I'm honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. It's got everything I normally avoid: a quest plotline, inconsistent pacing, multiple POVs, and a generic medieval European setting. But wow, it is charming, and the characters have taken hold of my heart.

This might be a YA fantasy but it reads way more like Adult. It sort of gave me Merlin meets The Lord of the Rings meets Terry Pratchett's sense of humor. I haven't read Terry Pratchett, but I've read and loved Good Omens, so I base it off that.

The slowburn m/m romance is my absolute favorite part of this book.

Rags, sweet baby snarky cinnamon roll thief Rags, is hauled out of prison and forced by the Queen's sorcerer to steal a fae artifact from abandoned fae ruins, Indiana Jones-style. But at the end, he doesn't discover just any gold treasure; he accidentally awakens a fae prince who's been trapped and sleeping for thousands of years. Turns out this is step one in an epic quest to gather magical fae artifacts that, combined, will give the wielder incredible power. Sorcerer wants that, obviously, so he forces Rags and Shining Talon (aka Shiny, aka Tal, aka beautiful fae prince) to find them. Shining Talon is a stiff and clueless yet honorable prince who doesn't really know how humans work but is eternally grateful to Rags for saving him, so here we have the besotted supernatural creature turned bodyguard trope. My god, this relationship was the cutest thing on Earth. Tal hovers over Rags like a mother hen, always watching out for him and saving him (he defends him from a spoon at one point because he thought it was evil), unaware of the concept of personal space. Rags is a loner thief who is not used to this, so he acts like a total tsundere, when in reality he likes Tal too and just feels unworthy of him. Just. CUTENESS.

The magic system is pretty quirky. Fae creatures that turn from dining room silverware into magical animal pets?? Mirror magic that can only be defeated by a blindfold?? So it made the novel stand out, even if it used Ye Olde Arthurian Fantasy Worlde. Also since I am a YA reader obviously I like fae, and I just imagined Tal as a sterner, darker-skinned, tattooed Legolas. hehe. Yes, I know Legolas is not a fae, but Cardan and all those other pretty boys don't have the same long hair and sturdy build so.

I only had two major concerns. The first is that I wasn't a big fan of the multi POV since I usually prefer dual at most. Many times I kept thinking RAGS RAGS GIVE ME MORE RAGS I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU but meh. The second is that the pacing is honestly really weird, in that certain subplots take way longer than they should, so I skimmed a bit. But every time I skimmed, I still kept my eyes peeled for Rags because I swear he's all I care for lmao.

Yes, I am going to read Book 2. Just for him and Tal. I want my boys to be happy. Also, we don't usually see male MCs in YA fantasy anymore, so yay.

To be honest, I don't think this is for everyone. It's a very traditional type of fantasy novel, and far from the YA mold. But it's very accessible for a non-Adult fantasy reader, the characters are cute, and the gay slowburn is delightful. Also, something about Rags' POV feels decidedly masculine, as if a man wrote him. Kinda gross, no filter, emotionally constipated... but still endearing and without the annoying machismo slash sexism present in a lot of traditionally male-authored fantasy.

TL;DR I enjoyed this book a lot but it doesn't offer a lot of newness. Read it for the snarky thief and fae prince bodyguard trope. Sorry @ the other POV characters. They're fine, I guess.

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

"Fuck the fucking fae forever."†

The story opens on an Aladdin-esque intro with the crown's sorcerer recruiting Rags the thief to recover a mysterious artifact from the fae ruins. The malicious fae are no longer terrorizing the land, and are long extinct... Or are they? And were the fae the true villains of the piece?

The world building canon is excellent. The reader is tossed right into the story and details are dispersed so well that you hardly realize you’re learning new information. (No info dumps yay!!) The the storytelling voice was superb, particularly the dialogue. It provided the perfect amount of comedic relief to contrast the darkness of the plot. (Interactions between Rags and Shining Talon in particular had me cracking up every time). The ensemble cast of characters was incredibly strong and each unique personality really shone, particularly by means of showing > telling. 👌🏻 The characters were also wonderfully, refreshingly diverse. I was fascinated by all of them, from main to side to villains.

