Reviews

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

livinliterary's review against another edition

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5.0

I need book 2 ASAP

achilleanshelves's review against another edition

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4.0

Content Warnings - Character death, mutilation including loss of limbs, misgendering

(3.5 stars)

I really enjoyed Mask of Shadows. Sal is a morally grey protagonist who is very likeable due to their clear motivations and the dynamics that they form with other characters such as Maud and Elise. The relationship in this book was so great and their scenes together were some of the best in the book. I loved the assassin-secret-killing vibes that this book had and the reason I rated this lower than I would have liked to is because I found the world to be a little thin and the description to be lacking. I personally like a fantasy world that's a little deeper however, this book is amazingly geared towards plot and character-driven readers!

raereadings's review against another edition

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I’m not super into revenge plots 

And the beginning started out too fast so I couldn’t settle into the story

cg07's review against another edition

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3.0

read

ameserole's review against another edition

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2.0

I didn't want to believe the reviews that the Mask of Shadows got but after reading it with my own eyes - I can definitely believe them. At first I wanted to read this book because of the cover. Then because it was a new author. But now I'm kind of slowly regretting reading this book, but like really deep down with a teeny tiny bit of disappointment. Other than that, I'm happy that I knocked another book off of my TBR. WOOHOO!

Let's just face the facts, instead of beating around the bush, Mask of Shadows had potential and I honestly thought it was going to be a lot better than it was. Boy, were my expectations set very high (don't do this!). It started off pretty good and the whole competition to become the Queen's next assassin had be pretty much hooked since day 1 of reading. Then there's Sal, who is our MC, and I loved everything about him/her/they. If you read the book you would understand why I just didn't call her a she because she doesn't identify with just being a girl. No, she is a him/her/they kind of person and I loved that! Sal was accepted for who they were and whatever they wanted to wear.

However, what goes up must come down. Mask of Shadows dragged on for an eternity. I swear, it felt like that! There was so much info dumping, which if it's used correctly then I don't mind but with this book I felt like my brain was melting because it couldn't compute anymore. Then you will meet confusion, just like I did - because trust me you will end up confused at some point throughout this book. I was confused about the whole magic situation but I'm hoping one day I will understand it - or I might just have to reread it and wonder where I went wrong in digesting information.

If you're looking for romance in this book, well.. keep on looking because the romance did nothing for me. I didn't really care about it and I just wanted to move on from this book.

Overall, it could have been better. I'm disappointed with myself and with this book. I guess I just wanted more.

shyguysaccount's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The cover of this book looked interesting and the plot seem like something I would greatly enjoy. I didn’t finish this book, like other review said it’s gets confusing at time like pages where missing and I’m wasn’t sure what was happening. Some parts where good but I found the book more tells you what’s happening instead of immersing you into the story, due to the fact it’s told from the main character Sal it’s not the best.
I also found it hard to learn the different characters or connect with them because there was a lack of description and felt like it skipped over not only how the characters looked but also who people are outside of the insert this person for this position, like you could switch any character with another one and it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

indecisivesailorscout's review against another edition

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5.0

Guess what, I loved this. All of it was super damn good. Sign me up for more Elise. And everyone else who isn't dead, of course.

infinity7211's review against another edition

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2.0

This book took me a while to finish. I love the concept, I love the character names, but there isn’t enough excitement to keep me from putting this book down. The last few chapters and the savior of this book. Now I want to read the second one. The fact that this series is just two books helps too.

kileymbarney's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 rounded down

mcf's review against another edition

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4.0

Actual rating: 3.5
I adored the masks, the central competition (call me a sucker for contests to the death with really specific rules), and the entire context surrounding both. In addition, the presence of a genderfluid main character was wonderful, as was the lack of in-world concern about it. In fact, based on the sometimes unexpected pronouns for other characters, there is a strong suggestion that gender identities in the world of the novel aren't particularly binary anyway. Which is awesome.

What I was less into were the romance, which seemed two-dimensional to me, and the Must! Have! Revenge! motivation, but even with those quibbles, Mask of Shadows is a hell of a lot of fun and I'm genuinely curious about where the next book will take the story.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the ARC.