*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

oh this was just brilliant! not my usual read but omg I was hooked from the first chapter. talk about starting it with a bang.mindblowing.
honestly this was a great and fun read .easy to read .fans of triangle and poly will love this one.as I said not my usual style but I devoured it. Loved the world building and the magic system. Can't wait for a special edition of this one!

I thought this was so good. I love blood related magic in anime and this book was no exception. The ONLY complaint I have is Shan is said to be this master manipulator, but you don't really see it except for her spy network. Like how did she get it? I also wish they didn't forgive Isaac so easily but I understand we need a plot so SLAY

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

***

Whew, this one is a toughie. If I rate this book as a romantasy, it gets four stars, easy. I enjoy all three leads and the chemistry between them is <i>sizzling.</i> I'm on tenterhooks, waiting to see what happens next and desperately want a happy ending (with all three, thank you very much.)

The representation in this book is also terrific. It's a very queer story, with a major character who is a trans man, and a polyamorous love plot. The setting treats both of those elements as NBD, in sharp contrast to the scrutiny and microagressions both Shan and Isaac face for not being white. What all those elements have in common, however, is how deftly Enright handles them, without ever falling to either preachiness or inauthentic blandness.

Does this mean I can ignore this book's flaws in other areas? Well, that's the question, isn't it.

Chief among those flaws is the way the mystery at the heart of the plot was handled. The characters putatively put in the investigative legwork, but the narrative never allowed them to uncover a real clue or make any progress until the final third, where the answers are pretty much handed to them on a platter. In short, it does not function as a mystery should and thus feels lazily written.

I also found that both Shan and especially Samuel periodically acted less intelligently than their purported skills and background experience would suggest, resulting in them being pinballed by the plot instead of driving it.

Parts of the climax were exciting. Other parts were a hot mess, with some elements evoking the reaction of "....really?"

But at the end of the day, I have to go with my gut. I ask myself, did I enjoy Mistress of Lies? And the answer is yes. Yes, I did. I cared about the characters. I'm excited to read the sequel. And what makes me excited? Why, it's the romance.

Ultimately, I think this book gets 3.5 stars either way, and with the romantasy lens winning the ratings battle, I will round that 3.5 up to a 4.

I really, really need publishers to start labelling what's "a dark, romantic fantasy" and what's a "romantasy", because there are basic stylistic differences between the two and I keep getting wonderful romantasies thinking they're fantasies with romance in them. "Mistress of Lies" is most definitely a romantasy, from the thin worldbuilding to the young-adult style writing to the ultra-competent heroine who may only be twenty-three but is already a super-powerful and influential spymaster and (we are told over and over again) always is three steps ahead of everyone else. There's a lovely poly romance in here and some court politics, but the focus is on romance rather than making the plot cohesive, and that's just never going to work for me. It starts with an absolute BANG though - the opening chapter pulls you in with our main character Shan killing her own father. It just never really reaches those heights again.

I'm torn on this one - I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and plot, but I found the story moved very slowly after the initial action. I didn't enjoy how repetitive the writing tended to be, and the characters were fairly stagnant throughout.

The book is told from a few different characters' POVs. Shan LeClaire, the daughter of a once noble Blood Worker, is a master of blood magic. She is willing to do anything to protect her brother. She is an expert in plotting and conspiring to undermine anyone who gets in her way and her quest for revenge. Everything changes when she meets Samuel Hutchinson. He is a possible new instrument for her to wield in her scheme. Samuel is on a path of danger and betrayal, not knowing who to trust. Issac, the royal blood worker, works with Shan and Samuel to find the serial killer who, if left unfound, will threaten a revolt from the people. The three form a complex bond, but who is a pawn in someone else's game?

