I was most pleased to get this to review. There may have been some squeeing involved.

I was wondering to myself, how the heck does a person weave something like this together? Is there like some kind of CSI room full of post-its and whiteboards and lines drawn from one thing to the other all over the place? I'm going to go with yes because the visual amuses me. I think, in this regard, M.A. Carrick definitely benefits from being not one person, but two people. This series is complex.

I was really pleased with this entry. This is a book which is worthy of its stunning cover. I honestly can't really complain about a single thing. The setting is lush and vivid. The characters are multifaceted. They're grey and grow and change. The plot is intriguing and well-woven. The magic system is unique and interesting. The whole thing is unique and interesting really.

I'm not quite sure where we're going with the next one, but I've already buckled in for a long winter's nap because this one isn't even release yet fml.

My thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing me with a digital copy for review.

The Liar's Knot was a fabulous continuation of the Rook & Rose series! I could not put it down. The character development between our main characters, and even some of the more prevalent side characters, was phenomenal and definitely took some turns I did not expect! The story was fleshed out and we got to see more of Nedezra and the lore of its people. I truly loved the character Alsius and hope we get to see more of him in book three. A fantastic read that I could not put down and I will be eagerly anticipating book three. Readers of fantasy will definitely want to pick this series up, as it is a must read.

Like the first book in this trilogy, there is a lot going on in this book. All the main characters return, with some new bad guys. There was less tedious society maneuvering and fashion. The magic systems are more developed, and they become key to the plot in a great way. This book won't make much sense without reading the first one, but comes to a very satisfying conclusion with no cliff. There's still room in the story for another book, and given how engaging the first two have been, I'll be looking out for that. There were some small character issues that irked me. For instance, Vargo displays some fairly despicable behavior involving nearly letting Renata get crushed by a crane at his construction project. Some of his less savory behavior is explained by him acting a part, but that incident didn't seem like one of those. Maybe I missed something. Tanaquis has some redeeming qualities in her brilliance with numinatria and her willingness to help, but I don't understand why Renata and others repeatedly share sensitive information with her when she demonstrates over and over how untrustworthy she is with it. Sibiliat has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and it's unclear why Giuna is so taken by her. And Alsius seems much to avuncular and softhearted to have such a strong relationship with Vargo, who cuts people's tongues in half and presumably much worse in his rise to the city's top crime boss. I guess with this many characters and schemes and manipulations there's bound to be a few things I don't understand, so fair enough.

M.A. Carrick continues one of the best series I've found in the epic fantasy space in a long time - Brennan and Helms are a force to be reckoned with. Their characters continue to grow organically, and they've done a masterful job of writing characters from different angles; I would laugh when in the space of a few chapters, they'd show how each protagonist had misconceptions about the others. The plot moved cleanly, with depth and flourish to match the first in the series. I love the naming and cultural conventions throughout the story, as they feel unique and perfectly matched to the setting. I reserve 5 star reviews for books that I feel are either expanding the boundaries of their genres or do something so extraordinarily well that any aficionado would have to read it - The Liar's Knot is one of those books.

This is SUCH a win for high fantasy! The characters shine through The Liar's Knot - one of the things that I think was so great about this novel was how attached you became to them (or at least, honestly, I did). It's a fantastic novel from start to finish, world-building and plot included, but being so enthralled by the characters themselves was a new level. That's so important for high fantasy and this book delivered.

A wonderful continuation of the Rook & Rose series, The Liar's Knot envelopes readers in the lush worldbuilding of the first while expanding plots in a thoughtful and twisting labyrinth.

As my most anticipated book of the year, The Liar's Knot certainly delivered.

The beginning seemed a bit slow to me as the city of Nadežra collectively recovers from where we left off after the corruption of the house Indestor in the Mask of Mirrors. The Cinquerat itself, the nobles, the Vigil, the Stadnum Anduske, the Knots of the lower bank-- everyone is picking up the pieces, figuring out how to move on, or even realizing that new problems may arise from solving old ones.

Once this section is bypassed, though, the plot gains its momentum to roll along at a pace just as quick as The Mask of Mirrors (which apparently some people think is slow? But to me, both times through, felt incredibly fast-paced in the best of ways).

I was blown away by the worldbuilding in the first book. It's just as impressive in the second installation as it expounds upon history-- of Nadežra, of Vraszan, of the magic systems (numinatria and pattern), of the Rook, of Vargo-- and most importantly-- of Master Peabody.
Speaking of Vargo and Master Peabody, I'm going to need a spinoff. #bestfriendgoals

In this book, we are blessed with the most eclectic, rag-tag Scooby gang since Buffy. At one point or another, everyone is teaming up with everyone, but not even knowing the identities or motives of half of the teammates. Could it be possible that they're all.... working towards the same goal?! Sometimes the reader is just as in the dark as the characters, but other times we know what they don't know and it's so fun to watch them figure it out. BUT we also get some heartbreakingly sweet moments of truth-- which is brand new for most of the characters.

All of the characters are skillfully written, and thrown into brand new, bigger challenges. Ren delves into the world of a secret numinatria cult to see what she can learn about the curse that was on the Traementis family, while dodging her new frenemy Vargo, running missions as the Black Rose to help the wounded leader of the Stadnam Anduske, teaming up with the Rook (who she's developing a crush on) and Grey (who she's developing a crush on... lol) all while maintaining her masquerade as Alta Renata. And Arenza. And the Black Rose.
Grey juggles the Rook and his Vigil duties-- duties which begin to go against his morals-- and struggles keeping clear boundaries between himself and the Rook.
Tess and Sedge try to support Ren but find that they have to compete for her attention as she's spread so thin... and that they have struggles of their own.
And Vargo..... needs a hug. Vargo is just trying to put out everyone else's fires and just continually keeps having a bad day.

There's flirting, fighting, rescue missions, masks, almost dying, confessions, disguises, patterns, and Vargo saving lots of people's butts. And Alsius is my new favorite character. Well, that's a lie, Vargo still is my favorite, but Alsius is a close second.

All in all, just as good as the first. Better, even? Maybe! No middle book syndrome here. And no cliffhanger, either, which was nice of M.A. Carrick. BUT I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED. So here I am, very IMpatiently waiting for the third installment before the second is even out.

It wasn't quite for me. The plot was a little all over and I didn't enjoy the pacing. I did like the characters however.

The Liar's Knot is a magical adventure with crime lords, vigilantes, and con artists. This is book two in the trilogy and is immensely better than the first one (which was great). Book one was really setting the stage and now book two can take it away. The intrigue and action was written well and I am looking forward to book three.

Mask of Mirrors was one of my favourite fantasies of 2020 and I was thoroughly intrigued by the stunningly intricate world and magic system Brennan and Helms created. I was over the moon when I got approved for the arc on Netgalley. I am happy to report that this fantastic duo has managed to built up on the foundation laid down in the first book and produce a fantastic second book that managed to escape the middle book syndrome.
Liar’s Knot gives us a little more insight into Vargo’s character while also allowing the other characters to grow into themselves. The character arcs in this book have been brilliantly executed and I am more invested than ever to see how Ren, Grey, Vargo and all the side characters navigate through the minefield of problems presented before them.
The plot gets really really really convoluted but in the best possible way and I had such a blast trying to untangle the complex knots the characters had twisted themselves into. It could very easily have been a frustrating read but Carrick makes it an interesting, invigorating puzzle to solve rather than an exasperating head scratching, ordeal. I would credit this again to the fantastic character arcs. The thrilling twists and turns kept me hooked to the pages.
The magic system and the world building in the first book although interesting also managed to confuse. But that has been thoroughly rectified in this sequel. The magic system has somehow been made more intricate and intriguing and I feel like I could reread this book a dozen times and still find interesting new details every time.
The sequel to the Mask of Mirrors lived upto all my expectations and even surpassed it! I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves a good heist/con fantasy stories.

The second book in the Rook & Rose trilogy! The story picks up where the first one left off, Ren our con artist, Grey our vigilante, and Vargos, our crime lorde all reunite to save their city from the slow corruption of dark and dangerous magic. The complicated relationship between the three character grows and with all their secrets and alliances, their dynamics were so well done in this book. I loved the further world building and magic system that this book has and the DRAMA, the SECRETS, it was just such a delightful read. Ren is still reeling from the death of her friend in the previous book and still is suffering from nightmares of the things she’s experienced in the previous book. She is now officially registered as nobility and is on the hunt to find out why Vargos betrayed her and if she can truly uncover who The Rook is, and her complicated feelings for both The Rook and the Vigil Captain Grey. Grey is juggling his identity as a captain and as a vigilante, with so many secrets to keep, trusting Ren is something he will have to figure out if he can do. Vargos and his little spider spirit friends were EVERYTHING, he is a complex villain..... sort of. He has goals and the way he goes about things isn’t exactly ethical, but he also has emotions, and longings, and grieves over his decisions. Ren and Vargos are both vying to get into a secret society... but soon find themselves facing magic that is dark and soon the only way to save the city and themselves is to join together and find a common ground. The highlight for me throughout this book was the relationship growth between Ren and Grey. I absolutely shipped them last book and to see the chemistry and the romance grow between two people so full of secrets who just want to be loved for themselves? perfection. Another great aspect of this book was the friendship between Vargos and Ren (and of course Vargos’s little spider buddies who I definitely need more of in the third book). I love the complicated relationships portrayed in this book, friends, enemies, lovers, family, and so on. This was a great continuation of the story and for me it definitely did outshine the first book!

