Mask of Shadows

ARC provided by NetGalley

Phew. I am so relieved to be done with this book.

This was a classic case of great ideas, poor execution. For a book that was basically all action, it was so dull. I think this was because from page one, it moves at a cheetah's pace, never pausing for a breath so you can absorb anything about who the characters are, the intricacies of their motivations, or why you should care. As the main character, Sal, moved from action to action, I found myself constantly wondering WHY. Sal's main motivation was straightforward—revenge—but there was hardly any deep world-building or internal character monologue for me to feel empathetic. It often felt like the actions were driving the characters, rather than the other way around, which makes it very difficult for me to connect with a book. And I just really did not connect with this one.

The main reason I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this is because Sal is gender-fluid. I was so excited to read about a gender-fluid character in a young adult fantasy book, where gender nonconforming characters are rare (they're rare in books in general). I did like that Sal's gender identity was just a part of them, but not a major plot point of the book. But I wish gender identity and sexual orientation had been discussed as a part of the world-building more. Many of the characters accepted Sal's fluidity without a question, which made me think that it was not too uncommon in their world, but that's just my inference from tiny context clues. I wanted something more concrete. There is also some misgendering of Sal by an antagonist, so be aware of that if you plan to read this book.

The brisk, action-focused writing style and impenetrable characters made this a book that wasn't for me. I hope to see more fantasy books with gender nonconforming characters and queer-inclusive worlds in the future.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
2.5 stars

Sal, Sal, Sal from a country destroyed now competes to become an assassin for the Queen. The Goal: Kill all that their kinsmen be slaughtered

Sounds interesting right? The concept really is. There are many moments in the book where I get swept away and hooked, only to be pulled out... here's why.
First off, lack of description.

Yes, I'm complaining about lack of description.... But, for example, I had no idea how these masks were supposed to look– or I thought it was written wrong because how can you have practically every character in a full face mask... then remark that their hair is messy and have them eat?? There is no way. They are that quick or graceful all the time.
Or, needing to re-read passages to figure out it the location changed, time changed or...


Second, unfortunately, is Sal themselves. Maud says to them, you are nice, at one point in the book, but... where– how–when?! Sal is so blunt when they speak and so rude... plus, without being able to see a person's face for cues, you'd think the other person would really think Sal is being so incredibly rude! I guess I didn't understand Sal's way of talking and how people liked them.

Third was the lack of action. I went in expecting action and intrigue... this might be personal, but I wanted more. I wanted Sal to DO MORE, be clever and swift and nimble like you said you are! Why are you UGH!!! Auditioning to be an assassin, but has never killed before and doesn't want to do more, but then is totally ready if need be. I just.... sigh Mostly, I was getting myself excited for nothing, so once I got used to the pace an lack of action– really didn't try to think deeply, I started enjoying the book more (there is no depth to this iceberg).

The romance... ok, this was probably my favorite part. Slow build? CHECK. Genuinely caring about the other person besides looks? C H E C K. I am all for this. I didn't completely get it especially because of one scene, but hell by that point I was already just trying to enjoy what I was getting out of the book.
The gender-fluid was a nice touch, I do admit. I'm cishet, so I don't want to comment too much and say the wrong things. I thought more could be done since I don't know many gender-fluid characters, but I mean, not every non-cis or non-hetero books needs to make a big issue about gender?? I think?? Like, yeah, normalize it man. We do need big issue books–totally important, but I think normalized ones are also equally important.

The thing is, this concept I thought was pure gold. I could probably have 3 books just on assassination training and competition and intrigue. I was ready to dive deep with Sal and figure this alllllll out. Instead, when I ended up in a kiddy pool with nowhere to dive.

In the end, I gotta confess that I'm not going to read more of the series. With blinders on, I was into it, albeit still confused, but I just don't feel it is worth my time.

This book had so much potential but fell flat for me. Lately, I have really been in the mood for diverse books with a wide array of characters. This book focuses on Sal who is this amazingly strong, independent person. They also happen to be gender-fluid. For me this was the strongest part of the book. Linsey Smith does an incredible job of making sure Sal's pronouns are not they only part of their character. They are not their gender or lack thereof. I really appreciated that the focus was on the competition rather than the character.

That being said, I really struggled with the writing in this book. I love being able to visualize the worlds I'm reading about and place myself right by the characters as they go on their journey. However, I really struggled to do that with this book. The world building was severely lacking and even simple details and descriptions were lacking. Now the character descriptions could have been intentional to add to the idea that gender does not define a person. I just personally struggled without the descriptions I'm used to in various books.

As for the actual plot, I really enjoyed the idea of the competition to become the Queen's assassin. It was a great idea, but for me the execution was lacking. There were many parts that were predictable to me and again the visualization problems made it hard for me to really involve myself in the story and immerse myself in the world.

This book had the right idea, the execution just did not work for me. I'm sure they will be other people that love this book, I just could not get past the writing.