Okay, this book was really good! It's so detailed, with a lot of worldbuilding and character development. There are all these families with various members, street gangs, countries with different beliefs and power structures. The authors really put a lot of time into making this book as fleshed out as possible and I enjoyed it.

The main character is Ren, a thieving orphan who is doing the biggest con of her life to become part of a wealthy family. It was so much fun to watch her become different people; Renata, the wealthy Seterin who is the long lost cousin to House Traementis, or Arenza, the Vraszen fortune teller. Ren is a great con artist and she fits in so seamlessly with everyone. We see her change as she makes friends with the people she's fooling and at times feels bad about lying. She also loves Tess, a girl she grew up with in the gang and would give her life for her. They have a great sibling bond.

Grey is a Vigil captain who came up from nothing and is trying to straddle two worlds. He wants to help everyone and keep his city safe, but with his position in the police it can get tricky. He's a truly good person and I really felt for him every time he was stretched too thin and just needed help. I can't wait to see more of him in the next book!

The plot was a bit confusing at times, with so many characters and subplots happening. My main issue is with the names, they're very difficult to pronounce and I wish there were a guide to help. One example of a crazy name is Egliadas Fintenus. There are also names with consonants pushed together that I had to stop and think about every time they came up and that put me out of the story.

The ending was intense and we learned some big secrets. I am already looking forward to a sequel, with revenge and romance!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Mask of Mirrors is a great start to a new 2nd world fantasy series. The story is set in Nadezra, a city split in two by a river with connecting bridges. The main character, Ren, is a thief, who along with her blood sister Tess, is using magic to disguise herself so she can infiltrate the upper classes. While the con starts simply enough, Ren finds herself drawn into plots, schemes and political maneuvering that will have deadly consequences. One of her new acquaintances turns out to be a crime lord, Vargo, who has his tendrils in all areas of the cities businesses. Ren uses different personas to discover information and along the way she meets a legendary figure, the Rook, a protector of the lower classes who becomes an unexpected ally. As Ren is drawn further into the political schemes, dark magic begins to make everything she does dangerous and deadly. The story builds and builds to a thoroughly unexpected ending that really primes you for the next installment.
I completely enjoyed this story and the marvelous world building. Everything in the world is so well fleshed out, you can envision yourself in it. I loved the patterners and how they used the tarot-like cards for predictions and how each card has multiple possible meanings. The magic of the numinata, and the work of the inscriptors is fantastic, and the creepiness of the zlyzen will definitely stay with you. The characters are wonderful because they are so distinct and have so many layers, you are always questioning their motivations and interactions. The magic system and the connections to Ren's past really make you care about these characters and what happens to them. I love the Rook and the mystery he adds to the story and Vargo is a phenomenal character, with such layers and I can't wait to find out what is up with Alsius. I thought the progression of Ren's character through the book was so well done, as she comes to care for the people she set out to con.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves an immersive fantasy world with great political machinations. This book sets up the rest of the trilogy so well and I will be waiting to read the next installment!!

Holy cow. I'll be going back to give this book a re-read to see what all I missed the first time! The second book can't come soon enough! Political twisting and turning with some very dark magic and little con artist Ren is in (almost) over her head. The digital version has a cast of characters and a glossary at the back. I missed it, and it would have been easier to keep track of the cast with it. Other than that, this is an excellent book and I can highly recommend it to anyone who likes political fantasy.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Mask of Mirrors was beyond addicting to me. I will admit it did start off pretty well for me but then dragged a little here and there because I kept getting distracted by work and other things. Yet, once I just focused on this book - well, I flew through it. I was honestly completely invested in every single person in this book.

I am still not okay with what went down. Seriously. This book had so many twists in it that my brain was having a hard time keeping up with it all. At one point, I didn't even realize that my detective cap wasn't on because I wasn't even trying to figure out who the Rook was. Or anything else.

Other than that, I was definitely getting vibes from other books while reading this beautiful thing. Especially Six of Crows, which I love. Again, a lot happened throughout this book - especially towards the end - and I'm in complete shock right now.

