3.5 stars
This was a solid debut. I really enjoyed the idea behind this story. It explores messy complicated relationships, has some political intrigue and unrest, and an interesting take on vampirism with blood magic as the root. It really kicks off with an amazing opening chapter that hooks you. I did find Samuel's motivations to be very conflicting at times, it was jarring how easily he agreed to work with Shan and this led into a bit of insta love and attraction that I did not care for. I preferred the longer game of their relationship. I also found myself disengaging a bit at times since much of the story seemed to be progressing off page and we were just being told about it happening. I wished it had been fleshed out a little more but overall, I enjoyed the story .

This was a fantastic gothic fantasy with Filipino and queer characters, an interesting magic system, and a vampire king. I honestly was blown away with this book by the 3rd chapter, and to add to its glowing elements, this book has the first polyamory relationship that actually feels authentic and each coupling genuinely attracted to each other. ❤️

The book follows two POVs: Shan LeClaire and Samuel Hutchinson. Both I thought provided interesting perspectives to the plot itself, but I did find myself looking forward one perspective more than the other. Shan, my favorite, is cunning and manipulative, but secretly aching to be loved and appreciated for who she is and not what people expect her to be. She’s a complex character and I just ate up her chapters. I really loved her struggle to prove herself to a world that doesn’t particularly like foreigners and how she and her other love interest, Issac, both have ways of coping with these prejudices. 😞

Samuel is such a sweet and optimistic guy that watching him slowly come to the realization that everything he thought and believed is way more grey than just black and white was just so sad. I do feel like his attraction to Shan was a bit rushed, but I still loved their dynamic as much as his dynamic with Issac. 🥹

As much as I just loved this world and its incredible magic system, I do wish it was explained a little more just to really understand why blood is so essential to working magic in the first place. 💉

In general, definitely would recommend to those who are looking for a gothic like world in fantasy and with a great cast of characters! Big thank you goes out to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Enright, for creating such an incredible blood soaked world! 🖤

Publication day: August 13!!

Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️

I was unable to finish this book due to multiple POV in third person. I was unable to connect and remain to the characters for that reason. As this is very much a personal preference, I do not feel it is fair or just to tank a review score for this reason. The writing style otherwise was fine, but I am very much a character driven reader, and the multiple POV execution just kept me too far removed from the characters I did like. Additionally, I do not like to post books on DNF on my social media because I do not want to negatively impact someone's else's ability to go into a book blind and absolutely love it.

Mistress of Lies is a steamy romantasy with political intrigue, mystery, and unique blood magic.

Shan LeClaire has taken over as the head of her family of blood workers. Hoping to improve her standing and restore her family's name among the court, Shan plays the game well and balances the gossip and rumors with her natural talent and power as a Blood Worker. She finds a young man in the slums with a dark power, who turns out to be a long lost royal heir. Samuel has lived his life in the shadows, avoiding Blood Workers at all costs, and trying to manage the dark power within him. When Shan convinces him to embrace his name and title as royal heir, he feels stranded between two different worlds. When a series of grisly murders appear across the city pointing to dark Blood Work, Shan and Samuel agree to help with the investigation. Along with the Royal Blood Worker Isaac, the trio must find the culprit and remain in the Eternal King's good graces, or face the consequences.

Mistress of Lies is a richly imagined and beautifully written dark fantasy, full of lush imagery, dark mysteries, and plenty of steamy romance. I really enjoyed this story so much. I went into this not really knowing much about the book, but was immediately drawn in by the writing and completely intrigued by the characters. The worldbuilding is really rich and I feel like we only get a small taste of the world in this book. the blood magic system is complex and unique. This is also a queer normative story with many unique relationships and strong trans representation. The balance of plot to character development is also good, as we have three incredibly complex characters with their own agendas thrown together to solve a murder mystery. I found this book to be really well written and exciting, and I am looking forward to more in this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Orbit Books for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

What to say about this book?

I'm sure there has been many jokes already made about supporting women's wrongs as well as women's rights, and starting us off with a bang, the main character is going to kill her father. What an opener!