The book is a story of colluding, intrigue, and treachery. Did I mention death and romance? You can't have vampires without someone falling in love. I loved Shan's character development. She was raised to be calculating and ambitious, so why would she be any other way? She demands respect and lacks compassion for others, except her brother, who is her one weakness. I did not love Samuel's character at first. His development was a little flimsy but grew stronger as the story progressed. I believe this reflected that he was such an outsider, and it mirrored his naive and uncorruptable ways. It did not take him long to get seduced into the fold. The last character of the trio was Issac. I felt he was a sad and tortured character by being forced to do someone else's bidding.

The author did a great job creating a new way to view vampires that were still dark. There are many ways to write about power and ambition, and the characters embody this desire with unfaltering pursuits. The betrayal created a suspenseful storyline. My only real complaint was the romance between the characters. Due to Shan's nature, she would not fall for Samuel so quickly as it would be a weakness to her. She would fight those feelings more. I did feel that Samuel and Issac's relationship was more believable, but that could just be me. Overall, the book was captivating and a good read.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and Orbit Books.

I loved the premise of Mistress of Lies and the the aspects diversity represented in this story! However, I found it more difficult to stay interested in the plot when, for example, it is already 30-40% into the book that we are caught up with what was revealed in the synopsis. It was similarly hard to connect with the characters who seemed younger than I think they actually are; their attraction to each other also seemed instantaneous and monotonous. Thank you for the opportunity to read Mistress of Lies in advance!

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! The magic is interesting, the world building is great and the characters are a lot of fun. I really appreciated the subversion of the more common “love triangle” and I cannot wait to see where this series goes from here!

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for the arc in exchange for an honest review. WHAT A DEBUT. In between the politics, subtle romance, magic, out of control families. The book begins with a bang and kept going all the way until the very end. I’m really excited to see where the next book takes us.

3.5 Stars rounded down to 3

I wish I could rate this book a little higher, but I think much of the pacing and some of the writing are a smidge off for me. Let me start off by saying that this book is romantasy, so I don’t want to judge it too harshly on its worldbuilding. I understand that there is a big focus on the romance (which is completely fine for me!), but I do think we needed a little more time dedicated to fleshing out some of the particulars because this is a book that leans in heavily into the plot as well.


THINGS I ENJOYED

• The romance is the strongest thing in this story by far (barring the end, but we’ll get into that). While a little rushed in terms of the emotional connection, I could really feel the electricity and attraction from all three of them. They were definitely the scenes I looked forward to the most and held the most tension consistently throughout the book. I also felt like the dynamics were very solid and carved out between the three of them.
• I think the positioning of the LeClaires as a disgraced family and Shan’s subsequent need for power because of it is incredibly interesting.
• The overall plot regarding classism is definitely right up my alley. I loved seeing the split between the Blood Workers and the Unblooded, as well as how the politicians were trying to navigate it. I thought that was fairly realistic.
• The opening chapter is one of the best I’ve read in a while! It’s immediately gripping, which is exactly what you want.
• The transmasc and overall LGBT representation were handled incredibly well.
• I cannot say this enough – my favorite part was seeing how utterly flawed all of the characters were even when they had good intentions. You can see this through the POV switches between Shan and Samuel especially, but in general they’re all sort of messy because of their upbringings/circumstances. Easily the best part of the book beyond the romance scenes.

