3,5 upped to 4*
I'm a bit on the fence as I liked the world building and the storytelling but i wasn't a fan of the characters.
It's enjoyable and compelling but some more character development would help.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was really excited to read this as the publicity sounded as though it was the perfect book for me. However, sadly it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
It was a really well thought out plot and I enjoyed the multi points of view. I liked the magic system and especially the way that Valen was trying to develop his own area of magic within that. The world building was good and I liked how the political situation became more clear as the story went on. I also loved the emphasis on the different card games and the factual references between each chapter.
I felt that the book really fell down with the characters. I was expecting a closely knit group with the familiarity of being together a long time. However, I never really got the impression that they were that close and didn’t feel that I ever got to know any of them properly. The conversations between them felt stilted and lacked the humour and banter that I expected. We were told that they were close rather than seeing that closeness for ourselves.
There were a lot of good things about this novel but the lack of characterisation was a major drawback for me.

The publisher's synopsis dangles tempting bait and I am certainly pleased to have taken it. What a thoroughly comfortable and enjoyable book this is. An interesting story about games of chance, both political and traditional, played by a very curious collection of real people. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and hope there is a sequel.

The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a solid fantasy novel. It has a really cool premise - think The Lies of Locke Lamora meets Casino Royale. Unfortunately, I think my expectations were just way too high. That said, the both the world-building and magic system were done well. The characters, though, took a backseat to the world-building. The novel is about 400 pages, but I think it could have done with being a little longer to help flesh out the characters. I think I will have to try more from this author in the future.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I loved the idea behind it and was excited to see it play out, but I didn't really like the execution of it. The description given by the publisher/author gave away most of the story, so things weren't too surprising. I did like the characters and world building, I could personally do with less info dumping.

I liked this book, but I think the story got lost in the plot.
A magical heist story, a group of card sharps and thieves get caught up in politics between nations and have to win a high-stakes tournament to please a gang leader.
Already, I'm ready for this book, I like the heist troupe but I also love the stakes, everything so far is personal, the characters and backstories filling the gaps in my imagination.
After the tournament, things expand to include, but not limited to, genocide, potential genocide, gypsy-hating, potential war, and magical CIA assassins. Threats that used to be broken thumbs from a street gang now expand to invasion from an Empress that nobody seems to like.
And this is where the story lost me. The first half of the book is worldbuilding, character building, I love it, the magic system doesn't even get explained until the halfway mark despite magic appearing throughout the story. Characters and their motivations are the focus until the end, which just sort of 'plops' an ending out onto the page.
I think the effect Livingston wanted was like the characters not in the group, things happen off-stage and them come together to spectacular ends, but I felt left out way to much. I liked the ending, but didn't feel attached to it, it just sort of happened all at once.
A side note, the cover art was annoying; our main character (probably?) has a sword, despite most of the story being about NOT using violence... that's a major plot point throughout the story, and the whole point of him NOT using a sword throughout the story. I dunno, weird publisher's decision.
I'll look forward to a sequel, see how the plot moves when the worldbuilding is already done.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Knave of Secrets is a bit hard to review due to quite a few things I loved about the book and quite a few things that I did not. Beginning with the positives - I thought the overall plot was interesting and the writing was smart. Including the excerpts from various literature from the world at the end of each chapter was unique and definitely added to the book. I thought the world was well-developed and the magic system was different than in other fantasy novels. Also, the cardsharping aspect was well-done with lots of details on the various ways of "cheating."

Now to the negatives - the pacing was all over the place. Immediately, the reader is dropped into a reasonably action-packed scene in the first chapter; however, then the action tapers off drastically. There are parts of the book that more time should have been given to and parts of the book that dragged on. None of the characters were overly developed. We got brief snippets of each of the main characters' pasts; however, none of it was really enough. I didn't particularly like any one of the characters.

Overall, because of the uniqueness and smart writing, I'll give it 3 stars.

Also, possible trigger warning: there are a few references to animal cruelty
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I appreciate the efforts the author has put in for detailed description, unique world. It is all well researched. The characters were interesting and we had multiple POVs. Though sometimes it got confusing but later on I got the hang of it.

The synopsis covered start of the book and I wish for that to be changed. It starts with the lives of all the characters giving their background and felt too much. For me the interesting part began from the Forbearance Games. I liked everything after that.

I liked the thinking process of Valen. It was brilliant. The plot was complex with so many layers to it. Overall it was a good read and something different that I never came across. I recommend it.