This is a book with an ice cold premise, intriguing characters, and an slick atmosphere. It's grimdark (what else would you expect from a book featuring blood magic, patricide, and impossible choices?), but with all the familiar trappings of YA Fantasy that makes the category unique and intriguing. I devoured this book. Read it in one sitting. It reminded me of being a teenager, having read back-to-back books that didn't hit, only to discover a brand new favourite to obsess over.

And while I don't feel the exact same as teenaged me would, I do think this was a pretty fantastic debut novel. I think there was some pacing and characterization issues that could be tightened up, but there is nothing so drastic as to draw you out of the story. Nothing that detracts from the narrative as you are reading it. Over all, it's a strong, intriguing read and I'm excited to see what the author does next.

WHAT a debut. Holy shit. I'm absolutely seated for whatever Enright does next. Please, more of this kind of dark fantasy. I'm begging.

This was great. Dark, atmospheric, intense. It was everything a dark fantasy should be and I couldn't put it down!

Mistress of Lies is the first book in a vampiric dark fantasy trilogy full of politics, mystery, and power, and with a poly romance.

Shan, a Blood Worker (a sort of vampire), wants to protect her Unblooded twin brother at all costs. To do this, she needs to be strong enough to go against the Eternal King which requires power. So Shan schemes and trains, counting on her skills and her spies to be able to rise in rank and change the system from within.

Enter Samuel, a supposed Unblooded who has a dark secret and hidden connections - perfect for Shan to use as her puppet. Only, Samuel turns out to be so much more than just a naive means to an end for Shan.

Making things all the more complicated is Isaac, the Royal Blood Worker, right hand man of the Eternal King, and Shan's former best friend and lover. As both Shan and Samuel are charmed by Isaac, they have to juggle feelings and desires with finding a serial killer, a task bestowed upon them by the Eternal King.

~

I really enjoyed this book! The fantasy world created by Enright was complex and interesting. Like the characters, I never fully knew who to trust, so I was suspicious of everyone 😆 The mysteries and manipulation were great, and I gasped out loud a few times because I didn't see twists coming. And I'm all for the love triangle being resolved with a poly relationship!

Mistress of Lies has great diverse rep with a trans character, several characters of Filipino (or the fantasy equivalent) descent, bi/pan and poly characters, and focus on class and gender differences and discrimination.

The author did have a tendency to tell more than show which was a bit frustrating. In many ways, the characters felt a lot more like teens than mid-twenties, and I think some of their choices and naivité would've worked better if this book had been YA.

That said, I'll definitely be reading the next book when it's released as I'm super curious to see more of this world and characters, especially after the intriguing way Mistress of Lies ended!

This book was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024, and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. This story is intense from the very beginning, it starts with one of the main characters murdering her father in the very first chapter and never really lets up from there. The pacing does slow down a bit in the middle, but the detailed world building and character development keep you engaged in the story. The dual POV works very well in this story because the two characters have such different perspectives, but they are both working towards the same goal. The magic system in this book is also super interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before.

I really loved the complex polyamorous relationship that is developing between the main characters and I am hopeful that we will get more of Isaac’s POV in coming books. I also appreciate that the diversity representation wasn’t relegated to side characters, there is trans and Filipino representation within the main characters. Finally, I really enjoyed how this book played with the concept societal roles and expectations. We see a number of characters that are only truly allowed to be themselves behind closed doors where no one can see. When they’re out in the world they have to put on a mask and play the part that society expects them to, because if they were truly themselves they would be ostracized or worse. We see them use these facades they present to society to manipulate situations to their advantage but we also see the toll it takes on them to have to hide parts of themselves away.

Mistress of Lies is dark and mysterious but also painfully relatable. This story is great for people that like dark why choose romance, family drama, political intrigue, morally gray characters, and vampires/blood magic.

K. M. Enright, I will not know peace until I get my hands on book 2, especially after the last paragraph in the epilogue. Samuel my sweet golden retriever boy, why do you mean by that last comment?!

Spymaster polyamorous vampires playing chess with the lives of humans as they try to solve a string of murders? SIGN ME UP

I was immediately drawn into this imaginative world where Blood Workers (vampire-ish folks) are the elite of society- they are magical, vicious, and manipulative. Shan, a powerful Blood Worker, murders her father (this is not a spoiler it happens literally on page 2) to take over his place on the Royal Council. She's already taken after her father and become an elite spymaster/information broker across the city, and is ready to take her schemes to the next phase: taking out the King and replacing him with someone she can trust. Enter a mysterious Unblooded (common) boy named Samuek with a rare ability and a special connection growing to Shan. The two end up assigned to investigate a string of murders, and things just get absolutely wild from there.