THINGS I TOOK ISSUE WITH
• The culture and magic system aren’t as deep as they should be. Again, I definitely understand that this is a romantasy, but the magic especially is such a huge part of the story. With the way it’s been built out it’s almost….scientific to a degree. Because this is a harder magic system I think you can’t get away as easily with it not being as fleshed out as it should be; by the end of the book I only somewhat understood how it worked. As for the culture, I was even more lost. Is Dameral a city-state or the capital of a larger country? If it is a larger country, how are other cities feeling towards Blood Workers? I’m not asking for a major focus on either of these things, but even a line interspersed between dialogue would go a long way to clear up confusion.
• As a sort of spin-off of the above – the relationship Shan and Anton have with their culture didn’t feel as impactful as it should be. The main focus of their connection seems to be through food, but that’s really it. They make mentions of their mother, but not a lot of focus is put on her either. We don’t really know how old either of them were when she fled back to her country, we don’t know what their individual relationships were like with her for the time she was around, we don’t know if she taught them anything else about her country. Because we know next to nothing beyond the facts of how their mother got there, why she ran away, and that her children miss her….the culture and their subsequent emotions end up ringing a little bit hollow. You can most definitely understand the racism they face on a daily basis as well as why they’d both want more of a connection to that side of them. But I think Enright was going for a little more than that via character development which is why it fell flat for me.
• Speaking of Anton and Shan….this relationship also wasn’t as believable of a dynamic for me. I couldn’t really see the connection and love between these two characters. I get that their relationship when the story opens is in a strange place (what, with the patricide and all), but it doesn’t feel like they really knew each other at all, period. At the very least it almost came off as though they only really knew each other as children and had been growing apart for several years as opposed to growing apart over the course of the novel. It's because of this that most of the scenes Anton appeared in mostly irritated me which I don’t think was the intended emotion trying to be evoked.
• Now…addressing the most egregious issue with this book: the murder mystery plot. A lot of this is so background and it feels like the majority of the scenes that are trying to tackle the B plot lead absolutely nowhere. It becomes extremely frustrating at a point and leaves you wondering how in the world the plot is going to be resolved. I’ll admit, it’s entirely possible that I missed very obvious hints on page, but by the time the murderer is revealed you’re left with a giant question mark. I just don’t think it was set up that well? It makes sense in terms of technicalities, but the book doesn’t lay out the reveal in a satisfying way. I was sort of left with a feeling of “....Okay? I guess.” The same could easily be said about the decoy murderer before the reveal. I was sitting there wondering how they jumped to that conclusion immediately about this person and also felt that it was completely out of character for them to be the murderer. I’m relieved it ultimately didn’t go that way, but even so much as the hint of it left me rolling my eyes.
• And finally: the romance. Now, I’ve already said above that the romance is the best part of the book and that’s completely true until it’s sort of….oddly dismantled and left unaddressed at the end of the story. Please see my GoodReads review for full details on this point.

Ultimately, this book could be very good with some fixes. Perhaps even a 4.5 star read. But as it stands with its flaws, I can’t in good conscience rate it higher. I will definitely be picking up the second book to see where this story goes, but that will absolutely determine if I will finish this series out or not.

Do you ever pick up a book and within the first chapter just think to yourself: this is a book made for ME!

That's how I felt from 'Mistress of Lies' right away. The writing style clicked perfectly with me, and I was immediately drawn into the story, the characters, and the murder mystery that set the plot in motion. I truly couldn't figure out my favorite character because I kept bouncing between Shan, Samuel, and Isaac. There is so much chemistry between each of these characters. And the ending! The ending had me ready to dive straight into book 2 only to be reminded this was an ARC and I have a long wait ahead of me for the sequel. I need every special edition of this book on my shelf because I just loved this book that much.

Also that cover is just STUNNING.

I wanted to like this book better than I did — and that’s not the book’s fault. This is a story saturated in … well, vibe. It’s dark and rococo, with politics and romance, deception and twisted honor with interesting characters and a new look at vampires with the Blood Workers, people born with the ability to absorb and shape blood, who wear silver claws as easily as they wear clothing, and who betray one another over breakfast.

The first chapter is the best one, like a giant rock thrown into a lake and each successive chapter, each page is slightly softer, more diffuse, and never quite builds back up to that moment of impact. The murder mystery is somewhat predictable (I mean, there are only so many named characters in the book, and it’s easy to figure out who would have the most dramatic reason for doing it.) And this is a book about drama, it’s just that I felt slightly removed from it.

Shan has an amazing dress made of plot armor. Everything she does is perfect — as the book tells us over and over, but the times we see Shan having to do something feel less impressive than the moments where the book tells us she did something spectacular. She’s twenty three but is already one of the most powerful and influential people because of her skills, but it feels a little too convenient. I would have liked to have seen her struggle, more; to have seen her bluff or make mistakes and have to recover rather than just always know what needed to be said and how to say it.

Samuel is quick to believe anything anyone says and quick to believe everyone. It’s interesting because it almost feels like he’s playing the damsel role, the more passive role, with Shan taking on the more aggressive love interest role, and I think if that had been leaned into a little more this book would have worked better for me. Samuel is juts a more sympathetic character for me, even though he’s a weaker one, personality wise.

His relationship with Isaac and Shan, bother romantic and not, was solidly done. It’s slow and more of a simmer than a boil, but I think it worked. His attraction to their power, to the fear they inspired, to the way they took care of him, protected him, used him was kind of fun; I did like seeing the twist of the female character courting their lovers with violence and power plays while the male character did the swooning.

The writing is good, and while I would have liked more world building, everything ticked along steadily enough that I didn’t feel its lack overly much. The plot was okay; I didn’t really think Shan or Samuel did well at the investigation and the story relied a little heavily on telling rather than showing during those moments, but I still had a decent time reading this and will be looking for the sequel.

I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at jumping into a new series.

You remember when Game of Thrones was pitched? "Fantasy for people who don't like fantasy?" Well, how about a vampire story / series for people who don't like Vampires?

This is that book. I am pretty bummed on how much I was not enjoying this. I made it 75% through and I just threw in the towel.

The plot of this book is pretty simple. Girl kills her abhorrent father in chapter one. She gains his rights to court and the money of the estate. She takes care of her brother who has no 'blood talent'. Some vampires have talents they use. And that's as vampire-ish they get. They're pretty, sure. They live long lives, yeah. But what do they do? Absolutely 100% nothing. Call them everything BUT vampires.

There are people who are ... vampires ... and there are people who are ... vampires ... but without blood powers. Those without powers are poorer and that's where the focus of our story comes in. Apparently there is a poor vampire who has powers, is the last remaining family line of the Vampire ruler, and our girl finds him. She wants to use him to get closer to the king of vampires and do away with him.

Our pal who is a ... vampire ... doesn't want to use his powers and doesn't want to be rich and etc. He wants to speak up for the people and go about his merry way. Oh, and he develops a crush on this gal who tells him who he really is. ... He also develops a crush on her ex-boyfriend, who now works for the king as the second in command.

The book is just political scheming and romance, very little plot or agency as to why these people are dying and or the reason / world building of why things are the way they are. What is this world like outside this city? What is the backstory? Why don't we see more of this political uprising? Why are we more obsessed over who is fucking who?

That was why I had to dip out of the book. I just stopped caring. Next time, a book about vampires needs to have more than just vague blood powers and immortality. I want to see some fangs, death, and real bloodbaths.

A gorgeously lush book that grabs you from the first scene - a patricide! - and does not let go because this is only the first in a series.

We have three POV characters, Shan, Samuel, and Isaac, each of them compelling and layered in their intentions and actions. While they need each other to a certain degree, none of them can wholly trust the others or anyone else, for that matter. Because there is a killer on the loose and the Eternal King wants them found.

This is a world that is practically a step away, it is so tangible, with terrifying blood magic and scheming from every quarter. I loved the romance, the politics, the mystery. K.M. Enright is a talent and I cannot wait to read the next book.

K.M. Enright’s debut novel, Mistress of Lies, was a delightful treat! I was so happy to find that this is not a standalone book, I feel there’s so much more we can learn about these characters and this world! I’m hoping the next book goes more in depth about Blood Working, I think this story could’ve benefited from expanding on the magic of that. Like other reviewers have stated, the story could’ve used more examples of Shan and Samuel’s power. We open with patricide, we’re all here for the bloody chaos, don’t pull punches! The poly romance subplot was fantastic! All members had equal chemistry, and everyone was pulling their weight.

Debut novels deserve grace and understanding, and with the strong foundation in his first novel, I believe the author is one to watch. I’ve got high hopes!

Review will be posted to goodreads on July 15, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley+Orbit books for an ARC of Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright.