The Knave of Secrets results a very interesting story with very interesting characters and cool magic systems about a group of con artists cheating their way into freedom and justice in a city where secrets are gambled on card games right in the middle of a gang war and a empire level conspiracy.
Honesly, it was very interesting but still felt a bit slow and the info dump was too much as well. I really liked the characters and the magic system, mostly the sailor's magic, Jaq's magic. I guess i would like it a lot more if i was into card games but i guess that's a personal issue, nothing to do with the book or its execution.
I liked a lot the interactions between the characters and the portrayal of friendship and trust that's been forged throughout many years.
Highly recommended if you like Peaky Blinders and Casino Royale

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The Knave of Secrets is available now.

The Knave of Secrets was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The premise immediately had me thinking of a fantasy-meets- Ocean’s 11, which sounded like a blast. However, while the concept looked entertaining, parts of the book just didn’t seem to quite pan out.

The beginning of the book dropped you right smack into the middle of intrigue and a rather abrupt exit, which I loved. I was excited about the pacing and looked forward to a fast-paced con with twists and turns aplenty. Alas, ’twas not to be. The pace slowed quite a bit and just seemed a bit choppy to me. The sections on card games that were scattered throughout might have contributed to that; while they were interesting, they added pauses that sometimes took me out of the narrative.

I did like the magic system and how it figured into so many aspects of the book and its characters. The concept of the tower being held together by magic was a creative one as well. I feel like the author had a lot of really good ideas that just didn’t necessarily belong all in the same book. Or maybe the book needed to be a little longer so he could fully develop them all?

My biggest quibble were the characters, particularly how they interacted. They were supposed to know each other well, but I didn’t get that feeling at all. The way they communicated (or didn’t) felt jilted and a little awkward. At this point, I’m beginning to think it’s a matter of “it’s me, not you”. I think that I was the wrong reader at the wrong time, which makes me wonder if I would have loved The Knave of Secrets had I read it at another time.

At the end of the day, The Knave of Secrets just didn’t work for me. The concept was a cool one, but the execution just didn’t seem to pay off.

4.5 Stars

I have always said I love a heist book, and this is a good honest heist book. We start with Valen and his crew mid action, flexing their skills as card sharps and I thought this was a great way for us to get to know the crew and their various roles in the con. It also introduced us to the varying perspectives the book is told from. There are 5 perspectives in total from the various countries, in and out of the gang and various political hierarchies too. Initially this was a little confusing. It took me a while to work out whom everyone was with respect to each other and the world, and some perspectives being introduced fairly late in the book. However once I worked all that out I found it gave the reader a great fly on the wall sort of feel. We saw the action from all sides, switching perspectives to get little bits of information that only that person was party too. It gave a real solid sense for the political background, the historical background of the world, the magic system and how various people utilised magic.

The world building was also expanded greatly by the interstitials between each chapter/perspective switch. These were little excerpts from in world books on various topics around card games, dice and casino gaming. Again these all had their own varying intended audiences with different social hierarches. I loved that the author included a bibliography of them with a short description of how and where they were published and their availability to the people of this world. They gave to much fun insight into the games invented for this world how they were played, the etiquette expected at the tables and how the games are cheated. There were also little punches of history of the world, again centred at the gaming tables, attitudes to the empire, cultural and social insights that really built up this world.

I defiantly was more drawn to the perspectives of Valen and Ten more than the others but that’s because those two being part of Valen’s crew focused more of the art of the Con and how their jobs were put together. I found Tens background fascinating, and I felt her storyline had the most potential. Michel was also interesting giving us insight into the magic and divination systems of the world. I didn’t find the more political perspectives as entertaining, even though I love a good political machination plot, I just felt they were a bit dry when compared to the others, They seemed to function as information dumps so we the reader could understand the second half of the plot.

I really loved that the characters were older too. They felt established in their lives and that they had developed the clear skillsets and knowledge to undertake their various roles. A lot of heist books do the ‘assembling the crew’ much like Oceans 11 but when that’s done with teenagers of 20 somethings it just doesn’t feel they have had the time to build the reputations, to make the mistakes and learn the way older characters do. I loved that we had a crew that were already working together many years and knew each others strengths and weaknesses.

I do feel a lot of the plot in at least the first half of the book is given away by the blurb. It does dampen the tension a little when the outcome has already been shared and it has the problem of making the build up also feel a little slow. But as I said before, I am a fan of the heist/con crew plot and have re-watched BBC’s Hustle a million times and still enjoy the thrill of the con even though I know what’s going to happen and I still found this build up exciting enough. However, what happens after that point is just so much fun, we get stuck into the political intrigue, espionage and trying to prevent all out war! It is an exciting read.

Overall I really enjoyed how complex a world Livingston had created, all the carious games, rules and then how to cheat at them were just so interesting. The Magic system(s) were complex and the backstory of the Nations involved was really well rounded. I thought the majority of the characters were well thought out, with enough depth to carry the story.

This book had just about everything that I love. Set in a world that is complex and rich, we meet our main character Valen. Valen has a complex past that we learn about over the course of the book, but first and foremost he is the leader of a cardsharp crew who gets pulled into taking part in one of the most prestigious gambling games in the world. He beats who he is meant to beat and gains a dangerous secret in the process.

Valen was a really interesting character to read. He acts as a bit of an enigma at the beginning of the book, as do his crew: his wife Marguerite, Tan and Jaq. All four of them have mysterious and twisty pasts that we gradually learn about over the course of the story. I loved the relationship between the four protagonists: they were so well written and felt so genuine, as if they were sitting in front of you with a coffee, recounting their tales of their exploits and adventures.

What made these relationships even better was the world that they were set within. The world was really interesting and so varied. There were so many settings. Some where the elite had all the power and were overruled by a royalty ruling class. Another where prestige and promotion were gained through land acquisition. Mixed into this were the mysterious brotherhood of the Seminaire who are the magic users within this world, and who Valen once belonged to. They were an interesting group to read about as they appear through and are woven into the story, but are seen as almost a fringe group.

Most of all, I loved the plot of this book. It was a bit slow to start, but once the story got going and all of the pieces started to fall into place it was as intense and exciting as I imagine a game of cards to play. This book really ramps up the stakes very quickly, we move through different stages from one chapter to the next: a card game at a pub, to an elitist card game where the stakes are secrets to a battle across countries and immeasurable danger for the characters. It’s excitingly intense.

“Words had power. Words could kill. And secret words all the more.”

The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a fictional fantasy story of con men and cards, of gamblers and games, and the lengths some are willing to go to win.

The world that Livingston has created for The Knave of Secrets is a complex one. There are numerous cultures featured, not all of them friendly but all with one thing in common – the love of gambling and games. The same can be said for the characters, they too are complex with their love of gambling the main thing in common.

The main character Valen Quinol isn’t a young man but is described as one of middle age. A rarity in that most books of this kind feature a younger character often just starting out on their journey. Valen is well on his journey, having traveled it along with his wife and friends for some years already.

All of the characters are interesting in their own right and thankfully none of them are perfect. Mistakes are made and learned from. Fights and disagreements happen over plans. Even when things seem to go smoothly they don’t. Because of this, the characters are easy to relate to. Who doesn’t have arguments with their friends? Who doesn’t disagree sometimes with the ones they love most? It doesn’t mean we love them any less.

The only real quibble I have with The Knave of Secrets is the lack of “show don’t tell” in the storytelling. This is especially true during the many scenes featuring one game or another. In these instances, Livingston tells us what happens in the game but doesn’t really show us the action. While these scenes are intended to move the story along, sadly they fall flat while they attempt to do so.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Alex Livingston’s The Knave of Secrets. While the book is meant to be a standalone, I would very much enjoy seeing more tales from this world he has created. I recommend this book to my readers and I would remind them of an adage that every gambler knows:

The House Always Wins.

Thank you so much Rebellion Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston in return for my honest and unbiased review.

I am very partial to a morally grey character and Alex Livingston delivers with the main characters in this intricate fantasy. Truthfully, they are intriguing if not likeable.

Set in an alternative version of historical Europe, the world building is a delight. This is a world built on complex politics, machinations, magic, pirates and of course treasure.

The card games and trickery are intriguing and complex, with so many layers across the complex games, people, world and of course politics. At times I did have to stop, retreat a little to get my head around certain parts, but it was worth the time and investment.

The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston, an interesting Title. I struggled to get into this book, and decided it just wasn't for me, though I do think others will enjoy it. Thank you for giving me a chance with this title.

Valen Quinol is a failed magician turned cardsharp; the mastermind of a small crew of cheats, he’s been threatened, to fulfill a task; win a dangerous secret at the Forbearance Games and turn it over. Full of deadly secrets, this world that Alex Livington has built is nothing short of unique; vivid and rich with characters, magic, and in a society where gambling handles businesses, you might want to place your bets carefully.

