The Auditions are how the Queen chooses her personal assassins. You have to be willing to do what the Queen (or her Left Hand) commands, without question, to the good of the kingdom. The Queen is working very hard, through careful assassination and politics, to knit together two kingdoms that have come out of magical-laden war worse for wear. Her commands are in effort to clean up the individuals she cannot neutralize via politics or are individuals who would have been tried for war crimes, if the evidence existed. To get there though, the would-be assassins have to out last each other, learn to blend in with courtiers and servants while putting aside their personal feelings.

The last proves to be the hardest for Sal. In trying to honor the deceased and in remembrance of personal heritage, Sal takes a personal mission. This ripples into not having an alibi, a few chess pieces moving in to play that had been dormant and a significant challenge for the final Audition to determine whether or not personal feelings could be put aside at the Queen's command. Through careful work, Sal manages to keep the letter of the command while sliding in personal goals in an artistic fashion.

Sallot Leon is a petty thief who wants to escape her life to have revenge on those who allowed her country to be destroyed. To do so she must become a royal assassin. To get there she has to be prepared to kill. I enjoyed the audition process - lots of action but was not sure about the 'love interest' element nor about her gender fluidity. The relationships between the contenders worked better for me. It was interesting when Sallot has to contend with the real political niceties and has to re-evaluate her attitude towards the Queen.

I will read the next one but am not sure what my readers will make of this.

I gave it a rating of 3.5. Me feelings towards this arc are bias based on the fact that I was not feeling well and was going through some things that it preventing me from paying the attention I wanted to give it. It was hard for me to understand the storyline and the characters. In this story, the "assassins" are given numbers rather than names and that made it difficult for me to remember them and imagine how they were. I couldn't form a mental picture of how they were and where they are. Overall, I did enjoyed the MC. He/She had a plan in mind and did everything she/he could do to survive and made it happen... I support that. Also, the action in this book was very well written ( for my taste). Since I did enjoy those aspects, I will read it again when it is published and give the full attention it deserves.

I liked this book, but found myself reading more so I finished than because I was into the book. I do want to see how the duology ends. I liked the plot, in some ways it reminded !e of The Hunger Games. I was surprised at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but theatre was something that made it hard for me to fully invest.

First off, the action in this book is intense!

If you love assassins and thieves, I highly recommend this book for your fall TBR. Throughout, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who’s next and then BAM.. they’re dead.

What surprised me with this book was the gender-fluid main character. Before re-reading the synopsis, I could not figure out whether I was reading from a male or female’s point-of-view. The writing was drawn out very well, because of course, the main character, Sal, glides between a boy and a girl. This characteristic is prominent throughout the story which was interesting to be able to read from that POV.

But it was Sal’s motivation through the book that was fun to see play out. The ending of course, if full of juicy twists and does contain an epic whaaaaat?!?-moment.

The ending also flows nicely into what will later be the next installment. Overall, I am satisfied with how Book 1 ended. AKA, no major cliffhangers.

There were plenty of moments where I had the Hunger-Games-vibe. Now I don’t like to compare authors in how their stories lay out since every book is unique, but if you loved the Hunger Games, I believe this book will fill those holes in your reading life. The idea of an “audition” to where you are forced to fight-to-the-death is what is similar between the two.

And let me tell ya, this fight-to-the-death thing is WAYY more epic! If this book became a movie, there would definitely be blood and guts flying everywhere.

What I think made this thriller so intense was this idea (AKA where the title may have sprung from) of wearing masks to disguise each other from knowing who the final assassin would be. So ultimately, if you were in this audition, you’d have psycho assassins with the creepy masks on trying to kill you.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I rather enjoyed the whole concept of the story, and I think it was executed (no pun intended) nicely. I found myself engorged in the intense scenes.

If you’re looking for a assassin fantasy with a POV twist, this is the book that I will recommend to you.

Mask of Shadows is a solid YA fantasy read, similar in storyline to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. While similar, I really do feel this one stands on its own two feet, and I’ll tell you why after I give the synopsis. The book follows Sallot Leon, a gender fluid young adult who is a thief after being orphaned. What Sal really wants, however, is to find the person(s) responsible for destroying their home and everyone else who lived there. While robbing an intriguing young noblewoman, Sal finds a flyer for auditions to be a member of the Queen’s Left Hand, the assassins the queen employs, they think they’ve found the way to get everything they ever wanted. Sal heads to the auditions, where it’s kill or be killed, and the last standing is the one who will become Opal, the fourth assassin in the Queen’s coterie.

If you’ve read Throne of Glass and then read this synopsis, similarities and comparisons are inevitable. However, I still believe this story stands on its own. Sallot is a completely different kind of protagonist than Celaena, for one. Sal is an odd mixture of violence and poignance. Their revenge makes sense, but the way they pursue it and the goal of becoming Opal is rather single-minded. So while Sal is a well written character, that doesn’t make them particularly likable most of the time, unless they are romancing a certain noblewoman, then I think they’re okay.

The story itself was well plotted and the world was fairly well built. I loved how the Queen’s Left Hand all shed their lives and are then renamed after the rings she wears: Ruby, Opal, Emerald, and Amethyst. When one falls, a competition is held to find the next. While everyone in the book wears masks, making divining their true intentions fairly difficult, I still found it intriguing to observe the assassins throughout the competition, and I really found myself rooting Sal on, so that I could get to know them better. The world has also had its share of strife, with a great magical war that the Queen ended lurking in the background. While she’s admired far and wide for her deeds, there’s still unrest and uneasy alliances. The world building done here sets up a world of politics and intrigue that I really want to learn more about.

Overall, the story was interesting and easy to read, but hard to put down. The world building was excellently done, and the intrigue and politics were as well. I really want to learn more about this world, and its characters (so it’s good it’s the first in a series). While similar to other fantasies, I really feel like it stands on its own with the world its built, including the characters, romance, and violent nature of a land in civil unrest. If you enjoy YA fantasy with diverse characters, this is a good one to pick up.

Mask of Shadows was absolutely brilliant. I loved the romance between Sal and Elise. It was sweet, yet didn't take up much of the plot. The characters are interesting and the book kept my attention throughout. I liked the writing style as well. I will look forward to the next book in this series.

2.75- 3 Stars

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller is an interesting read, but I just wasn't that into it.

About halfway through the book, I was still looking for that magic...that oomph... that "WOW" moment. There’s plenty of action and the pacing was great, but it just wasn't that exciting. The world building is creative, but not well developed. The plot does get interesting a few times, but it gave me Hunger Games vibes… and not in a good way. There were just way too much information on the rules and training on how to do this and that and not enough build-up or suspense.

So what kept me going? The main character, Sal, and the romance.

Sal is just so badass. They’re cunning, resourceful, driven and deadly. There’s something sinister and very dark about them -- they enjoy killing and see nothing wrong with it. But then there’s a side of them that’s also sweet, kind, funny and genuine. There’s a sense of goodness in Sal that makes them shine and you can’t help but root for them. They’re complicated in so many ways, devastatingly flawed, undeniably vulnerable, but also so darn lovable!

The romance was by far my favorite part of this book. The push and pull between Sal and Elise was actually more exciting than the actual plot. Their chemistry definitely had me swooning and I looked forward to every scene with them in it.

The cover of this book is stunning and that premise sounds really amazing, but I just wasn’t blown away. It did get a little better towards the end, but I wish there was just more development, more excitement and more suspense. I do appreciate the gender-fluid MC and diversity. We definitely need more of those in books so thank you Miller!

While this book didn’t quite work for me, I do think Miller has some great ideas and the potential to write an amazing sequel. I’m not too confident I can recommend this 100%, but just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean you won’t. Also, I'm still quite interested in reading the sequel because after that ending… well I just have to know what happens next.

Mask of Shadows, an action packed fantasy debut by Linsey Miller, sets a new standard for the LGBTQ+ community by introducing a gender fluid main character. Sallot Leon has been forced into a life of thievery following the destruction of Nacea. Without a family, Sal grudgingly became a shadow, merely following the orders of a wanted street thug named Grell, in order to survive. During a mission in which Sal robs a beautiful young noble woman, a new opportunity appears in the form of an open audition to be a member of the Queen’s Left Hand, an elite group of assassins. While Sal has never killed before, the opportunity is too good to pass up, as if offers a better life, as well as a chance at revenge. When the auditions prove to be incredibly dangerous, Sal develops a steel resolve, learns new tricks, and uncovers a few mysterious secrets as deadly events unfold.

The premise of Mask of Shadows is a competition in which “auditioners” fight to the death in a battle to become a new member of the Queen’s group of assassins. Although the auditions are open, those who wish to participate in the competition must provide proof of their skill or an “invitation” in order to participate in the anything goes battle of skill, stealth, and wit, on the condition that they do not harm anyone other than their fellow competitors. Upon being chosen by members of the current guard, each competitor dawns a mask with nothing but a number on it, ranging from 1-23. Based on their skill (or lack thereof) the auditioners are subject to training during the day from rigorous exercise regimes, sword fighting and archery practice, to healing and poisons, as well as everything in-between that might be deemed necessary for survival as one of the Queen’s elite group of fighters.

Outside of the competition and varied, yet increasingly intense training sessions, Mask of Shadows is very different from other novels in the battle royale, fantasy genre. Instead of being a forced fight to the death, the competition is optional. And, instead of a single task (kill one another), auditioners are given a few other tasks, including a foot race, a dangerous dinner with the members of the Left Hand, and a stealth task designed to hone their skills as an assassin. Furthermore, although the battle is on during the day (even during training lessons), throughout the competition, the auditioners are given down time where fights are forbidden.

While the world and character building could be improved upon, the competition itself and the idea of a powerful group of assassins under the control of the Queen were wonderfully fresh. I was drawn to the idea of masked assassins, each named for a ring worn on the Queen’s finger: Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald and Opal. The initial idea was enhanced through the use of colored masks to denote their rank and role. When paired alongside the gender fluid Sal, the use of masks as a whole really reinforces the idea of a fluid gender identity. For the Queen’s Left Hand, gender doesn’t matter. By putting a mask on each of the members of the guard, as well as the combatants, Miller makes a strong argument not only about the acceptance a fluid gender, but about gender equality as well. A person’s sex or gender identity doesn’t matter in the least where the Queen’s guard is concerned. Instead, the position is determined based off of ability alone.

Sal in particular, makes a stand for the idea of a fluid gender identity. Through Sal’s character, it becomes clear that gender doesn’t matter. Sal represents all of the frustrations with gender identity, as well. While many accept Sal as a person, it is clear, through speech, that the idea of a fluid gender has its fair share of problems where acceptance is concerned.

While I loved the idea of Sal, it was so hard to picture a physical character due to a lack of description. While the words “he”, “she”, and “they” are used to describe Sal along with descriptions of clothing, where Sal was concerned the descriptions felt vague. I also found it incredibly hard to relate to Sal. Not because of the gender fluid identity, but because I found it hard to believe that Sal would have the ability to go from a thief, to a trained assassin in such a short period of time. Surely revenge can drive a character to preform outstanding feats and develop new skills, but Sal makes regular comments about how the act of killing is repulsive in itself.

Although I found it difficult to connect, envision, and, at times, believe in Sal’s abilities due to vague details surrounding the character, I enjoyed the amount of detail given to the Left Hand (Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst), as well as Sal’s tutor, the beautiful and educated noble, Elise. Miller introduces Elise as a coincidental acquaintance – early on in the story, Sal robs her, but finds that it is difficult to forget her. When Sal, who spent a childhood on the streets, is given lessons on how to read and write, Elise is a willing tutor. As the events of the novel unfold, Elise transforms from a pretty noble girl, to a daring love interest, and the detail given to her character is beautiful.

Along with descriptions of Elise, Miller offered close attention to detail where lessons where concerned as well. From physical routines meant to strengthen combatants, to basic sword fighting and archery lessons, Mask of Shadows is full of detail. If you are the type of reader who appreciates the little things and is interested in the everyday lives of characters, Mask of Shadows is definitely for you. While scouring Goodreads before deciding to request the ARC, I noticed that many people disliked this level of detail, but I found that it helped to create a setting and mood that fit the environment of competition. When paired with the brief touches at romance, and small intimate moments between Sal and Elise, I found Mask of Shadows to be quite an enjoyable read.

Aside from the rather vague descriptions given to Sal, I felt as though it was difficult to envision the world itself. While Miller does include a brief historical timeline at the end of the novel, which was incredibly helpful, I would have loved to see more detail about places, people and history. While I could clearly envision the rooms in which the auditioners were held during their downtime, I couldn’t picture the world itself.

Mask of Shadows ultimately feels YA in tone. In itself, that is not a bad thing, but I did not enjoy the style going in. Miller’s sentences were too short for my tastes. I love description, so her clipped sentences and abundant use of contractions threw me off. At times, the sentence structure was jarring and felt too forced for my tastes. As the novel progressed, however, I grew accustomed to Miller’s style and found myself enjoying the more intimate moments and hidden secrets that color its pages, as they were both descriptive and beautiful.

All in all, Linsey Miller’s debut novel is a unique pick that will please fans of The Hunger Games who are searching for new reads. Not only does it touch on, and introduce, an incredibly powerful and inspirational protagonist in the gender fluid, Sal, but it offers enough action that readers will remain thoroughly entertained along the way. I will definitely be looking out for a sequel, as I can’t imagine where Sal’s journey will take us next.

When my book friend (Hi Hollis!) sent me the NetGalley link to this one, I was immediately drawn to the cover and comparison to Bardugo. Sadly, this book failed at every turn. Had it not been a NG review, I would have simply thrown in the towel around the 20% mark. This book felt like every popular dystopian/fantasy rolled into one convoluted, distracting mess. The political aspect and world building was also confusing and inconsistent. I felt zero emotion to the main character or their plight. I am not typically a harsh reviewer and this might be my only 1 STAR of they year. As an avid fantasy fan, I am so weary of the mediocre stories flooding this genre. I have no desire to read the next installment and sadly, would not recommend this one to anyone.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advance copy in exchange for this review.*

Big thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

MASK OF SHADOWS by Linsey Miller is book one of a new YA fantasy series. A story about revenge, survival, and auditioning to be the Left Hand of a powerful Queen.

Sallot Leon is our main character. Sal is a thief, and a very good one. Sal will stop at nothing to get off the streets and leave the life of a highway robber and dreams of making it up to the upper class. After stealing a poster that was announcing auditions for the Left Hand. These are the powerful collection of the Queen's personal assassins that are named for the rings that she wears - Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, and Opal. The audition is a fight to the death with circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and ex-soldiers. A life of crime is barely enough preparation for Sal, but they must conceal the real reason for entering - revenge.

So, I really thought this was going to have a unique premise. If you've read THE HUNGER GAMES then this book will sound familiar. A fight to the death and dystopian themed YA is a commonly used plot line and it's been overdone (in my opinion). The one thing that was really unique and new about this book was that Sal is gender-fluid. I know that's something the YA genre hasn't seen much of yet and it definitely added a new element.

Overall, I was bored and found it hard to get through. I haven't DNF'd a book yet this year, so I made myself push through it. It was a commonly used plot line, some continuity issues, and I didn't connect to any of the characters. The gender fluidity of Sal was the only thing that made this one stand out.

