2.5/5 stars

I was really looking forward to this book! As a binary person I was really looking forward to learning more about gender fluidity in a genre of books that I love. Unfortunately, the fact that Sal is gender fluid was pretty glossed over. They explained it pretty simply as "If I dress as a girl, I'm a girl and if I dress as a boy, I'm a boy. It's simple." and while that is probably realistic in the society they live in, it is hard for me to place in my own world. Other than that explanation, we did not receive many other moments involving gender fluidity, leaving me to feel like it was used as more of a way to make a pretty generic story line a little different.

So, let's talk about the story line. For a book full of action, the pace felt pretty even kill most of the time and I found myself skimming large sections. The very fact that it is based on a competition to become one of the Queen's guard was pretty predictable right from the beginning (guess who wins? Go on, guess. I'll wait)

I found it kind of hard to follow who was who in this book unless they were part of the competition and therefore identified only as a number. Outside of those constructs, I have no idea who was who and who is supposed to be doing what and who they used to be.

I know it sounds like I didn't like this book at all but I think perhaps it just wasn't what it was hyped up to be as I did enjoy my read through of it and I do imagine picking up the sequel eventually once it comes out.

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I greatly enjoyed this book. A full review will be posted on Teenreads soon.

Maybe I'm being a little bit generous with the 3 star rating, it's probably more of a 2.5 rounded up, but I didn't necessarily hate it either and giving it 2 stars just felt wrong. I mean I've definitely given worse books than this 3 stars before. But for all the hype that surrounded this book, it was a definite letdown and I don't think I've seen any reviews for it higher than 3 stars on my dash so far.

I think mostly this book suffered from being too much like other books and also that I happened to be reading those other books AT THE SAME TIME. #Oops. Also I've never read anything by Sarah J. Maas [and don't want to for that matter] but this is definitely nothing like a Leigh Bardugo book. I guess they're both fantasy books for young adults but that's pretty much where the similarities end for Bardugo.

I liked that Sal was gender-fluid and it was probably the thing that sold me on this otherwise run of the mill sounding description, but once I got into the actual book I felt like it should have been ...woven into the story better I guess. Like they would just mention it at the most random times and it always just seemed to be very awkward especially with how they said they wanted to be addressed by how they were dressed? Okay fine, it's a fantasy world I get that they still very much have gendered clothing so I guess it works for he/she, but then when do they want to be called they? Like are you gonna wear a corset [feminine] but with pants [masculine] so this means you are they today? I don't know, it seemed like a weird way to do a distinction really. [And if you want a great gender-fluid fantasy character whose gender does not depend on their clothing please go read the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan, which I happened to be reading at the same time as this, which was kind of unfortunate].

The romance was cute although kind of weird and instalovey but at least it's not instalove with a straight couple so that's probably why I can still enjoy it at this point. The rest of the plot, while interesting in places, was basically a poor man's version of the Nevernight Chronicles [which I ALSO happen to be reading at the same time as this, horrible luck there] right down to familial revenge being the main character's motivation for becoming an assassin in the first place, except Nevernight is suitably dark and serious because it's a book about FRIGGIN' ASSASSINS while this book seems to act like killing all these people is totally normal and Sal has absolutely no moral qualms about it whatsoever because 'it's just a job'. Like ...okay. Listen I love assassin stories but you've got to realize killing people for a living is a messed up thing and adjust your tone accordingly. I don't even need the main character to actually feel remorse over it but like ...find some way to show that what they're doing is messed up, even just by other characters' reacting to it.

Okay I know I just did a lot of criticizing up there but really all in all this was an okay book and had a few interesting parts, but I don't think I'll be continuing with the series because it's definitely not a GREAT book and the major selling points [assassins and gender-fluid protag] are things I can get in other series.

'Mask of Shadows' has an intriguing premise. I love a good YA fantasy novel, and this one promised an unusual, gender-fluid main character in Sal. Overall I enjoyed the story, although I often found myself confused about the politics and history of the world it is set in. I didn't quite understand the Shadows, or Sal's motivations for their actions. I did enjoy the competition aspects of the story, and getting to know Sal, who was a complex character that I never felt I really understood. I would probably give the sequel a read just to find out what happens next.

