Mask of Shadows
Young Adult Fiction
Sourcebooks Fire
September 1, 2017
EBook
384
Perfect for fantasy fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, the first book in this new duology features a compelling gender fluid main character, impressive worldbuilding, and fast-paced action. Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home. When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen's personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge. But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.
WrensReads Review:
This was me when I read this:
“Perfect for fantasy fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, the first book in this new duology features a compelling gender fluid main character, impressive worldbuilding, and fast-paced action.”
This was me about fifty pages in:
I’m not sure who decided to come up with that little quote about it being like Maas and Bardugo, but I just have one question: have you read any Mass or Bardugo? Like I understand the whole “fight and see who whens to be on this elite team” nonsense that is so wonderful in young adult books these days (Throne of Glass [which is a Sarah J Maas book], Red Queen, Hunger Games, Wolf by Wolf, ect.), but that’s where the comparisons stop.
The only thing that I felt translated well out of this novel is the gender-fluid character, Sal. The author did a tremendous job with bringing to light gender-fluidation and showing it as a normal thing. I feel like if you aren’t gender fluid, it might be hard to write about, but I feel as if Miller did a great job with that.
I also feel that Sal was the only thing unique about this book.
If you want to know more about the plot, I say just read The Hunger Games or any other fight-to-live-or-be-on-this-really-cool-and-elite-team type book.
WrensReads | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Leave a Reply