31 May 2018

Review: Mask of Shadows

Read if you like: fantasy worlds that are gender and sexuality inclusive, assassins, thieves, and to-the-death competitions.

Mask of Shadows | Linsey Miller
Series: Mask of Shadows

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Assassins
Released: August 29th 2017
Pages: 352
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

I Needed to Win.
They Needed to Die.


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.

Hard to resist making my entire review about Ruby and HOW RUDE that ending was. He was my fave, thank you.

I was surprised by this book. It draws from familiar (slightly overdone) fantasy elements - assassin/thief, a contest) but does it in such a unique way. I loved the gemstone elements, the elite of assassins that is the Hand, and the genderfluid, queer main character. This book is exciting, dramatic, and full of dangers - and at the heart of it, grief and revenge. There's competition, romance, friendship, and plenty of murder. I really liked it.

4.5 stars


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