This world, these characters, the story were all so unique. It had incredible representation across the LGBT spectrum, inclusive language, and created true depth for the characters. I am completely in on this series, and cannot wait for the second one!!

Thank you so much to KM Enright and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Mistress of Lies starts off strong with a patricide and only goes up from there. I've been looking forward to this book for ages and absolutely loved it!

I think this one is worth marking your calendars for! ✍️

I love the evolution and applications of the vampire myth and here vampires feel more like Blood Mages a la Dragon Age, but they actually have to consume the blood (hence vampire) in order to use magic. While some of the ending plots seem to point to some more conventional tropes for the next book in the series, I feel very at peace with it and will be more than happy to pick up the next installment. In a way this book reminded me of Rin Chupeco's Silver Under Nightfall but less horror and Castlevania and more court intrigue and blood magic.😉

Some of the things I really liked about this book:

🩸- a triad poly relationship that isn't always sunshine and rainbows
🩸 - strong but fallible FMC
🩸 - no miscommunication tropes. they do lie though - as the title suggests lol
🩸 - believable political conspiracies and manipulation
🩸 - the feeling of otherness as a POC in a white dominate country/government
🩸- vampires can do magic using blood
🩸 - light murder mystery

4.5 rounded up

Welcome to the world of vamps and the unblooded full of magic systems, power, and poverty. We meet Samuel, who is trying to survive and fly under the radar, but at the most inopportune time, he stumbles upon a corpse. In walks, the enchanting Shan one-half of a powerful outcast duo who has big plans but needs the right tools to wield her influence. There's plans to cut down the cruel king, but when everyone has an angle, who can truly be trusted?? Just from book 1, you can see that the author has big plans for this series, and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

<b>Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!</b>

This was a really fun and intriguing story. Definitely unique.

I was sold because I saw vampires, and while I think technically there are vampire aspects, and I think it's setting up for what we think of as vampires in the next book, it's not true vampires. At least, not the main characters.

They are blood workers. Imagine blood bending from Avatar, but if they needed to consume someone's blood in order to use blood bending on them. (Which in the author's note I learned he has a cat named Zuko so this makes sense lol!) But they can also consume their own blood to give themselves more strength, speed, allow them to heal, etc. which I thought was super cool.

We get two POVs in this story: Shan and Samuel. I genuinely enjoyed both of them.

Shan is morally grey, which we learn from the first page, and she is always scheming. She will do whatever she can to keep her brother safe and to get what she wants. She was intelligent, cunning, badass, but also kind, and I really liked her as a character.

Samuel is an unblooded (someone born without the power of blood working), but he has another power he is trying to hide. He gets thrust into their world, but still cares deeply for the unblooded and hates the cruelty they face. It was interesting to see him navigate this new world and find his place in it. I do wish we got to see a bit more of it, and more of him really developing his powers.

Isaac is also a main character (I think) though he's not one of the POVs we switch back and forth between. He has a past with Shan, one that I hope we get to see more of and really understand what happened between them. Isaac is a trans man and this is addressed multiple times, but never a main focus of his story or seen as a negative thing by the other characters. I liked his character and want to know more about him.

Anton is Shan's brother and his partner is Bart. I'm really intrigued by both of them and hope they play a bigger part in the next book.

Shan, Samuel, and Isaac have a fun dynamic where all three of them are clearly infatuated and into each other. I'm interested to see how this plays out in future books..

I think the plot could be a little slow at points, so I almost gave it a 3.5, but I went 4 because overall I really liked it.

I'm hoping book two focuses more on the politics and tensions between blood workers and unblooded.

I was so excited to read this (and get a version in a special edition book sub) but it took me a long time to finish. I enjoyed a lot about this book, but because it almost got me in a reading slump and it wasn't as good as I hoped, I am giving this book 4 stars.

