I received this arc from Netgalley.

First, let me start by saying I requested this book because of the cover.  It looked magical and I immediately wanted to know what this book was about.  The second thing that hooked me was, "Perfect for fantasy fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo," it was with that line that I knew I needed this book.  Much to my surprise, I was granted a copy, it was my first arc and overall, I am glad it was.

Honestly, I was excited for the diversity with the main character.  I have never read a book where a character identifies as gender fluid.  It wasn't a concept I was familiar with and I just wish I had a better idea of who Sal is. I wish it had been better executed.  Because I still don’t know them as a person nor do I know the full extent of their history.  I want all of the details not just of the reasons why they want revenge. 

This novel had so much potential to be something but it just fell flat.  The entire concept of this book is the exact concept of Throne of Glass.  A person must face other assassins to be the Queen/King's assassin.  There is a competition, some romance, and a lot of training.  The difference being that Sal isn't that great of a thief/assassin and has never actually killed a person before the audition.  

So, comparing to Maas and Bardugo, it was lacking, big time.  I didn't get attached to the characters because the author doesn't allow you too.  I don't know what most people look like or their history.  This is supposed to be a duology but I don't understand how things will come full circle in one more book.   

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it.  I enjoyed Sal and Maud's weird friendship.  I sort of enjoyed the romance, but I don't really think spending a few tutoring sessions is "falling in love."  I will gladly read the second book and see how this story continues because I want to see the ending.  I want to see how this plays out and if the author can prove me wrong.

I received an advanced readers’ copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of those books that I never really wanted to put down. <i>Mask of Shadows</i> was a fun story in a fantasy world, and I look forward to the next book to see how it continues!

The novel is written in first-person narrative, with our main character being Sal, a gender-fluid thief who has lived most of their life under a crime leader’s oppressive thumb. They mostly do jobs as a road agent, but the first robbery we see is the one that changes Sal’s life. A poster in the noble’s purse advertises a competition to become the newest member of the Queen’s Left Hand – an elite group of four assassins, each named after the four jeweled rings the Queen wears.

Sal decides to leave their old life behind to audition, not just because of the new and richer life they would lead but because of their own agenda that’s related to their past. They don a mask with the other auditioners, and they all enter a competition to kill or be killed. It must be done quietly and without evidence; they’re trying to be secret assassins, after all. During the process, they also train hard and are taught various skills, from fighting with weapons to utilizing poisons. But the backdrop is a dangerous game, where they can trust no one and nothing.

The world-building is something I rather enjoyed, at least in terms of the various people and how their nationalities differed. The past involves a bloody war in which all of Sal’s own territory was destroyed by horrible monsters called Shadows. They’re utterly creepy and gory, and any appearances the creatures make are chilling, particularly in how they kill. There is a history of magic-wielding from the nation as well, though it has since been banned and eradicated. If I had any complaints, it’s that there are few physical descriptions of locations, besides the palace itself.  

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this book was the gender-fluidity of the main character. I haven’t read very many fantasy-typed books with LGBTQIA+ representation, and this novel really turned that around. Sal describes what this means to them, and even has a few encounters with other characters that address how they wish to be considered. I’d love to see this delved into even more in the next book. (How did this affect their life overall? Are people much more accepting in that setting or is it just that particular city?)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it flowed at a nice pace, and I found myself staying up a later on several occasions just to read a few more chapters. There was intrigue, violence, gore, and even romance. Though the frequently-used trope of a game or competition with one survivor/winner was featured, I rather like the way it’s used and enjoyed the audition process itself. While the book isn’t incredibly original or unique, it’s still more than worth the read, and I definitely look forward to reading the next one whenever it comes out.

I really enjoyed this. It gave me Robin Hood and Game of Thrones vibes. Sal the main character is female in body, but is gender fluid. Sal very clearly states that bodily appearance does not define "her" as today she may dress as him, and tomorrow them or her depending on their feeling for the day. I'll try to use they and them to describe Sal throughout my review but I may slip and use she and her. Sexual preference of all types are widely accepted in the world of the book. No one bats an eyelash. So from that perspective this book has good representation from some diverse characters from the LGBTQA+ perspective, and I haven't seen alot of that.