My only real complaint was an overlong, meandering plot. I was expecting a heist adventure (per the synopsis) but it was much more of a high fantasy journey tale. (This is not Six of Crows meets the Cruel Prince. AT ALL. But that does not mean it isn't good. It was still a fun read!) I do wish that there had been a few more heart pounding high action moments in the slower middle section, but overall found the story enjoyable. I seriously hope the authors are given the opportunity to continue the story of this world... I need more!

✝check against final text

I know, I know. As of late, all I do is come on here raving like a lunatic and leaving book-shaped bruises in my wake. And, well, today is no different. But listen. When I get presented with a blurb promising “sinister sorcery, gallows humor, and a queer romance so glorious it could be right out of fae legend“… I’m powerless to resist.

So, without further ado. Here are the top five reasons YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

5. We open with murder

Opening with murder isn’t necessarily a unique way to introduce us into a world, but holy shit did this introduction make an impression. It gives us absolutely no illusions about what type of book this is going to be. Dark. Violent. And it isn’t going to hold back. Master Of One may be YA, but this is not a book for the faint of heart.

It doesn’t introduce us to the world as much as it throws us in. Which leads us right into reason number four…

4. This is dark, violent, and deliciously devious world.

This book doesn’t dance on the edges of dark, it plunges straight into the pitch black. It isn’t gory or graphic, but within every page, the threat of agonizing death haunts us as it haunts the characters. This world explores the insidiousness of being controlled. Of how helpless tyranny can feel. There’s hope, but it’s tied so closely with fear, that every breath of it hurts.

It’s the type of book that has you holding your breath, wondering which beloved character is going to be ripped out your heart. Not that there’s always death. But that there’s always the possibility of death. It’s real. This is a world that does not fuck around with how terrifying it is to live under a sociopath with absolute control. There’s no guarantee of safety. No promise of reprieve.

But for all the tension, for all the trauma, this book is brimming with hope. The quiet, rebellious kind that keeps us moving, that keeps the characters moving. And really, that’s a testament to reason number three.

3. It’s full of incredible characters.

These characters explode off the page. They aren’t just vivid, they are real. It’s easy to hear their individual voices, to see their quirks and habits and mannerisms no matter where they are or what they’re doing. They’re distinct and unique and complex.

We get several points of view, but the one we read the most from is Rags. And goddamn. Did I love Rags. He’s a thief. Guttersnot trash who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, chosen for all the wrong reasons. I love his plucky fight. He never knows when to shut up, or maybe he does and chooses not to. His snarky comments and deliberate rebelliousness, even when it’s definitely in his best interest to stay quiet make him incredibly endearing. He uses it as armor, even against his own heart.

Which… the slow-burn romance here is incredible. It’s very subtle, which I love. Especially given the high-stakes nature of the plot. And, it isn’t focused on the love interest in a single set of characters. In fact, it isn’t just the main characters that are vivid and complex. It’s every single person mentioned. They’re layered, diverse, and as three-dimensional as we are.

Each one carries their own history and it isn’t simply that they are vivid on the page either. These characters grow and learn. They change not just from the experiences of the plot, but through their relationships with each other. It makes every single POV fulfilling, but more importantly it connects them together. Sure, all plots weave POV and characters together, but this is done so fluidly, it makes it their journey, both individually and collectively, that much more satisfying.

Besides incredible characters, the other must-have essential to make a book spectacular is my reason number two.

2. The prose. The goddamn killer prose topped with voice for fucking days.

These sentences don’t just dance on the page, they inject pure mood with every word. They’re sharp and cutting, jabbing at just the right moments only to soften a moment later. Every single word is precision, flowing smoothly between characters and scenes while bringing the clarity we need to appreciate the breadth and depth of every detail. It didn’t matter if it was dialogue or description, the mastery of words is glorious.

But if I had to summarize why you should read Master Of One, it’s this.

1.This plot has TEETH.

From the very first sentence, this book flashes its claws and sinks them deep into the reader. And refuses to let go. It’s an intense plot that seriously keeps you guessing all the way to the end. The twists are devious and the turns are delightful. Even better, the end is the perfect combination of satisfaction and incredible longing.

I devoured this book. Once I started, I could not stop. But even more important, since I finished, I can’t stop thinking about it. Rags and his ragtag crew of found family misfits are shards in my heart and I can’t wait to meet up with them again!

Five very stabby stars!

Unfortunately this was not what I was hoping it to be. I was super excited to start reading this book and the first chapter was brutal and sucked me right in. But that was also where the excitement ended, the first chapters were slow, which is okay and to be expected. Unfortunately, over a 100 pages in this book was still not exciting even though we got to see a very cool concept. Everything went pretty quickly but I felt very detached from all that happened. In the end I didn't read the whole book and I just didn't care anymore. This was clearly not the book for me. I might still pick up another book by these authors to see if they improved.

There was SO MUCH magic in this book! So much love. So much story. Character development and world building are extremely important when it comes to a story. MASTER OF ONE hit the nail on the head with both of these two important aspects of writing. Rags the thief was a very enjoyable character with much character and development. You meet characters that are so enjoyable that I didn’t even notice any bumps in the story. It progressed so well. I was extremely happy with how the authors wrote this novel. 

And… the authors included a ROMANCE subplot! OMG. Who doesn’t love a good, LGBTQIA+ romance?! I thoroughly enjoyed the romance. It added so much powerful emotion to the story. 

I highly recommend this story to anyone who desires a great, LGBTQIA+ story!!!!

16% Honestly just not holding my attention like I hoped. Rags was pretty cool in the "Maze Mirror" chapter. The heist advertised was not delivered how I thought. A different reviewer put it perfectly with a rags to riches, Aladdin story. At this point my plan is to DNF@20% if it doesn't pick up

I was so excited when I got a copy of this book. I'd heard nothing but amazing things about it from other reviewers that I trust so it was very exciting for me to get my hands on an advance e-arc, especially when I saw that it had been compared to Six of Crows and had queer romance. I really enjoyed this book. I liked our main character, Rags, and his voice. The plot was intriguing and I ended up reading this in just a couple of sittings. I felt that it did drag at times but other than those moments I really enjoyed it.

Rags is a thief—an excellent one. He's stolen into noble's coffers, picked soldier's pockets, and even liberated a ring or two off the fingers of passersby. Until he's caught by the Queensguard and forced to find an ancient fae relic for a sadistic royal sorcerer.

But Rags could never have guessed this "relic" would actually be a fae himself—a distractingly handsome, annoyingly perfect, ancient fae prince called Shining Talon. Good thing Rags can think on his toes, because things just get stranger from there...

——————-
 This book was such a fun adventure,  the cast of characters is so diverse and it felt very well done. This has all the markers of a classic fantasy world and something I could see expanding as we get more books in this world 🤞

My only negative was the pacing at the start is a little slow.  It felt like that could have been tightened up some so we could spend more time with the whole gang. 

But I loved the characters!!!! Shining Talon is up there with my favourite fae. 

If you are looking for a diverse, Queer fantasy to sink your teeth into.  Look no further.

Fast-paced and engaging, with an intriguing system of magic. However, there's so much focus on plot that there's not much time left over to develop the characters' personalities and back stories. It seems like we're supposed to care about them just by virtue of being the designated main characters, not for standing on their own virtues. 

The names are so ridiculous that it pulls you out of the story and seems pretentious. They seem like names a five-year-old would give when coming up with a fairy tale on the fly.

Overall interesting enough to finish, but you can probably skim through the endless descriptions of every single thing the characters are doing to get to the important things.

I thoroughly enjoyed this high fantasy thrill ride filled with unique magic, a heist, royals, fae, and a ragtag group of chaotic gays on a quest. While the worldbuilding and it's entities were quite interesting to read about, it was the characters that truly made this story come alive and resonate with readers. Can't wait to see what else this author duo has up their sleeves. Thank you for the opportunity to read this, and for being part of the blog tour.

With gallows humor and sadistic, sinister sorcery, and a heist turned adventure, Master of One is a brilliant young adult fantasy debut and it is fantastically breathtaking. Rags faces an ancient Prophecy set in motion when he is forced to find an ancient Fae relic that turns out to be not what was expected. Rags is such a detailed character, from his background as a thief and trying to survive on the streets, to his softness that he tries to bury deep down, and the gallows humor he uses to deflect; it’s hard not to instantly feel for him and cheer for him to win in the end. As the story progresses, Rags world becomes expanded, and we are introduced to other characters, Shining Talon, a Fae Prince; Cabhan, a Queensguard deserter; Inis, a privileged lady whose family was almost all killed by the Queensguard; and Somhairle, an exiled Prince. This rag-tag (*smirks*…see what I did there?) group is faced with becoming the only hope to save the kingdom from the cruel and malevolent Queen and her last sorcerer, Morien. 

