This is a tough review. The description of this book intrigued me, and I was glad to start reading it. However I must confess that at about 12% of the way through, I wanted to give up on it all together. The story just didn't grab me. That said, I decided to persevere, and i'm glad I did. This book has some very interesting concepts that I haven't come across in another fantasy book before. Also the magic system was interesting, and definitely unique enough to help set the book apart from others. There were also some very surprising twists and turns that I didn't see coming. For this I must give the author credit. That said I have one main criticism. That being the length of the book. While I am no stranger to a long, well written book. In this case the length of The Helm of Midnight actually works against it. The story seems to drag and I definitely developed a healthy case of reader fatigue. The overlong length of the book also seems to sap any kind of urgency from the story which is a true shame. I feel that these issue could be easily remedied however, if the book was edited and shortened. I believe that this would instantaneously cure all my issues with this book. Not only would reader fatigue no longer be an issue, but by shortening the book, it would give the story a more fast paced and action packed feeling. Something that is sorely missing at the moment, and would improve the story immeasurably. In conclusion, I feel like this book has a lot of promise. The concepts are strong and the story is definitely interesting and unpredictable. With some revisions I feel like this could well be a must read for fantasy lovers like me. However in its current form, it would be tough to recommend to potential readers.

There was a lot going on in this book - an incredible magic system, a Jack the Ripper style murder mystery, flashbacks all over the place... and it got to be a bit much. This was well-written, but was bogged down with unexplained details in the worldbuilding. The characters were compelling enough, but they weren't featured much. We spent most of our time in Krona's head and delving into her psyche. Overall it's a good fantasy, but I felt like it needed a little more paring down.

The cover most definitely attracted me to this book and I thought it was going to be scary because of course it has a serial killer and also have fantastical elements but I was quite disappointed in that way that I usually am when a fantasy story focuses more on the characters than the plot.
The premise was very intriguing especially for someone who hails from a continent where masks are a huge part of various cultures.
Saying that I wasn't gripped by the story yes I loved the characters and the potential of the world although it was a bit confusing at times, the killer did not feel scary enough to me I often times did not feel like any of the characters were in any danger at all. There was no tension. the writing style was basic as well good enough for me to understand and get through the story but not enough from me to sigh or be impressed but it did make the make the book easy to get through although I couldn't tell you what this world looked like, maybe it will be explored in the later books.
The character on the other hand were done better I liked the dynamics between Krona and her sister Lia and a potential love interest. The villain however was not to my liking their motives were not convincing to me at all and the villain monologue honestly should be done away with. I also noticed there was a distinct lack of subplot, the author tried to make the story nonlinear with the use of flashbacks but I still noticed that. All in all this was a solid read and I would recommend it if you love a fusion of a murder mystery paired with fantasy.

thanks to Netgalley, tor and the Author for the Arc

The Helm of Midnight by Marina J. Lostetter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was something of a surprise to me because I'm kind of a connoisseur of covers and with a title like that, I HAD to assume the novel was an epic fantasy with standard worldbuilding for such.

What it IS, however, is something more like a hybrid Jack-the-Ripper London in a unique fantasy with a Bujold-like 5 Gods setting mixed with a VERY cool external emotions-based magic system (at least early on). In other words, we have a heavy-population fantasy with lots of disparity between the rich and the poor, monsters in the streets, and heist-like action that goes a bit deeper. I'm also reminded of Foundryside as I read it.

It is, after all, a novel about rather unique ghosts that remind me of cyberpunk fare, magic masks, medical expertise, and a convoluted con game that only touches on a steampunk theme while doubling down on its own thing.

In other words, it's quite good. The characters are also pretty memorable, too, although there might have been a little too much meandering. The core fears and hopes were pretty standard and convincing and definitely swum around the main plot in a cool way.

I'm looking forward to continuing this pretty vast tapestry of a world. :)

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

Sometimes when I read a book, I just can’t decide right away how I feel about it and that happened with this one. The description grabbed me instantly, as it promised to blend two of my favorite genres: mystery and fantasy. However, now that I’ve had the combination, I’m not sure they quite go together. The slower pace required of proper world building doesn’t mesh all that well with the rather fast pace required of a good mystery. I found the story began to drag a bit as I started to forget details of the “case” while trying to wrap my head around the complex and fascinating world that was being described.

I still found it enjoyable as the world that was created was quite interesting and the premise that someone’s strongest trait could be immortalized and used by people for decades to come was unique to me. The latter part especially grabbed me as the world building had been done for the most part and the pace picked up to what it really needed to be to create a thrilling murder mystery as two sisters hunt for a serial killer stalking young women in their city.

Gosh, a lot to say here.

I went into this book because of the amazing premise. It's so rare to see heists and serial killers in a fantasy setting. Jumping in was....interesting. You are thrown into a whirlwind of action and HEAVY infodumping right away. It was really jarring. I did keep on with the book hoping to see a change and unfortunately, I did not.

Additionally, what I did notice was a LOT of mixture of magic and rules. Masks that grand powers, trading emotions like currency...

It just felt extremely chaotic in big world, and it makes it hard to focus on the small picture as the story quickly attempts to peel back aspects of the worldbuilding at an exceedingly rapid pace. It often felt unnational and awkward.

That being said, I liked the ideas, even if the method of execution was very awkward.

I think this ended up being one of those "it's not you, it's me" books -- as I'm in a graduate program I need something to catch my attention right away if its a nearly 500 page book, and this one just didn't do it for me. I have great faith that it picks up and might come back to it when I'm on winter break, however.