Didn't enjoy this book and ended up not finsihing it.

Sal is genderfluid so I'm going to use 'they' pronouns for this review. Sal uses he, she or they depending on how they dress, but switching between the three would be far too confusing for this review, though it wasn't confusing at all in the book.

I really did enjoy this book. It took me a while to read because it was a little slow to get into but when I finished it, I was really happy with the book altogether. The characters were varied and interesting, both the Left Hand, the other auditioners and the friends Sal surrounds themselves with. I liked how they all had their backstories and were all working towards them, for example, Sal never judges Maud for looking forward to the pearls she'll get if Sal becomes Opal, especially when they find out what Maud wants the money for. Sal learns to trust other people and it's a slow process, the character arc being quite satisfying for me. Sal being a genderfluid character was neither brushed over, nor focused on to the expense of the plot. Other characters used the wrong pronouns for them and they became annoyed especially when they had explained it but others used the right pronouns and we could make the assumption about how Sal was dressed on those pronouns.

The world-building, especially the history of the war and the people, was really enjoyable for me. I really liked how each country had its own history and culture, though I could have done with a bit more explanation on some points. I liked how Sal never forgot their own country and the wrongs done against it and the Shadows were a suitably frightening threat (I can see why Sal freaked out at the thought of them being back because that was a fairly terrifying consequence of magic).

The thing I think could be improved for this book was I felt the plot was a little cliche. The ending surprised me, especially with the revelations about one of the Left Hand, but the whole 'auditioners have to try and kill each other' was not that original, although it was done in a different way than I've seen before.

All in all, I would recommend it so four stars!

I really wanted to like this, but it did not pan out. Not comparable to Maas or Bardugo as marketed; while the prior two write books I can't put down this one was a struggle to get through. I will say that based on what I've seen, the representation of gender-fluidity seems to be well-received from members of that community, and it has at least one other character of a non-hetero sexuality. So if you want it just for the representation, that aspect seems well-done, but it's truly a small part of the book since it's just part of Sal's character and not the focus of the story. I thought it was a good choice to not include any physical descriptions of Sal that might lead you to assume their assigned gender at birth, or at least nothing that I picked up on.

But outside of that, the story was sadly lacking. The plot is basically Throne of Glass, with Sal joining an audition to become one of the Queen's assassins. Unfortunately, all the contestants go by number, which made them all muddle together and I could not describe more than two of them with any kind of defining characteristic. Characterization overall was flat, and I couldn't get a good grasp on anyone's personality. The other assassins are ruthless, but teacherly? Live a sorrowful, shadowed life but are constantly quipping at each other? I couldn't give a compelling description of any single character (except Maud, who was great) if I tried. The world-building was spread too thin, with many interesting things hinted at but never satisfactorily introduced. There were auditioners who grew up in a circus famed for its dangerous stunts - I want to hear more about that! And people who had magic and lost it - I want more about how magic worked, and the transition away from it.

Sal's motivation left me constantly underwhelmed. They want revenge for the destruction of their homeland, but up until Sal chanced upon an announcement for the audition, they were content to only work toward joining the army as a private? And despite having been only a street fighter and never killed anyone, Sal is now perfectly willing to murder at the drop of a hat? Sal's blind faith in the queen was annoyingly naive, and I could not forge any sort of emotional connection with them, despite their nightmares and memories of the shadow massacre. It started out with promise, nearly ground to a halt in the middle, and picked up in the second half but not enough to make me enjoy it or want to read the second one.

What drew me to this book was the cover, I didn’t even read the description. That’s why I was so pleased to find that I liked reading this book. While I had an ebook ARC of it, when I would much prefer the physical book, I wasn’t disappointed. I’ve seen people online complain that this is strikingly similar to The Hunger Games, which is odd because I felt like it was almost an exact copy of Throne of Glass.

As you can see from the excerpt, this story follows Sal, a gender-neautrual individual. I’m always so happy to see a fellow LGBTQIA character, and was thrilled that the main character was in my six-letter label.