The worldbuilding is magnificent and thorough. I loved that I felt immersed in a medieval-ish time but with magic, Fae, and sorcerers. It was built with familiar writing outlines, but these authors definitely made it their own. The plot started off a tad slow but I think that is what led to such a detailed world and then when the pace picked up and there was action around every corner it had me on the edge of my seat, breathless, wanting to know what happened next. The dialogue felt more modern than the atmosphere that was created in the worldbuilding. That took some getting used to but it was very humorous and had me giggling out loud. I personally fell hard for the diversity of the characters. The two main queer characters, the side ones that are suffering from PTSD, and the one that is in chronic pain and uses a brace to get around. I have got to say that hands down, the characters were my favorite part of the story.  The main relationship in the story is a slow burn, it’s a beautiful queer romance with instant chemistry and yearning, that is solovely to read. Their growth and learning to trust one another brings about a big change in our main character Rags, who is so use to being alone and working alone, that to see him trust, work with and protect others, was so gratifying.  

Another interesting element in this book was the magic; both sinister and cruel if used by sorcerers; their use of mirrorcraft was so compelling and awful. Basically, the way sorcerers use mirrorcraft is by inserting it into people’s hearts to control them, or to threaten them into acting on their own. But this magic was also full of elegance and fascination when used by those gifted with it naturally. You can tell that the sorcerers weren’t meant to have magic because of the way it became a twisted, perversion of the beautiful, natural magic. 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Fantasy, magic, slow burn romance, and wants LGBTQ representation. This whole book made my heart happy and I cannot wait for the sequel.

Very interesting and fast paced book!!
Highly recommended if you loved reading Six of Crows!!!
Absolutely love the book!!

Top 5 reasons to read this book :-
1. Faced paced full of actions!!
2. Strong built characters!!
3. Slow burn lgbtq+ romance.
4. Six of crows + The cruel prince feel within this book!!
5. Written in well versed and in a lucid way!!!

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours, Netgalley, the authors and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Can I reread this already?? Honestly, my brain is just scrambled from all the amazing books I've been reading lately, but Master of One takes the cake. A thief who discovers the last fae? A slow burn Achillean romance? A crew that is diverse and queer? They must take down an evil sorcerer and Queen? Yes, this book checks all the boxes that I wanted and more. WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?!? If I may request, I need me a sapphic ship next, thank you.

Rags is an excellent thief, but when his latest catch ends up with him working for a terrifying sorcerer, Rags is sure he's in over his head. When he succeeds in solving a deadly puzzle he expects his life and riches. What he gets is the last Fae prince. Shining Talon instantly hates the Lying One sorcerer, and is devoted to Rags for waking him. But can these two find out what Morien the Last is truly up to and stop him before it's too late.

This is a slow burn story that creeps up and knits itself into your heart. The first half of the book is bit slow and mainly focuses on Rags. As it continues we start to get additional character POVs and they all begin to weave a web between each other that's bound to collide. I really loved seeing this disaster squad being thrown together and trying to figure out their pasts/what is even currently happening.

As for queer rep, I heard from a friend that the authors have stated everyone in this book is queer, and I am here for this. As for the rep I clearly saw on the page: a M/M relationship, another possible M/M relationship, and a trans woman character. One of the characters also has a physical disability due to birth defects/chronic illness.

I really loved these characters and the world so much. I feel like we just got to understand the world and the conflicts within it and then the book ended. I really hope we get a sequel! Easily one of my fave reads of October!

