Reviews

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

precedent's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

thelibrarylady42's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

*copy provided by NetGalley*

I wanted to love this book I really did! Mostly because I was so excited about a fantasy book with a genderfluid main character and that was the best part of this book and I felt it was done pretty well.
I've never read a book with a genderfluid main character so I don't have anything to compare it to yet. Everything else was just difficult to get through.

I found myself reading and rereading passages over and over so I could understand what was going on. There were massive info dumps that meandered and didn't make much sense until I read them at least twice. I found it difficult to care about the characters.
SpoilerWhen Ruby was killed in the final battle I felt like I should be crying but I just couldn't make myself feel it. I was also a little annoyed because I felt like it was setting book two up to go through the same process only with Sal now on the other side.


Overall I just wanted so much more from this book. I will not be purchasing for the library at this time. If anyone has any suggestions about other books with genderfluid main characters, please let me know. I would love to read something better.

erebus53's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a standard blades and fantasy, YA, elimination challenge (see: Hunger Games, Battle Royale, A Gathering of Shadows), set on a backdrop of politcal unrest and genocide.
A war orphaned scrappy urchin thief vies for the honour of being official secret enforcer to the queen in this week's episode of Survivor Court Assassin.

For the trope it's still pretty well done. The love interest is only made cooler by the main character being genderfluid, but this is normalised and not a major plot point. Representation is cool, especially when it doesn't undermine storytelling. 

I can see this being the setup for an ongoing saga, and I'm not sad about it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gatun's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

A Queen who stopped a civil war by destroying the magic that allowed “shadows” to flay people alive. A Queen who was still working to hold her new kingdom together while one faction retreated to the mountains to plan their bloody return. Our Queen’s Left hand: Ruby, Emerald, Opal and Amethyst. The rings she wore on that hand. Also the names of her four personal guards/assassins.

An audition for a new Opal, the previous one having been killed by the nobles in the mountains. Twenty-three possible new opals. Five invited due to reputation or nobility. The rest walk ons. Kill your competition without being caught or killed yourself. Survive combat, poisons, the competition.


Sal (auditioneer number Twenty-Three) is the protagonist. One of the most brilliant characters I have ever encountered. Sal has a heart of rage because of what happened. Nacea, a peaceful land, was overrun by “shadows” created by mages who flayed people alive. The nobles let it happen by withdrawing all the troops to protect themselves and leave Nacea undefended. Sal saw the shadows destroy Nacea, person by person and was only one of two survivors. Sal has an adoration for the Queen who stopped the shadows and ended the war. Sal has a desire for a better life than a thief and fighter. Sal has motivation and mystery.

The story is so wonderfully constructed. Sal takes the measure of his competitors. The entire court and the Opal auditions are like a huge puzzle Sal must make sense of. Piece by piece a plan develops, not only for Sal in the competition but for the Queen to deal with her unruly nobles. I loved all the characters. Even the side characters had depth to them and felt like real people, not like parts of the scenery. The action scenes were very well written. I could see them in my mind and did not get confused on who was where or had what weapon.

I pre-ordered the hardback of Mask of Shadows. As soon as the audiobook is available for pre-order, I will be ordering it also. I am excited to see what Ms. Miller does with Sal and the plot in the sequel. The world Ms. Miller has created in Mask of Shadows is rich and begs to be explored.

I received an advance review copy of Mask of Shadows from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

jessicadoom's review against another edition

Go to review page

I really wanted to like this book 😪 But I just couldn't even finish it. - DNF at page 129

The deeper in I went, the more and more I ended up confused. Events and names would be thrown out without much background information, leaving me backpedaling often. At certain points, it felt like the book hadn't even been edited properly because certain sentences made zero sense. Even the genderfluidity was approached in a way that was difficult to understand or really grasp. And, boy, was it pretty boring for a book containing so much action. 

georgia_lauren's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

eletricjb's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Perfectly fine.

qiwi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sagittariusreads_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

lyndsiamanda's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This book was kind of meh for me, I don't know whether it was the reader of the book, or if it were the plot or a little bit of both because it seemed like an interesting book, I mean I liked the plot but how it was read just seemed a little too bland for me so maybe I'll be smart with the next one and just read it properly after I'm done with the other 30+ books I have, but yes, the plot gave me reason to go onto the next book, just not in audio form, the reader kind of just didn't do it justice to me, maybe I'll read it again, but properly, I might like it better if I do it that way. But for the first go round simply halfsies.