The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
nicodaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gore, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: War, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Stalking
Minor: Grief, Torture, and Vomit
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I got this at the dollar store and to say it exceeded my expectations would be an understatement.
It has a quick pace and is more on the plot driven side, but I was in the perfect mood for this type of story.
The character dynamics and interactions are so well done and made me smile (though they only go so deep).
The plot is the perfect mix of politics and action. Just the plot being based around a dangerous audition for a job under the Queen thatâs filled with
 1. deadly tests
 2. training
and
 3. other auditioners who are allowed to kill you
Is right up my alley. And the setting is mainly the palace grounds? Yes please!
Although the world building wasnât deeply explored within the book, I could tell the author spent time doing it anyway because every detail fit within the world and felt like it made sense.
It did get a little sluggish around the middle but it soon picked back up and I was just as invested again when it did.
Okay Iâm done gushing. Would recommend if youâre in the mood for a fast-paced fantasy that isnât too bogged down or âdeep.â Very fun read.
P.S. I also really love that the Queenâs left hand have âtitlesâ / new aliases named after the rings she wears on her left hand: Emerald, Ruby, Amethyst, and Opal. I thought it was pretty rad.
It has a quick pace and is more on the plot driven side, but I was in the perfect mood for this type of story.
The character dynamics and interactions are so well done and made me smile (though they only go so deep).
The plot is the perfect mix of politics and action. Just the plot being based around a dangerous audition for a job under the Queen thatâs filled with
 1. deadly tests
 2. training
and
 3. other auditioners who are allowed to kill you
Is right up my alley. And the setting is mainly the palace grounds? Yes please!
Although the world building wasnât deeply explored within the book, I could tell the author spent time doing it anyway because every detail fit within the world and felt like it made sense.
It did get a little sluggish around the middle but it soon picked back up and I was just as invested again when it did.
Okay Iâm done gushing. Would recommend if youâre in the mood for a fast-paced fantasy that isnât too bogged down or âdeep.â Very fun read.
P.S. I also really love that the Queenâs left hand have âtitlesâ / new aliases named after the rings she wears on her left hand: Emerald, Ruby, Amethyst, and Opal. I thought it was pretty rad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Classism and Transphobia
Minor: Self harm, Violence, and War
The transphobia is done by an asshole character who refuses to call Sal by anything but feminine pronouns. But it is very obvious this character is a bad guy (itâs not glorified) and we get some great moments when heâs put in his place :)emtees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the premise hadnât been so interesting that I ended up having higher expectations than were really fair, but thatâs what happened. Mask of Shadows is the story of Sal, a thief who joins a competition to appoint the newest assassin in service to the Queen. It is literally a fight to the death - the candidates are expected to kill each other until theyâve winnowed the group down to just three, with very few rules about how they can do it. So the stakes literally couldnât be higher for Sal, who has their own reason for wanting to become an assassin that they arenât sharing.
This book did have a lot of strengths. The world is very interesting, and the hints at the history behind the ascension of Our Queen Marianna da Ignasi to the throne are fascinating. This is a world that doesnât seem to have magic, but only a generation ago it did, and it is populated by former sorcerers covered with magical runes and haunted by the memory of dark, destructive magic. We donât see very much of this - other than one brief venture, the entire story takes place within the walls of the palace where the competition is happening - but the hints were enough to make me interested. The Assassins - called the Left Hand, made up of Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst and Opal - were also fascinating. These are trained killers who gave up their public identities to become known only by their code names, and who never remove their distinctive masks except when alone together. The competition is brutal - Linsey Miller doesnât skimp on the violence of this world - and there are a lot of twists and turns in the plot to keep it moving quickly.  (Sometimes too quickly - an entire subplot is introduce and disposed of in the last few chapters.)
The problem, for me, was the character of Sal. A thief from a rough area who joins the competition for reasons that are only made clear later, despite not being a killer, Sal never really came into focus for me as a character. Writing a complex but sympathetic character who is going to murder a whole bunch of people in the course of the story is difficult, and I donât think Miller really pulled it off with Sal. They feel more like a conglomeration of fantasy tropes than a person. They have a tragic backstory which becomes more tragic the more we learn about it. They have a secret history. They arenât who they seem. They want vengeance. They canât trust anyone, but they clearly want to. They are extremely skilled, despite some of these skills not really being explained. Worse, they start out the story having never killed anyone, and by the end they have killed several people, and I have no idea how they feel about it. Salâs feelings on the subject of being an assassin are extremely vague and seem to change from chapter to chapter. This was too important of an aspect of their character to miss and unfortunately Miller did.
There are some aspects of Sal I did like, though. For one, they are genderqueer - they have a fluid gender identity, at different points identifying as male, female or nonbinary - and the scenes devoted to Sal explaining their gender identity to others were really well done. (I admit I was a little confused that Sal wanted people to use pronouns associated with however they were dressed on a particular day, because I donât understand what ânon-gendered dressâ looks like in this world, but thatâs a minor quibble.). I especially liked the scene where they explained their gender identity to the Left Hand and the assassins immediately understood and accepted it. In general this appears to be a world that is pretty open to all forms of queerness, which was neat. Sal also came alive as a character in their relationships with others: Maud, the servant assigned to them for the duration of the competition, who becomes a friend and ally, and especially Elise de Farone, the love interest. Sal and Eliseâs relationship was like a rom-com inserted into this otherwise grim world and I loved every minute of it.
There was enough in this book to make me want to read the sequel, but I doubt I will pick this one up again.
This book did have a lot of strengths. The world is very interesting, and the hints at the history behind the ascension of Our Queen Marianna da Ignasi to the throne are fascinating. This is a world that doesnât seem to have magic, but only a generation ago it did, and it is populated by former sorcerers covered with magical runes and haunted by the memory of dark, destructive magic. We donât see very much of this - other than one brief venture, the entire story takes place within the walls of the palace where the competition is happening - but the hints were enough to make me interested. The Assassins - called the Left Hand, made up of Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst and Opal - were also fascinating. These are trained killers who gave up their public identities to become known only by their code names, and who never remove their distinctive masks except when alone together. The competition is brutal - Linsey Miller doesnât skimp on the violence of this world - and there are a lot of twists and turns in the plot to keep it moving quickly.  (Sometimes too quickly - an entire subplot is introduce and disposed of in the last few chapters.)
The problem, for me, was the character of Sal. A thief from a rough area who joins the competition for reasons that are only made clear later, despite not being a killer, Sal never really came into focus for me as a character. Writing a complex but sympathetic character who is going to murder a whole bunch of people in the course of the story is difficult, and I donât think Miller really pulled it off with Sal. They feel more like a conglomeration of fantasy tropes than a person. They have a tragic backstory which becomes more tragic the more we learn about it. They have a secret history. They arenât who they seem. They want vengeance. They canât trust anyone, but they clearly want to. They are extremely skilled, despite some of these skills not really being explained. Worse, they start out the story having never killed anyone, and by the end they have killed several people, and I have no idea how they feel about it. Salâs feelings on the subject of being an assassin are extremely vague and seem to change from chapter to chapter. This was too important of an aspect of their character to miss and unfortunately Miller did.
There are some aspects of Sal I did like, though. For one, they are genderqueer - they have a fluid gender identity, at different points identifying as male, female or nonbinary - and the scenes devoted to Sal explaining their gender identity to others were really well done. (I admit I was a little confused that Sal wanted people to use pronouns associated with however they were dressed on a particular day, because I donât understand what ânon-gendered dressâ looks like in this world, but thatâs a minor quibble.). I especially liked the scene where they explained their gender identity to the Left Hand and the assassins immediately understood and accepted it. In general this appears to be a world that is pretty open to all forms of queerness, which was neat. Sal also came alive as a character in their relationships with others: Maud, the servant assigned to them for the duration of the competition, who becomes a friend and ally, and especially Elise de Farone, the love interest. Sal and Eliseâs relationship was like a rom-com inserted into this otherwise grim world and I loved every minute of it.
There was enough in this book to make me want to read the sequel, but I doubt I will pick this one up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent and War
Minor: Transphobia
There are several scenes of graphic violence and body horror; there are a few minor instances of antagonists not respecting the MCs gender identity but they are always corrected.hannah1994's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
đłď¸âđ First off, I loved the LGBTQIA+ representation, especially Non-Binary people in this book. And it wasn't a main part of the plot, instead being more like yeah Sal is Non-Binary, who gives a fuck (except for the bigots who still exist). I want more fantasy with LGBTQIA+ characters!
For me, the plot was pretty fast paced albeit with a few slow parts. The last 40 or so pages were just so intense.
I love the world building so much. There's a queen with a group of assassins called The Left Hand who are named after gems and wear masks. You can see why I think that's awesome. Oh and a war might be going down but that's par for the course.
I feel like the romance was a little bit rushed but I still rooted for Sal and Elise to be together.
Will still read book 2 and see where it all ends.
For me, the plot was pretty fast paced albeit with a few slow parts. The last 40 or so pages were just so intense.
I love the world building so much. There's a queen with a group of assassins called The Left Hand who are named after gems and wear masks. You can see why I think that's awesome. Oh and a war might be going down but that's par for the course.
I feel like the romance was a little bit rushed but I still rooted for Sal and Elise to be together.
Will still read book 2 and see where it all ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, and War
neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Rep: This book had some of the best gender-fluid representation, and and amazing job incorporating discussions on pronouns in fantasy, in a way I have not seen in other books that try to convey gender-fluid/NB characters. I also really enjoy that there is no eluding to the character's assigned sex at birth, this really helps to force the reader into seeing this person in the way should be-- as gender-fluid. It was great to see how the authors handled having a character that was gender-fluid that used multiple pronouns.Â
Plot: I thought the plot of this book was well-thought out and had the right amount of twists/turns, I think the pacing could have been a bit better-- it was pretty slow in the beginning and shot-up fairly quickly. I'm excited to read the sequel!
Plot: I thought the plot of this book was well-thought out and had the right amount of twists/turns, I think the pacing could have been a bit better-- it was pretty slow in the beginning and shot-up fairly quickly. I'm excited to read the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and War
Minor: Sexual assault
salainen's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Transphobia, War, Torture, and Death of parent
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reread for the November #WickAndJaneBookClub Feral Queers on Instagram.
Such a fun reread!!
Rep: Genderfluid white MC, white noble bisexual female love interest, various BIPOC side characters.
CWs: Blood, death, dysphoria, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, misgendering, murder, violence, war.Â
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.5/5Â
I enjoyed this but was kind of bored with some parts of it. Our MC, Sallot Leon, is a gender fluid thief, that auditions to become Opal, one of the queens assassins. It was quite a leap to see Sal being a thief to then trying to become an assassin, especially since at the beginning, they explain their hesitancy to kill. However, Sal seems to get over that pretty quickly.
The trials that Sal goes through were interesting, but also slightly predictable since everyone is trying to off the other competitors. What helped liven this part up was Sal's lessons with Elise, the lady she stole from to get invited to the competition. I loved their lessons together, and the romance that eventually blossomed between these two. I need more lgbt+ relationships like this.Â
One other thing I would've liked to have known more about would've be the world itself. Mask of Shadows is set in a world where magic and its dangerous shadows have been abolished by the Queen. However, threats of the shadows pose a danger to the Queen's reign. I would've liked to know more about the magic system that was in place, how the Queen banished it and how/why the shadows existed. They seemed pretty monstrous and it would've be a cool facet to expand upon.
Such a fun reread!!
Rep: Genderfluid white MC, white noble bisexual female love interest, various BIPOC side characters.
CWs: Blood, death, dysphoria, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, misgendering, murder, violence, war.Â
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.5/5Â
I enjoyed this but was kind of bored with some parts of it. Our MC, Sallot Leon, is a gender fluid thief, that auditions to become Opal, one of the queens assassins. It was quite a leap to see Sal being a thief to then trying to become an assassin, especially since at the beginning, they explain their hesitancy to kill. However, Sal seems to get over that pretty quickly.
The trials that Sal goes through were interesting, but also slightly predictable since everyone is trying to off the other competitors. What helped liven this part up was Sal's lessons with Elise, the lady she stole from to get invited to the competition. I loved their lessons together, and the romance that eventually blossomed between these two. I need more lgbt+ relationships like this.Â
One other thing I would've liked to have known more about would've be the world itself. Mask of Shadows is set in a world where magic and its dangerous shadows have been abolished by the Queen. However, threats of the shadows pose a danger to the Queen's reign. I would've liked to know more about the magic system that was in place, how the Queen banished it and how/why the shadows existed. They seemed pretty monstrous and it would've be a cool facet to expand upon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Dysphoria, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
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