This fantasy was not what I was expecting. I am so use to reading books from Sarah J Maas and the Harry Potter series that I think my judgement is clouded by those. I think it is kind of a play on Throne of Glass and The Night Circus. This was an interesting story, but I didn't like Sal as a main character. They kind of got on my nerves.

I absolutely love when books are action-packed and fast-paced! This book was that and more! The plot did fall a little bit short but it was still so good and engaging!

I really like a lot of elements of this novel. It had action to keep you entertained, intriguing plot lines, and decent enough characters. However, it lacked something that really set it apart from other YA books within the genre. It can be easy to get bogged down when you are an avid YA reader by tropes and similar plot points and I was hoping for something to "wow" me and I just didn't find it in this story. I did have an enjoyable time reading it but wouldn't revisit it or think about it for years to come.

Mask of Shadows was an unsuspected gem. I really enjoyed reading it, really enjoyed the romance and the magic system and the world that these characters exist in. It does have flaws, mostly in execution than in the actual story, but they weren’t enough to make me dislike the story or want to put it down. I read this book so quickly, I was so invested in Sal and her pursuit for the more that I literally couldn’t put the book down.

I found out this was a duology and you bet your butts that I am going to be getting my hands on that book because I really want to see how this ends!

Mask of Shadows is a brilliant introduction by Linsey Miller. I loved following Sal as they dodged blades, poisons, and politics. The mystery is compelling and the ending left my jaw on the floor. Don't miss this book!

Oh, I really enjoyed reading this duology! I did enjoy Shadows more than Stars, because Sal was working for being Opal, and there were all the challenges and such, while Stars was more serious and dealing with Sal going after those that broke their country. Yeah.

I really enjoyed Sal, they knew who they were, and they were fluid, and I'd never read that combo before (it's been one or the other, not both) and yeah, they were a great character to read about. I really enjoyed their relationship with Elise, and others like their servant, Maud. I loved their interactions! I did think they were a little bit naive, thinking that the Queen was perfect. They learned that the Queen was human and made mistakes, but it was a hard lesson to learn.

I read in another review that there was apparently backlash about how little there was about Sal being fluid in Shadows, so there it was double downed on in Stars. I wish that there'd been more in Shadows, and less in Stars.

Part of that was because of how Sal lamented on the way the world was, being frigid, either/or. I just wish that they'd at least once instead of complaining on how it was, contemplated what they wanted it to be. It'd be especially helpful for those like me, who have little knowledge about being fluid.

Yeah, these books were really great, and I can't wait to read more from Linsey Miller!

Honestly, while I did like the book, I found it really odd and confusing at times. The gender fluid thing, while not a deal breaker, is not working for me when I’m reading the book as if I were Sal. Am I (born) male or female? This would help me make sense of other parts of the story.
All the characters are so well written and the storyline is great, there’s just that confusion I mentioned that ends up making me overthink the story and lose the rhythm I have while reading it.

Sal, our gender-fluid main character, is trying to get into the Opal attention to become the next queens assassin but obviously has other plans that go beyond the competition. The story was filled with action which kept it moving but lacked a lot of depth for me. I felt as if it was slow and didn’t contain as much exposition as it should have. It will be good to see how the author continues to develop the story. I was interested in it but unfortunately the story didn’t hold my interest.

This book was so dull, which is weird, since it contained so much action. I truly wanted to like it but there were so many moments that I was just so incredibly confused as to what was going on that I just......couldn't. I couldn't follow the story and that in itself makes it really hard to enjoy. Really a disappointing reading experience and I was just not a fan.

Wonderfully interesting premise, this book pulls you into the action immediately. I love that I was never sure if the main character was a man or a woman, and it didn't matter to the story at all. A must for teen fiction collection.

I had a hard time getting into the story. Something felt distant about it, and predictable. Still a good read

I really enjoyed this book. Sal is gender fluid, and it's so well written I just kept turning the pages! Who will survive until the final three? Who will survive to the end??

Mask of Shadows is a book that I wanted to love, but in reality ended up feeling very neutral about. It's hard to become attached to a main character who's goal is to become an assassin. And while I like the idea of a gender neutral character (we definitely need more of that kind of representation in the arts), the way this was done was a bit ham-handed. Other that that, the story was interesting, but just generally felt like a lot of other stories that have already been writing.

All of these things on there own wouldn't be bad, but combined created a story that was okay, but nothing to write home about or recommend.

Mask of Shadows is the first book in an untitled series by debut author Linsey Miller. I have been loving fantasies lately, so when I saw this book, my interest was immediately piqued. I loved the idea behind the story. Basically, the queen has a different ring for every finger of her left hand- an opal, ruby, emerald. Each of the rings symbolize one of the Queen’s personal assassins. When the Queen’s Opal dies, there are auditions AKA a competition to fill the spot. Insert our main character Sal.

The book was a little Three Dark Crowns and hunger games- esque because the competitors have to kill each other off to win the spot as the Queen’s Opal. There were some pretty graphic, and interesting, deaths in this novel. I also really enjoyed the twist of the competition- no one can be caught killing another competitor. If you are caught you are disqualified (and probably never to be heard from again, kind of disqualified.) I thought this rule made things extra interesting. Most of the book were the various stages of the competition, and served to lay the foundation for the rest of the series. We also got to get some insight into the political turmoil of the various countries in this world. I think book two is going to be even better than the first one because of this. Now that we know what is going on, I bet book two will be action packed and will move us to different scenery and a change of pace from this book, since most of the story took place at court, where the bulk of the competition was held.

Sal is a very interesting main character. Sal is gender fluid, which is the first time I have seen this done in a YA fantasy novel. So this was both a positive and a negative for me. Positive, I loved that Sal was such a diverse character, and I found Linsey Miller’s description of gender-fluid Sal to be excellent. But it was also a negative because for a while, I felt like that was all anyone was talking about when they were talking about or to Sal. I was ok with it at first, but once it started to infiltrate numerous conversations I started to become a little bored of it being the main topic of conversation. I am going to see how Sal is handled in the second book. Right now, I am pleased with Sal but it is right on the edge. So I am hoping that we discuss and learn about other aspects of who Sal is, rather than just being gender-fluid.

The plot of mask of Shadows was the real winner for me. I am interested in continuing on in this fantasy series because I think it has a lot of potential to develop into a really strong series. Fans of to-the-death competitions will enjoy Mask of Shadows. I enjoyed this ya Fantasy and I look forward to reading more from author Linsey Miller.

P.S. The ending of this book TOTALLY SURPRISED ME! That’s all I am going to say about that…

A great fantasy novel to read with plenty of action and peril. The characters are unique and fleshed-out with their own backstory which I think was delivered flawlessly without slowing the story down. I highly recommend!

If you're reading a book and you read only in the morning but when you go to bed at night you are thinking about the characters in that book, and wondering what is about to happen next, you probably really like that book.

If you're reading a book and you tend to always read that book in the same fashion (physical copy, or on a Kindle or Nook) and you download a copy onto your phone because you want to read a little more when you have even a brief moment ... you probably really like that book.

Both of these happened to me with Linsey Miller's <em>Mask of Shadows</em>.

Sallot Leon is a thief - s/he has found a way to survive in a world where s/he is the last of his/her people - his/her home destroyed when the soldiers, who had promised to stay and protect the city, retreated, leaving the defenseless citizens to be slaughtered by a vicious enemy. Now Sal wants revenge against all the cowardly military leaders who lied and let the city be ravaged.

Sal is invited to audition to become one of the elite assassins to the queen, known as the Left Hand. Sal, and the others invited to audition, could become the next Opal, to fight and kill alongside Ruby, Emerald, and Amethyst. The odds are against Sal, who becomes known only as 'Twenty-three,' as others who have more practice in killing, and are sometimes bigger, or faster, or better trained with weapons. But Sal is quick-thinking and determined. Unfortunately getting through auditions is only the beginning as audition-er will kill audition-er in the first couple of tests.

Okay ... first things first ... this is very CLEARLY a <em>Hunger Games</em> sort of story. One might say 'rip-off' and be correct. One might say 'homage' and be correct. Since <em>Hunger Games</em>' popularity was so dynamic, there have been plenty of books trying to capitalize on that success.

The book is full of action and Lynsey Miller handles this well. I definitely got caught up in the thrill of the kill and survival techniques and action point jumps to action point rapidly.

But we also get caught up in Sal. Sal is gender-fluid. Male? Female? Sal's physical appearance suggest one gender, but Sal identifies with another. This is a twist in such a popular fiction format but quite topical and likely to gain some traction with many YA readers. Sal's attraction to a teacher is a delightful sub-plot, and Sal's reason for revenge is revealed slowly though the story and definitely kept me hooked.

I understand the problems with the book ... Sal really has no reason to be invited to audition for Opal, but there's a certain amount of willing-suspension here. The Left Hand sees all, as we come to learn during the auditions and so it's believable (if you let yourself) that they see talents in a thief that might become useful. And of course Sal really doesn't have what it takes to become an elite assassin ... but if s/he did, there would be no drama or reason for a story.

Yes, this is a retread of <em>The Hunger Games</em>, but Miller handles it well and it's very exciting. It's a YA novel and the YA reader will likely really get into this. For action and excitement that I couldn't wait to get back to, I rate this well.

Looking for a good book? <em>Mask of Shadows</em> by Linsey Miller is a riveting, fast-paced YA novel that fans of <em>The Hunger Games</em> will enjoy.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a mediocre read for me; it was fast paced and exciting, but I didn't find it flushed out enough. I wanted to know more about the shadows that were talked about (I'm guessing the author is saving more reveals for the sequel?). I also found that during action scenes the characters' movements weren't always clear, which made it confusing for me as a reader to follow what was happening.

Overall, it was a fun read, but I don't think I'll be continuing this series.

First off, I do applaud the inclusivity of this title and it including a gender fluid character. This is something that should be more represented in literature, especially teen literature. But I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by these fantasy titles that all seem too alike to me and the plots don't stand out. The plot didn't interest me enough to finish the book.

I give the book four stars. I would recommend this book to anyone. I enjoyed the story and characters. I look forward to more stories from this author.

Amazing concept, rock star execution, and an awesome protagonist. This debut exceeded all my expectations and I definitely look forward to reading the sequel!