I wasn't able to finish this book, so I decided not to review it on my site or any of the major retailers/Goodreads.

Sallot Leon is a street rat and has had to fight and thieve for survival since their entire nation was killed in war less than a decade ago. When Sal robs a highborn lady, they finds out that the Queen is looking for a new Opal - an assassin - and so Sal sets off for auditions. Now Sal has to learn to fight with swords as well as knives, and aim arrows as well as punches. But the stakes are high and Sal might not have what it takes to be Opal.

I knew very little about this book going into it other than it was a YA fantasy with a gender fluid protagonist so I'm so happy it ended up being a great high stakes adventure that had me gripped throughout, I did initially have a little trouble getting into it but I think it's just more my mood that day because once I settled down an gave it a chance I was hooked.

This does have a bit of Hunger Games feel to it due to the high stakes and death at any moment feeling while the fantasy world/being based around a castle felt slightly like Throne of Glass but I think because of Sal's own personal goals and voice, it felt original.

I loved how accepting everyone was of Sal's gender fluidity. There were no arguments about it or raised eyebrows. Once Sal explained what it was like for them, and the pronounce for specific clothing choices everyone understood and got on with it and it was genuinely just lovely to see. I do think Sal and Elise felt a little bit insta-love but again I liked Elise's acceptance of Sal and her feelings towards them.

Sal did annoy me in some parts with their decisions - like choosing to murder Seve before they became Opal. I just thought that was a bit of an idiotic decision. I do think some things came easier to Sal than I was expecting considering they had no formal training and really only knew how to street fight.

The end as well felt slightly drawn out. I kept waiting for something big to happen, and waiting, and waiting, and then it eventually did but at that stage I was more than ready for the book to wrap up.

I will definitely be reading the next one though as I really enjoyed this and can't wait to more of Sal's adventures

I love a good action filled story, but not a lot really happens in this book other than action. I needed more plot or story.

This book had so much hype back and forth, but I have never been able to get interested enough to read it. I personally am not a huge fan of having gender fluid, LGBT, etc shoved in my face in a book. I am not opposed to the concepts by any stretch but I don’t think that they need to be a main focus of the synopsis. This may be myopic of me, being not a part of that demographic, but the hype and in your face nature of this one ended up being a detriment.

I’ve found myself leaving Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller completely at a loss. I frankly don’t know what to think of the story or of the characters in a way that just leaves me thoroughly uncertain of some of my opinions. I don’t feel like I ever really got to know many of the characters, but rather that they were all plot devices used for one reason or another than actual characters in an actual fictional world that made sense. As it stands, the only character I really appreciated in any way was Maud. And even she lacked significant character development like all the rest, but at least she had clear motivations for being who she was.

Sallot was inconsistent at every turn. From the initial introduction to the sudden, very out of the blue desire to join in on an audition to become an exceedingly important assassin for the queen was just baffling. Our introduction to Sal involved thievery, which was admittedly a great hook to the beginning of the story, but their personality just wasn’t cutting it for the massive shift that happened shortly after. For someone who doesn’t want to scare or harm the people they steal from, Sal seems to have no problem with being a murderer...until they randomly feel bad about it again. And I don’t know...it just didn’t flow well.

Barring the lack of character development for literally everyone in the story, the plot itself was rather typical and bare. I think it becomes incredibly clear early on how the story is going to go and I found nothing about the ending surprising. The lack of character development and significant time spent with anyone other than Sallot made the ending devoid of emotions for me and in fact the only thing I really cared about was Sallots reasons for wanting revenge, which were fortunately quite legitimate. If I had to point to anything that this book does well, it would be the motivations. Unfortunately, the only motivation we ever really get in depth is Sallots and so we understand disappointingly little about the other characters at all and everything is revealed in the fastest, most glossed over manner.

One important topic that this book does address is the gender fluidity of the main character. I’ll admit that I’m not sure what it added to the book but it was certainly a nice change of pace from books that don’t ever leave the typical genders. One thing I will say that I appreciate is the fact that it never really felt like a side plot, but was mentioned as needed in a world where not everyone seems to understand, which I think is fairly reflective of our own society.

I don’t necessarily feel like I would agree with those who compare it to The Hunger Games. There are similarities, certainly, but not enough to justify the comparison. Even so, other reviewers are not wrong when they say this book fits into a lot of stereotypes regarding these similar books and doesn’t really offer a whole lot that’s unique, I think largely due to the lack of character development and a reader’s inability to feel close to the characters. The gender-fluidity piece was the only unique part about it, which frankly is not enough for the book to be good. All in all, I’d say Mask of Shadows was intriguing and certainly not a terrible read, but it’s definitely pretty forgettable.

Sal wants nothing more than to leave the life of poverty and thievery behind. The desire to get closer to the nobles that destroyed their home. Soon the perfect solution comes along in a job at the palace. working for the queen. The perfect revenge is so close. Will Sal get the revenge desired? A great fantasy adventure.

It's brilliant to see a gender-fluid character in a novel, particularly one that has been so superbly written. Mask of Shadows had me hooked from the first page and I found myself racing to see how the book ended but at the same time not wanting to finish the book and no longer have it to read! Incredible storytelling!

Well, I'm bummed. I really wanted to like this book based on the premise and representation. But, alas, I did not like it that much. I think if you're going to compare a book to the works of Bardugo and Maas, you REALLY gotta deliver. I didn't feel like Mask of Shadows captured the same complexity of plot or characters. My favorite aspect of the book is that the main character, Sal, is a gender fluid thief. Sal likes to be referred to as them/they/she/he depending on what they're wearing which is badass. Not to mention, the author's explanations and what it meant for the character choosing these pronouns and gender fluidity is great. I root that on wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, the plot was tired and cliche and the writing clunky. Annnnnd it all seemed to be a little bit of a rip-off to The Hunger Games, which is essentially a rip-off of Battle Royale. And I'm all for these types of large competitions, but I didn't feel like it tried to be unique. Like there was so much potential and it was lost. Everything was a little too convenient and I didn't feel the tension. Though I will say that the last 10% of the book is quite riveting.

If you don't mind that this book is a little cliche at times, I say go for it. It's worth it for the diversity. Though I didn't love it, I still acknowledge that it could be incredibly important to those who may ID similarly to Sal.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.

Mask of Shadows feels like the midway point between Throne of Glass and Nevernight. The former's about a competition to be a royal assassin, as is Mask of Shadows. The latter takes place in a school that trains assassins, and Mask of Shadows does that too. Indeed, in terms of darkness and murderiness (that's a word, okay), Miller's debut fits right there in the middle. That said, Miller's debut novel and series opener doesn't feel like a rehash of things I've seen before; there's enough originality in character and world building to set this novel apart.

From the opening scenes, I was intrigued by Mask of Shadows. Sal works as part of a gang, robbing from the wealthy to earn enough to keep the boss from chopping fingers off. The opening scene, where Sal robs a wealthy lady but also flirts with her, establishes Sal as daring, morally gray at best, clever, and empathetic. In that one scene, I'm rooting for Sal, despite the whole robbery thing. I was also, however, side-eyeing the romance, which I would continue to do for the duration, though, admittedly, I still haven't decided yet whether I'm into the ship or not so there is hope. I want to like this romance, but I'm still not totally sure what brings these two together, aside from the physical attraction and frisson of forbiddenness.

Sal, though, I'm definitely into. I will defend YA to my dying breath, but one weakness it can sometimes have is a lack of bloodiness. There's probably a reason Kristoff's novels, despite having YA-age characters, tend to land at adult imprints. Adult fantasy, overall, tends to go darker, because there's a constant debate about what level of graphic violence, sex, etc is okay for younger readers. One thing I love about having read YA since 2007 and blogged about it since 2010 is seeing it become more daring and diverse every single year. Sal in no way comes off as heartless or a villain, but Sal's definitively an antihero.

There's this great realistic balance to Sal's personality. Driven by revenge, Sal walks this powerful emotional arc of making friends and learning to trust, and you're totally expecting there to be this lesson about revenge not being worth it. But that's not really this book. Certainly opening up and learning who to trust is a big emotional thing for Sal, but so is revenge. There's also this serious war in dealing with the fact that even our heroes aren't perfect and what to do about that fact. This all works really, really well, and the complexities of Sal's character make this book stand out and feel very distinct from any of the other YA assassin novels I've read (which is quite a few).

The plot of this novel does largely feel quite predictable. The large plot beats I saw coming from the very beginning or figured out long before they were revealed, with one notable exception. However, for all that, Mask of Shadows remained engaging and exciting. I scarcely wanted to put it down. Even though I knew what would happen on a large scale, the small beats were unknowns. HOW would things shake out? How would Sal change as a result? The plot's fast-paced and full of adventure, without resorting to constant cliffhangers.

The endings of books are, no shit, very important, but especially the endings of series books. They need to make readers want to come back for book two. I've read any number of first books, really liked them, but then never felt motivated to make it back for book two. There needs to be that element of curiosity that makes me remember the book and want to find out what happens next, that makes it worth rereading book one if I need to before starting the second. Mask of Shadows very much had that quality for me. Again, it's not what happened, but HOW it happened. The moment that really clinched it for me was [spoiler]when a super main character died in a gruesome way Sal had some hand in and Elise sided with logic/Sal over her father's treachery. There was never a question in her mind of what was right or resentment of Sal for not telling her, and I fucking love unexpected emotional beats like that. That moment made me 800% more interested in Elise, who I hope gets more development in the next book.[/spoiler]

Miller's debut fantasy novel Mask of Shadows does a brilliant job kicking off a new series and establishing her as an author to watch. I'd like to see more character development in the cast around Sal and some big surprises added to the plot, but the MC's voice, the pacing, and the darkness are already right where I want them. Though the darkness can always be cranked another notch. ;-)

If you love Game of Thrones, Throne of Glass, or even Hunger Games, then you will absolutely love this book! It was fast paced and brilliant, leaving me breathless almost every page.