A fantastic book that I couldn’t stop reading. The politics were a tad confusing, but not enough to stop me from pushing on. It may have even propelled me forward since I just wanted to keep going to at least see why this oh-important secret is so sought after.

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a fantasy story about a world of gamblers, cardsharps, and conmen, with a touch of magic and a plethora of secrets that will leave you guessing until the end.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
When looking at the cover and the blurb, I’m first intrigued by how well the two go together. The title sounds like a playing card, and the figure on the cover looks mysterious and secretive, and he is holding a card. I haven’t read or seen either of the two comparisons mentioned in the blurb – The Lies of Locke Lamora and Casino Royale, which offers me no clues as to what to expect. I find the dark grittiness of the described world an intriguing juxtaposition to the magical world alluded to. Overall, I anticipate a dark and gritty thriller with a fantasy angle.

Actual Reading Experience:
As I sometimes do, I am going to start with the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the last thirty percent and the twist at the end. The action picked up, and the dialogue flowed naturally. Whereas there is a bunch of information about the world and characters in the early chapters that made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story, the later chapters quickly pulled me in.

The card game aspect of this story is fresh and creative. I like that this world has a Secret Broker that assigns value to different secrets and that this can be used in the card game to bet with. It intrigued me and kept me wanting more. I also enjoyed the enchanted objects and the creative use of these objects to both cheat and find cheaters. This definitely helped keep the pace high after the first few chapters.

Unfortunately, I struggled to find my way in this world. The world-building, in the beginning, presented a challenge for me that I was only partially able to overcome. I had trouble with the abundance of details in those early chapters because they were hard for me to follow, process, and put into context.

The story is mostly as I anticipated. It is dark and somewhat gritty but a bit different than I was thinking. There are thrills and a magical angle, and I enjoyed these aspects most of all. Most of the plot is covered by the blurb, which is a bit surprising but considering, it’s no wonder that my expectations were pretty spot on.

Characters
The story is told in third-person but also in a focused point of view (POV), and that POV changes from chapter to chapter. The following are the characters from whose perspective leads chapters:
1. Valen, the main character, is married to Marguerite, a proud and clever woman. He practices what he calls luck magic which he uses to stack the deck. When he wins the secret of Skyndiferth, his life takes on a whole new peril.
2. Teneriève is an associate of Valen’s. She took to “the social aspects of chicanery like she was born to it: the lies and false identities and playing on people’s prejudices.” I liked Ten, as she is a strong female character in ways that compliments Marguerite’s strength. I found her relationship with Jac a fun part of the story, though he could be gross at times.
3. Dona Ariadna de Alodesal y Juegon—‘Ria’ is grandee of Ombria, Gamesmaster of Torreçon, and Regal Ambassador to the Independent Country of Valtiffe. She gave me a look at the social classes from someone in the upper class.
4. Omer-Guy Bendine is the Cadois Ambassador to Valtiffe and representative of Empress Oceane Caraliere de Flechard. I don’t feel like I really got to know him very well, and he seemed a bit of a bungling fool to me.
5. Michel Alcippe is a Brother and Third-Honor Faculty, Order of the Sjónleysi. He represents the world of magic in the story which seems to be housed with the Order. Different social classes practiced different magic, and, as I understood it, the Brothers were the keepers.
I found that the number of POVs didn’t confuse me or disrupt the story as can happen. I enjoyed the different perspectives as they each lent a bit more information about this unique world and the world of card games within it. Though, on the downside, I can’t say any of the characters are developed deeply through multiple POVs.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a different kind of heist story, you will find The Knave of Secrets just what you are looking for.

Thank you to The Write Reads and the publisher Rebellion for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

There were two things that interested me in this book: cons and magic. I like heist movies and want to read more books with heists, especially fantasy books. So I knew immediately I had to sign up for this tour.

The Knave of Secrets is an epic fantasy with card tricks, hustles, and intrigue. Valen was a student of magic before he decided to work as a cardsharp. He plays cards for a living. But not just the game. He plays his opponents, marks cards, memorizes cards, and stacks the deck in his favour. And if that fails, he relies on his luck magic to conjure the card he needs at the right time. It has never failed. But that doesn’t mean luck is always on his side. One bad job brought danger to him and his friends.

After the con, the real story starts. Or at least, what I would say is the real story. This is where all the players enter the board, some far away from our main cast. We learn about why the information Valen and co needed to get is so valuable. The jumps between character PoVs come with time jumps too. Not big ones, but you know that when a chapter ends, more has happened than in between. There’s also a lot of exposition about the countries and cultures. Some of it was more useful than other bits. It often felt like information dumping instead of weaving it into the story. This might be a genre thing, but maybe true epic fantasy isn’t for me.

Throughout the story, you feel the stakes rising with mentions of war and thousands of dead. Still, our heroes (are they really heroes) chose the non-violent route, relying on their skills, rather than trying to fight someone much stronger and competent in a physical battle. This ending is more satisfying and fits the characters better than I’d initially expected. Some cons take time and have multiple layers. The authors shows it wonderfully.

I give The Knave of Secrets four stars. The intriguing premise combined with the interesting cast makes for a compelling read. I recommend this to fantasy lovers and people interested in card tricks and cheating in gambling halls.

My Rating: 3/5 Stars


True to the synopsis, The Knave of Secrets was tinged with magic, carried secrets that could topple kingdoms, and leave you anticipating more.

This was my first time reading a full-blown tournament book specifically for cards. The fact that players had to gamble with their secrets was just the cherry on top. Trying to uncover the secrets felt like solving a complex puzzle, each piece falling into the right place one chapter after the other.

This book was told through multiple POVs. I was waiting to see how these characters would meet up, given how they were in different places in the kingdoms, but they got together right on time for the climax tying up all the questions and doubts I had.

We don’t directly jump into the main tournament until the second quarter of the book. Meanwhile, we are introduced to our main characters, the political atmosphere of the kingdoms, and the rules of the games. The story thoroughly laid out the strategies and tricks that Valen employed to beat his opponents. But there were times I wanted it to pick its pacing so I was not lost in my thoughts and wouldn’t have to go back to read the text again to understand what was happening in the chapter.


What I was looking forward to the most in the story was what the secret was ever since that envelope landed in Valen’s hands. The anticipation around it fuelled my curiosity and kept me reading the book, but when the secret was out, it fell short of achieving what it was supposed to.

Regardless, come witness gamemasters, cardsharps, and enchanters gambling secrets embark on a quest to chase the darkest secrets that could change kingdoms in this book.

(Thanks to The WriteReads tours and the publisher for the free eARC of the book!)

Thank you to The Write Reads, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I do love when I read the first chapter of a book and I just know I’m going to love it. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s such a great feeling when it does. And that’s certainly what happened when I picked up The Knave of Secrets!

This is a story of gambling and politics where we are following a cardsharp named Valen Quinol and his small crew. Valen is out to prove that the magic that got him kicked out of a prestigious magical academy is real and make some money while he’s at it. He has a small but dedicated group of compatriots to help him along the way, including an ex-sailor and an ex-classmate and his wife. But then, Valen is roped into a scheme that throws him and his crew into a political mess that is far above his head. Now he needs to figure a way out of the mess while keeping himself and the people he cares about alive.

There is something about a story surrounding a crew of miscreants that I can’t help but love. Valen, Margo, Ten, and Jaq captured my heart pretty much immediately and are a large part of why I loved this book so much. It’s that found family aspect that gets me every time! I thought they were incredible characters, with the nuance and vibrancy that made them come to life on the page. I would have liked to get more of Margo and Jaq’s POV because I felt like we didn’t get to know them quite as well as the other two, but I still loved them all!

I also enjoyed all the twisty politics in this story. I love a story with layers and layers of intrigue and this certainly delivered in spades! It wasn’t to the point that I was completely confused, but it definitely kept me on my toes. It was like watching a particularly brutal game of chess unfold. Which makes sense as this book and the world within are very much centered around games of all kind. I thought the complex system of card and dice games that are played throughout this world was so fascinating! I will admit to getting a bit lost in what was popular where and which deck was used for what, but I still found it an interesting element of the story. And the appendices at the end certainly helped.

Final thoughts: This is an compelling world built around some fabulous characters! I loved the found family aspect that we see with our main group of cardsharps. I thought they were a complex and interesting group that made me love this book all the more. The world-building is incredible, with a magic system and politics that could get a smidge confusing, but still had me absolutely intrigued. If you enjoy fantasy novels that focus on a group of cheats somehow getting embroiled in a deadly game of politics, I think you would enjoy The Knave of Secrets!