Con artists and heists have always been a weakness for me and when I realised The Mask Of Mirrors deals with something similar, I was very very excited to read it. The book didn’t disappoint but it wasn’t a full five star read either.
Ren is a con artist who’s pretending to be a long lost cousin of the House Traementis in the hopes of getting added to their register and finally being safe. But little does she realise that trying to align with house Traementis might have brought her more danger than she bargained for.
The story moves forward with multiple povs and tackling multiple parallel plot lines that all converge at the end. I enjoyed all the different povs and as is usually the case, I didn’t find myself wanting to be done with certain povs and skimming to reach others. Every character was well fleshed out and full of so much intrigue and mystery even while showing some astonishing depth that I find myself missing them eventhough I have only just finished the book.
The world was interesting and very elaborate. Loved loved loved the queer rep and how straight was not the norm as far as sexuality was concerned in this fictional world. There were a lot of things I loved about the world but I was disappointed to see so little actual world building. Only need to know facts for plot advancement were shared and I wish the authors hadn’t shown quite so much restraint and wish there was more info dumping along the way. A glossary was provided but flipping back and forth on the app was very difficult and that greatly affected the first half of the book. The slow pace, although expected, didn’t help matters either.
The magic system, again, although intriguing, suffered the same fate. With little to no info given in the course of the story, I am only left with half an understanding of how exactly it’s supposed to work.
A high fantasy’s success relies on the uniqueness of its world and magic system, but if it’s not explained properly to the readers, it does take away some of the joy. This is in fact my only major problem with the book. My investment in the characters were the only thing that pulled me through the lacklustre first half.
The second does a better job with the pace and provides more insight into the world and the magic system. Just enough to keep you hooked. I hope we get more in the future instalments.
Parts 3 and 4 are action packed and full of surprises. We finally see all the different plot lines connecting to each other and the twists were all pretty well executed. I could predict some of them but some came out of nowhere. The second half had me completely gripped and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I cannot wait to read on further because even with the rocky start, this book definitely made its mark on me. I would definitely recommend it to readers who are patient enough to get through a slightly confusing first half. It definitely pays off at the end.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Rook & Rose series. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Story (4/5): This is a well done epic fantasy but is very long and at points you can really feel that length. The plot is a very political/intrigue driven plot. The beginning of this book is a confidence scheme of sorts but things get a lot more political and magic gets involved as you get deeper into the book. There are a lot of story threads to keep track of, they are well woven together but can be a bit hard to keep straight if you aren’t really concentrating.

Characters (4/5): I liked all of the characters in this book and thought they were well done. Many times in epic fantasies there are character POVs I just dread reading, that was not the case in this book. I enjoyed Renata/Arenza, enjoyed the Rook, and many others. They were all very well filled out characters with a lot of depth and dimension to them. I did struggle some with the names of all of the nobility, but despite this I didn’t find myself confused about who was who. So, good job on keeping all the characters distinguishable in a book that has a lot of complex characters. I do wish the index of characters had been at the beginning of the book rather than the end, I didn’t even know it was there until the end and would have loved to read it before or at least be able to reference it while reading this story.

Setting (4/5): While I ended up enjoying this very magical Venician feeling world, I struggled with it in the beginning. You really feel like you are just dropped in this world and are left struggling to figure out what is what with very little explanation. The world is intricate and has a lot of depth and is beautifully created. Some of this is explained in the index at the end, which I wish I had known was there at the beginning of the book.

Writing/Drawing Style (4/5): I liked this but it wasn't the easiest book to read. The character names can be hard to keep track of and there are a lot of intricacies to the plot, a lot of the magic is left up to the reader to stumble through (I figured out how the magic worked by reading the index at the end, again wish this had been at the beginning). This was an interesting read and kept me engaged. It was good that I read it over vacation because it took some concentration and effort to get through. I wish the index and list of families had been at the beginning of the book; I didn't realize that was there since I read this as an ebook and as a result didn't get this information until after I had read the story.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this is a well done epic fantasy with a lot of interesting characters, an amazing world, and an intricate and complex plot. This is mainly a confidence scheme type of story but the story broadens to include politics and magic as it continues. This book would have been much more approachable if the world and magic system had been better explained (rather than just explained in the index at the end of the book). This lack of explanation left me struggling to understand the world and magic for most of the beginning of the book. This took a lot of concentration and effort to read, and although I enjoyed it in the end, I am not sure the payoff was worth the effort to read. This book probably took me 10-11hrs to read (I normally read about 100 pages an hour) and I really had to push through it. I probably don’t plan on continuing the series unless I am in the mood for high-effort reading material.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book...was incredible. M.A. Carrick (a collaborative pen name between Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms) clearly put so much thought and effort into this worldbuilding, and in my opinion, it paid off. The world and the city this plot takes place in is lush and full of description. The political system and conflict between groups of people is intricate and given a detailed history. I would say that the first 40 to 50 percent of this book is spent mostly trying to set all of that up so that the last half could move along so quickly and the reader wouldn't be confused.

The magic system (or systems, because they seem to differ depending on the religion of the practicer) was complex, in my opinion. I would definitely not call it a hard magic system, as whatever was needed seemed to be able to happen for the most part through the use of the numinatria. This wasn't explained in depth but this aspect of the magic system seemed to be both religious and scientific in nature, as the desired effect was achieved through a series of exactly drawn lines and patterns, but the patterns were based on different aspects of their religion. Meanwhile, the other type of magic was called pattern reading and was essentially tarot readings.

What I loved the most was the characters. Ren and Derossi Vargo, in particular were so fleshed out as characters, with real fears and moral issues that they struggled with throughout the plot. The Rook was a fascinating character that was kind of reminiscent of a mixture of Robin Hood and the Dread Pirate Roberts, from The Princess Bride. The Traementis family was equally fascinating, and I loved all of them as my heart kept breaking for them. And Grey....well, Grey was my favorite and I need more of him in any following books. Tess and Sedge were both so sweet and I was absolutely living for their family bond.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Yes, the beginning is quite slow, but not boring by any means. If you enjoy adult fantasy that takes its time to build up the world, complex characters, LGBT rep that just exists as an accepted part of this world, and prose that is as dreamlike as the city it takes place in, you would enjoy this too.

I can't WAIT for book two!

The Mask of Mirrors is filled with political intrigue, deception, and a wonderfully detailed world. It should have been everything I love in a book. However, with so many characters, places, and conflicts, I found it difficult to hold onto the threads. Nothing felt explained enough, I kept losing track of the plots and characters, and after finishing I couldn't say much of what happened in the plot or world. I often read detailed fantasy with large casts, so I was surprised to have felt this way.

The Mask of Mirrors is filled with political intrigue, deception, and a wonderfully detailed world. It should have been everything I love in a book. However, with so many characters, places, and conflicts, I found it difficult to hold onto the threads. Nothing felt explained enough, I kept losing track of the plots and characters, and after finishing I couldn't say much of what happened in the plot or world. I often read detailed fantasy with large casts, so I was surprised to have felt this way.

I want to start with the positives of this book because it was filled with intriguing mysteries that I thoroughly enjoyed. Firstly, I appreciate how rich the world is. You can tell that the authors know every detail of the setting they've constructed. The city feels alive, bubbling with different groups, rivalries, conflicts, and alliances. Morally grey characters are the best, and no one can convince me otherwise. I loved that this book was stuffed full of them. I love that every character has something to hide. They sneak around behind their families back, manipulate people into doing their bidding, and hold their enemies close. The political intrigue aspect was by far my favourite part of the book, and it remains the reason why I want to continue with this series.

The complexity of the book is one of the reasons I enjoyed it, but it was also why I struggled. Every single thing in this book is named with a proper noun. The places they visit, every minor character, every faction, every family, all of it had specific names. I couldn't keep track of what I was supposed to be remembering and what was irrelevant, especially when you mix in characters being referred to as either their first name, family name, title, or secret identity. There were so many named characters I'd struggle to remember them usually, let alone when they each have three or four names. Sometimes large events would happen, and I'd be so caught up trying to understand what was going on I'd miss major parts. I managed to completely miss a character death because I couldn't figure out what was happening. I enjoy books that thrust you straight into the world to figure it out for yourself, but you shouldn't have to be completely blind. Information dumps aren't your enemy if used in moderation to explain complex points that are difficult to understand alone. It was only at the very end that I began to understand how the world functioned, and by that point, I was tired of trying.

Overall, this book had a lot of my favourite features, but the complexity wasn't handled in a way that was easy to understand. Regardless, I'll be picking up the next book as I can't help but be intrigued by what's going to happen next.

In the land of Nadežra, there is a constant power struggle, whether it be within high society or the slumps. Renata, a former street thief, goes into the House of Traementis posing as a lost cousin. During this ruse, Renata becomes the talk of Nadežra and befriends the questionable businessman, Vargo. This new fascination from Nadežran high society results in her becoming a pawn in a bigger game.

This book, to put it mildly, was a disappointment. The story had so much potential, but towards the end, it felt sloppy. Our villain, a forgettable elite, has this "elaborate" plan to rid the lower class city. It is a pretty generic villainous ploy, 'I'm a rich elite annoyed by poor people, so I'm just going to wipe them out.' Unfortunately, there is so much going on in this book with so many side plots that I'm not entirely sure of the main villain's true intentions. The ending was a real disappointment as one character revealed as the protagonist's "true enemy."

One of the downsides of this book is the world-building. In this story, the world-building is so dense as characters talking about the city's previous history and the caste system's inner workings. The story focuses on two people, Renata Viraudax and Derossi Vargo. These two are the same person, two con artists wanting to further themselves in Nadežran society. In the end, these two con artists decide to team together to further their agendas. The partnership between Renata and Vargo is the best element in this story; since Renata is a clever woman overlooked due to her pretty image, she finds herself appreciated by Vargo for her cleverness. Renata begins to soften towards Vargo as he helps her financially and emotionally. Vargo is the central mystery within this story. There isn't much backstory to Vargo, and given in small snippets throughout the book. Even this impressive complex relationship between Vargo and Renata, which could be its own story, ends up ruined.

Thank you so much for this review copy of MASK OF MIRRORS. Unfortunately, I've struggled to focus on e-books lately, and between that and current events that also make reading difficult, I just couldn't get through this. It looks like an amazing and intriguing tale I'll be keeping my eye on, though, and I truly thank you for getting an early copy into my hands.

"The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook and Rose trilogy, a darkly magical fantasy adventure in which a con artist returns to the city that betrayed her, determined to have her revenge - only to find that her fate might be to save it.

This is your past, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither...

Arenza Lenskaya is a liar and a thief, a pattern-reader and a daughter of no clan. Raised in the slums of Nadezra, she fled that world to save her sister.

This is your present, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither...

Renata Viraudax is a con artist recently arrived in Nadezra. She has one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune.

This is your future, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither...

As corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the city of dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled - with Ren at their heart. And if she cannot sort the truth from the lies, it will mean the destruction of all her worlds."

M. A. Carrick is the joint pen name of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms you say? No need to tell me more, I adore the delightful and talented Marie Brennan! Haven't read Alyc Helms yet but am so excited to!

In this book we mainly follow Ren, a con artist. She plans to con a noble family into adding her to their family register. That’s where it begins, but she soon starts to care for the family and ends up entangled in the city’s corruption. We also follow several other POV characters, but none of them get near the page time that Ren does.

There are plenty of things that I typically like in books: multiple POV characters, magic, deceit, mystery. There were also some things that I didn’t like. I didn’t like the long chapters or the length of the book. I was loving the first 50-60% of this 672 page book, but towards the end I was just wanting it to be over.

I would recommend this book if you like slower paced fantasy. The Venetian-like setting, tarot, and rune magic are a few of the things that made this truly enjoyable and different from the type of fantasy that I usually read.

***ARC Review***

This epic fantasy is truly epic. The authors have created a beautifully complex world with an incredible magic system and deep and twisted politics. One thing I really loved was that in a lot of fantasy stories it’s difficult to tell what’s going on or to really understand the world you’ve been dropped into but while this story is extremely intricate, it’s understandable. I also loved the casual queerness in this world and the diversity of the characters. The characters themselves are very interesting, there are many morally gray characters and getting into their heads and seeing their motives and perspectives is really unique. Something like didn’t like was the inter-character relationships. The romances seemed to change every single chapter and it felt a bit like the author’s didn’t know what direction they meant to go in themselves. There was also a scene in which a person kissed someone that they thought was their cousin at the time and it was entirely unnecessary to the plot so it was just gross and kind of threw me off for the rest of the book. The political structure that played into the familial relationships and friendships was also very interesting but the actual relationships weren’t developed very well. The plot is full of twists and turns that kept me guessing and so many “whoa” moments when things finally came together as well as excitement at guessing some things right. The mystery of it all makes it so much fun to read. I enjoyed the authors’ writing styles but there were a few too many cliches for my liking. Overall, The Mask of Mirrors is a unique and stunning story that will keep you hooked for hours on end.

🎭 NA Fantasy 🎭

“Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.”

📚 Arenza is a street kid, a thief, and a gang member — that is until she poisons her leader and runs from the city of Nadezra with her sister Tess in tow. Years later, she returns under the name Renata Viraudaux. Her goal? Infiltrate a noble house and secure a future for herself and Tess through any means necessary. Along the way she tumbles headfirst into more intrigue, political machinations, and corruption than she bargained for.

👍🏻 The Good: Give me any book that features a con and I’m already suckered in. “The Mask of Mirrors” is an extremely smartly written book and, likewise, Ren is a wicked smart character willing to risk it all. The entire story is well and intricately plotted out and I loved the depth of the schemings and mysteries. The world, which is both Slavic inspired and reminiscent of Venice, is lush and vibrant. It is bustling and moving all around the main characters — it really is alive. I also adored the relationship between Ren and Tess, who are so loyal and protective of each other.

👎🏻 The Meh: This is a very long, complex book, and at times it feels very overwhelming. There’s so many names, places, new words, and side plots to keep track of that it dragged down the pace at points, and left me a bit confused. I also didn’t notice until about midway that there is a glossary in the back of the book! This would have been so helpful in the beginning, as there are way too many new/made-up terms to keep track of, so I definitely recommend checking that out first.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World Building: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️.5

Pick up this book if you like gangs, politics, feuds, morally grey characters, magic, and a richly woven world that feels real and lived in. I would definitely describe this one as a sweeping epic!

4 stars.

This book is EVERYTHING on my checklist: political intrigue, a unique magic system, countless LGBTQ rep and FULL of twists. Seriously, I didn't see half of these surprises comings, even when i was looking for clues. I think the book was too smart for me, so I just buckled up and went along for the ride as wild as it was.

Only 4 stars because I found the pacing to drag in the beginning unevenly. But this book is nearly 700 pages so get ready for a big read. I couldn't put the book down, and i need the next book already! It gave me serious Six of Crows vibes except darker. Everyone is a con artist rather than heists. I felt as helpless and confused as Ren sometimes.

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The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is TWISTY. I have a lot of thoughts, but this plot unfolds like a spiderweb; I’m sure I’m going to be sorting through the threads for some time to come. That being said, this is a beautiful book. The feeling within its pages are captured brilliantly by the cover art, so definitely feel free to judge this book in particular by its cover. The world that’s been built here is a piece of art in its own right, and the characters are diverse, complex, and endlessly interesting. Before you decide whether or not this is for you, some points to consider:

1. This book is GAY AS HECK. I counted at least one character for every letter in LGBTQIA, and I loved it. Sexuality and gender identity is so casual in this book, and it’s glorious. None of the characters really question anyone else’s sexuality; all differences are accounted for and accepted as a regular part of society. I want more books like this. And, honestly, I want more reality like this.

2. This is NOT A YA BOOK. It seems for some reason that it’s being pushed into that category, but it is without question an adult fantasy novel. The plot is complex, the writing is complex, the themes are definitely more mature than a typical YA read, and I imagine those who are used to reading YA would feel like they’re slogging through mud. The terminology and in-world language use alone make this a tough book to get into. I was almost 50% through the book before I felt like I was mostly familiar with it. The authors do NOT hold your hand here—you’ve just got to keep going and figure it out along the way (or I guess use the glossary in the back, but if you’re anything like me, you probably got to about the 65% mark before you even realized it was there). While I certainly don’t think young readers are incapable of figuring it out or being able to handle the violence, sex, and language that goes along with the adult label, I wouldn’t suggest it to someone who isn’t already an avid reader.

3. POV jumps around a lot. There is seemingly no limit to whose mind we could end up in next. Each chapter is broken into sections, and each section is another POV. Sometimes it’s the same character two sections in a row—usually it’s our main character when this happens, who goes by several different names and is just delightful—but if this is the case, it’s usually a difference of time and/or setting that separates the sections. The sections aren’t labeled with whose head we’re in, just the date and location—again, in the in-world language, so this labeling system means absolutely nothing to you at the beginning of the book.

If you’re okay with all of that, definitely give this book a try. It’s a little slow going at first, which I attribute mostly to trying to get your bearings in-world with very little help from the authors, but once you find them it’s hard to put down. There are a lot of themes within this book that apply very heavily to the present day real world, and you certainly won’t feel like you’ve wasted the time spent with your nose in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Right off the bat this book reminded me of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, mixed with House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas. This is one of those books where you will either LOVE it or HATE it. My rating is somewhere in between. This is a MONSTER book. It took me two days to read with dedicated reading. This is also one of those books where the category is mucky. It is NOT YA, but female authors tend have books put into YA that should be in the Adult section. So if you are looking for a non-complicated light YA read, this is not it. I cannot stress this enough. This novel is complicated and the threads weave everywhere.
This novel takes place in a fantasy city named Nadežra. I would say it takes place in a time period equivalent to our 19th century. There is high nobility, minor nobility and a lower class, but no tech. Messages are through runners and paper and there are Masquerade Balls There is different cultures and peoples who are distinctly different from each other. This aspect runs through the whole book. Ren, while trying to get into the House Traementis, has found herself in the web of political drama and trying to navigate her way through it without blowing her cover. On top of the political drama, there is the magic system which could do with a lot more explaining (rather than showing). I am still not entirely sure how it works. A masked vigilante who pits himself, or herself, against the nobility and a mysterious drug that is causing mayhem in the lower class This book is complicated and not easy to follow with lots of details. It's one of those books were you have to be paying attention to and cannot skip anything, lest you miss something. So, don't be reading this while having a person talk to you, or having the tv in the background; you WILL miss something important.

Other than the complication of the details of the plot, the characters are well written. Ren is fascinating, but i find at times she gets caught up in her con and forgets her family. She is cunning and clever. She uses the skills her mother had taught her through the Pattern Cards and life on the wrong side of the track to her advantage, and she thinks she is cleverer than everyone else. Her sworn sister, Tess, is often forgotten in the moment and I feel that Ren sometimes takes advantage of Tess. Tess is sweet, caring, and unsuspecting, but will on the other hand destroy anyone who messes with her family. Vargo is an interesting character. I have not figured out his motivation or magic yet. But he and Ren will no doubt be linked throughout the rest of the series Grey is a hawk. A member of the city's police force. He is definitely not someone to mess around with and has been set on Ren by House Traementis to see if she is the real deal, or not.

I rated this three stars because while it keep me interested I feel like there was A LOT of details and it was hard to track who was doing what and when and where in the city. I loved the book but at some parts I struggled through, especially with all the details and world building and plots within plots. The character's POV switched without much notice, but their stories all wove together nicely. The events felt far apart, but enough details were spilling out of the book that it felt like you were racing to catch up to what the characters knew. The ending battle was a great finish to the book. However, the last parts of the book, including the reveal of who The Rook was, felt anti-climatic after the battle scene with all our characters in it. Overall, If you liked House of Earth and Blood and Six of Crows, you will like this book. I will definitely be picking up the second book in this series to see where all those threads go and to see if Ren ever figures out who The Rook is.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for sending me a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Within the slums of Nadežra, Arenza Lenskaya is a liar and a thief, determined to leave that world behind to find her sister. Renata Viraudax is a con artist looking to find a comfortable future. Corrupt magic is snaking through the city, and the different classes are feuding. Ren is at the center of it, and may not be able to stop the destruction of her world.

The Mask of Mirrors is the first book in the Rook and Rose trilogy. There is exquisite world-building here, with different nations wielding influences over the people, and accurate ways of showing how mixed heritage can help or hurt peoples' goals. We have varying levels of nobility, the poor in the slums forming gangs to take control of the underbelly, the myths, and legends that the different cultures have. This comes across in how they treat each other, the things that matter to the characters, clothing choices, masks, language for directions and time, and even the curse words that they use. I love this in books, and this novel makes me want to pull out the chef's kiss meme images.

I was drawn into Ren's story, how she built up the Renata persona as well as Arenza. All she wanted was to be safe, but there are too many dangers in the city and each of her personae know different facets of the same problems. Her main loyalty is to Tess, her bonded sister, and the memory of her bonded brother that had died and led her to escape the slums with Tess. The magic of the numina, numbers, and sacred geometry, butts up into the patterning, or card reading magic that is reminiscent of Tarot cards. Astrology falls somewhere between the two magic systems, and Ren's conception, birth and lies all come into play as she tries to make a name for herself in the noble house she chose to infiltrate. It's in decline and has enemies that become hers, and using the Arenza persona to gain more information brings temporary reprieve. I grieved along with the characters when we hit the halfway point in the novel, and I wasn't sure what other surprises were in store for them.

The mystery of the Rook is partially answered by the very end, and we see the Lady Rose of the trilogy title. This novel is complete, but I made whiny noises and have mental grabby hands for the next two novels. So much happened in this book and so much will happen in the next two, and I want to read them all right away!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I want to start off by saying I absolutely loved the first third of this book. The characters were interesting and I wanted to know how the con would play out. The world was set up cool and I wanted to learn more about it. And there seemed to be a mysterious Rook that I couldn't wait to find out who it was. I thought I knew right at the beginning but that twist was just one of about a bazillion that took place in this book.

I hate to say it, but the pacing of this book was so slow. Once we got to know the characters a bit, I wanted something to happen but instead the characters spend so much time in one place or another just talking. It was overly descriptive of the setting, while somehow at the same time lacking in any real worldbuilding. I love giant worlds with complicated rules, but instead of building on what we see in the beginning, you never really get a deep dive into the setting. I may totally have glossed over where the world was described, but that's because the pacing took me completely out of the book at times. It's almost like the authors tried to do too much with it.

There was tarot cards, there was the Rook, there was Ren who was pulling the long con, there was a sleeping sickness that was killing people. There was just SO MUCH GOING ON that I got lost a couple times. Now that being said, the characters were amazing. Each and every one of of them seemed realistic and fleshed out. There was some good representation throughout the book. I was a bit confused because the society seemed to be so forward thinking in some aspects but behind in others.

Overall it was a good book but I just felt that it could have been wrapped up at multiple times but then I saw there was still 20% left. I didn't know until the end that there was a glossary and character list, which definitely would have been helpful while reading.

As much as I wanted to love The Mask of Mirrors, and as much as I really liked pieces of it, I'm afraid it has to go down as my first disappointment of the year. Make no mistake, Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, writing as M.A. Carrick, have written a beautiful book, full of sumptuous details, complete with fascinating characters, but there's just so much of it all that it becomes overwhelming.

Every character who crosses the page has a name, and never just one, but first names, last names, family names, nicknames, and secret names, not to mention titles, and there's no pattern to how they're used. With so many characters coming and going, I kept losing track of who was who, whether we'd met them before, and if they were important. Places are the same, with seemingly every building, alley, and plaza getting a proper name, a slang name, and a directional name. Maybe with an easily accessible glossary in the finished physical copy this might become an easier read, but as an ebook it was more frustrating than entertaining.

On top of that confusion, I found the pacing of this very slow, with the characters themselves having no apparent sense of urgency. Maybe if things had happened quicker, maybe if there'd been pivotal events to which we could attach characters, this might have been an easier read, but by the time anything did happen, I was already frustrated that one thread seemed to have been neglected, and lost track of how the new one connected to anything.

It's a shame because The Mask of Mirrors has a lot of potential. When it works, when it's shining brightest, it reminded me of authors like Guy Gavriel Kay and Sebastien de Castell, but those positives were outshined by the struggle of reading. I didn't hate it. In fact, I'd love to give it another try when I can sit down, flip back-and-forth in a paperback, and maybe make a few notes in the margins, but the reading experience here was sorely lacking.

4/5 stars. Thank you to orbit book and netgalley for sending me this arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ren, an orphan and ex street rat is trying to con her way into a noble family to ensure a future for her younger sister. Little does she know, she is thrust into Family feuds and political intrigues.

This book was really well developed. The setting was well done and it makes readers feel like they are actually there. The characters, there were many morally grey characters and it definitely makes this book more interesting. The pacing is quite slow, reducing my 5 stars to 4. Although the second half of the book was better. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Mask of Mirrors is the first in a new fantasy trilogy by "author" M.A. Carrick - really a pen name for authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms. I've loved much of Brennan's solo work (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, Driftwood) and so seeing a new series at least cowritten by her was enough for me to request a copy of this on Netgalley the moment I saw it. The book's blurb on Amazon comparing it to Swordspoint, City of Brass, and Guy Gavriel Kay's work only made me even more interested - even if the book was listed at over 600 pages and thus longer than I usually like.

And for once, that blurb isn't really inaccurate, The Mask of Mirrors features a story that is part Fantasy of Manners (ala Swordspoint), part clash of cultures/colonizers (ala City of Brass, as well as also at times part Heist novel, part Horror novel, and more. It winds up in the end reminding me also of another book, Robert Jackson Bennett's Foundryside, in how all of the above themes, plus worldly mechanics, wind up coming together in a final confrontation for the fate of this setting. The above are all books I've loved, and The Mask of Mirrors certainly showed signs of becoming another one until it's conclusion, where it just couldn't live up to its potential, with it often confusing me at times too. I'll be back for book 2 just because of the potential, but I wish I'd found this more satisfying on its own.

Note: This fantasy world is seemingly Slavic-inspired, including in the names of Places, People, Things, and Concepts, complete with letters with accents/carons on top of them. As I don't have a slavic keyboard and my spanish keyboard doesn't quite accomplish the same thing, I will be spelling these names without the accent marks, and I apologize if that offends somehow.

---------------------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------
The arrival of Renata Viraudax to the City State of Nadezra makes a big splash in the social scene of the Nadezra's nobles. A woman of unusual fashion and tastes from the foreign city of Seteris, Renata appears to be the daughter of an estranged former-member of House Traementis, a noble house in decline, and seems to seek the impossible task of reconciliation to a House that never forgets any slights. And so Renata ingratiates herself to the Traementis' young heir, all the while acting and dressing in ways to draw attention as the hot new thing in the city.

There's just one problem: Renata Viraudax doesn't exist, she's just a creation of Ren, a Vraszenian con artist and thief of a girl who fled Nadezra 5 years ago with her adopted sister Tess after poisoning her adopted mother, a brutal gang leader. Now Ren seeks to attach herself to a noble family so that she can get a hold of their riches for her and Tess - after all, it was Nadezra that made her suffer as a child, so why shouldn't it reward her now with riches?

But Ren's arrival comes in the middle of a time of secret unrest, in which some unknown forces have their own plan for Nadezra - a plan that may carve the city in blood for the sake of their own unknown and horrible purpose. And so Ren may want only to exploit the city, but to do so, she may have to save it first.....
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The Mask of Mirrors is, like so many other fantasy books these days, a story that is told from a number of perspectives. That said, this is Ren's story - while we will jump around at times to seeing the story from the perspectives of a number of other characters - most notably Donaia Traementis and Giuna Traementis of the Traementis Noble House, Grey Serrado of the City Vigil (the Watch), and Drossi Vargo (a crime lord trying to gain legitimate power with a secret), among a bunch others - most of the story is told from the perspective of Ren. And as Ren's story gets more involved with the magical and monstrous plotting going on behind the scenes in the city, the story begins to sort of shift genres to go along with the change.

And so we start off with what seems like a combination of a heist/con-artist novel with that of a Fantasy of Manners type plot - you have Ren, trying to con herself into high society for riches, you have the nobles all plotting against each other, you have Vargo trying to use both his criminal and legitimate connections to get himself higher status in society, you have the honest cop in a corrupt police system, and you have the mysterious Rook - the legendary champion of the people in his unbreakable mask: these all combine to form a plot that is fascinating to read for the book's first third. There's one particular moment, where Ren manages to manipulate about a dozen noble families with their own agendas into doing small things that all add up to help one big noble family with its problems so that they will help Ren that is just tremendous to read, for example.

And then the book shifts. The book introduces some of what's going on behind the surface in spurts at first - the conflict between the city's original people and the foreigners who once conquered it, the magical symbols inscribed in places for various aims, the mysterious drug going around that is causing strange deaths, to the kids going missing off the street without the nobles caring. And of course there are two clear mysteries: who is the Rook and who is the mysterious person whom Vargo seems to have in his head. These aspects hint that the book will shift into a tale of dark magic, of angry peoples warring over cultures, and of a conflict for the heart of the city, one that Ren will find herself at the center of, and the book shifts well into these aspects, with tremendous emotional and horror-filled impacts at times.

Unfortunately the payoff doesn't quite fully work out, as the story moves on from being one about the characters to one about the magical and setting aspects coming together. This is not a book that really well explains its magical systems (unlike the aforementioned Foundryside) and has a umber of them - a tarot-card like deck that tells the future, an astrological system that reveals fate, and most importantly the Numinatria system of inscribed sigils which can seemingly have very powerful magical effects. And so when the finale relies on that last system and deals in large parts about how unprecedented certain magical feats are or relies upon a protagonist realizing something about how the magic works, it kind of falls flat, because well, it's just sort of "huh, okay." Which is a shame, because the setting - with its conflict between peoples, its class issues, and interesting characters - is really strong to set up that finale, which just amounts to a mess.

And then it ends, like Foundryside, with a few reveals which portend new things coming in the book's sequels. One of those is more interesting than the other (one involves the true allegiance of a character who the book can't decide whether it wants to suggest he's good or bad) but there's enough again still in this setting and characters to make me want to continue with the series. And it's possible that some of my confusion with the magical finale is drawn from my own reading style - which is pretty fast and can overlook miniscule details. Still, I hope that the sequels to this one continue the strong character and theme work while becoming more clear about its underlying fantasy elements, to truly draw out its potential.

This full review will be published online in January closer to the book’s release date.

I had great fun reading this one. The setting itself drew me in with a Venetian-like city and Romani influences but this steadily progressed to an entire list of many other things that intrigued me as well.

There are clever con artists, masked vigilantes and dashing duelists. There are street gangs, clan leaders and conniving nobles. There are the simmering tensions between colonial powers ruling over oppressed native inhabitants. There are interesting magic systems that borrow from runic inscriptions, tarot reading and astrology. There are even a few dashes of horror to spice it all up.

And within all these elements, of course, are the plots and manipulations by various characters who all seem to hide behind one mask or another. Unravelling the threads that tie them all together made for an interesting ride.

The central events of THE MASK OF MIRRORS take place within the city-state of Nadežra. The city was taken over a good two hundred years prior by the invading Liganti who have established themselves as the city’s rulers ever since. The native population, the Vraszenian clans, have since been treated poorly and largely looked down upon by the Liganti noble houses much to general resentment. Even those of mixed blood are less likely to rise as high as a full-blooded Liganti due to the stratification of their society. But for those with enterprising minds it just might be possible to force themselves into the upper echelons of society with a scheme or two. Hence, the con central to this plot is born.

The story unfolds with multiple point-of-view characters that each have their own conflicting concerns and motivations. Among these characters, I would claim there are three in particular that comprise the main point-of-view characters: Ren, Grey and Vargo.

Ren is a half-Vraszenian con artist who grew up thieving on the streets of Nadežra after being orphaned at a young age. She fled the city for a number of years, but returns all grown up and in the guise of a Seteran noblewoman Renata Viraudax. “Renata” claims to be an estranged cousin of the noble House Traementis with the aim to insinuate her way into their affections – and into their purse strings. But her successes in charming Liganti high society isn’t enough to convince the skeptical head of the Tramentis family that she’s who she claims, and Ren quickly realizes that House Traementis may not be as wealthy as they once were. Her con only grows more convoluted as her plans place her in the path of the masked vigilante The Rook and another noble family’s plot to incite angry Vraszenians.

Grey Serrado is a Vraszenian who has managed to climb his way up the ranks to become Captain of the city’s guard. It’s a position that offers him little social benefit – the guard is comprised of Liganti elite who mostly look down on him as an upstart while his own people regard him as a traitor for aligning himself with the policing force that often targets them. Nonetheless, Grey is grimly determined to protect who he can and investigate the recent string of missing children being kidnapped off the streets. The request by the Traementis to look into the city’s newest arrival, Renata, is just a minor annoyance to deal with on the side.

Derossi Vargo is a ruthless crime boss turned legitimate businessman who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. With an extensive information network and relative control over the seedier elements in Naderza, the only thing he seems to lack is the social privileges that allow him to walk easily among the noble crowd. With the arrival of Renata Viraudax, he plans a mutually beneficial arrangement to provide her with opportunities while achieving his own ambitions with her noble connections. Vargo’s plans are always the most difficult to discern, but with his hidden talents for magic and the secret companion he speaks to in his head, it’s quite clear that there’s much more to him than meets the eye.

I found all three of these characters, along with the other main characters that support or impede them, to be memorable in their own right. None of them ever bored me, and on occasion some of them even surprised me.

In regards to the plot itself, this book contains elements of a “fantasy of manners” which naturally means there is a ton of character-work and events that requires more socialization than action. The pace of this book was therefore pretty steady but I never found it to be slow. I was engrossed and interested to see what each character would do next, especially because there were all sorts of twists to look forward to. Sometimes there were hints placed in advance that led me to figure something out before Ren did, but I never blamed her for making the wrong assumptions based on the information she had access to.

But for those who fear that this is all talk and no action, never fear – there are still a number of duels, infiltrations, and near-death encounters to keep the reader on their toes.

Another thing I found enjoyable about this read was the detailed worldbuilding that fleshed out the cultures, religions and folklore. Best of all, not once did I feel as though there was any sort of info dumping. Tidbits and explanations about the world around the characters were interspersed seamlessly throughout the narrative and never in overwhelming amounts. I agree with those who point out that there’s quite a bit to digest, but I personally hadn’t found that to be a negative thing.

I’ve also seen that other readers have found the sprawling cast, complex histories and various terminologies to be complicated at times but again, I never felt that to be the case in my experience. I enjoyed being fully immersed in this world so this all just made the event seem more vivid to me. But then, I’ll note that I’m the kind of person who enjoys extensive lore in things like RPGs and will eagerly consume all the additional information on the world and its characters, so take that as you will.

The final thing I’ll mention is that I found that this book wraps up in a satisfying way – resolving the current conflict but leaving many open questions that will leave the reader anticipating the sequel. I’ll be picking up book two of this series for certain. Perhaps this isn’t for everyone, but this definitely worked for me.

Many thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for providing the free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ren is an orphan (and ex-street rat) trying to con her way into a noble family to ensure a future for her younger sister and herself until she realizes that she got involved in something way bigger than a simple con. She is thrust into the middle of family feuds and political intrigues while trying to avoid suspicion and maintain her image of a wealthy young lady wanting to meet and connect with her aunt and cousins.

I like that the intrigue is complex, we come to realize that Ren’s story is only a small piece of a big puzzle about economic gain and corrupt elite fighting for power. The setting is also well done, it reminded me of Venice with the small isles and the canals. The number of details in the setting is impressive, and it definitely is a strength of the book.

The characters in this book are multifaceted and it gives them a depth and complexity that we do not encounter in every YA fantasy book. There are many morally grey characters in this book, and it seems like everyone has something to hide. They sneak around, spy, and manipulate with no shame. I must say though that even if the world and the characters are vibrant and colorful, the pace is quite slow. It takes a while for all the pieces to fall into place and for us to understand what the actual bigger plot is.

There is magic in the book, but it is not much present at first, it is introduced slowly in the first part of the book. It gets a little confusing, I am not sure yet that I understand exactly how the magic works in Ren’s world. Since it plays a more important role in the second part of the book, I would have liked it to be better explained. It is also hard to keep track of all the secondary characters, their relations with each other, their various cultures, and their titles (plus all the new vocabulary specific to this world). There is a list of characters and a glossary at the end of the book, but it is harder to refer to it every time with an ebook, so it was challenging to hold onto the threads of every conflicts, alliances, names, titles, and backstory. The complexity and the details of the setting in a part of the reasons why I liked this book, but it’s also why I struggled with it.

The second half of the book is more engaging, and more significant things happen, but it is still a long book with a complex setting a slow pace, it might not be the ideal book for just anyone.