Mistress of Lies starts out from the perspective of bloodworker Shan LeClarie, moments before she ends the life of her father. After proving his death to the council, she becomes the family beneficiary over her unblooded twin brother, and begins the work of saving the reputation of her family legacy in noble society.

Determined to take down the tyrannical government, and burn the system from the inside out, Shan has other plans up her sleeve.

Samuel is a dirt poor unblooded citizen who is barely getting by. Upon returning to his condemned flat, he stumbles upon the drained husk of a woman on his doorstep, and his luck only gets worse from there.

But Sam has secrets of his own, and in his blood.

Together they are tasked by the Eternal King to solve the murders in the city. Civil unrest is in the air, and so is the tension building between Shan, Sam, and Royal bloodworker Shan shares a complicated past with.

This book has some really great messages about the oppressive system of power. There is lgbtq+, polyamorous, and Filipino representation. One of the main characters is a trans man, and the author themselves is a member of the Filipino and queer community.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I had hoped, and rate it 3.5 stars. I was hoping the FMC would be more of a badass, the love was rather instant, and there was a huge lull in pacing for a while in the middle. It started strong, and ended strong, though predictable. I am still intrigued to see what happens in the next installment of this series, and will read it when it comes out.

*please check TWs*

I was so excited to get a copy of this one. It wasn't as good as I hoped but I still enjoyed it enough to be excited for book two. I have a feeling book will be much better and sort of solidify the series. A of of book series' that I love end up like that so I can't wait to get my hands of the second one!

This was so good. I loved this book. The writing style was exactly like how I liked it. It was compelling and explored both the plot and the characters in an interesting way that kept me wanting to read. The pacing was good and it kept moving throughout the story. I think Enright wrote a great story with complex characters that were so much fun to explore. I can't wait to read more from them

2.5 stars
Honestly, this book was such a disappointment. There was so much amazing potential for this story and the first few chapters were great. I was so ready for this vampire-adjacent story filled with morally grey and diverse characters. It seemed like this was going to be a breath of fresh air and just something so different than from what has been popular in the fantasy genre recently. However, while this book had such a great foundation and so much potential, it ended up being just so boring. There was a lot of showing and not telling, especially when it came to the characters. We kept being told that Shan was this super smart mastermind that could easily come up with these ingenious plans that fools everyone that's not in the know, but we never really saw this happen. We kept being told that Samuel was this kind-hearted angel that will always fight for the people deemed less-than in this society, but again we never see this happening beyond his words. And all this explanation about their characters kept getting repeated over and over and over again, that I eventually found them really annoying and had very little motivation to keep reading about them.

Additionally, this promise of a romance between the three MCs isn't really realized either. I felt very little chemistry and/or tension between any of them. I really wish that was explored more, especially considering we get very little LGBT representation in the fantasy/romantasy genres. This also applies to the FMCs Filipino-inspired heritage. It was talked about, and we saw some food from that culture, but besides that, that part of the world was never explored. Maybe we'll see more of it in the sequel, if the story extends beyond this one city, but it was pretty inconsequential in this book. It was the same vaguely European/medieval setting that we usually see in fantasies.

Honestly, in terms of plot, not much happened until the very end. Overall, it was pretty weak and lackluster. Every once in a while, they would find a dead body and that was it. I didn't really understand everyone's motivations and it seemed like Shan especially was flip flopping back and forth between what she really wanted. Everyone's actions also seemed pretty one-note and unbelievable, especially the king. For someone so cruel and powerful, he was surprisingly forgiving.

All in all, while the book had immense potential, it ended up being boring and disappointing. I wanted it to be so much better than it was, and I do believe the author is very talented, but this just needed more.

Where do I even start, because honestly this book was a rollercoaster of excitement. It took me awhile to get into this book but the building up was absolutely worth it. High stakes gambling with the Eternal King plus vampires plus a storyline having you guess who and who you can’t trust at every minute.

K. M. Enright ability to weave hope, love, betrayal, absolute dread, and horror throughout this whole book has me wanting more and I cannot wait to get my hands onto the sequel of this book.