Onto the plot, Sal begins the book as a thief, stealing to make a living. Then Sal finds that one of the Queen's protectors, Opal, has died and there is a competition to fill the spot. Sal jumps at the chance to have a better life and kills the man she is working for in order to gain entry into the competition. Sal is known as 23 for most of the book, a masked competitor, as she must outwit and assassinate her competition to become one of the Left Hand, the Queen's four trusted protectors each identified by a gemstone. As Sal is "auditioning" for the role of Opal, she also has ambitions of her own as the nobility were responsible for the death of her people in Nacea and she wants revenge. Sal may be the only one to survive the magic that plagued her people before the Queen stopped the shadows and ended the use of magic. Sal loves the Queen and her love is part of her motivation to become Opal, but her undying love will be tested. As Sal goes through the competition, every part of them will be tested, physical strength, mental toughness, wit, friendship, all the while the members of Left Hand are watching and waiting to pick the best to be their fourth partner.

I felt each of the audition participants were different enough that you knew enough about them to be engaged. The side characters were well developed enough for my liking, though there were a couple that I would like to see flushed out a bit more. The romance between Sal and Elise was just enough, it didn't overshadow the plot, but it was there and there was no triangle or multiple participants. It was just I like you and I like you back, try not to die out there. I loved Sal's attendant Maud, she was helpful enough but definitely had her own agenda while trying not to get attached. I would have liked to get a little more backstory on the magic system and I want to know if magic will be restored, or if it is dead forever. You don't get much in the way of how magic was defeated, just that it was.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the next one. This is a violent book with some mature topics so I would recommend it for a mature young adult reader.

Adventurous with a modern twist. Really enjoyed the concept of the competition and the rules!

I was lucky enough to get a digital ARC of Mask of Shadows from @sourcebooksfire a month ago and I'm still thinking about this books. There is a lot to love here, court intrigue, a world inclusive of queer relationships and identities (the protagonist is genderfluid!) and ambitious world building. It reminded me a lot of The Thief (from the Queen of Atollia) so if you liked that one, definitely check this out!

Sallet Leon is an orphan and one of the few survivors of her people. Sal makes a living as a thief but when the opportunity arises to try out for a position on the Queen's Left Hand, Sal sees an opportunity to finally get revenge on those who let the shadows loose in her country.

Becoming one of the Queen's Left Hand isn't an easy task. Since Sal was not invited to the competition, it is necessary to prove competence. Sal does that by assassinating the man who is the boss in the gang of thieves. Sal then carries his hand to the city as proof of competence. Sal is chosen as the twenty-third competitor. Now all that has to happen is that all the others die. They prove their worth by killing each other and not falling under suspicion of doing so.

Sal has a couple of allies. Maud is the attendant assigned to take care of Sal. Maud is ambitious. If Sal wins, she will get an advanced position and the she will have enough money to buy her younger siblings from an orphanage before they are sold off to be servants. Sal's other ally is Elise who is a member of the Erland -- those who Sal blames for the death of his/her people. But Elise helps Sal learn to read and write and they flirt and fall in love.

The descriptions of the training and things Sal does to finally get to the position of Opal are somewhat graphic. The story is filled with action. It is also interesting to watch Sal's growth from someone who worships the Queen because she defeated the mages and shadows that killed Sal's home to someone who recognizes that the Queen is human and as prone to error as anyone else. 

One of the most intriguing things about this story is that Sal is gender fluid. Sal wants to be addressed by the pronoun that matches his/her appearance. She/he respects those who realize that and has disdain for those who don't.

This was an entertaining fantasy with an intriguing main character. The world building was interesting and the political intrigue nicely twisty.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this young adult fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

mask of shadows (Linsey Miller)

Title: mask of shadows

Author: Linsey Miller

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: TODAY! (Hardcover/E-Book)

ISBN: 978-1492647492

Source: NetGalley

So this novel is about a young gender-fluid adult in a competition to become a court assassin for the purposes of revenge.  Should have been a perfect catch but ended up being such a disappointment that I hereby decree that this book must walk the plank!  Be forewarned dark opinions abide below . . .