I give this one 2.5/5 stars! (rounded up for rating)

The curse of being a mood reader strikes again. I had a hard time getting into this book. Although I did like the storytelling, the first few chapters were cryptic and too fast-paced for me to stay focused (if that makes sense). I won't rate the book, because I didn't finish it, and there's a big possibility that I will pick up this book again.

3 “Masks & Diversity” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Fire!

I had high hopes for this book, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

I know a lot of people are complaining about the fact that this was built on a common YA Fantasy premise (main character gets into some sort of tournament that requires them to kill other people/fight for their life), but that didn't bother me. I knew what I was getting myself into because the blurb is honest about this part, and I'm not one to complain about tropes.

The problem with Mask of Shadows was how it didn't do much with that trope. There was an overall lack of something special or intriguing enough to make this stand out. Even if it relied in a common premise, it could've still given me incredible frienships, amazing chemistry, swoony romance, memorable characters, enganging action scenes or explosions. Everybody likes explosions, right?

But I couldn't find any of that.

Sure, there was a nice friendship between Sal and Maud, the girl appointed by the court to serve Sal while she was in the running to becoming (not America's Next Top Model) Opal, one of the Queen's personal assassins. But it was just that. Nice. It took Sal too long to see Maud as a friendly figure. Then once they did, it felt like the book was ending and there were tons of other things happening.

The chemistry/romance was also lacking. I was excited when Sal first met Elise while trying to rob her--who doesn't love that? But as they met again when Sal was already in the competition, I didn't feel the connection between them as much. They had some flirty and cute moments, but they never pulled me in completely.

As to memorable characters, that's where Mask of Shadows came closer to hooking me. I liked Sal. I'd initially forgotten all about Sal being gender fluid (I got the e-ARC a while ago and was waiting to read it closer to release date), and I ended up playing a game of is this narrator a girl or a boy for a few pages, which was fun. Then the explanation came and I was pleased to see how respectful it was. I won't pretend to know much about the subject, but I understood what it meant for Sal to be gender fluid and how that was part of their life, so I'm counting that as a win. I also liked how other characters, like Ruby, respected that and made sure to address Sal properly.

Speaking of Ruby, I have to say he was my favorite character. I don't know exactly what it was about him that intrigued me so much, but there was something special about that character.

There were no explosions (that I remember), but there were actions scenes and they were good enough.

I found the writing to be a bit weird at times. Not bad at all, just different. But I could still find some lines that made me laugh a couple of times and one that gave me pause:

"Only difference between robbery and murder was what you stole."


I also have to give props to the author for the world she created. I liked the masks, shadows and nations, and I might be wrong here, but was there a Portuguese vibe to it? At least the names made me think of Portugal and even Brazil.

Overall, Masks of Shadow brought some interesting elements to a common YA Fantasy premise, but it didn't wow me.

*Amazon review live*

linsey miller's debut fantasy, mask of shadows, follows a thief named sal through the audition process to join the queen's left hand. the left hand being the queen's special council of justice or revenge seekers, or assassins if we're speaking plainly. the audition process is arduous, dangerous, murderous. the queen's court is full of intrigue. the lands she saved barely stitched together.

sal is a fascinating character, i don't think i've ever read anything quite like this before. sal isn't exactly a he or she or them. gender fluid, sal is not that, but also all that. and it was hard at first to understand. i'm a cis-gendered, hetero, pass-for-white person. how could you be nothing but all things at once? it's not a feeling i truly understand but sal manages to explain it in a way that makes sense. so while i struggled at first to categorize sal, much like the characters around sal do, i learned to accept that sal is sal. and once i was able to stop fixating on this, the story just flowed.

if you like red queen or the hunger games, you will like this too. there's world-building and betrayal, deaths that just happen and deaths that cut to the bone. there is love too, and friendship. there's the fact that nothing in this world is stable and sal is just another person who wants it to crumble. partly because there is no way that things remain as is. and all sal wants is to survive the fall. well, that and revenge.