This is a fast paced fantasy tale that starts with the protagonist appearing to be a Robin Hood type character. The author quickly provides a story twist which now has the same protagonist fighting for his/her life to become one of the cherished queen's special forces. The author portrays the characters in visual detail that allows the reader to immediately envision each one. The setting is also detailed visually to the reader.

As the story continues throughout, the plot twists and turns often. The reader is quickly drawn into the plot and will find it hard to put this book down.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and anxiously await the next installment.

I tried really hard to get into this book and I just couldn't. I didn't find the characters (especially Sal) relatable, and the relationships felt incredibly surface level.
The world I feel could have used more outlining in order to come through as more concrete, and I found myself unable to piece together character and location. In a book, if I can't see a reason for the character's behavior, I can't see a reason for the character's interactions with OTHER characters, and I can't even see WHERE all this confusion should be taking place, it just isn't working for me.
It had promise but it fell flat.

This was an interesting book. It has a similar premise as The Hunger Games where people complete to become part of the Queen’s Hand, aka her badass killers. But it seems the main selling point for this book is that the main character, Sal, is gender fluid. Which I thought was odd. Honestly, it barely came up during the story. Except when Sal explained to the other members of the Hand what pronoun to use when talking to Sal. Thats pretty much it. Beyond that, there was a little inner dialogue where Sal thinks about previous encounters. So for how hard the gender fluidity was pushed, I thought it would of been a bigger part of the story. Honestly, Sal could of been either male or female and the story would pretty much be the same. Maybe that was the point though. Onto the story – Obviously, a group of wanna-be killers, there is going to be quite a bit action. But the storyline really struggled to move at some points. And then at the end, it went so fast I had to go back and re-read a page or two because I couldn’t figure out what just happened. I’ll likely pick up the next book in the series when it comes out, but probably from the library.

Well I was blown away by this book. I had heard a lot of very poor reviews on it and gotta say I think it's quite good. The writing is wonderfully compelling and readable. It's fast-paced, has a unique fantasy world set-up and the main character does not identify with one gender over the other (it depends on the day). I love that the gender fluidity isn't the primary motivation of the story or even for our lead Sal. Instead it's just a part of Sals overall personality.

<b>Why don't others like this book?</b>
There are some problematic areas and what doesn't help is most of them are near the beginning of the book. There are strong comparisons to Hunger Games at the beginning with the competition, but there's not much past that.
Not unlike The Gilded Cage I think there are improvements to be made but overall for a debut YA author, in an over saturated market of dystopian-fantasy, Lindsey Miller has made Mask of Shadows a more than decent read. I also think it's written for teens and sometimes I think us non-teens or older teens forget that to a 14 or 15 this could be their first foray into stories like this. And we all know that you never forget your first book love that opens the doors to a whole new realm of fiction. This book could be that for some people and unlike some books (ahem, Twilight) I think it has interesting morals and motivations to help someone start thinking about themselves in different ways. For me that creative thinking and self identity meant a lot when I was a teen (ie: I didn't have a self identity at all) and so I like that Mask of Shadows encourages this thinking and promotes individuality.

<b>Numbers as names</b>
I know a lot of people had issues with the naming being numbers, so let's talk about that for a minute. When the competition starts the players are all given numbers and do-away with their names and (presumably) their old identities. I know a lot of people struggled with this.
I'm not good with names on an amazing day. I tend to remember people by association but rarely by their name (in real and book life). Because the number names are written out like Four, Five, etc. It was just a name to me and not a number. Funny enough the numbering system helped me remember that low numbers were invitees and high numbers auditioned to be in the competition. I think for many people you have to immediately dispel thoughts that the word Five means 5. And instead the word Five means a boy whose an arrogant jerk. The same way that you think of any other character with a 'proper' name.
There are some cute comparisons to be drawn between Four in Divergent series and Four in this story. In the end I appreciated it as it didn't feel stolen but more an homage to stories that came before; but you might not get that until you finish the book which I think promotes a negative impression on readers quite quickly near the beginning. This doesn't help people feel confidence in the story and could result in DNFs. I get that.

<b>Romance</b>
The romance in Mask of Shadows is adorable!! While I know our lead character is gender fluid I felt like they were more feminine than masculine. I think it's very individual (and shows how well Miller wrote the gender discussions into the story) that many people come away from the book with a different perception of Sals possible anatomy and identity. I hope we learn more about why Sal distinctly chooses to be male or female on any given day and I'm really hoping her anatomy makes sense to it. Ie: castrated male, born with no distinct genitals or both exist, etc. If Miller chooses not to get into the anatomy of Sal however I won't be disappointed because honestly there is sooo much more to love about this book than just Sals gender choices.

<b>Overall</B>
I cannot wait for the next book in this series as the ending was awesome! I actually think book 2 is likely to be better because this one only improved as it went. I've read a lot of teen/YA books in my life and I gotta say that while Lindsey Miller wasn't the best ever, she has done a stand-up job in a very difficult market. Her and Vic James should discuss their woes of trying to break into this market as I think they'd say a lot of the same things!

I guess my point is that give this book a chance. A 40% chance. If you still hate it after 40% then fair go on and DNF it. But I think you might find that by 40% you can't put it down and walk away as easily as you might have at 20% mark. At the very least I recommend giving it a fair chance.

I liked Sal as a main character and reading a gender fluid character was great in a fantasy setting. I thought the plot was where the story was weak because it didn't provide anything new especially when you're reading about a character vying to be the queen's assassin. The audio did take me less than two days so that might be the way to go if you're interested in reading this.

I love that more and more YA novels are tackling gender topics but I just didn't love the story in Mask of Shadows. The writing was just okay, nothing that really blew me away.

Fam. THIS BOOK. GENDER FLUID ASSASSIN. You heard me. GENDER FLUID ASSASSIN. The reason I only gave it 4 stars was because I was confuzzled by a lot of the plot and world building, but it got the 4 because, you guessed it, genderfluid assassins.

The rep was amazing and Sal is my smol murder child. They are great at killing people but I love them so much. I want to give them so many hugs.

The worldbuilding and plot were highkey confusing but like I still sort of got what was going on.

What a brilliant concept for a book! One part, Hunger Games, one part Throne of Glass, and one part originality! It’s beyond amazing!

I won’t lie- this particular plot idea has been done. . .and done. . . and redone. For some unknown reason, in this particular book, it doesn’t annoy me, and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. Sure there were a few quirks, what reader doesn’t find a quirk (or two) to gripe about?! I also had my first encounter with an originality quirk that had me speechless. . .at first I wasn’t sure what to think, but towards the end I LOVED the idea, and really wonder why more writers are not utilizing this particular diversity.

What exactly am I referring to? Gender fluidity. . .

Our main character, Sal, thief extraordinaire, requires people to address him/her per the way they are dressed: tunic and pants, please address male, dress, please address female. A simple yet BRILLIANT concept. I have however seen a few people take up issue with the “just because a character is wearing pants/dress does NOT make them male/female”. Okay, I get that, especially being a tom boy myself. . .but come on people. Maybe I am out of the loop, and maybe gender fluidity among characters is more common than I realize. This one particular detail in the book floored me. Way to go Linsey Miller!!!!

Sal starts the book a simple thief robbing a noble carriage. In my eyes, Sal is noble as well. “Honor among thieves”. If Sal doesn’t have to kill, Sal doesn’t. Which is how we meet Sal’s lady; a ring is stolen as well as an audition form to become Opal.

What the heck is an Opal audition? It seems as though the Queen of the Realm keeps classy assassins in her company. Recently losing a gem (Opal) she is looking for a dutiful replacement. Ever the over-achieving assassin, Sal embarks on a Hunger Games/ Throne of Glass style mission to become the Queen’s next Opal. Of course there are tasks at hand to excel over the other admissions, as well as keeping up with Sal’s ulterior motive.

My only qualm with the book, seems to be the inconsistency with Sal’s good vs. evil. I felt like we were back and forth with a “to kill, or not to kill” type scenario. Other than that, smooth reading, well designed plot, and the gender switching feature didn’t bother me one bit. In fact, the more I read, the less I thought whether Sal was a boy or girl. It didn’t matter to me. I kind of wish more books were like that. If you’ve read one like that, can you comment down below? I’d love to check it out!

I was chosen by Netgalley to receive an advanced reader copy of “Mask of Shadows” by Linsey Miller. Given that fact, it has not altered my opinion on the book at all. “Mask of Shadows” has a scheduled release date of September 5th 2017.

Thanks to Linsey Miller and NetGalley for the copy of Mask of Shadows to review.

This novel was really exciting!! There were a lot of twists and turns while our main character was attempting to win a battle for a select spot of assassins to serve his Queen. I really enjoyed the overall concept and plot. The characters were well developed and relatable and each had a solid backstory to help move the story along.

Overall, the battles, assassinations, revenge, victory, misunderstandings, and timeline were fantastic. I liked how some characters stories intertwined and came back together in the end. Even though I had a feeling I knew how the novel would end, Linsey did it in a way that was slightly unexpected and continued with an ending that was unforeseen.

This took me a while to get into. There wasn't as much suspense in the beginning as I'd like and took too long for characters to really take shape. But towards the end I became a lot more interested in the protagonist and their backstory. The suspense was also revved up.

When there is so little queer rep in fantasy, I really appreciated the depiction of being genderfluid. Diversity in fantasy when it comes to sexuality and race is so rare when that shouldn't be the case. Miller's inclusion of characters that aren't white, cis, and hetero elevated the story.

I was interested enough in this book to read the next one. I'm holding off on my recommendation to anyone until I know where the story ends up though. I don't think this first book was exciting enough on its own, but the second book might change how I feel about the overall story.

This book was kind of boring, like it was trying too hard to be Six of Crows and Throne of Glass. Though the genderfluid stuff was well done I didn't care for it. I might read a sequel but the only characters I care about are the Left Hand

I was so excited to read this one I am a sucker for covers as most of you know so when I saw this one with its knives I about died. But shortly into this one, I knew it just wasn't going to work out.



This one has a few things going for it. First off was that cover, the second was the blurb....yes yes I read it!!! But this one after those two things just sucked. Yes, I am sorry to say this but it did. So where do we start? This one starts off with a robbery which worked out the issue that I had with the first chapters was that you really didn't know who Sal was. Was it a girl a guy? Some blend of both? You just don't know. I actually had to read the flap again just to find out and to my horror it doesnt say! I like knowing who the MC when I read. I have never read a gender-fluid book so this was very weird.



The next thing was info dumps. I really loved learning about their world but not in this way. Give us a little at a time, not giant chunks it made the book feel like a history book versus a great story.




The next issue was that even just 60 pages in I was bored out of my mind. This book is overly done with descriptions which could have been great if it would have been done just a little better. But with the way it sits there is no shinning spark or glory to make you want to read it or get interested in what is being taught. I really did like the assassin aspect. There are a ton of these books out there but I still enjoy a good book about someone offing someone else.



I have heard a few people say that this one is really really close to Throne of Glass but I just don't see it. Throne of Glass was epic and this one falls really far from that bar. The next thing on my list was the MC Sal I just didn't like her at all. Yes, Sal is creepy and pretty much a psychopath killer in the making but I just didn't connect with him/her at all after the first few chapters. His/Her character felt like it was all over the place. One minute he/she would choose to do this then the next to do that. You can't really get a feel for how the character can grow and change if they can't make a sound choice on who they want to be to start out.

Lastly, the issue I had was character names after numbers that's just REALLY weird. At that point, I was just pretty much done with this book. I was very frustrated with this title and will not be picking up book 2.

This book was amazing. I kept hearing good things about it and it does not disappoint.

I failed to complete. I had too many galleys and couldn't get to them all.

This book was amazing. Looking forward to read more books from this author.