Now this book is getting comparisons to Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo.  Now as I thought that throne of glass was an atrocity of storytelling only worth existing so I could read Liam @ heyashers!, snarky read-along, I was hoping it would fall on the Bardugo side of the spectrum.  I can definitively say that it did not.

It certainly is a better version of throne of glass.  I mean the assassins at least compete and the clothes and romance are not the sole focus of the main character.  Sal is assured of her skills and does use her brain occasionally which is nice.  But overall she is not a compelling character.  She seems to have no other major thoughts except for revenge and comes across as rather flat.  Also for someone with no major education except street smarts, her lack of real struggling to learn and adapt to the court world and political society seem unrealistic at best.

The politics and world building also fall rather flat.  I know that there is a young-ish queen struggling to keep her kingdom going but all the interesting political wrangling seemed to have occurred before the novel takes place.  As does the magic.  Magic has been banished from the land and the hints we get of it seemed tantalizing but nothing is truly explained.  The info-dumping that does occur just leaves more questions.  There is no real explanation of how the court functions, how any of the laws work, etc.  The world structure seemed superfluous.  I was hoping for more than that.

I wanted to abandon this book many many times because it was so not what I wanted.  I kept reading for three reasons:

1.    Sal is gender-fluid.  This is the first young adult book I have read with a gender-fluid character.  I tend to see gender-fluidity dealt with a bit more in adult sci-fi.  I wanted to see how this was incorporated for the main character throughout.  I am not gender-fluid so I am not sure if this portrayal works for someone who is (and would LOVE to get that viewpoint) but overall I found this element lacking.  I was glad to have Sal be gender-fluid.  Inclusion of diverse elements is always wonderful.  But with the exception of a couple of secondary characters, Sal spends most of the time being afraid of who she is.  I would have liked to see more personal growth from Sal and those around them on this issue rather than just discussing how their outfit determined the pronoun used.  Of course that may come in the next book . . .

2.    I rather enjoyed the secondary characters of Sal's love interest and also Sal's assistant.  In fact I wanted the story to switch from Sal's perspective to theirs.  I knew it wasn't going to but I was happy every time I got to spend time with either of those secondary characters.

3.    It was obvious who was going to win the competition, but I wanted to see what the set-up for the next novel was going to be.  While there were twists in the story, (mostly because the assassin competition rules made no sense) I kept hoping that the cliche setting and flat characters were going to redeem themselves somewhere.  I wanted a powerful ending.  It didn't happen for me.

So basically I will not be reading any further books in this series.  The inclusion of diverse characters and me enjoyment of the secondary characters means that I may give the author's future series/works a chance.  But this one did not float me boat.

Check out this review from me crew member Bentley @ BookBastion which explains many of the problems that I have with this novel better then I can.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

Perfect for fantasy fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, the first book in this new duology features a compelling gender fluid main character, impressive worldbuilding, and fast-paced action.

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, Emeral, 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.

Sal 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.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Linsey Miller - Author

To buy the novel go to:

mask of shadows - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Definitely not Sarah J. Maas.

Wow! This book was such an exciting read! I enjoyed smooth LGBT+ transition, because there aren't alot of YA books that have incorporated it into their stories. I also loved the fact that this books was gritty and real! Perfect for any game of thrones fan who didn't want as much political intrigue.

DNFed 50% in. Unfortunately after trying to read this book twice and failing both times, I decided to throw in the towel.

Surprisingly lighthearted for all of the death and destruction!  There are lots of hidden agendas and unexpected dangers lurking in Sal's path as (s)he tries out for the position of "Left Hand", basically an assassin at the whim of the Queen.  The story kept moving with constant surprises - hard to put down!  Definitely a recommended read, and I look forward to book 2!

I received this book in e book format from the publisher in exchange for honest feedback!

The story itself was well written and enjoyable. I felt, though, that it just had different plots from other stories all mixed together...i.e. The Hunger Games and ToG. The similarities were uncanny in assassins, competition to become said assassin for the monarch, and games of killing until there was only one left (HG).

I enjoyed it enough that I will be on the lookout for the second book when the time comes!

