Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

A strong start that started to fizzle towards the end. This certainly has a reader and fae stories are popular, making it worthy of a purchase for larger YA collections.

Wow, this book was truly unique! I've never read anything like this before, where Fae aren't using only magic, but they also have really smart and interesting mechanisms. They don't trick humans only by using magic, but by using something called "mirrorcraft", which was really awesome to read about. These Fae are nothing like I've seen before, but one thing is sure: they are vicious.

This is an action-packed book, jumping from one even to the other in such a great way that you have no idea when the story ends (or that's what happened to me). I was so caught up in everything that was happening, I felt like I was there with the unusual crew. Because that's what this book is about: a quest that starts thanks to a thief called Rags - and I really do think that this name suits him. Along the way, he finds himself becoming an incredible person, something he never thought he would be. Thinking that we is "just a thief, but a good one", Rags becomes so much more than that.

I absolutely loved seeing this development through the book, how he tried to deny his feelings and how it was so hard for him to acknowledge the fact that he wasn't such a bad person after all.
The people he befriends are all special in their own way and I loved that, as side characters they are great and I can't wait to read more about them.

This book gave me major Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom vibes, thanks to the unusual joining of very different people, that start working together for a common reason. I would definitely recommend this if you've read the duology and liked it, I'm sure you're going to like this book; especially since it has Fae in it and a little bit of gay slow-burn romance.

This was unoriginal and didn't hold my attention. It felt like every other YA book out there with bad writing and poorly created characters.

Rags is a thief—an excellent one. He's stolen into noble's coffers, picked soldier's pockets, and even liberated a ring or two off the fingers of passersby. Until he's caught by the Queensguard and forced to find an ancient fae relic for a sadistic royal sorcerer. But Rags could never have guessed this "relic" would actually be a fae himself—a distractingly handsome, annoyingly perfect, ancient fae prince called Shining Talon. Good thing Rags can think on his toes, because things just get stranger from there…

I've been pretty picky about fae stories, but Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett pulled me in and didn't let me go! I really loved Rags and Shining Talon and the opposites-attract sort of relationship that they develop. This book was marketed as a heist story, but really the heist is only a small portion of the plot, so keep that in mind. I loved that this story has a found family feeling to it and a lot of diversity! There's m/m romance, trans rep, and disability rep as well. There were some slower parts to the story, but overall it was a really fun and intriguing ride! I'd highly recommend this one, and I'm excited for the sequel!

ARC given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a very bumpy start for me but it ended up growing on me in the end. I really did enjoy the main characters as well as learning about the new ones that came along the way. Part of the problem with the bumpy start is that the length of the chapters felt very uneven. It felt like some were so short while others just kept going and going. I personally feel like a balance is needed to not feel like I am thrown between characters so often. The plot was what kept me going it felt like after the first third of the book the pace was worked out to be just enough to want me to keep reading without feeling too long or too short. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for the next in this series.

I'm honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. It's got everything I normally avoid: a quest plotline, inconsistent pacing, multiple POVs, and a generic medieval European setting. But wow, it is charming, and the characters have taken hold of my heart.

This might be a YA fantasy but it reads way more like Adult. It sort of gave me Merlin meets The Lord of the Rings meets Terry Pratchett's sense of humor. I haven't read Terry Pratchett, but I've read and loved Good Omens, so I base it off that.

The slowburn m/m romance is my absolute favorite part of this book.

Rags, sweet baby snarky cinnamon roll thief Rags, is hauled out of prison and forced by the Queen's sorcerer to steal a fae artifact from abandoned fae ruins, Indiana Jones-style. But at the end, he doesn't discover just any gold treasure; he accidentally awakens a fae prince who's been trapped and sleeping for thousands of years. Turns out this is step one in an epic quest to gather magical fae artifacts that, combined, will give the wielder incredible power. Sorcerer wants that, obviously, so he forces Rags and Shining Talon (aka Shiny, aka Tal, aka beautiful fae prince) to find them. Shining Talon is a stiff and clueless yet honorable prince who doesn't really know how humans work but is eternally grateful to Rags for saving him, so here we have the besotted supernatural creature turned bodyguard trope. My god, this relationship was the cutest thing on Earth. Tal hovers over Rags like a mother hen, always watching out for him and saving him (he defends him from a spoon at one point because he thought it was evil), unaware of the concept of personal space. Rags is a loner thief who is not used to this, so he acts like a total tsundere, when in reality he likes Tal too and just feels unworthy of him. Just. CUTENESS.

The magic system is pretty quirky. Fae creatures that turn from dining room silverware into magical animal pets?? Mirror magic that can only be defeated by a blindfold?? So it made the novel stand out, even if it used Ye Olde Arthurian Fantasy Worlde. Also since I am a YA reader obviously I like fae, and I just imagined Tal as a sterner, darker-skinned, tattooed Legolas. hehe. Yes, I know Legolas is not a fae, but Cardan and all those other pretty boys don't have the same long hair and sturdy build so.

I only had two major concerns. The first is that I wasn't a big fan of the multi POV since I usually prefer dual at most. Many times I kept thinking RAGS RAGS GIVE ME MORE RAGS I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU but meh. The second is that the pacing is honestly really weird, in that certain subplots take way longer than they should, so I skimmed a bit. But every time I skimmed, I still kept my eyes peeled for Rags because I swear he's all I care for lmao.

Yes, I am going to read Book 2. Just for him and Tal. I want my boys to be happy. Also, we don't usually see male MCs in YA fantasy anymore, so yay.

To be honest, I don't think this is for everyone. It's a very traditional type of fantasy novel, and far from the YA mold. But it's very accessible for a non-Adult fantasy reader, the characters are cute, and the gay slowburn is delightful. Also, something about Rags' POV feels decidedly masculine, as if a man wrote him. Kinda gross, no filter, emotionally constipated... but still endearing and without the annoying machismo slash sexism present in a lot of traditionally male-authored fantasy.

TL;DR I enjoyed this book a lot but it doesn't offer a lot of newness. Read it for the snarky thief and fae prince bodyguard trope. Sorry @ the other POV characters. They're fine, I guess.

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

"Fuck the fucking fae forever."†

The story opens on an Aladdin-esque intro with the crown's sorcerer recruiting Rags the thief to recover a mysterious artifact from the fae ruins. The malicious fae are no longer terrorizing the land, and are long extinct... Or are they? And were the fae the true villains of the piece?

The world building canon is excellent. The reader is tossed right into the story and details are dispersed so well that you hardly realize you’re learning new information. (No info dumps yay!!) The the storytelling voice was superb, particularly the dialogue. It provided the perfect amount of comedic relief to contrast the darkness of the plot. (Interactions between Rags and Shining Talon in particular had me cracking up every time). The ensemble cast of characters was incredibly strong and each unique personality really shone, particularly by means of showing > telling. 👌🏻 The characters were also wonderfully, refreshingly diverse. I was fascinated by all of them, from main to side to villains.

My only real complaint was an overlong, meandering plot. I was expecting a heist adventure (per the synopsis) but it was much more of a high fantasy journey tale. (This is not Six of Crows meets the Cruel Prince. AT ALL. But that does not mean it isn't good. It was still a fun read!) I do wish that there had been a few more heart pounding high action moments in the slower middle section, but overall found the story enjoyable. I seriously hope the authors are given the opportunity to continue the story of this world... I need more!

✝check against final text

I know, I know. As of late, all I do is come on here raving like a lunatic and leaving book-shaped bruises in my wake. And, well, today is no different. But listen. When I get presented with a blurb promising “sinister sorcery, gallows humor, and a queer romance so glorious it could be right out of fae legend“… I’m powerless to resist.

So, without further ado. Here are the top five reasons YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

5. We open with murder

Opening with murder isn’t necessarily a unique way to introduce us into a world, but holy shit did this introduction make an impression. It gives us absolutely no illusions about what type of book this is going to be. Dark. Violent. And it isn’t going to hold back. Master Of One may be YA, but this is not a book for the faint of heart.

It doesn’t introduce us to the world as much as it throws us in. Which leads us right into reason number four…

4. This is dark, violent, and deliciously devious world.

This book doesn’t dance on the edges of dark, it plunges straight into the pitch black. It isn’t gory or graphic, but within every page, the threat of agonizing death haunts us as it haunts the characters. This world explores the insidiousness of being controlled. Of how helpless tyranny can feel. There’s hope, but it’s tied so closely with fear, that every breath of it hurts.

It’s the type of book that has you holding your breath, wondering which beloved character is going to be ripped out your heart. Not that there’s always death. But that there’s always the possibility of death. It’s real. This is a world that does not fuck around with how terrifying it is to live under a sociopath with absolute control. There’s no guarantee of safety. No promise of reprieve.

But for all the tension, for all the trauma, this book is brimming with hope. The quiet, rebellious kind that keeps us moving, that keeps the characters moving. And really, that’s a testament to reason number three.

3. It’s full of incredible characters.

These characters explode off the page. They aren’t just vivid, they are real. It’s easy to hear their individual voices, to see their quirks and habits and mannerisms no matter where they are or what they’re doing. They’re distinct and unique and complex.

We get several points of view, but the one we read the most from is Rags. And goddamn. Did I love Rags. He’s a thief. Guttersnot trash who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, chosen for all the wrong reasons. I love his plucky fight. He never knows when to shut up, or maybe he does and chooses not to. His snarky comments and deliberate rebelliousness, even when it’s definitely in his best interest to stay quiet make him incredibly endearing. He uses it as armor, even against his own heart.

Which… the slow-burn romance here is incredible. It’s very subtle, which I love. Especially given the high-stakes nature of the plot. And, it isn’t focused on the love interest in a single set of characters. In fact, it isn’t just the main characters that are vivid and complex. It’s every single person mentioned. They’re layered, diverse, and as three-dimensional as we are.

Each one carries their own history and it isn’t simply that they are vivid on the page either. These characters grow and learn. They change not just from the experiences of the plot, but through their relationships with each other. It makes every single POV fulfilling, but more importantly it connects them together. Sure, all plots weave POV and characters together, but this is done so fluidly, it makes it their journey, both individually and collectively, that much more satisfying.

Besides incredible characters, the other must-have essential to make a book spectacular is my reason number two.

2. The prose. The goddamn killer prose topped with voice for fucking days.

These sentences don’t just dance on the page, they inject pure mood with every word. They’re sharp and cutting, jabbing at just the right moments only to soften a moment later. Every single word is precision, flowing smoothly between characters and scenes while bringing the clarity we need to appreciate the breadth and depth of every detail. It didn’t matter if it was dialogue or description, the mastery of words is glorious.

But if I had to summarize why you should read Master Of One, it’s this.

1.This plot has TEETH.

From the very first sentence, this book flashes its claws and sinks them deep into the reader. And refuses to let go. It’s an intense plot that seriously keeps you guessing all the way to the end. The twists are devious and the turns are delightful. Even better, the end is the perfect combination of satisfaction and incredible longing.

I devoured this book. Once I started, I could not stop. But even more important, since I finished, I can’t stop thinking about it. Rags and his ragtag crew of found family misfits are shards in my heart and I can’t wait to meet up with them again!

Five very stabby stars!

Unfortunately this was not what I was hoping it to be. I was super excited to start reading this book and the first chapter was brutal and sucked me right in. But that was also where the excitement ended, the first chapters were slow, which is okay and to be expected. Unfortunately, over a 100 pages in this book was still not exciting even though we got to see a very cool concept. Everything went pretty quickly but I felt very detached from all that happened. In the end I didn't read the whole book and I just didn't care anymore. This was clearly not the book for me. I might still pick up another book by these authors to see if they improved.

There was SO MUCH magic in this book! So much love. So much story. Character development and world building are extremely important when it comes to a story. MASTER OF ONE hit the nail on the head with both of these two important aspects of writing. Rags the thief was a very enjoyable character with much character and development. You meet characters that are so enjoyable that I didn’t even notice any bumps in the story. It progressed so well. I was extremely happy with how the authors wrote this novel.

And… the authors included a ROMANCE subplot! OMG. Who doesn’t love a good, LGBTQIA+ romance?! I thoroughly enjoyed the romance. It added so much powerful emotion to the story.

I highly recommend this story to anyone who desires a great, LGBTQIA+ story!!!!

16% Honestly just not holding my attention like I hoped. Rags was pretty cool in the "Maze Mirror" chapter. The heist advertised was not delivered how I thought. A different reviewer put it perfectly with a rags to riches, Aladdin story. At this point my plan is to DNF@20% if it doesn't pick up

I was so excited when I got a copy of this book. I'd heard nothing but amazing things about it from other reviewers that I trust so it was very exciting for me to get my hands on an advance e-arc, especially when I saw that it had been compared to Six of Crows and had queer romance. I really enjoyed this book. I liked our main character, Rags, and his voice. The plot was intriguing and I ended up reading this in just a couple of sittings. I felt that it did drag at times but other than those moments I really enjoyed it.

Rags is a thief—an excellent one. He's stolen into noble's coffers, picked soldier's pockets, and even liberated a ring or two off the fingers of passersby. Until he's caught by the Queensguard and forced to find an ancient fae relic for a sadistic royal sorcerer.

But Rags could never have guessed this "relic" would actually be a fae himself—a distractingly handsome, annoyingly perfect, ancient fae prince called Shining Talon. Good thing Rags can think on his toes, because things just get stranger from there...

——————-
This book was such a fun adventure, the cast of characters is so diverse and it felt very well done. This has all the markers of a classic fantasy world and something I could see expanding as we get more books in this world 🤞

My only negative was the pacing at the start is a little slow. It felt like that could have been tightened up some so we could spend more time with the whole gang.

But I loved the characters!!!! Shining Talon is up there with my favourite fae.

If you are looking for a diverse, Queer fantasy to sink your teeth into. Look no further.

Fast-paced and engaging, with an intriguing system of magic. However, there's so much focus on plot that there's not much time left over to develop the characters' personalities and back stories. It seems like we're supposed to care about them just by virtue of being the designated main characters, not for standing on their own virtues.

The names are so ridiculous that it pulls you out of the story and seems pretentious. They seem like names a five-year-old would give when coming up with a fairy tale on the fly.

Overall interesting enough to finish, but you can probably skim through the endless descriptions of every single thing the characters are doing to get to the important things.

I thoroughly enjoyed this high fantasy thrill ride filled with unique magic, a heist, royals, fae, and a ragtag group of chaotic gays on a quest. While the worldbuilding and it's entities were quite interesting to read about, it was the characters that truly made this story come alive and resonate with readers. Can't wait to see what else this author duo has up their sleeves. Thank you for the opportunity to read this, and for being part of the blog tour.

With gallows humor and sadistic, sinister sorcery, and a heist turned adventure, Master of One is a brilliant young adult fantasy debut and it is fantastically breathtaking. Rags faces an ancient Prophecy set in motion when he is forced to find an ancient Fae relic that turns out to be not what was expected. Rags is such a detailed character, from his background as a thief and trying to survive on the streets, to his softness that he tries to bury deep down, and the gallows humor he uses to deflect; it’s hard not to instantly feel for him and cheer for him to win in the end. As the story progresses, Rags world becomes expanded, and we are introduced to other characters, Shining Talon, a Fae Prince; Cabhan, a Queensguard deserter; Inis, a privileged lady whose family was almost all killed by the Queensguard; and Somhairle, an exiled Prince. This rag-tag (*smirks*…see what I did there?) group is faced with becoming the only hope to save the kingdom from the cruel and malevolent Queen and her last sorcerer, Morien.

The worldbuilding is magnificent and thorough. I loved that I felt immersed in a medieval-ish time but with magic, Fae, and sorcerers. It was built with familiar writing outlines, but these authors definitely made it their own. The plot started off a tad slow but I think that is what led to such a detailed world and then when the pace picked up and there was action around every corner it had me on the edge of my seat, breathless, wanting to know what happened next. The dialogue felt more modern than the atmosphere that was created in the worldbuilding. That took some getting used to but it was very humorous and had me giggling out loud. I personally fell hard for the diversity of the characters. The two main queer characters, the side ones that are suffering from PTSD, and the one that is in chronic pain and uses a brace to get around. I have got to say that hands down, the characters were my favorite part of the story. The main relationship in the story is a slow burn, it’s a beautiful queer romance with instant chemistry and yearning, that is solovely to read. Their growth and learning to trust one another brings about a big change in our main character Rags, who is so use to being alone and working alone, that to see him trust, work with and protect others, was so gratifying.

Another interesting element in this book was the magic; both sinister and cruel if used by sorcerers; their use of mirrorcraft was so compelling and awful. Basically, the way sorcerers use mirrorcraft is by inserting it into people’s hearts to control them, or to threaten them into acting on their own. But this magic was also full of elegance and fascination when used by those gifted with it naturally. You can tell that the sorcerers weren’t meant to have magic because of the way it became a twisted, perversion of the beautiful, natural magic.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Fantasy, magic, slow burn romance, and wants LGBTQ representation. This whole book made my heart happy and I cannot wait for the sequel.

Very interesting and fast paced book!!
Highly recommended if you loved reading Six of Crows!!!
Absolutely love the book!!

Top 5 reasons to read this book :-
1. Faced paced full of actions!!
2. Strong built characters!!
3. Slow burn lgbtq+ romance.
4. Six of crows + The cruel prince feel within this book!!
5. Written in well versed and in a lucid way!!!

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours, Netgalley, the authors and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Can I reread this already?? Honestly, my brain is just scrambled from all the amazing books I've been reading lately, but Master of One takes the cake. A thief who discovers the last fae? A slow burn Achillean romance? A crew that is diverse and queer? They must take down an evil sorcerer and Queen? Yes, this book checks all the boxes that I wanted and more. WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?!? If I may request, I need me a sapphic ship next, thank you.

Rags is an excellent thief, but when his latest catch ends up with him working for a terrifying sorcerer, Rags is sure he's in over his head. When he succeeds in solving a deadly puzzle he expects his life and riches. What he gets is the last Fae prince. Shining Talon instantly hates the Lying One sorcerer, and is devoted to Rags for waking him. But can these two find out what Morien the Last is truly up to and stop him before it's too late.

This is a slow burn story that creeps up and knits itself into your heart. The first half of the book is bit slow and mainly focuses on Rags. As it continues we start to get additional character POVs and they all begin to weave a web between each other that's bound to collide. I really loved seeing this disaster squad being thrown together and trying to figure out their pasts/what is even currently happening.

As for queer rep, I heard from a friend that the authors have stated everyone in this book is queer, and I am here for this. As for the rep I clearly saw on the page: a M/M relationship, another possible M/M relationship, and a trans woman character. One of the characters also has a physical disability due to birth defects/chronic illness.

I really loved these characters and the world so much. I feel like we just got to understand the world and the conflicts within it and then the book ended. I really hope we get a sequel! Easily one of my fave reads of October!