I need all the revenge that I was just promised and I can't wait to dive into book 2.

A Mask of Mirrors was a read that I didn’t expect to like given how abrupt it was, but in the end I ended up loving it. The characters were unique and badass, and the plot was quite interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To make it simple for you, yes you should definitely read this book. Here’s a multi-layered story that will keep you hooked. On the surface, it’s about a long-con cooked up by former street orphans who want to take some of the nobility’s wealth for themselves, but as you read you find it’s so much more. Ren (AKA Renata AKA Arenza) finds she’s not quite as hard-hearted as she thought as she works her way into the life of her noble marks. She’s smart, quick on her feet, and still able to see the god in the world despite what’s happened to her in her life. Definitely a criminal heroine I can get behind.

And even better is the fact that there is a truly lush cast of characters surrounding her. The mysterious Rook, a crusader for the little people, a folk hero dressed in black dashing in to ruin the nobles’ days Zorro style. Tess, steady, loyal, fiercely protective sister and accomplice. Vargo, crime lord businessman with a mysterious voice in his head. A noble family who may just be decent people as well. The complexity of characters, storyline, and the depth of the world the authors created is absolutely fantastic and just begging for you to immerse yourself in this new world.

Unfortunately this book is a Did Not Finish for me. The world building is good and the characters are interesting, but it didn't really hook me in. I found Renata's past as an orphan on the street with her sister more interesting than her present. The writing also wasn't really my style. There's a lot of LGBT+/queer romances but they're all really toxic.

This book was a mixed bag for me. The opening story was engaging, and the authors clearly put a lot of effort into building this vibrant world. Still, lacking background information, crazy tonal shifts, and shoehorned in extraneous details made it very hard to follow all the way through.

The book starts as a very intriguing tale of cons and corruption as Ren works to worm her way into a noble family. It is fun to watch her use her street smarts and skills to work her way into society's upper tiers, which are thoroughly corrupt. The secondary plotlines' culmination suddenly twists the story into a horror novel throwing out all of the early chapters' careful political plotting for a supernatural-fueled suspense arc. While the characters are the same, the latter part of the book feels like a completely different book.

Information about the world is given out in a way that thoroughly frustrated me. Most of it is treated like a recap of details you should already know. I actually looked for a previous book set in this world because nothing from the date/time to titles and social structures made sense. Giving me a month's name and day without reference points means absolutely nothing, and I ultimately gave up on figuring out how the dates and times were recorded. This piecemeal world-building drove me nuts because you can tell that the authors know all of the backstory, rankings, and social structure; they just won't tell you.

With how dramatically different they tried to make the world feel, it felt strange that they didn't create unique methods of cursing. F-bombs and more liberally sprinkle the pages when the characters are in the poor districts or out of sight of high society.

The society is very hedonistic, and LGBT relations are shown more prevalently than straight, including sex scenes. If the authors were pushing inclusiveness, they missed the mark because none of the relationships focused on are healthy. One of these relationships is so toxic, every member of the weaker partner's family states at some point that their family member seems to be merely a toy for their partner. The authors also stressed that they had secondary characters that were trans, even though it had no effect on the plot and felt entirely unnecessary to point out.

When the Rook yanked their mask off in a stereotypical heroic identity reveal, it was a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. However, the ending did give me hope for returning to the early part of the book's political maneuvering, so I would be willing to give the second book a try. Hopefully, that one will at least keep a more consistent tone.

This review will go live on my blog on December 21st.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, and the cover is absolutely beautiful, but the writing just didn't do it for me. I felt like I was being told that things were happening, rather than seeing the action unfold on the page. I liked Renata/Ren's character, but that was about it. The government system was very confusing to me, and the plot seemed to drag on even from the beginning of the book, mostly because I felt like I was being told what was happening, rather than shown. Although I usually like political and social intrigue, I felt like I had no idea what was happening during every conversation Renata was having with other members of society. It was almost like I was being deprived of any kind of subtext or body language that's usually included with dialogue that would help me understand what was going on.

The Mask of Mirrors has been one of my most anticipated reads for what feels like forever. Learning that M.A. Carrick is actually a joint pen name for authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms only added to it.

