I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book and its sequel, look for my review of that soon. I can't believe more people aren't talking about this series. This was a great genre mash up of fantasy, mystery, and a touch of horror. I do feel that this was a tad on the long side, and following three different POVs was a bit hard to keep track of at first especially with the audio version. There are alot of characters, names, and places to keep track of as the story unfolds and while I eventually was able to settle in and keep track, I feel some readers may prefer to follow along or opt completely for the print version to better keep track of everything.

The premise of this was really unique. This follows Krona, a regulator in a world where magic is available and accepted. Regulators can most easily be compared to police officers. Krona's team was tasked to protect some enchanted objects at a party, but they were stolen. One of the items was an enchanted mask of a serial killer named Charbon. Masks can be enchanted upon the death of a person to retain their memories and when worn their memories and knowledge is passed on to the wearer as long as they are wearing the mask. The thief is imitating Charbon's murders and Krona's and her team led by her older sister must investigate all of the angles. Krona uncovers secrets and information that takes her to places she never expected and to things that are better left alone.

This is told from the perspectives of Krona. Melanie, and Charbon himself. The story is told in the present and past as it leads up to the current day events. I thought the 3 POVs really worked well here as we really got to understand how the magic and religion worked and eventually how all three of the characters were tied together and what their motivations are. I thought the author did a great job tying the three POVs together at the end. The worldbuilding was done well, beware there are some gruesome parts. Despite the book being on the long side, I was engaged the entire time and thought the pacing was good. There were ample action scenes to keep you on your toes and wanting to know what happens next. The books ends with a minor cliffhanger, but overall the main story ends and I got a sense of closure from the book with a tease of what is to come in the next book.

Because this is told from three different perspectives, it was nice to have three different narrators to voice each of the characters. Because their storylines are told at different times and are independent, I find it nice to have a separate voice for each part of the story to keep the storylines and timelines straight. Each of the narrators did a good job with the characters and I hope some or all of them are back to narrate the next book in the series.

If you liked this book, I think you would also like Drunk on All Your Strange New Words. It has a unique storyline and mystery but with more of a sci-fi twist.

A horror fantasy full of magic and a serial killer mystery - what's not to like? This is a well written story with such a great atmosphere. It is well paced, keeping the reader turning the page for more.

Lostetter combines an epic fantasy, a mystery, and a horror story into one, creating a gorgeous start to a trilogy.

The Helm of Midnight follows an investigator who is looking for stolen magical artifacts. In this world, magic is created by enchanters, who make masks which can give the wearer skills added to the mask from the mind of the deceased. In addition to looking for the stolen artifacts, our protagonist, Krona, must look for a serial killer who appears to be using one of said artifacts to continue the work of the killer whose skills had been imbued in a death mask.

As Krona follows the threads of this mystery, more and more conspiracy is revealed, and where it leads is anyone's guess.

Our characters are well-balanced, in my opinion, and the plot is enjoyable. While the book is billed as a partial mystery, the viewer does get a look into the background with a multiple timelines/perspectives setup. This does give the reader a few revelations before Krona gets them, which slightly takes away from our time with Krona. That being said, the backstory is key for understanding the final twist and come-together point of the novel.

All in all, this is an enjoyable start to what looks to be a solid fantasy trilogy.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of helm of midnight. This was an interesting book about knights and such.

Marian Lostetter has written the first of what is going to be a mind-blowing fantasy/horror trilogy. This book features a gruesome serial killer mystery wrapped up inside a fantastical world full of magic and the propulsive nature of the writing left me so entertained that I wish the second book was already available.

Fantasy/Horror fans are going to fall in love with this book and be begging for the next in the series.

The Helm of Midnight is a horror fantasy story about the death mask of Louis Charbon. The mask is basically possessed by an evil spirit who starts killing again. Krona Hirvath sets out to get in the killer's mind and end this insanity.

Gosh this just seemed so cool. Unfortunately, the writing just didn't hook me. It felt so technical and I always felt a great distance from the characters. I felt like I never really knew the people I was reading about. For me, it doesn't matter how cool or interesting the story is, if the characters aren't great, then I won't enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Nicholas Khan, Shala Nyx, and Vera Chok were fine narrators. However, this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy of this audiobook! This book went on my TBR list as soon as I saw the cover, so I was very excited to see the audiobook version available on NetGalley.

The book has multiple POVs and different narrators for each, all of which did a phenomenal job and I especially enjoyed Nicholas Khan's narration. The story starts in a fantasy world where a serial killer is plaguing the streets of the city, but it's not a normal person committing these murders. In this world, when a person dies, a death mask is created and imbued with the person's memories and all of their learned talents. These masks are then used by people to help them perform specific tasks. Many different masks are used throughout the book, but the main mask belonged to a notorious serial killer. This mask gets stolen and then the murders begin. Krona and her fellow Regulators must investigate the theft and try to stop the killer. As they dig deeper into the case, it proves to be a bigger mystery than anyone bargained for. So much world building happens in this book as Krona is hunting down answers, but I feel like we only get to see a fraction of it in book one. I look forward to seeing what book two has in store for readers. There's so much more to this book than what I mentioned, but it's hard to describe the full expanse of the lush world building without giving anything away. If you're looking for a genre crossing fantasy with an intriguing mystery to solve, pick up this book.

The Helm of Midnight is a very complexly woven fantasy novel with a lot of moving parts, It took me some time to get into the audiobook, but I ended up really enjoying the entire story and wanted to see how it would play out.

This book really felt endless to me, considering it is basically an episode of Fantasy Law & Order. Elements of it I loved - the magic is some of the coolest I've seen, the many different elements of it and the magical creatures in this book are awesome, and the main character, religion and the villain were well done. I didn't love the timeline switching but that could have just been an audio problem for me. But mostly I felt like the book could have been trimmed, the main plot did not need as much time as it was given and my attention kept waning. I found the resolution to the whole thing not as interesting as the time I spent with it was worth. I will read the second one, though.

The Helm of Midnight is a fantasy novel, but it’s also horror and mystery. The book opens with a daring and deadly heist. The thieves stole a dangerous artifact of terrible power: the death mask of Louis Charbon. Charbon was once a serial killer and the theft of the death mask means that someone might have the power to channel Louis Charbon’s abilities when they wear it. Krona, her sister De-Lia, and the other Regulators need to find the thieves and discover the truth behind this heist.

The story is told through the perspective of three main characters, each in a different time frame. The three viewpoints have different narrators which worked well by keeping it clear whose portion of the story we were listening to. And each read with appropriate emotion and helped flesh out the characters’ personalities. Krona is in the present time, trying to solve the mystery and stop more killings. Melanie’s chapters take place about two years ago and it takes a while for them to tie together with Krona’s timeline. The third portion is told by Louis Chabon himself ten years ago. It’s surprising how well Lostetter made us care about the killer and understand his motives.

The mystery portion is well done. A new serial killer, following Chabon’s methods, is loose in the city. Krona has several suspects and the clues slowly point her in the right direction. I typically don’t read serial killer books. They tend to be more gruesome than I’m usually comfortable with, and this one is no exception. The murders are horrific and seeing them from Chabon’s point of view is disturbing. So, while I did enjoy the book, there were times I had to set it aside for a break.

There is a lot of magic here too. There are gods and monsters. There are the death masks which can allow people wearing them to borrow the skills of the deceased. The currency is time which is drawn from every citizen when they are a baby. The vials are used to purchase everything from information to tea. There are gemstones infused with emotions. There are other enchantments too and to be honest, I’m not quite sure how it all goes together. I imagine we’ll learn more about the magic and the gods and their puppets in the next book.

The Helm of Midnight was dark and engrossing. I’m looking forward to see where the story goes in The Cage of Dark Hours,

Two women find their lives tangled in a split-narrator and split-timeline story. The build up is paid off nicely, everybody involved in believable. Story comes off as very YA, exposition is blunt but allows the pacing to speed up the entire book.

I really enjoyed reading. It had a great plot which was very intricate, intriguing and detail. The author did a fantastic job laying out the setting, then weaving us through timelines and a magical world where a killer lies. It starts with the heist of a mask. These masks are very special as they it holds memories. characteristics and skills of its previous owner. Some of these masks can be dangerous, depending on who previously owned the mask. One of the most dangerous masks is stolen, the one belonging to Louis Charbon, whom is a serial killer. I really liked that we had multiple POV., that we are able to see different perspectives. The book has a slow pace towards the beginning but once it gets moving, it's a wild ride. Very exciting! You will be listening for hours. You will not put it down! I loved the ending, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

I had preordered this book and read it when it came out in 2021, but when I got an audio review copy of the sequel, I grabbed an audio review copy of this to reread in preparation.

I’m very glad I did too because this audio production was incredible. The narrative follows 3 people in different timelines, narrated by Nicholas Khan, Shaka Nyx, and Vera Chok. Krona is arguably the main character in this installment and she is an investigator searching for the stolen mask of an infamous serial killer, Louis Charbon. In another POV we follow Melanie 2 years previously as she tries to use a mask to save her dying mother, and in the last we follow Charbon 11 years previously as he is at the height of his murder spree.

The way the three timelines/perspectives weave together is really fascinating and I love what we see of the magic and general society here. It’s a queer normative society where their creation myth involves gods of 5 different genders and there seems to be several types of magic, but the one we see the most of has to do with funeral masks that allow the wearer the ability to access a particular talent of the deceased. For example, Louis Charbon had incredible detailed knowledge of human anatomy that he used in his murders, and if someone wears his mask they will have that knowledge while they wear it. We also see hints of a larger macro plot where the people in this society have been isolated and are going to realize that everything they’ve been told is true, is in fact a lie.

As a whole, I found this to be dark and immersive and I really found myself rooting for the characters. I’m also begging for more Thibaut in the sequel, please, I love him.

If you like mystery, intrigue, and fantasy. Then this is the story for you. This book was so good and it’s a trilogy so much more story to come.

With excellent world building and a complex magic system, I was left a little disappointed by the other aspect of the story. Although 2 of the 3 POV’s that we follow were from complex characters that were written well. Krona was the 3rd character that fell somewhat short, you only get some character development at the end of the book where you find out it wasn’t her with the monster but her sister. But, even this revelation lacked in comparison to the other characters.

Not only this, but the story felt somewhat boring/not high stakes enough? The story opened with such a high stakes action scene where our main character was fighting the monsters. But, after this the most dramatic thing is a chase scene until the end of the book when everything comes together.

With these things though, I thought that it was a good book and can’t wait to revisit the world.

A very new fantasy world to me magic, time and and science. The world building was phenomenal and the character development was flawless. It's a murder-mystery/thriller told by three different characters and the best part is that the audiobook is also voiced by three different narrators. The society that this book is set it takes a very large part in the choices that the characters make and that's a rather new concept to me- I enjoyed it.

There are 5 different genders in this world but there's very little engagement on that fact, which was disappointing. Kudos to the author for inclusivity, but it was lackluster and empty.

I do plan to purchase a physical copy to reread because I feel like there's more to be gathered the second time around. This is definitely a series I want on my shelf.

Thank you Netgalley and Marina. This is an honest review given willingly.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to listen to “The Helm of Midnight”. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.