Mistress of Lies starts out with a really compelling, intriguing first chapter of a woman carrying out a plan to kill for power. I enjoyed the blood magic and the way they use it. I also liked Samuel’s power, even though it was deemed dangerous and a curse. This was written well and has a great premise. Unfortunately, I think this just wasn’t for me. This was stagnant for the entire book. If I wasn’t reading an ARC, I would’ve DNF’d. The killer was predictable and I guessed who it was before the characters even suspected, but I don’t really mind guessing things before they happen in books. I just feel it’s good to mention for people who do. The romance was just ok. I’m not saying it was bad, it just wasn’t very believable. I’m not a fan of second chance romance, so that part of the couple was not for me. I love poly couples, but it felt more like a love triangle with Samuel at the center instead of a cohesive unit. Overall, this book left much to be desired. I think there’s a lot of potential for this to be a hit, but it just didn’t click with me.

I could not put this down! I was drown in from the first sentence I loved reading this book so much, K. M. Enright wrote the perspectives of Shan and Samuel. And how they both percieve Isaac.

The twists and turns the building of the blood magic. The decpetion, the political aspect and trying to take it down as it is unfair and the love triangle!

And finding out who the murderer is wow, I can not wait until the next book!

Oh, wow, I utterly loved reading this book! The synopsis really had me intrigued, so I basically picked this one up as soon as I could. And I'm glad I did, because it was an amazing read! This world and the politics were just so intense!

Shan has been brought up in this world, but disgraced, and on the outside, since her mom was from another country, and her dad was paranoid and was working for the Eternal King and then was fired. So she's been considered lesser, which was really aggravating. But she still had humanity, even if she didn't really think about what it was like for the Unblooded like her twin brother.

Samuel has had to scrape and claw at almost nothing just to survive. He isn't a Blood Worker, but he has a dark and terrible power that he does his best to control. He knows what it's like to not really make it by in this world that doesn't care for the Unblooded, and he's angry about how unfair it is.

I had a great time watching them navigate the politics and the court, and work to uncover this murderer. They're working together to take down the system-but Shan's plan is the long game, with unpleasant parts for the moment. But oh, that reveal of who the killer was? Yeah, that was intense! And has me so excited to see what happens next!

Absolutely loved reading this book, and I can't wait to continue on with this series!

A serial killer mystery, political intrigues, blood magic, and a romantic triangle come together around the three main characters in Mistress of Lies. Though the book is told in third person, it alternates chapters from Shan's and Samuel's perspectives and we learn about Isaac from both points of view. All three are blood workers, the author does not use the term "vampire". At the start, Shan commits patricide to gain power. Isaac is the king's top man. Samuel, who has spent his life hiding himself from his kind emerges into their world with egalitarian principles. The stories of their political power plays, as well as the investigations of the murders weave dueling plotlines through the book and get spiced up by their romantic interplays that made the reading more fun. This was a delightful read that I'd recommend to anyone who likes a mix of intrigue, magic, and romance especially a juicy love triangle and I can't wait to read the next installment in this series.
I received advanced access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.