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A review by mcf
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
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.
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.