Sal goes through a series of tests, with a constant threat to her life, much like Throne of Glass. While there wasn’t a love triangle, something that makes me love a book, there was a love interest that wasn’t the main message of the story. Sal was in this competition for vengence and love just happened to come across in the story. It’s refreshing to see that, when so many YA books have the romance overshadow the message and plot of the book.

Sal also doesn’t constantly mention their fluid gender, but it’s there and it’s a huge part of them. Words weren’t necessary when describing their gender. It was the feeling they had and acceptance of their body and gender.

I think this book would be good for any LGBTQIA individual, especially the gender-neutral individuals, because it made me feel good, as a gay woman, and may make the gender-neutral feel accepted. That being said, I think this could be a learning experience for the rest of the readers.

* I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*


*sigh* this book took me almost a month to read, I just couldn't get into it. In my opinion it was just okay. Nothing all that special about the story or plot. There were a few moments where I felt like I started to get into the story but then I soon dropped out again.

Fantastic novel reminiscent of throne of glass. Strong main character and excellent plot. Loved the inclusion of a gender fluid character something that you just don't see represented. Excitedly waiting for the sequels.

What did I just read? The description was so good, a fluid gender main character set out to get revenge for his country. 'Perfect for fans of Maas and Bardugo' the description said, well it lied. This book left me confused and angry, and as my friends can attest to, I tried very hard to like it, but in the end, I really cannot.

SPOILERS

The book tells a story of Sal, a gender fluid character who likes to be addressed as he, she or they depending on how Sal dresses. The clarification of what circumstance would merit others to refer to Sal as 'they' never comes. Sal is a thief from a destroyed land of Nacea. Sal has no training in fighting, sword fighting, archery, reading or poisons. Sal enters a competition to become 'Our Queen's' assassin anyway, cause hey! why not?

Other characters in this book are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, with 23 being Sal. Oh and if you're not confused yet, let me add that other characters are called Emerald, Ruby, and Amethyst. All of this, made it extremely hard to keep up with and honestly I didn't care for any of them, at all. Oh and you remember how I mentioned that Sal can't even read? Well fear not, like with archery, swordplay and poisons Sal masters it in 4 days and actually wins the competition. This is the most unbelievable character I have ever seen. I did not believe in Sal, nor did I care about Sal, Sal had absolutely no character development at all and most of the time, when Sal talked to the Queen I wanted to slap him/her.

And then there is the writing style. Oh lord, this was written so poorly, so choppy and sloppy that at times I had no idea what was happening. One of the most frustrating moments was when Sal was alone, in the woods and then somehow, 4 is near him screaming? Erm...how was 4 near Sal if 4 just walked away? Ugh it just makes me so angry! This could have been a great book, if written better. This just seems like the author threw cool things together and hoped for the best.

(Small disclaimer: I'm nonbinary myself and thought I broke my mouse slamming the 'request' button once I noticed that there was a genderfluid main lead. I was excited and nervous to read this, which I'll quickly get into below.)

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. I really appreciate it!

I have conflicted feelings about this book. I was, as mentioned, both excited and nervous to read the story of a genderfluid lead - excited because I got to see someone rather like me as a MC in my favourite book setting, and nervous because it could easily be handled so badly.

I have to start off by saying I sincerely thought that Sal's gender identity was handled very well. Simply and elegantly done, in my opinion. A+ from me there, for sure.

My main issues with the book were with the world-building. It rather reminded me of skipping stones across a pond; the bits of exposition we got were confusing and often presented choppily, leaving me scratching my head about everything that lay beneath the bits we were given. It was hard to track everything that was going on, the history of this world, etc - not because there was too much, but because too little time was devoted just to gently developing it and letting it unfurl around us as we read. It's a shame, because what I managed to gather did interest me, and not being able to fix it well in my head was frustrating.