Ren is a con artist from the streets who would do anything to protect her sister. All she wants is to feel safe, longing for what life has denied them until now: the sense of security that only money can bring. Once her plan to join the register of a powerful house is in motion, she inadvertently finds herself caught between powerful players in political games with deadly stakes. As dark magic threatens all she holds dear, Ren must confront her past to help save them all.

This is such a fabulous story that is incredibly well written. There's mystery and suspense, adventure and a touch of romance, politics and religion, and, of course, magic, all in a setting evocative of Venice in the olden days. The multiple POV works particularly well here, giving insight into the complex motivations of the characters without spoiling the mystery too early. There are no forgotten or unfinished loose ends that aren't deliberate, which, given the many threads and moving pieces, is an accomplishment in itself. As the first of a series, I think it sets everything up for book two quite nicely.

The Mask of Mirrors is slow-burn fantasy done right. If complex world-building, packed with adventure, political intrigue and unique magic is your jam, I promise you won't be disappointed! I loved every second of it and can't wait to read more!

Once a street child, now returning to the city for her revenge, Ren begins to con a very wealthy and noble family. At least, that’s the plan. As she learns the family secrets, Ren finds her beliefs and ideas challenged. With danger approaching from all sides, Ren must choose how far she will go to run the con. This is the type of story where I don’t wish to say too much, I’d rather just hand you the book itself! Reminiscent of Tamora Pierce, the world-building is beautifully crafted and compelling. This is not a book for the faint of heart, but rather for readers who want to be taken on a journey with shadowy lairs, fickle magic, and long-running heists. I finished this book over a period of two days because I always felt so eager to return to the world!

The Mask of Mirrors surprised and captivated me in equal measure. I’m also fascinated by tarot, so I thought the pattern-reading that the authors created was ingenious. The story-telling is rich and layered, containing careful details and intriguing characters. I love when world-building is inclusive and features positive LGBTQ rep. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to a reread and plan to purchase a finished copy! I can’t wait to see how the story continues! If you enjoy complex world-building, morally gray characters, and dark mysteries to unravel, you need to check out The Mask of Mirrors. The Mask of Mirrors releases on January 19, 2021. Thank you to M.A. Carrick, Orbit Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the publisher: My review will be posted on the publication date and I will publish it on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble etc.

This book... Hm.

I don't know how many pages it had, but it felt like a thousand. I also don't know if this is YA or adult fantasy. The characters were on the younger side, but they didn't seem like teenagers, and the sexual content, while not straight-smut-explicit, was pretty heavy.

The familiar themes drawn upon here are legion. There were elements that reminded me of Ace of Shades. Definitely a Ketterdam feel in the long con being pulled and the strings of power manipulating both the nobility and the scum of the city, although the setting is more Fantasy Italian.

For some reason, although this is less hardcore, I'm also feeling a Night Angel trilogy vibe. Is it the gutter rat gangs? The Two-Hundred Year Old Magic Man of Mysterious Identity? The conflicted feelings Ren has for the family she infiltrates, despite intending to take advantage of them? Not sure, but it's there.

This book is... intricate. It has a Fantasy Tarot which is leaned on a lot. There is a type of rune-based magic, less explicated but also very present. There is noble family after noble family, so many vaguely Italian names going by so fast. There is social rule after social rule, clothing and racial dynamics and politics and fantasy religions. And usually a more fleshed-out world is better than a thinly-drawn one. But this just dragged, for some reason.

If I hadn't been grimly determined to soldier through, I would have put this down so many times before even reaching the thirty percent mark. I'm really not sure what it was. The time slipped by slowly, months passing in-universe as Ren did little but visit people, ingratiating herself with her marks. The tie between Tess, Ren, and Sedge should have been something I loved. The dance of winning influence through clothing and politesse should have been something I enjoyed.

I didn't, really. I was just tired. I couldn't care about the characters enough to make all the other many, many lovingly-rendered details worth it, unfortunately.

Where to start? I LOVED this book, I was enmeshed, immersed - I was lost - in this beautifully strange and dark world. It was part historical-esque mystery and intrigue, with dreamy layers of dark folklore and magic added on. The setting is reminiscent of a historical Venice, injected with Eastern European Gypsy vibes, and implanted with the rookeries and docklands of a Victorian London.

I read so much that a story can often leave me within a day or two of reading it, but these characters and concepts are still swimming around in my head a week later. The culture, and shadowy dreams, and echos of strong personalities - they have all left an imprint that's not ready to fade yet. This is the kind of book I want to read with a group and then talk about for hours. I can't recommend it enough.

What starts out as a simple con (a talented pair of sisters impersonating their way into a noble life of privilege and wealth) quickly develops into a many character angled charade of intrigue, mystery with multiple view points and and contrasting needs and wants. The world building is intense and those who find themselves struggling with the details may find this overwhelming. There's a lot of terminology specific to this world and its society, along with its magic, but it works so well within the story and setting they've created that I welcomed this complete immersion in the culture.

The characters: Oh these characters! So so well done, and there are so many angles, and various loyalties and cross-loyalties, and clashing sides that everyone is a well drawn out complex character. There is one character death that shocked me (did not see that coming and definitely expected them to be around longer!), and overall the story is missing a bit of romanticism to balance out the harder characters - however that being said you can't go wrong with them: The Rook, a masked avenger, who proves his own motivations are more complicated than simply playing Robin Hood; Vargos, a man from the wrong side of the tracks who wields his power and beauty like a weapon (and has a Spider familiar - yes a spider), Grey Serrado, a young Captain who tries to police those who don't respect or want him, and our main lady Renata/Arenza/Ren who shows she's much much more than just an imposter looking for a free ride. Plus a Baba-Yaga-esque woman straight out of your worst nightmares along with a creepy semi-vampiric army hiding in a shadow world.

As for the magic, be patient, it only trickles in in the early phases of the story, like maybe you're not even sure there really is any major magical forces in this world- but give it some time, the trickle becomes a stream, which eventually becomes a flood midway through the story with one of the big moments/turning points. It's a wonderfully creative take on magic too, with two sort of competing sides/belief systems, including a complicated pattern magic (similar to tarot - but with really awesome card names like: The Face of Balance, The Mask of Chaos, Storm Against Stone, Jump at the Sun, and the Laughing Crow), which ties the "peasant" population to their old gods and dream worlds, alongside the Numinata of the ruling class and gentry, a combination of magically imbuing things and creating chalk circles of symbols to express various magic ("I have my compass, my edge, my chalk, myself. I need nothing more to know the Cosmos" being their motto).

This story should appeal to more than just fantasy fans, but to historical fiction and mystery fans as well. There's plenty of intrigue and action, as well as complicated world building and great characterization. That being said, those who want a simple straight forward high fantasy probably wont get too into this - and it is a commitment (close to 700), but one I would recommend the seasoned reader take.

All I can say is I CANNOT WAIT for the next one! My only complaint: Why oh why is this not coming out in hardcover?!?

While many aspects of this novel were intriguing, I found myself more confused than anything. So many names and unfamiliar terms to remember that everything either ran together or seemed wholly separate from the story. When it did come together, as in the moments when Tess and Ren were together, it lagged and was almost boring. Alternating between high action and boring scenes made the book difficult to read and made the story far less enjoyable than it should have been. I loved the concept of this novel and there was plenty of intrigue spread over the course of its telling that I am sad I couldn't enjoy the story more. However, I think upon its release, I may still buy the book and give the physical copy a try. Sometimes, for me, the medium matters as much as the story itself.
A glossary of terms would be helpful in following what's going on here.

Over all this was a very dense red. I was drawn to it for the magic and the writing was really good. Unfortunately there were so many characters, so many concepts, so much to keep track of. It's not that it was difficult it's just that it was all a bit much. This will go on my re-read list once it comes out so I can really take it all in. the worldbuilding was incredibly solid and it really sucked me in. It was just a lot to get through.

This started out strong, but quickly lost me around 250 pages in. There were so many concepts, complicated names, and secondary characters that weren’t introduced smoothly into the story so I often did not know who they were, mixed them up with others, or forgot what they were entirely. There was a lot of world building but it wasn’t explained well despite the level of detail.

Also the pacing of the plot was problematic. There were times where it plodded along and others where the action was non-stop.

Overall, I liked this fantasy. It could use some polishing but I await the next book.

I thought this was going to be a slower read for me, but I was very wrong. This story drew me in right away once I met Ren and Tess. The strengths of their character was plain to see from the get go and I loved them immediately. The world building was very detailed and in depth, just adding layers to an already rich story. The magic system was very interesting and well described. There wasn’t a lot of romance, but there is the hint of more to come. The characters themselves were all amazingly well done. Very well fleshed out and I actually enjoyed reading about all of them, which to be honest, doesn’t always happen. There is plenty of mystery and intrigue, but also a wonderful amount of suspense and action. This is the first book I have read of either of these authors, but that’s something I plan to remedy very soon. I would definitely consider this to be an epic fantasy, but at over 800 pages it honestly didn’t seem long enough. I’m going to buy this book as soon as it comes out and will eagerly be awaiting the next instalment. I was very impressed by this book.

I will be posting this review two weeks before the release as requested in the approval email. I will be posting it to goodreads, Twitter, and the blog I have linked below.

This book was just on the right side of Interesting but skirted Boring frequently. The writing was solid. The world building was done well. The characters were almost all dimensional and most were decidedly gray... like I like them... then why was I not completely won over? If a book was able to woo on technical aspects alone then The Mask of Mirrors would be a no brainer BUT, for some reason, it just didn't wow me. Then there was the Magic. The Magics were sporadically mentioned yet not explained until much later in the book if at all... confuuuusing! SO between the vague Magic system and the boggling names and terms, I spent a lot of my time second guessing or inferring. I inferred so much that I feared I might be making up a completely different story. The worst part, all of these things had me debating the merits of skimming. I know, I know... skimming = no bueno (especially when reviewing an ARC) BUT the pacing + confusing terms/names = silly confused faces + wandering attention. Surely not a recipe for success but still... not horrific.

Overall:
This book was, unfortunately, only middle of the road Meh. I tried, I truly did, but I found it difficult to care what happened with the various intermingling plots/subplots and when I say subplots I mean Subplots with a capital S. There were side hustles aplenty. I really liked 2 secondary characters, Leato and Tess but the rest were... again... Meh. Please excuse my descriptor repetition, something which normally would irk me, BUT it's succinct AND apt so I thought it bared repeating. That might sound rough, and for that I apologize, but even though it ticked off all of the technical boxes, it just didn't compel me or demand my undivided attention. It might be a 5 star read for others but for this gal, it was more of a drip than the tidal wave I was hoping for after reading the synopsis.

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

A very intriguing story full of mystery. A cross between court of miracles and six of crows. If you enjoyed those two I believe you will enjoy this book.

At first I’ll admit I was confused with all the names and different words used to describe the different groups of people. If felt like a lot of info dump and was a little overwhelming. About halfway through I feel like it all started coming together and by 3/4 of the way I was soaking up every word like a sponge as fast as I could.

There was enough action to keep things moving through the political parts that seemed to drag a little. Not enough romance for my liking ... I kept waiting for something to happen for our main character... but since it is a series maybe that comes later.

All in all I would recommend the book to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and M.A. Carrick for the advanced copy. This is a voluntary review.

This started out strong, but quickly lost me around 250 pages in. There were so many concepts, complicated names, and secondary characters that weren’t introduced smoothly into the story so I often did not know who they were, mixed them up with others, or forgot what they were entirely. There was a lot of world building but it wasn’t explained well despite the level of detail. I was overwhelmed reading and just couldn’t get past the sheer volume of information unfortunately. However, the writing was quite good and I would like to read more from this author down the road.

Despite the info, the base plot was quite simple, it was just imbued with many layers of politics and societal expectations. I am really interested in the concept of the story, and perhaps after a few revisions this could be a unique gem of a fantasy.