Sallot Leon, the protagonist in Linsey Miller’s Mask of Shadows, is out for revenge.  Sal is the sole survivor of the territory of Nacea.  Nacea and all of its people were destroyed when the land of Erlend started a Civil War with the land of Alona.  Erlend was supposed to protect Nacea but when mysterious and deadly shadows were unleashed during the war, the Erlend lords chose to abandon Nacea and retreat to safety.  Completely alone and forced to live as a thief in order to survive, Sal is determined to make those Erlend lords pay for what they did to Nacea. 

When Sal steals a poster advertising a contest to become Opal, one of the Queen’s group of elite assassins, it sounds like the perfect way to gain access to the lords and thus begin seeking revenge.  There’s just one catch – the competition to become Opal is basically a fight to the death, the last one alive wins.  So Sal’s plan is ultimately to get revenge or die trying. 



LIKES

I’d have to say that Sal is definitely my favorite part of the novel. They are charming, witty, and extremely resourceful.  Sal is also the classic underdog in this competition because the majority of the competitors are heavily trained in combat and other lethal skills, whereas Sal is used to getting by on their street smarts.   

You’ll also notice my use of ‘they’ as I’m referring to Sal.  Sal is a gender fluid protagonist, and in most cases is referred to as they, although Sal indicates that what gender pronouns are used should be dictated by what type of clothing is being worn. If Sal is wearing a dress, for example, using ‘she’ is perfectly acceptable.  I had never read a book with a gender fluid character in it before so this made for a unique read.  I don’t know much at all about gender fluidity but I thought Miller did a very nice job portraying it here.  I also liked that it was incorporated smoothly into the overall story and didn’t overshadow other plot points.  A few characters inquired about it in terms of how to address Sal, but otherwise they accepted it without question and moved on. It wasn’t treated as an oddity.

Another aspect of Mask of Shadows I enjoyed was the competition itself.  Yes, it was reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but it was still an exciting, action-packed part of the book regardless.  The rules were basically to kill as many of your fellow competitors as possible, but do so without being caught.  Since the competition is to become one of the Queen’s assassins, stealth is one of the most important qualities needed.  Miller does a fantastic job of building plenty of tension and suspense as the reader follows Sal through the competition, playing this ultra-intense kill-or-be-killed game, never knowing when a potential assassin might be hiding around any corner, or up in any tree, looking for the perfect opportunity to take them out. One distinct difference between this competition and The Hunger Games was that all of the competitors were referred to by numbers and wore numbered masks over their faces at all times.  They were only referred to by their numbers, which added an almost-dehumanizing element to the competition. I had mixed feelings about the masks because there were a few competitors I would have liked to know more about, but it was hard to connect with any of them since they were just faceless numbers. 

Also somewhat reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but in a good way (for me anyway) is that each competitor is assigned a servant to help them dress, bathe, ensure they have safe, non-poisoned food to eat each day.  Sal’s servant, Maud, was one of my favorite characters in the book.  She’s not allowed to give Sal any kind of advantage during the competition, but behind the scenes, she is hard core in Sal’s corner.  Why?  Because if Sal wins, Maud gets a reward and a huge promotion.  So she’s very excited each day that Sal doesn’t die.  She’s sassy too, so she adds a much-welcomed element of lightheartedness in the middle of what is otherwise just scene after scene of murders and attempted murders. 



DISLIKES/ISSUES

My biggest issues with Mask of Shadows had to do with pacing, which was slow at times, especially when the author was detailing Sal’s backstory and the reasons why they wanted to become one of the Queen’s assassins.  I lost interest a few times along the way and only came away with a vague notion of what the world of Mask of Shadows entailed so I would have loved more world building, but without it being in the form of info dumps.

I also had issues with the romance, which I found to be out of place and unfortunately distracting from the main storyline.  Although I thought Sal and Elise had a lot of chemistry when they first met (while Sal was robbing Elise), as the story went on and they are reunited as part of the competition, I preferred them  as teacher and student rather than romantic partners. 

Overall, I think more action-packed competition scenes and little or no romance would have better served Mask of Shadows.



FINAL THOUGHTS

While I did have some issues with it, overall I still enjoyed reading Mask of Shadows.  While parts of the storyline are in some ways reminiscent of The Hunger Games, the similarities did not bother me because there are still enough differences to make it a unique and entertaining read. 



RATING:  3.5 STARS

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Linsey Miller, and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to preview this book.  This in no way shapes my opinion of the book being reviewed.

This is fantasy at its best! Gender fluidity was new to me, but it was beautifully handled. Sal, the main character, is totally focused on the competition to become Opal, an assasin with the Queen's Left Hand. He is determined to win so that he can get closer to the nobles who were responsible for the destruction of his town. There is romance too, beautifully done. I also loved Maud, Sal's servant during the competition. An incredible book, a real treasure, delightful, haunting, action-packed and thrilling

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley. It is a YA fantasy novel with a gender fluid protagonist named Sal. Sal is a thief and a former street fighter, who is the only surviving representative of a nation called Nacea. His home country was wiped out during a brutal war in which magically created shadows were killing humans until they were stopped by a powerful mage turned queen of the entire land. In defeating the shadows, the Queen also banished magic from her land.

The Queen has a team of four assassins who are collectively called the Left Hand, and one of the positions on the team is open to all willing and deemed fit to compete for it. Sal decides to enter the competition, and the story takes off from there.

One thing that surprised me about this book was how violent and bloody it was. In that aspect it did not feel like a YA novel. I also had some issues with the plot. The main story line was centered around the competition for the assassin job. The author also did a fairly good job introducing the world, the history and the politics. However, the ending was very abrupt and confusing. I did not understand if it was left open-ended for a possible sequel or it was an actual ending. The story also was unevenly paced. Some portions seemed dragged out and I really had to push myself to power through those. Overall 3 out of 5 stars. A solid, interesting premise, a unique world, and a likable main character. But the plot and pacing could be improved.

I was intrigued by the sound of Mask of Shadows, because the main character is non-binary and throughout the story, asks to be addressed by pronouns that match what they're wearing -- and by neutral pronouns (they/them/their) if they're ambiguous. I thought it was reasonably well done; people didn't get too obsessed with finding out, and not everyone was a total douche about it either. The narrative didn't linger on it, either.

On the other hand, it's basically Throne of Glass with a bit of The Hunger Games, apart from maybe the figure of the queen, who is intriguingly ambiguous in the end, although she starts as a saviour figure. There is some interesting world-building -- the shadows -- but really, it feels so much like Throne of Glass. I enjoyed Throne of Glass well enough, but I don't want to read it again.

There's a couple of issues with pacing too -- sometimes the story seems to jerk forward, leaving me wondering where something came from. But for the most part, it's fun; just not original.

Review link is live from 1st Oct 2017.

I stopped around 15%. It was just eh. There wasn't anything about it that kept me interested. I was looking forward to reading about a gender-fluid teen and a competition to become Opal, one of the queens warriors. The gender-fluid part was so small and nothing else was mentioned after that. I didn't like Sal too much either. I couldn't connect with her/him. And I put it that way because she/he wanted to be called by the pronouns as she/he felt and dressed. So if she wore a dress then she would be a she and if he wore pants and dressed masculine then he would be he. Great, fine, I can go with that, no problem. But the author writes in first person and there aren't ways to use pronouns if it's all I, me, mine. Plus, there was the whole thing about killing. Sal hadn't killed before but killing the boss of the robbers was easy, like second nature, for Sal. I have better books to read and I didn't want to continue to read a ho-hum book.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publishers.

Mask of Shadows is an intriguing fantasy that deftly mixes thieving, revenge, assassins-in-training, and a little bit of romance in a world once haunted by shadows that could kill.