIONALLY the other characters were fleshed out enough that I created a bond with them and was connected to them. There were so many but I felt the feels necessary. The villain was a good villain.

World building: Very well done. Explaining the Shadows and what led to the destruction of Sal's people.

Full blog review will be posted at http://willreadforbooze.blogspot.com on June 23, 2017

The MC, Sallot Leon is unlikable, which I loved. In fact, there are very few likable characters in this story, and I'm totally on-board with that.
I loved the premise and the pacing is so well-done. I didn't really connect with the MC, but the action was ongoing and fast-paced and dragged me through the pages. There's a love-interest, which, yay, but the action is what hooked me and kept me dying to know what happened next. The tension in this is remarkable. The writing here is great and I'm definitely looking forward to book 2.
So why not 5 stars?
The gender-fluid aspect left me wanting more, as it kind of seemed an afterthought--a few lines dropped in every now and then for flavor--and incidental. Taken out, nothing would really change except the wardrobe. But maybe book 2 takes it to the next level. IDK.
And the ending. The very end. Like, the last 10%. No spoilers, obviously, because I don't spoil, but allow me to butcher a metaphor: Yeah, sure, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, but I expected some of those eggs to be really hard to crack. The ending seemed way too easy and, because of that, kind of, sort of, implausible.
So, I was a little disappointed, but it wasn't enough to destroy all the great stuff that came before that point.
I recommend this book for those who like their stories on the darker side. Instead of comparing it to Maas and Bardugo, I'd say for fans of NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff and AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, I found it to be a little bit lacking originality. The main character was gender fluid, something that is not very common in YA, so I give props to the author for that, but other than that, the book seemed like a lot of other books.
The writing was good and the author's style was interesting, so that aspect of the book was great and slightly made up for the lack-luster story.

Overall, i think more than anything this author has great potential for writing some awesome stories in the future, this one is particular however wasn't anything too special in my opinion.

Can't wait to see more from the author in the future, and to see what else she can come up with!

I requested this book because of the description. Sarah Maas' books are always flying off our shelves and this sounded similar. I was not disappointed!

Sal, our hero, is strong, realistic and relatable. The reader is invested in his fate and revenge from the beginning. As the (likely) sole survivor from Nacea, Sal has been a young thief indentured to a kingpin by the name of Grell. His chance comes in the form a competition for the position of Opal, one of the new Queen's Left Hand. Killing Grell, Sal takes off for the capital to engage in a life or death competition for the coveted position which will allow him access to the Erland nobles responsible for the death of his family and people.

3.5 stars
Mask of Shadows started out extremely slow. Sal is a street fighter and a thief until they hear of a competition being held to choose a new member for the Left Hand, the Queen's personal assassins. Sal sees this as an opportunity to get close to the lords who abandoned their homeland to the shadows and to get revenge.
I did like the writing, although the world building was extremely confusing. The diversity in the main character on the other hand, was one of my favourite things about this book. This is the first time I have come across a gender fluid character and not really knowing much about the topic in question was one of the things that made me read this in the first place. Well, that and the comparison to Sarah J Maas and Leigh Bardugo. On that front it was kind of a letdown to be honest, as this is nowhere near that level. The competition between the candidates auditioning to become Opal, more or less a fight to the death, is very similar to the tournament in Throne of Glass, but there ends the resemblance.
Although it did not live up to my expectations, this was an interesting read and with that ending I will definitely be reading the sequel.

Sallot Leon is a gifted thief and wants out of the dog-eat-dog world of crime and poverty. They steal a flyer for an audition for the Left Hand, the Queen's personal force of assassins, and determines this is the way to escape they're monotonous and dangerous life and seek revenge on those who destroyed their home. 

Mask of Shadows offers morally ambiguous characters (stab, stab, poison!), an engaging take on what it means to be an assassin, and adds a dose of inclusiveness with a gender-fluid character like Sal. However, it lacks the foundation of a large fantasy world, world building, and setting. 

The world is Mask of Shadows is pretty interesting, but I wished we got some more information and history. The information we do get, felt disjointed and leaving the reader with more questions than answers. 

The audition for assassin was the highlight and the best part. I love reading about the Left Hand and wanted more. The audition is deadly and contains a dash of court intrigue. 

The execution and conflict is a little underwhelming. Sal is seeking revenge, but the readers don't get a chance to decide whether to root for them or not because we don't know what they've lost and what they can gain. Sometimes, that's not necessarily the case, but we know so little about Sal that it makes their actions meaningless. I don't care if they did this and this, etc. if I don't know what they have to gain or lose, or in this case, what they've lost. 

I am looking forward to reading some reviews by people who are genderfluid, to reflect on Sal's characterization. 

Mask of Shadows is being compared to Sarah J. Mass and Leigh Bardugo. I can't say about Mass, but Mask of Shadows does have a similar feel to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. New environments, learning, and proving one's worth. Sal and Alina's voice is also similar in a witty and wry kind of way. 

In the end, Mask of Shadows could use some stronger world building and ties to cement the setting and really bring the world to life. I look forward to book two.