I attempted to read this novel several times, but was unable to finish it. At this time, I am classifying this book as a DNF (did not finish). This does not necessarily reflect the author or the book, but rather was likely an inappropriate choice for me as a novel. Thank you so much for considering me for a review copy.

This book was an enjoyable read, but ultimately not for me. I had a hard time connecting with the main character though I thought the world was intriguing and well built out.

Linsey Miller’s debut novel truly did have a lot of potential, and I do believe that the following installments will be much better than this first book that was laying the groundwork for this world. Unfortunately, this book read very slow and it makes the story in general feel very underwhelming.

Sal's gender-fluidity is not explored, so much as it is mentioned only to get more readers.

Mad Hatter Sunnies and YA Reading List

School is out and it’s time to plan for summer vacation! Whether you’re going poolside or seaside to get some sun, here are some book recommendations to introduce your teens to the joy of reading. Styled with fashionable hats, sunglasses and swimsuit, they could erase any thoughts that reading makes you look nerdy.

2. MASK OF SHADOWS

Book: Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
Hat: Courtney by Eugenia Kim
Sunglasses: Mykita STUDIO 6.1
Swimsuit: Lily Bandeau Swim Top by Rebecca Minkoff

MY TAKE:
With gender fluidity as a trending topic and June as Pride Month, “Mask Of Shadows” is a relevant read, albeit fictional and in the sci-fi Fantasy genre at that. Sal, the main character who has been born a female is gender fluid. The love interest is Elise, female born and bisexual.

That as the romantic subplot can make you think twice if you will allow your teen to read this book. Just remember, this is YA, so it is a slow burn and not at all explicit.

That said, the main plot is actually interesting. Sal, whose people were victims of genocide seek revenge to those who committed the crime. To do that, Sal has to be at the center of power and the first step to gain it is to be a member of The Left Hand, the Queen’s band of assassins.

Violence and betrayal became Sal’s constant companion. With cunning and a little bit of luck, Sal was able to survive and get to the next level. This book is not for the faint of heart. But, if you love dark fantasy, then, this will be a good read for you.

With the book in your hand, grab Eugenia Kim’s Courtney hat, a Natural vented hemp fedora with black boucle ribbon band and cream boucle knot. Poolside or beachside, the Courtney can hold court. If you choose to wear Rebecca Minkoff’s Lily bikini top and bottom, the ultra-feminine ruffles which undulate all the way around this bandeau silhouette announce to everyone that you are a girly girl.

Finish off the look with the Mykita STUDIO 6.1 sunglasses in shiny black & white. Combining metallic tones with matt solid colors emphasize the psychedelic effect that is evocative of the 1960s yet it remains very modern.

It took me a while to get around to reading this title, but the concept and cover intrigued me so I finally gave it a go! I received an electronic ARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My general sense of how to explain this book is that it's a crossover between the Hunger Games and Throne of Glass. Sallot is in a competition to become one of the Queen's most trusted assassins, and everyone else either has to die or be disqualified for there to be a winner.
Sallot
This is a pretty interesting character to follow, and I like the diversity and range of different identities in this book. Sallot, as the synopsis says is gender fluid: Born female, but dresses the way she likes to be addressed (he/she/they). This is something I personally have never read, and I liked that the gender identity was noticeable without being to thrown into the reader's face, though there were times when the description of it was a bit repetitive. I think Sallot was fun to follow in general, and it was cool that she found some sort of love interest in Elise, who is assumedly bisexual from the way she described herself.

Plot
This was a fairly interesting plot because everyone is out to get Sallot from the start, which means everyone is potentially an enemy. the first enemy relationship is quickly formed between Sallot and Five, so it was obvious that Five would be a major antagonist throughout the entire book. Also, since I have read a fair few stories similar to this one, I knew I literally couldn't trust anyone to be on Sallot's side 100%. Not even Maud and Elise who seemed to really care about Sal in some capacity.

One criticism I have about the plot is that the love story didn't really click for me. I know it's about gender representation (Sal is gender fluid, Elise is bisexual) but I felt like romance didn't quite belong in Sal's story, at least not in the forefront. I found the romantic scenes with Elise to be a bit too long and drawn out, I would lose track of Sal's objectives and where she was headed while those scenes happened. I actually loved that throughout this story I had a very strong sense of a timeline of the events. The passing of days was clearly laid out for us, I knew that the competition was happening over a short period of 4 or 5 days because the beginning and end of each day was obviously stated. That said, I felt like the timeline was a bit jumbled where Elise was concerned. I could never figure out how long it had been between Sal's visits with her. Like I get that instant romance is a thing in teen novels, so I have probably just grown out of the phase in my life where I wanted that from a book but I don't want it anymore. If a love story is going to be there I want the characters to fall in love just a little bit slower (i.e. not within the first minute of meeting their love interest).

Then my hunch about Elise not being totally trustworthy was sort of true because her father is actually an evil dude faking illness to rebel against the Queen's rule. I'm glad that the villains were finally revealed at the end, but we have to wait until the next book to see who the other evil nobles are. Sal and Elise are not in a good place at the end of this so I'm also interested to see if they ever reconcile the fact that Elise's father was a traitor who needed to be killed for everyone's safety.

Ending
I wasn't super satisfied with the ending, but this is a duology so there's more to come later this year. I think the main discomfort for me was that it felt wrapped up yet missing a few minor details. I feel like this story could end here and I would be fine with that because the next book will just be Sal and the rest of the Left Hand killing off all the disloyal nobles. Also, now that Ruby is dead, will there be another competition? Or no, becuase that would be repetitive. I can predict that the new Left Hand will be tracking down the Sallot and the Queen's mutual enemies, but I sort of can't predict how this will pan out. We shall have to wait and see.

While I really, really appreciated the representation in this novel, a muddled and confusing plot made it difficult to finish.

I don’t think I follow enough people on social media, because I rarely see Mask of Shadows running around in my timeline and it deserves more hype if it hasn’t. I’ve also been reading a lot of “fluffy” reads with very little blood involved.

Mask of Shadows is a complete 180 from that. It is absolutely bloody and there are assassins involved, and sad to say, it is completely up my very dark alley of reading preferences.

My mother should be worried about me. “You’re a good kid compared to most of those I’ve seen out there. You don’t do drugs, don’t party, hang out with good people….”

I mean, has she seen the books I enjoy reading? (She would be very concerned.)

I honestly thought of The Hunger Games as an assassin edition while reading, even though the novel is pitched as Sarah J. Maas meets Leigh Bardugo. Our main character, Sal, finds an invitation to become one of the queen’s personal assassins, and sets off to audition in the hopes to get a new life. The auditions are full of trials and are a fight to the death – each of which are varied so there is never a dull moment. I’ve never read Maas, but I personally don’t see any comparisons to Bardugo unless we’re talking world building. The world building is absolutely amazing and stunning, and if I could actually draw some of the descriptions, I would totally do it. (Alas, I am just a graphic design minor.)

Emerald, a vision of steel and green silk, glided through the doorway. She was lithe and muscled, arms bare and flexed, streaked in scars with a pale silver dust twinkling over her skin like stars scattered across the evening sky. She walked past me in a breeze of perfume and peppermint, the apothecary scents clinging to her like the old, black ink of the dead runes scrawled across her. The silk layered and draped over her shoulders matched her high-cheeked, mouthless emerald mask perfectly. Beetle wings stitched into the train of her dress glittered in the light.

That is actually one of my favorite descriptions in the book. It is gorgeous.

Mask of Shadows is the first book I’ve read featuring a gender fluid character. Miller does a really good job of handling Sal’s character well, but the beginning seemed a little rocky, almost as though the author was trying to find the right foothold in the story. But after those rough patches, the story went along smoothly.

2017 was a fantastic reading year for me, and I am extremely happy to say that Mask of Shadows is one of my favorite books for the year. Miller’s debut novel is action packed and fast paced, and it will leave you turning the pages until the very end.

I'm a fan of Sarah J Maas, so I was excited to give this a try.
But sadly, this book isn't even in the same realm of SJM's beloved Throne of Glass series (or ACOTAR for that matter). This felt very much the same as other YA fantasy/dystopias that we've read.
It did have one interesting thing that I haven't seen before - that the protagonist is gender fluid. Points for diversity on that one, but still overall I couldn't get this to work for me.

I wasn't really a huge fan, it seemed pretty much like a Throne of Glass retelling.

For a debut novel, this was enjoyable. It wasn't my favorite though. I liked Sal, and will enjoy reading more about them. This book was more fun than I thought it would be, based on the reviews. I love court competitions, and this was a nice twist: a competition to be an assassin rather than a prince/ss or Queen. Overall, the book is a bit forgettable - what I normally love about other competition books is when I get to the point I can't imagine some of them dying because of how much emotion I've invested into them. None of that is really here. Sal is clearly going to win because I just don't care about the rest of the competitors.

Big big plus: Sal isn't good at archery at all. THANK YOU.