A fun, kind of light read, but not amazing. I appreciated the way Sal's gender fluidity was addressed and getting to see that perspective in a YA book. I feel like this suffers from the comparison to Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology, which has such a strong cast; one of the places Mask of Shadows falls short is in its secondary characters, who are pretty underdeveloped.

This book held some expectations for me with having such a tagline as being compared to Throne of Glass and Shadow and Bone, but the book didn't hold a lot of action or captivate me. I was hoping to be swept away and enjoy this book, but had a hard time investing in any of the characters. It was not a strong read for me, and took me some time to finish. It had some world building, but had a lot of comparisons to the Hunger Games, but wasn't written as strong. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Fantastic story. Couldn't put my Kindle down once I started reading this, got pulled right in to the different story lines and can't wait to see where the story goes. Love the dichotomy of the main character

I really liked the genderfluid main character, Sal, but tracking their movements through the court of Our Queen was monstrously difficult to follow. I had no idea why politics were the way they were, or why magic was involved, or why everyone wore masks. This needed a lot more editing in the plot department.

This book is brilliant. Expertly written, it takes a new approach to YA "contest" fiction. It's not afraid to get bloody and take things into the darker side of court life, which I adored. Things aren't all sparkle and kisses. As a nonbinary person, I felt represented by Sal. The introduction of their genderfluid ID and how it played into their character of an assassin was perfect! I want MORE!

This story is so well done. It's often that I read an assassin story that's all "I don't *want* to be an assassin but I gotta for reason xyz" but this story isn't that. Sal just wants to get out of being a thief and is all about serving Our Queen. I loved this.

Plot: Really though. My only con is that I felt like I could skim a bit of the text while only reading the dialogue. But I find that I catch myself doing that often. That's a Sam thing and not a book thing. The plot was super fast paced and intriguing through the whole bit.

Characters: Sal was so great. They explained the whole gender fluid bit really well. Specifically which pronoun to use when. Sometimes she was she and other times he was he but if you were ever confused it was they. ADDITIONALLY the other characters were fleshed out enough that I created a bond with them and was connected to them. There were so many but I felt the feels necessary. The villain was a good villain.

World building: Very well done. Explaining the Shadows and what led to the destruction of Sal's people.

Full blog review will be posted at http://willreadforbooze.blogspot.com on June 23, 2017

The MC, Sallot Leon is unlikable, which I loved. In fact, there are very few likable characters in this story, and I'm totally on-board with that.
I loved the premise and the pacing is so well-done. I didn't really connect with the MC, but the action was ongoing and fast-paced and dragged me through the pages. There's a love-interest, which, yay, but the action is what hooked me and kept me dying to know what happened next. The tension in this is remarkable. The writing here is great and I'm definitely looking forward to book 2.
So why not 5 stars?
The gender-fluid aspect left me wanting more, as it kind of seemed an afterthought--a few lines dropped in every now and then for flavor--and incidental. Taken out, nothing would really change except the wardrobe. But maybe book 2 takes it to the next level. IDK.
And the ending. The very end. Like, the last 10%. No spoilers, obviously, because I don't spoil, but allow me to butcher a metaphor: Yeah, sure, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, but I expected some of those eggs to be really hard to crack. The ending seemed way too easy and, because of that, kind of, sort of, implausible.
So, I was a little disappointed, but it wasn't enough to destroy all the great stuff that came before that point.
I recommend this book for those who like their stories on the darker side. Instead of comparing it to Maas and Bardugo, I'd say for fans of NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff and AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, I found it to be a little bit lacking originality. The main character was gender fluid, something that is not very common in YA, so I give props to the author for that, but other than that, the book seemed like a lot of other books.
The writing was good and the author's style was interesting, so that aspect of the book was great and slightly made up for the lack-luster story.

Overall, i think more than anything this author has great potential for writing some awesome stories in the future, this one is particular however wasn't anything too special in my opinion.

Can't wait to see more from the author in the future, and to see what else she can come up with!

I requested this book because of the description. Sarah Maas' books are always flying off our shelves and this sounded similar. I was not disappointed!

Sal, our hero, is strong, realistic and relatable. The reader is invested in his fate and revenge from the beginning. As the (likely) sole survivor from Nacea, Sal has been a young thief indentured to a kingpin by the name of Grell. His chance comes in the form a competition for the position of Opal, one of the new Queen's Left Hand. Killing Grell, Sal takes off for the capital to engage in a life or death competition for the coveted position which will allow him access to the Erland nobles responsible for the death of his family and people.

3.5 stars
Mask of Shadows started out extremely slow. Sal is a street fighter and a thief until they hear of a competition being held to choose a new member for the Left Hand, the Queen's personal assassins. Sal sees this as an opportunity to get close to the lords who abandoned their homeland to the shadows and to get revenge.
I did like the writing, although the world building was extremely confusing. The diversity in the main character on the other hand, was one of my favourite things about this book. This is the first time I have come across a gender fluid character and not really knowing much about the topic in question was one of the things that made me read this in the first place. Well, that and the comparison to Sarah J Maas and Leigh Bardugo. On that front it was kind of a letdown to be honest, as this is nowhere near that level. The competition between the candidates auditioning to become Opal, more or less a fight to the death, is very similar to the tournament in Throne of Glass, but there ends the resemblance.
Although it did not live up to my expectations, this was an interesting read and with that ending I will definitely be reading the sequel.

Sallot Leon is a gifted thief and wants out of the dog-eat-dog world of crime and poverty. They steal a flyer for an audition for the Left Hand, the Queen's personal force of assassins, and determines this is the way to escape they're monotonous and dangerous life and seek revenge on those who destroyed their home. 

Mask of Shadows offers morally ambiguous characters (stab, stab, poison!), an engaging take on what it means to be an assassin, and adds a dose of inclusiveness with a gender-fluid character like Sal. However, it lacks the foundation of a large fantasy world, world building, and setting. 

The world is Mask of Shadows is pretty interesting, but I wished we got some more information and history. The information we do get, felt disjointed and leaving the reader with more questions than answers. 

The audition for assassin was the highlight and the best part. I love reading about the Left Hand and wanted more. The audition is deadly and contains a dash of court intrigue. 

The execution and conflict is a little underwhelming. Sal is seeking revenge, but the readers don't get a chance to decide whether to root for them or not because we don't know what they've lost and what they can gain. Sometimes, that's not necessarily the case, but we know so little about Sal that it makes their actions meaningless. I don't care if they did this and this, etc. if I don't know what they have to gain or lose, or in this case, what they've lost. 

I am looking forward to reading some reviews by people who are genderfluid, to reflect on Sal's characterization. 

Mask of Shadows is being compared to Sarah J. Mass and Leigh Bardugo. I can't say about Mass, but Mask of Shadows does have a similar feel to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. New environments, learning, and proving one's worth. Sal and Alina's voice is also similar in a witty and wry kind of way. 

In the end, Mask of Shadows could use some stronger world building and ties to cement the setting and really bring the world to life. I look forward to book two.

I have struggled so hard to read this, which is disappointed as I was looking forward to reading it. Everything about it just.... fell flat for me. Honestly, I haven't even finished it because I just cannot bring myself too. The lead character, Sal, is just soo... meh. They were just annoying to have to listen to for chapter after chapter. Also their motives seem to be very uneven. They' have never killed a person in their life, but join a competition to basically be an assassin. A thief is far, far, far from an assassin. And from the whole one scenario that we get of them being a thief, they don't seem to be good at it either. Also, they don't like the sight of blood at one point in the beginning.... and it's never mentioned again. (At least from what I've read.)

Sal was definitely not likable to me. In what I was able to read of this book, I could not wait for her character to be killed by someone else. Also, the whole idea of the competition seemed to be.... odd? Something about it didn't quite seem right. And the concept of the masks seems bizarre. And the whole.. attempting at a romance between the two characters just fell really flat for me. I really just don't know. This book was, very much, unfortunately, not for me.

Also, if I had to read "I'd" one more time where it sounded so off, I was going to claw my eyes out. Saying "I had" or "I would" sounds a lot better a majority of the time.

While I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and interesting, it didn't match up with the description as being perfect for fans of Maas' novels. The writing needed work, as did the world/character building

Once you start this book, you will stay up late at night turning pages to finish it. Refreshingly, the main character's gender identity was addressed in such a natural way that it flowed with the story and was an integral part to the action, but never felt shoehorned or fake. I am looking forward to the author's next book.

I don't have much to say other than I was excited but this is just a Throne of Glass/Hunger Games rip off and the only thing I enjoyed was the gender-fluid character, Sal.

The whole "gender fluid" theme throughout the whole book totally ruined the entire Book for me. It just overshadows the rest of the story.

I was not a fan of the writing style or pacing. The overall concept is interesting, but not an instant sell with teenagers.

Book Lovers,

A Gender Fluid Main character... sign me up! As you know I have been reading LGBT stories for over 10 years.. they are my jam!

This my loves was confusing, a little bland.

It was a little hunger games though to be honest, come on now.. find your own story!

"I was what I was - what Nacea had made me, what Erlend had made me, what Our Queen had made me. There was no innocence left in this world, left in me, not after all we had done"

* * .5
2.5 / 5

I had very high hopes for Linsey Miller's debut novel and, on the whole, I was a little disappointed. Whilst there's intrigue, assassinations, politics, a competition (there's very little I love more than game plots - see A Gathering of Shadows), and a reasonably well-developed main character, Sallot Leon, the book feels rough. I must say that Sallot just sounds like shallot, which is not even close to be as cool a name as Sal.

The novel opens with Sal doing their thing as a highway robber. The writing is good, though the dialogue is a bit clunky. I was slightly concerned that the plot might turn out like Throne of Glass - there's a competition to become an assassin, a tough character with a tragic past - but fortunately these concerns are soon swept away. There are initial hints to Miller's world building, mentions of runes, magic and shadows, as well as a civil war and impending trouble. All exciting stuff. There is little explanation of these at the start, possibly to avoid clunky info-dumping, but I did feel a little confused until about half-way in. Frankly, even by the end of the book I still didn't really understand how Miller's runes and magic system functioned!

Quite swiftly, within a dozen or so pages, the plot moves on to the main element: the competition for the opportunity to be the fourth assassin, Opal, of the Queen's left hand (does she only have four fingers?). The other three assassins, Ruby, Amethyst, and Emerald, oversee the competition. Ruby has the most memorable personality whereas Amethyst and Emerald are a little too interchangeable. Everyone has scars and is super muscular. Now, to enter the competition, Sal must leave the criminal gang they belong to and bring a token worthy of an assassin. I found this scene a touch unrealistic. Sal takes the life of gang leader Grell, a man they have served under since childhood, who takes people's fingers on a whim. Yet Sal has no issues betraying him, a man who scares everyone else witless, chopping off his hand with no real difficultly all within hours of learning about the competition!

Where this book gets good is the competition itself. Sal is competitor number 23, and this section is abound with plots, lessons, and murders. Three of my favourite things. Winding alongside this narrative arc is Sal's underlying motive: revenge for their country, Nacea, which was decimated during the civil war, and love for the Queen. There's also the delightful building up of Sal's relationship with their maid, Maud, and the fledgling romance with Elise, Sal's tutor. Elise is charming, beautiful, and a scholar to boot. Their meeting is delightful. The romance itself, however, seems a little confused. It seems to stray into various cliches and paradigms: it is vaguely forbidden because of the disparity in social standing and Elise's father, it is sweet and slow building, and then passionate. I felt like Miller couldn't quite settle on the kind of romance she wanted to tell and instead varied between kinds and it ends up being a bit unsatisfying.

Neither were Sal's relationships with the other competitors particularly well-developed. We get it, they're all trying to kill each other so there aren't any particularly close relationships. The fact that they are only ever called by numbers makes it a little hard to tell Two, Four, Five, Eleven, Fifteen and a few more, characters that are supposed to be notable, apart. I had a few moments where a character popped up and I thought they had already been killed. There's also the fact that Sal takes their mask off at one point and none of the other competitors recognised them. I think if I spent a few weeks in close proximity with someone in a mask, I'd recognise their body shape and appearance even without it.

Then there is Sal. I applaud the author for writing a genderfluid person of colour (Sal is described as having "russet-toned skin") as diversity in books is something I prize highly. This isn't a novel about being genderfluid, it just has a character who happens to be so. I only wish Sal's identity wasn't so entrenched in sexist stereotypes about what it is to be a man or woman. Miller manages to avoid the classic clunky information dump and instead opts to only bring it up concerning clothes and their relation to pronouns. Consistently Sal says things like "I dress how I like to be addressed - he, she, or they" or "You can call me she when I dress like this. I dress how I am" (whilst wearing a dress, in which Sal twirls a lot) the implication here obviously being that a woman is a person in a dress... There are more examples. Interestingly, the blurb uses "they" for Sal (which is why I have used it in this review), yet Sal snaps at people using "they", saying "address me however I look", as though there is a way to look like a woman (there isn't). Whilst I appreciate the author's attempt to write a diverse character, this was not the way to do it. One's identity should not be built on shoving other people into gender roles.

The last 10% or so of the book was the crowning jewel for me. The emotions were ramped up and this is where Miller's writing truly shone - I could feel the passion in the words, I could feel Sal. I mean look at this:

"I would kill the lords whose heritage was built on war and hate, and I would never be free of it, but the world would be free of them."

I was uncertain about Sal's motive before - they seem torn between revenge, duty to the Queen, and personal improvement at various points in the plot - but now I have no doubt. It's definitely revenge. The Queen also finally shows the spine I'd been waiting for:

"I am nothing like them. The decisions I made, everything I gave up, I did it for you, for each and every one of you, and you have no idea of the costs. You may be able to repay your debt in blood, but I'll take mine to the pyre."

A pet peeve of mine is when a character is so -sassy- and disrespectful to someone who, realistically, they ought to be in fear and awe of. This woman has united countries and ordered deaths! I'd be on my knees and yet previously the Queen had seemingly given Sal a free pass to be a cliche, irritating snob. So when I read this bit I was immensely pleased. Where had this stunning writing been for the rest of the book? The rest of the writing was fine, but the last few pages were excellent! Miller sets up perfectly for the sequel.

Overall, the plot was based on something I love (a game/competition) so I was fairly sure I would enjoy this. It's not a particularly original book and it could have massively benefited from some more explanation of the world and less dependence on gender roles, but I was pleased with the fast-paced plot, the writing, and the exciting end.