I have struggled so hard to read this, which is disappointed as I was looking forward to reading it. Everything about it just.... fell flat for me. Honestly, I haven't even finished it because I just cannot bring myself too. The lead character, Sal, is just soo... meh. They were just annoying to have to listen to for chapter after chapter. Also their motives seem to be very uneven. They' have never killed a person in their life, but join a competition to basically be an assassin. A thief is far, far, far from an assassin. And from the whole one scenario that we get of them being a thief, they don't seem to be good at it either. Also, they don't like the sight of blood at one point in the beginning.... and it's never mentioned again. (At least from what I've read.)

Sal was definitely not likable to me. In what I was able to read of this book, I could not wait for her character to be killed by someone else. Also, the whole idea of the competition seemed to be.... odd? Something about it didn't quite seem right. And the concept of the masks seems bizarre. And the whole.. attempting at a romance between the two characters just fell really flat for me. I really just don't know. This book was, very much, unfortunately, not for me.

Also, if I had to read "I'd" one more time where it sounded so off, I was going to claw my eyes out. Saying "I had" or "I would" sounds a lot better a majority of the time.

While I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and interesting, it didn't match up with the description as being perfect for fans of Maas' novels. The writing needed work, as did the world/character building

Once you start this book, you will stay up late at night turning pages to finish it. Refreshingly, the main character's gender identity was addressed in such a natural way that it flowed with the story and was an integral part to the action, but never felt shoehorned or fake. I am looking forward to the author's next book.

I don't have much to say other than I was excited but this is just a Throne of Glass/Hunger Games rip off and the only thing I enjoyed was the gender-fluid character, Sal.

The whole "gender fluid" theme throughout the whole book totally ruined the entire Book for me. It just overshadows the rest of the story.

I was not a fan of the writing style or pacing. The overall concept is interesting, but not an instant sell with teenagers.

Book Lovers,

A Gender Fluid Main character... sign me up! As you know I have been reading LGBT stories for over 10 years.. they are my jam!

This my loves was confusing, a little bland.

It was a little hunger games though to be honest, come on now.. find your own story!

I'm really torn about this book. The plot was intriguing but I kept wondering why "The Queen's Left Hand" had only four jewels and not five. For some reason, that really bothered me and I know-- four fingers and a thumb. I also found the world building a bit muddled; and the letter at the end did nothing to help. I also thought the whole idea of the main character being gender fluid was completely unnecessary, gimmicky and distracting. That being said, I did enjoy much of the author's style of writing and the pace of the story.

I found Mask of Shadows reminiscent not only of The Hunger Games but also of The Poison Study Series.

First of all, I'm absolutely in love with this cover. It's seriously gorgeous. Anyways, moving on, haha.

I found the genderfluid character to be a really nice touch. I was just so excited to have this diverse character, and I wanted to see how people reacted to them, and how the story went. Unfortunately, I think the author missed out on some chances to create tension/drama with this. Everyone was just so accepting of Sal. I think there were only two or three times in the book that someone--I think it was the same character every time--offended Sal by getting their gender/pronoun wrong. It would've been nice to have more of a balance. Yes, I liked that not a lot of attention was given to it--but I still wanted it to be more part of the story, to create conflict.

The competition aspect added tension, sure, but it made it hard to get to know the characters. I kept trying to remember which number was who and had done what. However, it did get easier later down as the competitors were whittled down. This was kind of the same with Ruby, Emerald, and Amethyst--it was hard to get to really know them when they showed up so rarely but it was better towards the end. When Opal was chosen they relaxed more and their personalities showed more.

I think one factor that really dragged the story down was Sal's obsession with getting revenge. It made the whole story feel really plot-driven. I guess that wouldn't be too bad if there was more of a balance with well-written characters. I think being the first book probably limited it to how much they could get done. I think the sequel would open it up more for the author to really let the characters shine and balance out the focus on plot.

Overall, I think the book had some flaws that could be fixed easily in the next book. The story itself is interesting enough, and I'd be open to reading the sequel.

*Full review to be published on Stellar Kitten Book Reviews on August 1st. I will edit at that time with the post link

Miller, Linsey Mask of Shadows, 384 pages. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, SEPT 2017. $18. Language: R (10 swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (gender fluid main character); Violence: PG-13 (bloody)

Sal lives a desperate life as a thief under a cruel task master. When Sal finds an announcement for the contest to name a new Opal (think assassin) for the Queen, Sal decides to enter the auditions, even if it could mean death. The auditions are held in anonymity and are very brutal, demanding the utmost concentration on order to survive. Sal has almost no one to trust except Maud, the maid servant. And maybe the beautiful Elise, a noble girl whom Sal met during a brazen robbery. What Sal doesn’t realize is that the queen Sal has always been loyal to may not actually be worthy of that loyalty. But Sal has other deeper reasons for joining the auditions. Certainly should Sal survive and succeed, Sal will be drawn into higher level and even more dangerous intrigues.

Sal is gender fluid, so the personal pronoun is applied based on which gender is predominate at any given moment. The narrative flows quickly, with plenty of added detail and character to provide depth and emotional connection.

HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher