Mistress of Lies centers two characters, Shan and Samuel, who couldn't come from more different walks of life. Shan is the heir of a noble Blood Working family who just committed patricide so she can take over her father's political title who also manages a network of spies in her free time. Samuel, Unblooded but not without his own magic, has a string of bad luck that feels like it started at his birth that leads him to being a witness of a strange murder. They're thrown into working together by the orders of the undying King of their country, and given a strict ultimatum to figure out who is committing these killings. Due to his history with Shan and a separate assignment Samuel is given with him, Isaac, the Royal Blood Worker, hovers just out of our reach and the tangled web the three weave between them is delicious.

I found the characters and their relationships to be by far the strongest aspect of Mistress of Lies. They're a group of messy twenty-somethings doing their best to carve out roles in an unfair world and I enjoyed everyone's dynamic. Shan feels the strongest and most defined of the three, especially in the first half. She has this fragile relationship with her twin brother that is defined by their reckless devotion for the other, and Shan is aware that she needs to be heartless if she wants to come out on top in her society but she seems deeply uncomfortable with taking that final step. Because of his magic, Samuel feels like someone incapable of verbalizing a single desire and it has clearly left him miserable. We're not allowed in Isaac's head so he's harder to get a beat on than Samuel and Shan are but as the one who has sacrificed the most to get where he is he also feels the most open and vulnerable of the three of them. He's not afraid of verbalizing his desires, and he knows himself far better than the other two do and I was always looking forward to his page time and appearances.

There's a lot of really interesting stuff happening with gender that kept my intrigue as we went along. A powerful woman plucking a bastard with noble blood out of poverty and a dangerous situation feels like an inversion of the normal gendered dynamics we see in fantasy, and it was interesting to see how different expectations played out due to that power swap. Isaac's identity and playing around with Blood Working to aid in his transition is when we get to see some of the most interesting parts of the magic system and I was always hungry for more.

Unfortunately, the plot driving this book really did not click for me. It feels like there's maybe just one too many things going on at any given time in the major story beats and I kind of gave up trying to guess what was going to happen out of frustration. The chapters are pretty short so the pace never feels like it's dragging, but this book is so excited to tell you everything I feel like there's maybe a disconnect in making sure everything fits together in a satisfying way. I felt like the floor was falling out for under me in most of the climax, which just left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm interested in continuing the series, but just because I want to see how they dynamic between our main three evolves and changes. Objectively, there is a plot with some loosely defined stakes going on here but whatever the hell is wrong with the main three is way funnier.

This book is an easy recommendation for people looking for some truly messy, morally questionable characters and everyone who sees biting as a form of affection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC.

1.5/5 stars

The concept was better than the execution for this one.

There is a huge gap between how the characters are portrayed and what they're supposed to be. Shan was supposed to be smart, but wasn't really. Samuel is uncomfortable with existing but suddenly is really good. Isaac is... something.

The romance is underdeveloped. There was some chemistry between Shan and Samuel, but not much. I don't know what Isaac was doing there.

The worldbuilding is abysmal. I cannot tell you what it's about. There are bloodworkers and those who don't have powers (unblooded? who knows) and the ones without power are sad. It seemed like it was supposed to show powerful themes, but that didn't come off at all.

I wish I had liked this more, but alas!

This was good, but not AMAZING. It starts off with an absolute banger of a first chapter, but never again quite lives up to that promise.

The plot itself is good, if slow at times. I liked the scheming, the politics, the idea of a murder mystery. But though the king tasks Shan and Samuel to solve the mystery, they never really seem to focus on it until it’s just about too late.

As far as the characters…Shan and Samuel are great, but I never really liked Isaac, and their relationships with him felt super underdeveloped. The relationship progressions all felt overly easy and surface level honestly. Everyone trusted the other far too easily for how much treason they were committing. Samuel was such a sweet summer child for so much of the book, but even so I liked him best with Shan, only because that relationship had the most development time. A triad is hinted and talked about, but never actually enacted on page. I think it could have been great though.

I know I’ve called out a lot here, but I did enjoy the read. It’s not quite 4 stars for me, but I’m intrigued enough to want to read the next book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the preview. All opinions are my own.

When I read that this was a dark fantasy novel comprised of polyamorous queer characters who could wield blood magic, I couldn’t download it fast enough. Because so many elements of Mistress of Lies were perfectly aligned with my taste profile, I was disappointed that I didn’t love it. After an action-packed beginning, the rest of the book progressed slowly. The prose didn’t quite match the atmosphere of the world (I think it read too modern?) and the dialogue for some of the older characters read like an adolescent was speaking. Overall I didn’t feel connected to the characters or invested in the plot, and I ended up skimming through the second half of the book to see how everything wrapped up.

- Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! -

For fans of A Marvellous Light and The Hunter’s Gambit, this faux-historical fantasy is intriguing and absolutely dripping in blood.

Top Tropes:
• Your Problematic Fav
• Toxic love triangle (will they or won’t they throuple?)
• I can fix him daddy, no really I can
• Eat the rich(‘s blood)

I really enjoyed the depth of the exploration of the sibling relationship here, including the ways in which it was far from picture perfect. The author looks at the intersection between wealth and class, privilege and race, in an interesting and surprisingly thoughtful way. I appreciated the reform vs revolution conflict in the face of a tyrant, which is something I feel like many fantasy books leave out. All and all, a fairly action packed and interesting book. And that ending! Excited for book 2.

Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for review purposes.
Mistress of Lies is a poly romantasy / murder-mystery with blood magic and vampires.
One of my most anticipated books of the year, this one fell flat for me. It ultimately came down to everything feeling like Telling, not Showing, with a lot of info-dumps getting in the way of connecting with the characters, and their actions never feeling fully justified beyond just a way to move the plot forward. Actually seeing some of the things the characters experienced in flashbacks would’ve helped us connect to them more.
I also think Issac should’ve had a POV; it feels odd for one third of the poly throuple to get left out and not have his perspective shown, even if I do understand why it’s like that for the narrative.
The world-building is definitely its strongest element; The use of blood magic being something that only their country does; the Eternal King who is essentially a vampire, and is the only one allowed to use blood magic to stay young; the wearing of claws as both practical for blood magic but also ornamental and a status symbol... it's all very good and cohesive.
Overall, a book with a lot of good things going for it ended up failing on the execution with the writing and pacing of the story.

Thank you to Orbit Books, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I know this is a highly anticipated release for many, so I will admit I was disappointed in this book. It was a great story and was super well written. However, I just didn't like the main character much at all, so it was really hard to stay engaged with the book.

I'll say that this book has great representation, and I really enjoyed the two side main characters a lot. I also appreciated the development of personal relationships in the book. I loved the story itself and felt it was unique and well developed.

I will give this a 4/5 because while it was challenging for me to get through just due to not liking the MC, I feel it is an impressive book and I just wish I could have more fully enjoyed it.

Dip into a world of blood magic, family secrets, power and queer delights.
Mistress of Lies is a unique take on vampires and blood magic that will draw many a reader in.

At the heart of this story is mystery and murder yet it’s so much more than that. It explores the issues of racism and oppression whilst being a beautiful example of how a dark fantasy should be done .

The plot and characters will keep readers hooked until the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for my eARC!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright is a dual third person-POV Queer fantasy with blood magic and revenge. Twins Shan and Anton have been planning on killing their father for years to step out of his thumb and reconnect to their mother’s heritage. When they finally succeed, with the help of Bart, Anton’s lover, Shan takes her father's place at court and in the council. Meanwhile, Samuel is an Unblooded, someone who can't perform blood magic, who stumbles upon a murder.

Heritage plays a major theme throughout Mistress of Lies. Anton and Shan are half-Filipino-coded with references to adobo, pancit and Tagalog sprinkled throughout. Their father was against their mother sharing her culture with their children and eventually drove her away, effectively cutting the twins off from half of themselves. They are othered because of their appearance but lack that connection they were craving. Samuel is the son of a woman who was sexually assaulted and doesn't even know who his father is. At least, until Shan uses blood magic to reveal he is the descendant of the vampire king, the very king that keeps the Unblooded at the bottom of the social structure.

A former flame of Shan and potential love interest for both her and Samuel is Isaac, a young transman whose parents are immigrants. Because he is talented at blood magic, he manages to take the seat of the Royal Blood Worker, a very high position in their world, but it's not without whispers and questions of whether or not he's the right choice. His heritage as a child of immigrants makes the courts doubt him.

The major running romantic arc is the potential polyamorous relationship between Shan, Isaac, and Samuel. Samuel and Shan are instantly attracted to each other and so are Samuel and Isaac. Despite how poorly their relationship ended before, Shan is open to starting something with Isaac again and seriously considers the option of courting both men when Isaac presents it as an option. At no point is either side of the polycule treated as less than by the other two; all three are given weight as a potential couple and then as a poly option. Trust and attraction all play a large, especially in relation to Samuel’s abilities to manipulate others.

Content warning for mentions of assault, racism, and abuse

I would recommend this to fans of Queer fantasy, readers looking for polyamorous relationships in fantasy novels, and those looking for more blood magic with their vampires

This was one of my anticipated reads this year. The opening third of the book really grabbed my attention. The characters are complex and it is great to see diverse representation (LGBTQIA, Filipino main characters!)! There is a lot of telling vs showing around the politics and social structure of the world. I would have like to explore more about our FMC’s family mystique. The middle third of the book I did feel like it bogged down the pacing due to exposition, exploring our character’s muddied motivations and the romantic entanglement of our characters. But as the story came to a close, the plot was somewhat predictable but still very enjoyable.

A big thank you to netgalley and the author for a review copy of this book!
This had been a really talked about book and so I wanted to give it a go and see what the hype was about!
I'm general it was a great book but for me I found something lacking. I do think that's more down to it being less of my go to genre than I would generally pick than the book itself and so I won't take any stars away for that.
I wouldn't buy it personally but I'm glad I got to read it and now I DO understand why so many people can't wait to get their hands on a copy.

Ugh, I have such mixed feelings for this book, so I'll try my best to sort through them.

First, what I liked:
- The Bridgerton vibes are strong! I get a lot of that historical/regency vibe from the rich descriptions of settings, clothes, and prim exchanges between lords and ladies.
- This twist on vampires and making them Blood Workers instead is fascinating.
- Every time we got a reference to Filipino food I could hear the "RAAAAA PHILIPPINES MENTIONED RAAAAA!" sound go off in my head.
- The opener was SUCH A BANGER, wtf, so good! Of course I was hooked by that!

What didn't work:
- After such a strong opening, we hit a wall by the 50% mark. I almost DNF'ed at that point, I was so bored. We were just repeatedly being shown the same thing (omg, someone died again, who could it be!?) and the heavy handed exposition overtook the plot, making it a frustrating reading experience.
- For someone who's supposed to be a badass spymaster, Shan really doesn't seem to do much (aside from that killer opening scene)? Also, it feels ridiculous to believe NO ONE would recognize her, like what in the Clark Kent makeup disguise is this? Girl doesn't even wear a wig, she straight up adds some extra foundation and eyeliner or whatever and calls it good.
- The Blood Working sounds so cool...it'd be even cooler if we got a better explanation for how it worked.
- This book wanders down different paths of trying to be a murder mystery, a romance, political court intrigue, and revolution but fails to excel at any of them and instead becomes a rather middling experience in all four categories.

And speaking of the political intrigue/revolution plotline, by the end I was Team Villain! Shan and Samuel are such pacifist centrists in this that I couldn't help getting annoyed by them. While Samuel feels like he could be swayed into genuine revolutionary action, Shan is so clearly wrapped up in benefitting from a system that will continue to oppress others.

I wanted to love this book, and after such a strong opening, I was so excited! But my own expectations ended up making this feel even more disappointing.

A dark fantasy romance filled with political intrigue. I love morally gray characters and this book is filled with them. Excellent world building and literally some of the best character development I’ve ever seen. I love a poly romance, and this book definitely met my high expectations. Also, Vampires!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for the ARC. This book started off with the most amazing first chapter. Shan was an absolute bad ass. And I really enjoyed all the scheming and plotting and politics. The prose was also beautiful. Its just the pace was a bit slow, and the first chapter made me want more badass Shan but unfortunately we did not get that. I really liked the first part of the book the best. The romance was alright.

2.5 rated up

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Overall I really enjoyed this book even with some of its flaws. Its a very solid debut! The vibes were there, I enjoyed the characters, and I was entertained but I wanted *more* from it. It gets 4 out of 5 stars from me and I will definitely read the sequel and recommend to others.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

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WHAT I LOVED:

- The intro was a fucking banger. Like holy shit it set the tone and I was immediately sucked in. The revenge she got on her father was so satisfying and felt personally cathartic.
- Certain relationship dynamics felt very real and well portrayed. The tension was tensioning in specific scenes.
- The trans and bi/pan rep was perfect. I felt seen and represented.
- The civil unrest and the tension between Blood Workers and the Unblooded felt very real.
- The VIBES were immaculate and the descriptions were very evocative. That kept me hooked alone. The writing was also easy to digest and consume.
- I loved the whole cast of characters despite some faults.
- It is known that I am very dumb with one brain cell on most days so I did not see the plot twist coming (others can probably put two and two together earlier) and that last 30% had me at the edge of my seat. I felt betrayed by the reveal (like I am sure was intended) and am so invested in seeing what happens now.
- The Eternal King has a big dick and boy does he come out swinging with it when he needs. Also he is giving me Dracula from Netflix Castlevania vibes but like if he didn’t quite spiral down to complete madness once Lisa died. Either way I am a Dracula simp so I can fix him.
- I liked the gender spin on the “lost but now found princess” trope. Seeing Samuel rise from Unblooded with nothing to still an Unblooded but with a powerful family, riches, and some kind of dark power no one else has, with the resulting internal struggle with all of that was very real feeling. He is baby.
- I did enjoy Shan’s rise to power and the bloody way she went about making that happen. Girl can work a ballroom for sure. That was a strong point of her character even if it didn’t always translate to being shown on page in other ways that would’ve been more impactful.
- I like the duo POV’s. They both had very distinct voices and internal monologues so I never lost track with whose head we were in.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

- The book suffered from being several things at once (a romance, a dark fantasy, political drama, a murder mystery) with the execution between those things not being as cohesive as it could.
- The plot kind of meandered after that intro especially in the middle half when a lot of character exposition happened with sprinkles of finding another body but nothing actually unfolding with the main plot before going back to some party or another. It became stagnant feeling. The last 70% is when it kicked back off. In the end it did feel like Shan and Samuel were just handed the answers to the murder mystery which was kind of unsatisfying. There was the red herring thrown in with Anton but that happened so late in the game there was never any opportunity for the duo to put two and two together before the big reveal.
- The poly romance felt more like Shan and Isaac ping ponging Samuel around than actually being a relationship. It was never on equal footing. There also seems to be an imbalance of how they all feel for each other. Shan seems to like Isaac more (which makes sense given their prior history) while Samuel seems to say he likes Shan more but then his scenes with Isaac show otherwise (the tension between these two was insane) and Isaac just seems to be playing them both. Other than Shan and Isaac bonking once, there is just a bunch of making out separately between the pairs and a lot of “oh we really shouldn’t because xyz” in which they stop, plot happens, and then rinse and repeat the cycle. I do think that if the three of them had finally committed to being in a relationship together then done the bonk, that the betrayal would’ve rocked their world more in the end. Nothing seems to any different relationship wise really other than one of them being imprisoned. Its messy though and I like drama so I am willing to sip tea while I watch it unfold.
- With Shan it felt like there was a little too much of being *told* of her brilliance and maneuverings but not really shown it and/or she got upstaged by something she should’ve seen coming. The whole Sparrow aspect fell a little fault for me personally. I also expected with her rise in station that there would be more nobles coming to her to gossip over tea and share tidbits but that never really happened so if never really felt like she rose in power among the other nobles. I also felt like her being the Sparrow and recognized by ALL of her birds across the city, even in disguise, was a little far fetched.

WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:

- I do wish there was more of a focus on the magic system and how it worked, who gets it, etc. It wasn’t confusing per se but I wanted *more* ya know?
- I also wish there was a tad bit more worldbuilding. I vaguely get that this country isolates itself from other countries because blood magic, both out of fear but also wanting to use it for gain, but that was kind of it? We have the main city but are there any other towns on this island (at least I think its an island), how big is the city and the hunk of rock they are on anyways, is there lots of trade with other nations, etc? We know very little and I think a little more would’ve helped set a bit more of the scene and certain plot aspects.
- We know 3 out of the main cast/side characters are POC with their heritage being from another nation, that they are looked down upon in society for being only half white, but other than one instance that I vaguely remember from an elitist, it doesn’t seem like being only half white mattered to anyone else they met even in society. We were just told it did over and over again but never really *shown* that, the nobles just cared if you were noble, a Blood Worker, and how powerful of one or the other that you were. Race didn’t seem to matter. Shan and Anton did struggle with their father hating everything about their mother so they repressed their mother’s POC heritage which was impactful to them personally and I felt like that was well done and how it caused a bit of resentment (maybe wrong word) between the siblings.
- I do kind of wish we had gotten more with Anton in general and with Samuel. I think the two of them bonding over their Unblooded status earlier would have been good for the drama of it all.

This book was so unexpected for me, but in the best possible way! A friend read it, RAVED about it, told me I needed to read it as well.... so I listened and boy am I glad I did.

We've got complex characters - who aren't just what they seem, in more ways than one. We can see how their perspectives change, how they realize their mistakes, and what they learned from those mistakes. We get anger, love, heartbreak, surprise, betrayal, uneasiness, and more with these characters and I really enjoyed that.

Shan (FMC) and Isaac (MMC #1) are Blood Workers (aka higher class than the 'Unblooded') BUT still face scrutiny simply because of the color of their skin and they both deal with it in different ways. Samuel (MMC#2) is our precious little Golden Retriever MMC with a secret - but it's no surprise when both Shan & Isaac fall for him. We see how his life takes a full turnaround from what he's always known and he's basically thrown into an entirely different world. Aside from the complexities of the three main characters, even the side characters had more than just 'hey i'm a side character to fill a void' vibes which was very refreshing to read!

This book has trans representation, Filipino representation, polyamory, an unfairly treated working class, and just SO MUCH MORE that I'm not sure I'll ever shut up about it. All I can really say is that this book isn't even officially out yet, and I'm already craving the next one in the series.

As always, huge huge huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review - I can't wait for the book to release so I can go buy a physical copy!

DNF. The first chapter was quite good but starting it in media res without much description wasn't helpful.i had a problem connecting with it and ultimately decided to give up.

Thank you to orbit publisher, NetGalley the author for this arc.
This was different from what I usually read.
It was a lot, it was good, but if I loose consecration for a second I would get lost. Like I said not a bad thing, it’s a really good thing.
Its political, trio romance, double pov
It was really well written, and it follows two people Shan and Samuel.
There is twist and turns that will take you by surprise. Like how it started man, right off the start it was a bang, so I knew that it was going to be so interesting how it will turn out, and yeah I did not see the ending coming.

I adore messy and maybe slightly villainous women so Mistress of Lies opened with one of the POV characters killing her father to take power I was sold. The world of the novel is full of questionable morals, blood focused magic, and political intrigue. Our two POV characters Lady Shan LeClaire and Samuel (last name not said due to spoilers) are both incredibly complex and felt genuinely ingrained into their personalities and the world around them. I enjoyed how the dynamic between the pair of them developed over the novel as Samuel was introduced more to the upper class society that Shan lives in when they get paired to investigate a string of murders.

One of my complaints that I hope is addressed in the upcoming books in the trilogy is the odd conclusion to one of the character's struggles with their powers. I was annoyed to not get to see on page the development of them learning to harness this power and getting to the levels of strength that they did toward the end and then the climax of it being resolved super frustrating. Another issue was the kind of insta love between the characters, at no point did I see more of a connection than lust between Isaac and Samuel but we're told that through their time together (off page) that it has developed more. Again with Isaac I didn't understand why Shan was so forgiving, like yeah Isaac is good looking, in a powerful position and charming but what makes them actually like each other. I could at least with Shan see that they liked the other's ambition and willingness to go to absurd lengths to stay at the top but it seemed too contrasting with Samuel's personality.

Vampires are always fun and the Eternal King is going to become even more frightening with his final acts of this novel granting him more control. I am hoping as the books continue that the politics of the other countries in the world are explored a bit more and as readers we get more perspective of the unblooded characters. Anton, Shan's brother, is a fascinating character and I want to know more about the role that he plays in this society. We got a hint of it but I think that it truly opens up Shan and Samuel to expanding their own plans.

4.5 stars

This book! I read it in one day, and I have no regrets. The mystery and the twists of lies and truth had me suspecting every single character by turns, which kept the plot moving. The love triangle was absolutely delicious, and the trans rep was very well done.

I loved the insight into Shan’s world and her identity crisis. Her relationship with her brother - protective yet distant - felt so real.

Blood magic and class divisions are nothing new, but they were well written and felt fresh and exciting.

Overall a solid romance wrapped in fantasy. Loved it!