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books, Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

unfortunately, nowhere in the description was it mentioned this was book 2, and I have not read book one of this series. Please consider making it very clear next time!

The Liar’s knot is one of my most anticipated read this year. And, this book is even better than the previous one.

Although, in the beginning it was teeny tiny bit slow paced for me and took everything in me to continue to finish it asap, so not gonna lie, it was very much worth it indeed.

The theme of miscommunication is something that I very much despise with everything I am. And it’s quite frustrating when the characters themselves couldn’t/wouldn’t try to solidify their respective level of trust among them.
So, amidst reading, I realised how quickly things might have progressed, only if, the characters could/would trust others.

So later, when the circumstances force the characters to talk to each other, or talk it out or start building trust, it left my heart all gooey and mushy!!

Consequently, the plot too progresses itself really well.

We discover so much more about the Rooks; for instance, their existence and why do they exist, how they’ve been living around for so long etc. etc.

Plus, the ending left me pretty restless, and dying for the another instalment already.

Therefore, it was pretty engaging and enjoyable read for me.

I’ve been enjoying making my fellow /r/Fantasy mods jealous by my ARC of *The Liar’s Knot* more than I should. But it’s been so easy to do, and so much fun, that I couldn’t resist. *The Mask of Mirrors* was one of the better books to come out last year, and pretty much everyone who has read it is eager for the sequel. Happily, I can report that I consider *The Liar’s Knot* even better than *The Mask of Mirrors*, and I loved *The Mask of Mirrors*. Full credit to M. A. Carrick (better known as Marie Brennan of *The Memoirs of Lady Trent* and Alyc Helms of *The Adventures of Mr. Mystic*) for avoiding Middle Book Syndrome.

This book is every bit as full of intrigue, fashion, flirtation, and swashbuckling as the first book was. And it is exceptionally well titled. Character A has secret identities B and C. Character D has secret identity E. D knows that A is also B and C. A knows both D *and* E, but doesn’t know that they’re the same person. A knows that E knows they are also B and C, but as far as A knows D knows none of this, and D/E wants to keep things that way to protect D’s secret identity as E. A (in their identities as A, B, *and* C) is allied with E, but while A is at least civil towards D, A is also (in their public persona) at least mildly antagonistic towards E.

And that’s just two of the characters. I *think* I got all that right. Observant readers of *The Mask of Mirrors* can probably parse it out if they want to put in the effort.

You’d think this would be horrible to read, but it isn’t. What makes this bearable, and even delightful, to read is that poor Ren, Grey, Vargo, and all the rest are even more confused and frustrated by this tangle (a liar’s knot, one might say) than the reader could possibly be.

The fact that D/E is crushing on A/B/C, and that A/B/C is crushing on *both* D and E separately (remember, A/B/C doesn’t know D and E are the same person), is just extra spice.

One of the most frustrating things as a reader is when characters that could trust each other don’t. We readers have an advantage here: we’re often in the heads of everyone in the story, so we know their motivations and their secrets. The people in the story do not have that advantage, and so we readers are often left fuming at how quickly problems could be worked out if the characters would just *talk* to each other. (My fellow Wheel of Time lovers are all nodding right now.) That kind of thing works (as far as it does) with Rand and Elayne because they’re generally hundreds of miles away from each other; it’s not sustainable when they’re in the same room. And since this book takes place in a single city, with characters that are intimately involved in each other’s lives whether they like it or not, this is simply unsustainable.

Happily, Brennan & Helms don’t try to sustain it. When the knot unravels, they don’t force it to hold together. But when circumstances force characters to talk to each other, or when someone decides to roll the dice and actually *trust* someone, it happens. Not with everybody, and not with everything. Everyone still has secrets. But the whole thing is ***so goddamn SATISFYING*** to read.

All that is the character side of things. The plot itself also proceeds well. We learn much more about the Rook: the reason they exist, how they’ve been around for centuries, and what they are actually trying to do (the Rook has a much deeper purpose than simply tweaking the noses of the nobility). We learn much more about Vargo and his mysterious helper spirit voice. And we learn much more about the oft-mentioned Tyrant and the history of Nadezra.

The book doesn’t end with a cliffhanger (which is good, because I hate cliffhangers), but it does end in such a way that leaves me even more eager for book 3 than I was for book 2. Hopefully the good folks at Orbit will bless me with an ARC of that one as well.

Comes out on December 9th. Mark your calendars; this is a good one.