Omg!!!! This was such a good read. We all know that I am a sucker for a good queer fantasy and Master of One definitely delivered on that.
The romance. I- This was a SLOW BURN. I become crazy when I read slow burn romances because I have no patience what so ever and am constantly screaming for the characters to kiss already!
The writing was a little slow and rushed at the same time. I would have loved to read a bit longer about the tests that Rag had to go through at the start of the book. There were 19 but only a few of them were described. But this all didn’t bother me that much. I was intrigued by the story and just had to keep reading. I totally did not skip one of my lectures to read this, that TOTALLY did not happen haha... 😶
The last thing I want to talk about is the ending. Like dammmmnnnnn why are you doing this to me???? What an I supposed to do with my life right now?? Immediately rereading this book? That actually doesn’t sound like a bad plan hahahaha!
If you loved Six of Crows, fae and a lot of good (queer) representation then Master of One is definitely for you!
Thank you to literaryboundtours, Netgalley, the authors and the publisher for this arc in exchange for a honest review.

I ultimately decided to DNF this one after trudging through 50% of it. I rarely DNF so that says a lot (6th book ever) but once I was halfway, the idea of another 272 pages was too much. The Six of Crows comparison is unfortunately misleading and at least in the first 50%, there's no heisting. I would also disagree with the Cruel Prince comparison unless it's specifically for Queen of Nothing since that turned out to be a bust.

There were too many POVs and too little time spent with each one of them to get invested. I think the story would have benefited from being only from Rags POV, although I did like Inis Ever-Loyal's chapters more than any of the others. The pacing seemed to go back and forth between really fast and really slow and the world-building wasn't as complex as I'd have liked.

I very badly wanted to love this and was convinced I would as soon as I read the description but it was clear early on that this book wasn't going to be for me.

I received an e-arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest

This book was different from a lot of the fantasy novels out there, yes there are Fae but the haven’t walked the earth for many years. The first portion of the book follows Rags a thief who’s punishment is assist the queens guard  in an intricate mission. I really enjoyed the book as it slowly brought in more characters POVs as they entered the story. The story had many branches that all came together as one and the connection to the characters was very well done. I have felt it had a very good disability and trans rep and really liked how different it was.
In places the story did get a little confusing but I think that was just because of how many new characters were introduced. I recommend this book for fantasy lovers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some trigger warnings: cursing, some blood, death, grief, animal death, child abuse, infertility, kidnapping, torture.

Master of One got me intrigued the moment I read that synopsis. And although it was pitched as a somewhat crossover of Six of Crows and The Cruel Prince, I believe it delivered all on its own.

The story started with our main character being appointed a task or quest by one of the powerful Houses. He embarked on this journey, somewhat begrudgingly and is accompanied by a sorcerer, just so he could save his own life. I really don’t want to give more details as I might unknowingly put some spoilers here but if that already intrigued you, pick up the book already. Master of One has one of the most creative and interesting world/setting. I admit, I’m not a huge fantasy reader but I can assure you that there is something unique about Master of One. The world of Rags is so wide that I will be disappointed if it will not be explored more. The history and the world-building is rich. I’m not gonna say its perfect, there is definitely a room for improvement if ever the authors will entertain the possibility of a second book. If ever that will happen, I hope we can dwell deeper into this world and know more about the “culture”.

I also applaud how the authors penned their characters especially our protagonist, Rags. Now, I believe Master of One is actually a very character driven book, and I’m not complaining. Most of the time, we are actually just spending our time reading Rags thoughts and perspective about his situation and his thoughts about the people around him. Which help us see how much he grew as a character. I am also a fan of the slow burn romance aspect of this book although in all honesty, I didn’t focus on it that much. I was too into Rags’ quest and following his quest.

I wasn’t able to rate Master of One a full 5 star as I’ve mentioned above, it still has room for improvements. It took me such a long time to finish this book because I had a hard time focusing or being invested to the whole story. I believe the writing can be very much improved as well so that it can suit the high epic fantasy that this book can be under in.

But overall, I highly recommend reading Master of One!! It brings something fresh to the table and Rags is an endearing character. Totally worth of your time!

Master of One tells the story of a group of people tasked with finding the missing pieces of a great weapon built by fae- who, all but one- were wiped out by the human Queen and her sorcerers. Oh and the missing pieces are all alive…

Master of One was everything I’ve ever wanted in a fantasy. Not only do we get a plot full of twists with complex world building but at the heart of story we have the SWEETEST slow burn- THE YEARNING !!- queer romance between Rags- one sassy thief, who is prone to cuss every five seconds– and Shining Talon- the fae who shouldn’t exist. 

“I have never imagined Such experiences,” Shining Talon said. “Being with you is a marvel.” 