One of the things I loved was the characters. They were complex and realistic and their relationship with each other was what made me want to keep reading. I loved all the queer relationships and how they handled a trans character. I did think that some of the dynamics between Shan and others we missed a lot of the build-up and backstory. This was especially seen between her and her brother. When things started to unravel for Shan, it felt like the betrayal wasn't as extreme as it could have been because we lacked that connection of the past. I hope in future books that can be explored more. There was a lot of telling not showing throughout the book that could be improved on.

The atmosphere, magic, and interesting take on vampirism were all fun to read about. I was hoping for more revolution and revenge but this volume did not have the conclusion I wanted in that aspect. Overall I enjoyed it and will be reading the next one of this series hoping that some of the little issues get ironed out.

I love this book, the characters... the darkness the magic system. Very Jay Kristoff like, and it's insanely addicting. GIMME MORE

dnf @ 62%

Mistress of Lies started out promising at first with Shan taking over as the new LeClaire heir and with a strong desire to fix her late father’s long list of mistakes that pulled the family apart. But shortly after that the book went into a steady decline that eventually lead to me putting the book down. As a connoisseur of slow burn, the promise of slow burn mentioned in the tropes got me excited. To my disappointment, this was a prime example of a blow torch burn, an incinerating romance that spells insta-lust/love. The characters could not get their hands off of each other and somehow there was a need to add one spicy scene before a turning point in the plot (with a subscript p).

What I did like: I enjoyed the inner turmoil that Samuel is facing as he found himself caught in the court intrigue. He is one of the few characters who actually sees there is a major concern for the non blood workers (people without blood magic) and their living conditions. I also liked the bits of Tagalan culture brought in for Shan, her twin brother and for Isaac but I wanted more! I thought the costume designs were interesting, especially blood workers wearing silver claws on their fingers.

What didn't work for me: There were countless out of character moments and their interactions felt very much like check-the-box and call it a day solutions. Samuel has trust issues around people like Shan and Isaac with his newfound status. At times it was evident. But there would be random moments where he would change his mind suddenly without informing us as to why. I also could not see any chemistry between Shan, Isaac, and Samuel. I’m a little more forgiving for Isaac and Shan for their past history with each other. But girl, why are you giving him a second chance if he broke your heart in the first place. And Samuel, oh Samuel. I wish I can tell you with confidence if he is just insanely touch starved or he just easily gets the hots for people. Either way he needs to make up his mind. Because the book is so focused on the relationship between the three of them more so than the plot, I became bored with the prolonged unanswered questions. My last dislike is the lack of world building and the underdeveloped magic system. There was very little mention on how blood magic works and the scale of the ability, which makes it frustrating to follow in the book when it is such a huge part of the world building.

I’m glad there’s an audience for this book but unfortunately it didn’t work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC!

Sexy in all senses of the word: from the tension between the three main characters, to female lead character Shan's charismatic competence and ambition, to the sensuality of blood working, to the dark political intrigue of the plot. The queer rep was fantastic, with a trans main character, a poly main romance with bi main characters, and gay secondary characters. I couldn't put this one down.

I don't know how to feel about this book. On the one hand, I love that the author is queer, trans, and POC, and I really appreciate the representation in our book community, because if I'm completely honest we have been getting better but we are still far from having the diversity that we should. I went into this book rooting for it and hoping that I would love it, the beginning started off so amazing and eventful and then....meh. I lost interest around the 20% mark and struggled to connect with the characters after that point. The romance was also difficult to be invested in, and the triangle was a bit clunky. Overall, I'm hoping to see some amazing work from the author, but unfortunately this one didn't connect with me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Everything in this review is my own opinion and has in no way been influenced by the writer, publisher, or Netgalley.

Brilliant. All three characters play so well off each other. Shan’s cunning, Samuel’s moderately infuriating (but understandable) idealism, and Isaac’s complicated nature. I loved how seamlessly their dynamic worked. Each piece of the burgeoning polycule works well. I also always enjoy murder-mysteries woven into fantasy plots, like in the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire with the death of Jon Arryn. It is a difficult task to balance so many genres at once: the gothic horror of vampires; a murder-mystery; political fantasy; an MMF romance. However, Enright does it in a way that looks effortless.

Final thoughts:

1) Need the sequel...
2) I am Isaac’s biggest supporter and will die for him btw.