It was hard to get interested in the fellow auditioners - I'm not entirely sure if that's the point or not, all things considered - and the importance and prevalence for the masks, while really neat and intriguing for the setting, made it equally hard to ever remember which character was which, with the exception of the Left Hand.

And therein lies my confliction. I liked Sal, I liked the setting, had trouble following the world-building, felt the romance was a little empty. I so badly want to push books with nonbinary leads into everyone's faces and howl at them to read until they drop, but equally, being dishonest about my opinions on said books would be insulting to the author and the aspects of the book I did enjoy.

Am I interested in the sequel? Yep. I want to read more about Sal, and the story has potential to be a real gem if it's polished up a bit.

I want to start out by saying that I enjoyed reading this book, and will definitely read the sequel, That being said there were some issues with the book. I feel like the world building was ambitious, but that it sometimes seemed confused or that it contradicted itself. Also the genderfluidness of the main character, Sal, was interesting and nice to see for a representation standpoint, but I feel like it was not used to its full extent. While I'm glad that it was not used as a coming out story or self discovery, just as a fact, it also did not really play into to overall plot other than to say which clothes Sal was wearing at the time. I think in a story about a competition where the contestants are masked, this ability to shift identities would have been very handy. This does come into play in one major scene of the story, but I still feel it could have been used more.

What drew me to this book on NetGalley was the summary saying that it was for fans of Maas and Bardugo. I just wish that this book was more its own, rather than a mix of series that we have already read and for the most part love. This book had a Throne of Glass meets Hunger Games feel to it, and for that I didn't have must interest in it.

The only aspect of this book that I did enjoy was that Sal was a gender fluid character, or well I more like the idea of such character. There was never really an explanation of why Sal was gender neutral, and the author made it seem as if everyone accepted Sal in whatever gender he/she was dressed that day. This would have been all fine and dandy that everyone was very accepting during this time if it wasn't for Sal getting teary eyed every time someone accepted him (I'll just call Sal him to make things simple). But even though Sal is gender fluid, it wasn't a big aspect of the plot and sometimes felt thrown in as filler.

In reality, we don't really know who Sal is as a character and anyone else for that matter. As soon as the audition starts everyone is given a number and a mask. This made caring about anyone in the book particularly hard, and since it's a competition we don't really learn who they are to begin with.

The world building was very confusing in this. I felt as if we were just thrown in and expected to know everything already. It didn't help that I felt like I was rereading another book set in a dystopian world where everyone has to fight for the death to become the victor, or in this case the queens new assassin.

Overall, this book was a disappointment for me, and I will definitely not be picking up the second one when it comes out. Giving this book 2 stars is being very generous, my rating would actually be closer to 1-1.5.

I feel like there is the seed of a good idea here, unfortunately its couched in a plotline that I've read something like five times this year!

"Mask of Shadows" by Linsey Miller is the first of two related novels. This book is fast paced and will be one of those books you want to keep reading without putting down.
Sal Leon's childhood was ended when Sal's parents were murdered and Sal's siblings brutal killed as causalities of a war caused by politics and greed.
In order to survive Sal becomes a thief, robber, and street fighter until revenge could be exacted upon the nobles who allowed the destruction of Sal's people.
Sal comes away from a highway robbery with a purse that contained a poster for an audition to become a personal assassin for the Queen and a member of her Left-hand who were named for the rings she wears on that hand.
Now if only Sal can survive poisons, arrows, knives, and "lessons" of the deadly audition it could lead to a new chapter in a better life with a new love and a step closer to just revenge.

"Mask Of Shadows is a terrific book that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat until the end. Similar to "Throne of Glass", this story weaves a fantastic tale of shadows, love, and assassinations. Giving some rise to the issue of gender fluidity and societies reaction to it, this book leaves the possibility of a series open and the reader hopefull.