“Ugh.” Rags ignored the twist beneath his ribs that told him he was pleased.”

As someone who loves romance more than she thought- yes I was shipping Shining Talon and Rags throughout the whole book and I loved their interactions- even with the stress of the plot. For the grumpy x sunshine lovers- this one is for you. It makes it even better that the human is the grumpy one.

In addition to the romance, I loved our cast of characters. I feel like Master of One- even though many things happened- was a very character driven book over all. We get to know and love characters such as, Cabhan; tired solder who wants to do what’s right. Inis; strong, stubborn and ferocious. She who will do anything to protect the rest of her family, even work for her enemies.  Rags; sassy, crude, and wondering why this fae keeps risking his life for him. Shining Talon; the leader, sunshine in fae form, currently head over heels for a certain thief, and Somhairle; lonely prince who must pick between his mother and what’s right.  The side characters are just as developed as our main characters and I LOVED One, two and three- yes they are their names! 

The magic system was very unique and I loved the play on mirrors and glass. The book had the perfect blend of enchanted fae magic and regular sorcery. 

Master of One was a fascinating debut and (I hope) first book.  The story was set up really well and I loved that even though there’s questions to be answered, we’re not left on a cliffhanger. I’m already highly anticipating the sequel.

I have a whole lot of feelings about this book, and the vast majority of them are positive. To start with two of the easiest, I think it’s best to explain them together: the characters and the writing style. The book’s characters are vividly drawn, with distinct attitudes and quirks. Though there are quite a few of them, they are introduced very gradually, so it is relatively easy to become familiar with each of them without getting overwhelmed. Sometimes, books from multiple points of view can get confusing or annoying, but this book rotates a third-person limited perspective around four primary characters (plus one extra near the end), which really doesn’t seem like too much. A large part of this is attributable to the writing style as well: for all that the characters engage in extensive subterfuge with their actions, when it comes to their internal monologues, they say what they mean with delightful bluntness. The result is a blend of artful insights and dry humor that made me laugh out loud more than once. Here’s a loose rundown of what I love about everyone:

Rags
"It wasn’t much hope, but that was for the best, since hope and Rags didn’t get along."

This boy is my favorite. Hands down, no questions asked, the best character here. He’s a sarcastic gay thief, trying to ignore his past trauma and present emotions, always quick with with a snappy (often inappropriate) comment whenever the tension gets too high. Even when on a quest to maybe save the kingdom, he can and will think about how to steal your silver spoons while he’s at it. He’s more than a little jaded, and pretty rough around the edges, but his heart is in the right place.

Tbh, as much as I love the other characters, I would have been 100% fine if the whole story was from Rags’s point of view, because really, he just makes me smile–even when he’s upset, he is hilarious and compelling.

Tal
"Impossibly tall, impossibly golden, with a jaw cut sharper than a broken window."

Yeah, his full name is Shining Talon of Vengeance Drawn in Westward Strike, but that’s kind of a mouthful, so we’ll go with just Tal for short. He’s gorgeous, agile, and calm, and he takes everything far too literally–but hey, he can’t help it that he was asleep for ages while the world assumed his kind was dead. He actually has some Castiel vibes, for the Supernatural fans out there–very powerful, very attached to one human, and knows exactly nothing about slang or jokes. Which, you know, makes him pretty hilarious.

Inis
"Anger was shield and weapon, and the ladies of House Ever-Loyal needed both."

Lady Inis Fraoch of House Ever-Loyal is always angry, and rightfully so: her brother was accused of treason, her whole family was slaughtered, and she was exiled in a show of “mercy” with her younger sister. When the world makes her life impossibly hard, her endless stores of rage keep her moving forward. This is a girl who Gets. Shit. Done. It’s not that she doesn’t want to be at peace; she just can’t afford it. Does her short temper get annoying at times? Sure. But it also makes her human, and it gives her a flaw to balance out her quick wit, stubborn determination, and fierce loyalty to her few surviving family members. I do wish the main gang had more girls in it, but Inis manages to hold her own in this group of boys, so if we’re really only going to get one for the majority of the book…she’s a good one to have.

Somhairle
"He was one tough nut, more so because he’d been strong enough to stay softhearted."

For the record, it’s pronounced like “sore-luh.” He’s the son of the queen, but he was born with a severe birth defect causing pain and mobility problems on one side of his body, requiring a brace to walk with and ultimately leading to his informal exile. Somhairle is the sort of disability rep I love to see: his injury does create major limitations for him, which are not casually ignored, but he also takes the fact that people often underestimate him and uses it to his advantage. His ability to deal with chronic pain makes him, in some ways, the strongest character of the bunch. He is clever and kind and believes the best in people even after being dealt an aggressively shitty hand by the universe. In short, he is a little sunshine boy who must be protected (though really, he mostly can protect himself).

Cabhan
“That’s the spirit, my soft little fighter.”

Another pronunciation note, this one is pronounced cah-VAHN. Gotta love those Irish-inspired names. Cab deserted the queen’s army when he couldn’t morally abide by what was going on there, and…well, his intentions may have been good, but fate has a funny way of drawing people back into fights they thought they’d left behind. Cab’s biggest struggle is figuring out how to reconcile a past that he regrets with his new mission in life. But he’s handy in a fight, even if he is mentally a little wishy-washy. Cab might be my least-favorite of the main characters, because he isn’t quite as sharp as most of the others, but I’m still a sucker for characters seeking atonement for past mistakes and reluctant heroes, so he’s all good.

Morien
"A shitty, sneaky sorcerer."

God, Morien is awful. A villain who loves power, who wields way more of it than he should, and who has approximately zero qualms about being a horrible person. His preferred breed of magic, a practice known as mirrorcraft, is terrifying in both its scope and its ability to inflict harm, and I love the creativity that went into exploring all the ways he can use it. He’s a villain I love to hate, the sort of powerful baddie who makes you wonder how it is even possible for the protagonists to win. (He’s not a point-of-view character, but we all love a good villain, so gotta include him for good measure.)

Okeydoke, main character description over–the point is, I love them all, and their separate narrative threads wove together nicely to form a much larger story.

This, however, ties into the one issue I had with the book: the beginning was very abrupt, and it took a bit to establish what all the narrative threads actually were. In typical fantasy-book fashion, the first chapter was from something outside the core group of characters, in order to set the scene, but it introduced so many characters who actually ended up being really important later on…only by the time they were reintroduced, I had almost forgotten about them. And then, as soon as it switched to Rags’s story, it just dove right in with very little setup or explanation. I expected some immersive worldbuilding once the story picked up, but it never quite got there; we had bits and pieces along the way, but for all the excellent character work, the world’s lore remained vague in many other ways. Once the story found its footing, it was smooth sailing–but the initial waters were choppy, and they may have put off some readers who would otherwise enjoy the book if they persisted.

A few other small things I liked:

- The slowest of slow-burn romances, executed well–and, more importantly, not taking over the plot, but instead just complementing it.
- A side character who is a trans woman–I hope we get more from her in book two!
- Multiple characters with some variety of PTSD, which we need more of in fantasy. These characters go through major traumatic events and somehow come out unscathed, so it’s nice to see them struggling to grapple with their pasts.
- The silver animals. I won’t spoil too much about what they are or where they come into play, but they’re a big deal and I think they’re super cool. In particular, their telepathic communication and one specific fighting technique had me very impressed.
- A concept of fae where they aren’t just magical, but are also somewhat scientific! They have unique technologies, and while there are certainly magical elements, many components of the fae–including their odd black bones–feel more like tech than enchantment.
- Many characters in the book are duplicitous, but all in different ways: some lie outright, some deceive by omission, some use subtle courtly backstabbing techniques, some just keep all their cards close to their chests…but all of their lying habits work together nicely and create a diverse skill set for the group as a whole.

In short: Master of One is a character-driven, complex, crisply narrated adventure, and even with its minor stumbles as far as pacing and worldbuilding, the end result was a story I loved. I can’t wait to see where this team of misfits ends up next.

The start of the book is full of action and reminds me a little of Indiana Jones in that the character, Rags, had to solve riddles while going through doors. This kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat.

But as the story goes, the pacing really slowed down my excitement, as well as the switching the points of views.

The world building is done very well and I really enjoyed the magic system. And! There is queer romance!

I think this is one people would enjoy if they like multiple POV, is character driven, and lots of action.