A review by unicornsbookshelf
Master of One by Danielle Bennett, Jaida Jones

adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from the publisher via Edelweiss+; thank you!

I had no idea that a romance between a himbo fae and a very averse to being loved thief was something I needed in 2020 but this book proved me wrong. 

Rags are on his way to rob the treasury of the Gutter King when he gets captured by the Queensguard and brought in front of one of the heads of the royal houses and a sorcerer known from horrible stories - Morien the Last. Morien wants Rags’ skills to get into ancient fae ruins and find the treasure inside. At the end of the maze, however, Rags doesn’t find gold but a sleeping fae who has a much bigger quest for him. 

I went into Master of One expecting it to be mainly one POV story. Because of that I was kind of thrown off my groove and it took me a while to get used to perspective jumps, which get more frequent the more we get into the book. When you accept that you have to get invested in more than just two characters and get used to POV changes it’s much better so keep in mind this is kind of a squad book. Overall, when it comes to the plot it was fast-paced but still left time for the main romance slowly developing. There was a lot of action, which I felt took away from the relationship growing between our group of heroes and it didn’t help that some of them had all the reason to actively hate the others. I feel like we still have a chance to see that develop in the future books, though and I’m waiting happily for some found family feels. I also enjoyed the parts of the Great Paragon interacting with their masters and with each other and how each of them had its personality. 

Now, for the characters - Rags and Shining Talon were my absolute favorites. Their relationship was sweet and I loved seeing how angry Rags would get because he didn’t think he deserved Tal’s kindness. I also liked Somhairle’s POV and Inis grew on me as the plot progressed. I think my least favorite was Cab, mostly because I didn’t care that much for his plotline and the side characters around him. I felt his part suffered from introducing too many characters at once and not having the time to develop them. Besides that, however, the characters are promising and lovable, each one with their unique voice. They are also all very queer with m/m romance in the center, a trans character, and possibly some other rep in the sequel.

All in all, Master of One is a great YA debut with a world and story that shows a lot of promise and a group of lovable misfits. I’m really curious to see how the series progresses.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings