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thebiblicalsatan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
emilycait's review against another edition
I picked this up ages ago because I was excited about a gender fluid protagonist in a YA fantasy novel. I really enjoyed the first book, but I waited too long and the time for this sequel is past for me. I just am over this type of YA fantasy at this point BUT I will be unhauling both books so hopefully they can find a home with a young reader exploring fantasy literature.
observerspotter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
genhuggins's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mapey's review against another edition
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a free, electronic ARC to review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
DNF at 60%
I wanted to like this book, but I just could NOT get into this. The first book, [b:Mask of Shadows|33918885|Mask of Shadows (Mask of Shadows #1)|Linsey Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492926659s/33918885.jpg|50354236], was amazing! I was pretty excited to get this sequel, but I was pretty let down.
The story itself isn't that bad. It's a continuation of the previous book and explains a lot of backstory. Unfortunately, the writing is not amazing this time around. Many scenes have been too wordy, in the sense that I have to read them a few times to fully grasp what's going on. There were a lot of grammar mistakes (which will most likely be corrected once the final copy is released, but still).
I did not connect with Sal anymore. While it's important that Sal was gender-fluid because representation matters, it just became Excessive. I swear Sal mentions that they are gender-fluid in every chapter even when it's irrelevant to the plot. It gets mentions at the most random times, like the author's just sort of saying it to remind the reader of how ~unique~ this book is to others.
It'd be like
>fight scene
>no one cares about Sal's identity
>"I have no gender, no one understands here :("
>end fight scene
Obviously I'm exaggerating, but honestly not by much.
By all means, read this sequel if you love the story. It just wasn't for me.
DNF at 60%
I wanted to like this book, but I just could NOT get into this. The first book, [b:Mask of Shadows|33918885|Mask of Shadows (Mask of Shadows #1)|Linsey Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492926659s/33918885.jpg|50354236], was amazing! I was pretty excited to get this sequel, but I was pretty let down.
The story itself isn't that bad. It's a continuation of the previous book and explains a lot of backstory. Unfortunately, the writing is not amazing this time around. Many scenes have been too wordy, in the sense that I have to read them a few times to fully grasp what's going on. There were a lot of grammar mistakes (which will most likely be corrected once the final copy is released, but still).
I did not connect with Sal anymore. While it's important that Sal was gender-fluid because representation matters, it just became Excessive. I swear Sal mentions that they are gender-fluid in every chapter even when it's irrelevant to the plot. It gets mentions at the most random times, like the author's just sort of saying it to remind the reader of how ~unique~ this book is to others.
It'd be like
>fight scene
>no one cares about Sal's identity
>"I have no gender, no one understands here :("
>end fight scene
Obviously I'm exaggerating, but honestly not by much.
By all means, read this sequel if you love the story. It just wasn't for me.
bookreader17's review against another edition
4.0
LGBT rep, we have a gender fluid character, sal is amazing. This book is so well thought out although I think I liked the first one better.
pygment's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you for this pointed cultural commentary. It's really needed now and I wonder how I can get more people to read about acceptance and the importance of diversity.
alea102039's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5