*Ecopy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Here is the funny thing about this book. Out of the reviews I read, everyone loved the main character because of being gender fluid and I hated it, lol! For about 60% of the story I was thinking girl with a few in between thinking boy but mostly girl. Then all of a sudden I'm thinking definitely boy because of the love interest then I changed back again when the love interest says something like I can date either girl or boy (something to the extent). Now don't get me wrong, I can read a f/f story or just a regular m/f or whatever but I just need to know the gender I guess. I didn't think it was going to matter to me but it did.
Now that is out the way let me just say that I really did like this book a lot. It's kind of Hunger Game-ish at a few spots and I can see the comparison to Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J Maas but it's only because of a few similarities on the stories, not to do with the writing.
I really enjoyed the competition and all of the characters. The story is action packed and there is not a boring moment which I really liked. Also even tho you don't really get to know a lot of the characters in depth I was glad to just know them by a number because somehow I didn't get attached to any of them and when they died I wasn't sad. I knew who was going to win so no need to get attached to any others. ;)
This is definitely a book I will recommend.

On the one hand, it was nice to read a story featuring a non gender conforming character. However, I'm not sure that my opinion counts much on that matter as that is my identity. I want to know more about what nonconforming readers feel about the title. I also wish the story had a bit more oomph to it instead of feeling tried and true.

When I first saw the description for Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller, I was immediately intrigued. The book was compared to the works of Leigh Bardugo (whom I love) and Sarah J. Maas (whose work I, bafflingly, have never read). It features a gender fluid main character who’s a thief bent on revenge and auditioning for a place in the Left Hand, a group of assassins who work for the queen. Needless to say, I was sold!

So first, the plot. The main character is Sallot Leon, an orphan from a country which no longer exists due to a massacre via magical creatures during a war more than ten years prior. When auditions are held for one of the queen’s assassins, a prestigious position to be sure, Sal immediately decides to join. It’s the perfect place to get close to the court, and put Sal’s plot for revenge into action. Pitted against dozens of others, it’s a tense battle of skill and wits to see who will rise and who will fall.

The majority of the book focuses on the trials of becoming Opal, the assumed name of the assassin whose position is being filled. Sal, along with many others vying to become a part of the Left Hand, goes through several major tests, many different classes, and assassination attempts at the hands of their fellow auditions throughout the novel.

Now, I have some extremely conflicting emotions about the actual assassin auditions.

These tests and classes were fun, but it was difficult to take some of them at face value. Sal walked a tightrope of being a believable character and, at the same time, wholly unbelievable. For example, Sal never learned to read. Just a couple of lessons– and I mean that term literally, as in only two or three at the outside – and Sal can read nearly anything. The same can be true of other classes as well. These instances pulled me completely out of the story, as I simply couldn’t help but feel that this was wholly unrealistic. Each time something similar happened I found my suspension of disbelieve shattered.

As for the characters, I also have some mixed feelings. To be honest, I liked many of the characters. Sal was a good main character, even if I feel that it’s a bit unrealistic to be fairly competent at nearly everything. Maud and Ruby were some of my favorites, with rather distinct personalities. However, I can see some people having issues keeping who is who straight in this novel. The competitors are all referred to by number, not name, their true identities hidden. In conversation Sal is most often referred to as Twenty-Three. On top of that, the competitors and already established assassins all wear masks, making their physical descriptions somewhat limited and not a good way to keep the characters straight. I can most definitely see this aggravating some people. If you’re one of them, be warned as the majority of the book is like this. But, on the other hand, this is a contest to become an assassin, so keep in mind that the cast does thin quite a bit throughout the course of the novel.

One of the things I was most impressed with was the world building. This is something that can be quite easily overlooked and underappreciated. This isn’t a novel involved with traversing the world and fighting off the great evil supreme being a la Lord of the Rings. The majority of the story takes places in the castle and on its grounds. But it is clear nonetheless that a great deal of care went into creating this world. Despite seeing a microcosm of this world Miller has built, we get a very good feel for politics, the current world, and how it’s changed throughout Sal’s lifetime. The world is one of a tentative peace, a dark, bloody war only just behind them, magic sealed off permanently, and extremely tenuous relations between the nobles of the court.
While I enjoyed the novel, I wasn’t really invested to any large degree until the last several chapters. This is where more of the world building comes into play. Events outside of the actual assassin auditions come to a head, and the book ends on quite the cliffhanger.

This novel seems to have that almost addictive, unnamable quality that pushes the reader to keep going and yearn for the next book. Even I managed to fall under its spell despite blatant and numerous grievances. The ending of the book leads me to believe that there will be a sequel coming at some point in the future and that this will turn into at least a duology. Would I read further in this series, if that is, indeed, what it is to become?

You know what? Yes. I would.

The ending of the novel set up for a much wider stage with fewer characters. There are still some loose plot threads to need to be accounted for and new plots and events were set up in the last few chapters as well. I honestly want to know what happens next.

While I can’t speak to the Mask of Shadows comparison to Sarah J. Maas, I can speak to that of Leigh Bardugo. Honestly, it isn’t too similar. Sure, the Six of Crows duology had to do with thieves, which Sal was in the opening chapters, but beyond that I see no obvious comparison. Their writing styles and use of language are completely different. Still, if you like reading about thieves, assassins, and the darker side of court intrigue, then you are most definitely in the right place.

If you like court intrigue, stories about thieves and assassins, and young adult fantasy then you’re definitely going to want to pick up this book. If you don’t like young adult fantasy, court intrigue, and like more magic in your fantasy then this novel might not be for you.

A big thank you goes to Linsey Miller, Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

What an original premise and a bold move on Miller's part! Sal, a street fighter and highway thief, auditions for a place on the Queen's Left Hand, her trusted band of assassins. She/He then goes by Twenty-three and learns how to kill and also falls in love. It's a battle to the death. It's also an androgynous stand in the YA genre, which I thoroughly respect. I think many young adults will relate to this aspect of the main character's personality.
Although the plot was violent, it was also simply brilliant to follow. I had so much fun reading this book. I can't wait for book two!

The premise of Mask of Shadows sparked my interest, because I'd never read a book with a gender-fluid main character before. And a gender-fluid main character, who is an assassin? Yes, please. Sadly, this book wasn't for me at all.
The writing felt very sloppy. I had a very hard time getting into the book because of it, and I couldn't connect to the story or the characters at all. It also didn't help that the descriptions were very messy, which caused me to be confused a lot.
The plot was mildly interesting. I enjoyed the whole assassin-competition, but I just couldn't care about the whole political situation, which is what the book was mostly about.
I did like the main character, though. Sallot was very interesting, intelligent, and confident.
I also really enjoyed reading about a gender-fluid character, which is definitely something YA needs more of.

I loved this book to its core. It had assassins, magical mystery monsters, a selection kind of vibe going on with the trials for the new Opal. Mystery and deceit. Action and a little bit of romance. All the characters really brought a color to the world and each one had their own part in moving the story along. The book kept me entertained from start to finish. Five stars for Linsey Miller's Mask of Shadows.

Writing
The writing is engaging, though sometimes it makes dialogue hard to follow, as bits of description are often inserted between two spoken sentences.
Story
I really enjoyed the story! I finished the book under 72 hours, and the pacing was pretty good. The ending was a bit rushed, but left me eager to read the next book.
World
The world is really interesting. It feels old, and has a deep story. The magic is treated in a very original way, as it disappeared but left traces on the world and its people. I’m hoping to learn more about it in the second installment!
Characters
I really liked Sal (and for convenience I’m going to use “they” as their pronouns). They’re determined and quite developed. I am a bit confused about their gender fluidity though. It seemed to only manifest itself by which clothes they were wearing, and not in a shift of thoughts. The other contestants felt less real (with a couple exceptions) as they were only referred to by numbers and not given any development. I did enjoy the members of the Left Hand though, as well as the love interest (even if I spotted her as such within 2 seconds)

Conclusion
I had a good time reading this book. It is not perfect, but I think it is a good debut novel, and I’ll be sure to keep an eye on Linsey Miller!