I just finished reading Mask of Shadows by Lindsey Miller.  There has been a lot of discussion about the gender fluidity of the main character, Sal.  I personally have no issues with this in the story at all.  The struggle of Sal described in this novel is neither for woman or man.  It is the struggle for survival and the desire to find answers and ultimately revenge for the death of one's people.  Sal is auditioning to be one of the Left Hand of the Queen.  It matters not his/her gender.  The thing that stands out the most about this is the use of masks.  Everyone is made equal with the masks.  You can be anyone and nothing at the same time.  A relationship develops between Sal and his tutor, Elise.  They have met before under different circumstances.  They have a respect for each other that is only superseded by class.  Sal was nothing more than an orphaned thief.  Elise is the daughter of a noble lord.  Their relationship develops during Sal's tutoring sessions during the audition for the Left Hand position of Opal.  The tenderness expressed during these sessions is beyond gender.  Sal could be any gender at this point.  Elise makes it clear that she likes Sal.  She even states that when Sal is Opal, Opal can court whoever they choose.  This would legitimize their relationship in the eyes of the Royal Court.  Regardless of Sal's gender, this story is moving, tender and full of adventure.

This is the first book by Linsey Miller, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a fantasy that started off slowly but did improve by the end. Mask of Shadows is the first book in a two book series. This is not a standalone and ends with a soft cliffhanger for the next book. There is graphic violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all info here. The author did a good job of explaining what is going on and describing the setting of the story. There are a lot of clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what twists and turns will be revealed next. The story was okay but it could have been better. I almost stopped reading partway through the book as neither the characters nor the story were engaging. I'm glad I stayed with it as it did improve. I will read the next book to see what happens next as they try to save the kingdom.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave a review for other readers.

<i>Received as an e-galley from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Got a hard copy ARC at ALA for the hype</i>

I love me some assassins and thieves, but what really caught my eye with this one was the unique protagonist. Sal is a genderfluid street thief who auditions for the role of one of the "fingers" of the Queen's Left Hand. They see it as the opportunity to get revenge on nobles who have wronged their lands in the past by allowing them to fall to forbidden magic called shadows. 

Sal's narration was the best part. They can be really obnoxious and cocky at times, but with a vulnerability that sucks the reader into their struggles. They don't have the same education or opportunities as the other auditioners, but they don't mope around that too much. They find a way to make it their advantage. In addition, the way Miller introduces Sal's expression of gender was nicely done and easy to follow without information-dumping in the middle of interactive sequences.

The side characters were also delightful. Maud and Elise rank in my top faves. That being said, the other characters could have been fleshed out more. The numbers were more of an acceptance than a following. Aside from the one involved in the final scenes, I can barely remember them for the life of me. it could have a been a limitation of the brevity of the book. I hope the sequel improves on that attention to detail.

Overall, I had fun with this read and I look forward to September when others have a chance to read it too.

I was really looking forward to read this book. It's been a while since I read a YA fantasy book. The plot and book cover really pulled me in to want to read this book. I liked that the story started with some action right of the bat. As I kept reading I would myself getting lost. At times there was just too much going on and I couldn't completely grasp this world the author had created. There was also the gender fluidity issue in this book that I couldn't quite understand. I'm not too familiar with books like these so it just made me more confused. Besides that,  I think this book was a pretty good read. There's a lot of action and mystery behind it but sadly It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I made it into the first five chapters, but it felt with the first-person POV that it threw the reader too quickly into the world. While I understand the POV choice because pronouns, it can make things harder for the reader to become adjusted to the world building. 

Understandably, I'll try reading this again in the near future when I have less distractions going on around me.

I received a free copy from NetGalley.  Sal is a thief and wants to be more, so they try out to be an assassin, which would also allow them to revenge their people who were allowed to be killed by shadows.  Sal works well as an assassin because of being a thief and because dressing in costume seems to come naturally, sometimes being male and sometimes female.  The world seems underdeveloped, like there is a lot of backstory missing, and most characters are fairly under developed since they wear masked and are not trusted by Sal.  A good idea, but I struggled to follow along with the details of the setting and world that it is set in.  The timeline at the end, might have actually helped to read first.  Not a quick read, but interesting because of the gender fluidity of the main character.