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erebus53's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A war orphaned scrappy urchin thief vies for the honour of being official secret enforcer to the queen in this week's episode of Survivor Court Assassin.
For the trope it's still pretty well done. The love interest is only made cooler by the main character being genderfluid, but this is normalised and not a major plot point. Representation is cool, especially when it doesn't undermine storytelling.
I can see this being the setup for an ongoing saga, and I'm not sad about it.
Graphic: Torture, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nicodaa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Stalking, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Vomit, and Grief
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
- 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
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 that’s 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 wasn’t 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 I’m done gushing. Would recommend if you’re in the mood for a fast-paced fantasy that isn’t too bogged down or “deep.” Very fun read.
P.S. I also really love that the Queen’s left hand have “titles” / new aliases named after the rings she wears on her left hand: Emerald, Ruby, Amethyst, and Opal. I thought it was pretty rad.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia and Classism
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 (it’s not glorified) and we get some great moments when he’s put in his place :)anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia
neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Gore, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
oceanherd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Transphobia and Colonisation
bloodyvalentine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
There’s few books where I’d say that the main character is one of my favorites, but this one is definitely one of them. I started on the second one as soon as I could and I can’t wait to see how the story continues.
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
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.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.5/5
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.
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.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail