M. A. CarrickBesprekingen

I enjoyed this book a lot. Sometimes I felt like I was never going to finish it, and the names were hard for me to pronounce, but I really liked it.

This took a time to read, due to the intricate world-building and complex politics, but it was worth it!

Ahhhh.. what an ending! This book was sooo convoluted but good.

This was a convoluted but satisfying ending to the trilogy.

What a ride this book was! I mean, only by reading the blub I knew this was a book for me: a con artist, a vigilante and crime lord, plus magic? Count me in for the ride!

Ren was an absolute joy as a main character and I loved, loved, loved following her. She definitely has everything it takes to pull off such an elaborate con: she's incredibly smart and knows how to manipulate people, using her knowledge, beauty and talent for disguise to their full effect. She's also fiercely loyal, and I adored her relationship with her sister Tess. Multiple POVs alternate throughout the book, and I think that worked extremely well.

I ended up feeling really invested in all the key characters. Each of them had their share of dangerous secrets, and they were all extremely well-rounded and multilayered. Special shoutouts to Vargo, a crime lord trying to work his way into local nobility, and Serrado, the conflicted captain who wants to use the guards' resources to benefit the lower classes instead of the rich. I loved these two so much!

But this is just scratching the surface. In this book there are so. many. characters! The cast is extremely varied and diverse, and it got to the point where I really struggled to remember who everyone was (especially when some of the names look quite similar). I did find out that there was a character list at the end, which I hadn't realised up until I got there (joys of reading the e-arc version!), and I would have definitely consulted it frequently if I had! There was also a glossary, which again would have been very useful had I noticed its existence before getting to the end of the book, since I struggled with remembering a lot of this world's vocabulary. Definitely won't make that mistake again!

The world itself was beautifully built, with its complex society and history. I particularly liked that characters came from different backgrounds, and seeing the world through their eyes made it easier to understand the ethnic, religious and class conflict in the book. The local traditions were especially interesting, and so crucial to the plot, that it was a great pleasure to just learn more about them. The descriptions were quite detailed, which often was nice, but sometimes felt just a tad too long, and didn't really help the pace.

Now, the pace was where my biggest issue with this book was. I often have this problem with adult fantasy books, so it's most likely a case of "it's not you, it's me", but for a large part of the book it just felt as if I was stuck in a loop: it didn't matter how much I read in a sitting, I just wasn't moving forward. As I said, I loved the characters and I enjoyed spending time with them, and the plot was engaging, full of twists and turns and danger and revelations, but still... somehow the pace felt off. Again, this is most probably me rather than the book itself, but it took something away from the experience for me.

Overall, though, The Mask of Mirrors was a really great read. Filled with engaging characters, a complex world, lies, danger, magic and a gripping plot, it's the perfect companion in these long, cold winter days. I'll take the rest of this trilogy now, please and thank you, I need to know what Ren gets up to next!


I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

I started the year reading the first instalment in the Rook & Rose trilogy, The Mask of Mirrors, so in a way, it was only fitting that I should come full circle and end the year with its newly released second book, The Liar's Knot.

I had really enjoyed the first book, so my expectations were very high for the second one, even though I was a bit worried about a possible case of "middle book syndrome". But as it turns out, I worried for nothing and my expectations were not only fully met, but exceeded by this amazing book!

The Liar's Knot picks up soon after the events of the first book, as everyone struggles to come to terms with what happened and the consequences of that for Nadezra as a whole. There is an impressive amount of secrets going around, and I absolutely loved seeing how the various characters interacted, knowing who was hiding what from whom. What could have easily become an overly complex mess is handled extremely well, with never a moment of confusion (for me at least; there were plenty of those for the characters...) and it's not dragged along any longer than it needs to be.

Because of the high-level duplicitousness in this book, it's extremely easy to accidentally venture into spoiler territory, so I won't go into a lot of detail. Suffice it to say that everything I had enjoyed in the previous book, I absolutely adored in this one.

The characters were fantastic, so complex and fleshed out it was an absolute joy to spend time with them. The cast is big and I still had some difficulty keeping some of the minor characters straight in my head, but I had no trouble at all following the main group. Ren and Vargo confirmed themselves as my absolute faves, but I loved everyone else too, especially some of the newer characters that didn't get quite as much airtime in the first books. The relationships really get room to breathe in this book, and it was a delight to read. The banter between the Rook and the Rose was stellar, and I couldn't get enough of that between Vargo and his spider either!

The worldbuilding is also amazing, complex yet explained in a way that makes it easy to follow and understand. I did struggle with some of the words (which I had almost completely forgotten from the first book), but thankfully I remembered to look for the glossary this time, so that particular crisis was averted! There were plenty of moments for learning and reflection throughout, and I really enjoyed how this book took its time to develop those aspects and the magic system further instead of blindly rushing ahead with the plot.

There were still enough adventure, intrigue, and swashbuckling to keep things moving, including a curse and a secret cult as well as your run-of-the-mill con artistry, criminality, and vigilantism. Oh, and let's not forget masked balls and AMAZING fashion!

The Liar's Knot had everything I dreamed of for the second book in the series, and more! Somehow, it managed to be even more amazing than the first and an all-round fantastic second book. I can't believe I have to wait so long for the next one, but I can't wait to see what comes next!

For more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

can you give me three possible titles for the following review:

The Liar's Knot by MA Carrick is the second book in the Rook and Rose series. House Indestor may be deposed, and the balance of power shifted but things are still in flux.

This captivating story will entangle readers in a web of deception, intrigue, and sorcery. Carrick skillfully weaves a complex narrative that challenges readers to unravel the mystery of a realm on the brink of ruin. Their writing style is exquisite, with a cadence that mesmerizes and a depth that dazzles.

The world-building in The Liar's Knot is all-encompassing, transporting readers to a vividly-realized world of magic and intrigue. The characters are multifaceted, with intricate personalities that are imbued with nuance and depth. Carrick's attention to detail is remarkable, and the plot is laced with intricate twists and turns that keep readers enthralled until the very end. The cultures of Nadezra, both Vraszenian and Liganti, and cuffs and knots, are utterly fascinating.

The magic system in The Liar's Knot is seamlessly integrated into the world, evoking a sense of realism that is both enchanting and plausible. The different cultures, Vraszenian and Liganti, favour quite different magical systems. One focuses on cards, and patterns, and is far more free-form like any oracle card system is. The other (numinatria) focuses on precision and logic.

In conclusion, The Liar's Knot is a delightful addition to the Rook and Rose series. Highly recommended!

****Many thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Exciting conclusion to the trilogy, where all the contending groups—divided by ethnicity and power—fight for control of the city as the protagonists fight to destroy the magic chains that have turned the city’s rulers bad for generations. The main trio has very strong threesome energy, sigh.

Second book in Rook & Rose, with even more city-state intrigue as the characters plot, reveal secrets, and learn more about the magic that is trying to tear their city apart. The magical artifacts they’re after corrupt everyone who touches them, but there may be no alternative if they are to destroy the artifacts and prevent the rise of a new tyrant. It’s good fun (though I’m still hoping for an OT3 outcome for the three main characters).

Ren is a young woman trying to con her way into an elite family. She runs into curses, extreme revolutionaries, bureaucracy, people from her past, and more. Told mostly from her point of view, with short forays into the minds of other characters.

Set in a lush and well-built multicultural fantasy world that was based on a friend's RPG campaign. The novel deals with themes of colonization, empire, and identity. There are many real-world analogs. Nadezra seems to be a stand-in for Venice; it is a city of islands and the residents love masks. The Rook is a Scarlet Pimpernel-like figure who has been attacking malicious nobles on behalf of the locals for over 200 years. There are multiple magic systems, including one reminiscent of Tarot cards I liked the mix of languages: the imperial elite use Latin/Italian words; the local language is more Eastern European, and another character seems Welsh.

I read this as a digital ARC that was missing illustrations, including maps. At least the appendices were included. I might read the next on in the series. I suspect it will have much more romance.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was a mixed bag for me. The opening story was engaging, and the authors clearly put a lot of effort into building this vibrant world. Still, lacking background information, crazy tonal shifts, and shoehorned in extraneous details made it very hard to follow all the way through.

Full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-m-a-carrick-the-mask-of-mirrors/

Really engaging fantasy about Ren, a con artist who comes to a city and pretends to be the daughter of an estranged member of a noble house. But the house has more problems and less money than she expected, and she quickly becomes tangled up in the politics of the city, which include ethnic tensions (between conquerer and conquered in particular). Meanwhile, a new drug is killing people, and poor children are dying from lack of sleep, and the mysterious Rook, who’s been fighting noble oppression for two hundred years, is also intersecting with the various figures around Ren. These include Leato, her putative cousin; Vargo, the crime lord who thinks he can use Ren to become respectable; and the turncoat guard who works for the rulers despite the contempt of his people. Also there’s magic—the dreaming world can become real; the different groups use magic differently and aren’t necessarily believers in the soundness of each other’s forms. I really enjoyed it.½

What mask will you wear when the pattern draws your last card?

First of all, HOW DARE YOU--
--write something so delicious as to be devoured in one night. Second, if you love court and political intrigue, if you love the masquerade that is life, if you love the Princess Bride and Fantasy and twists and turns and hidden daggers in voluminous gowns you are going to want to get this book.

I can't mess up a sentence badly enough to pack everything this book has. I read it in a day, and I think that says a lot.

One Sentence Summary: Now officially a member of the Traementis family, Ren finds herself wearing four different masks and accidentally falling into helping the Rook with his goal of cleansing Nadezra of the poison spread by the king who conquered the country.

Warning: Spoilers for the first book, The Mask of Mirrors, lie directly ahead.

Overall
The Liar’s Knot is the second in the Rook & Rose trilogy and serves to pull the three main characters tighter together. Just as in the first book, the world is rich and detailed and the characters are walking fine lines with the different masks they wear and the different paths they walk towards what appear to be the same goals. A lot of the first half felt slow and focused too much on how Ren worked to balance all of the different masks she now wears, but the second half definitely spun a more complicated web that drew her closer to Grey and Vargo, and the two men closer than they probably ever wanted. Overall, this is a complex and layered story where some of it was a little difficult to keep straight and I, frankly, gave up on trying to figure it all out, but the storytelling is incredible and I never really felt like I was missing out on anything.

Extended Thoughts
Following the events of The Mask of Mirrors, Ren the con artist has successfully conned herself into the Traementis family and has become newly inscribed into the family register as Renata, Vargo has been ennobled but still keeps his Lower Bank business all while pursuing something greater involving numinatria and his spider companion, and Grey has been revealed as the Rook. But things get complicated quickly as their seemingly different paths converge.

Now wearing four masks (Arenza the Vraszenian szorsa, Renata the newest member of House Traementis, Ren the con artist, and Lady Rose who was born from Azerais’s Dream), Ren finds it increasingly difficult to keep her different identities separate, especially when they all keep drawing her closer and closer to Vargo and Grey. But, as that happens, she becomes increasingly aware of the two men’s goals: one to help a longtime companion find his revenge and the other to cleanse the city of a poison spread by Kaius Rex, the man who took over Nadezra centuries before.

Just like the first book, The Liar’s Knot dumped me straight into the world and the story, but, fortunately, it was a lot easier to pick it all back up than it was to get to know it for the first time in the first book. What I love about this trilogy is how lush and utterly intricately detailed the world is. It provides a real, moving backdrop for the characters and story to move around in. But that’s not to say the world building is the only fantastic part of this book and the trilogy as a whole. The story always has something to throw in, something to keep things moving and keep the reader guessing. So many revelations are made, and I always think they come too soon, but then more questions and mysteries arise and I come to understand I really don’t know what’s going to happen and what to expect and that’s truly the best reading experience for this reader. The characters, too, are incredibly realistic and Ren’s exhaustion having to keep up four different personas was palpable. I do wish some of the more minor characters had more opportunities to shine, but this is really Ren, Vargo, and Grey’s story, and it definitely was an incredible one to read.

I adore everything about this world. There’s history to it and structure that makes it live and breathe. It very much feels like the authors thought out every little detail to create an incredibly rich tapestry full of depth and color. It’s so detailed, but not in a completely overwhelming way, that I didn’t even need the included map to figure out where everything was and what it might look like. I loved the variation in the different areas and how it affected the ways in which people lived. But I also really enjoyed the conflict between the conquering Liganti and the native Vraszenian. There’s clearly a struggle, and yet the world functions extremely well, in terms of the story being told. What I loved most, though, was feeling like I was dropped into the world and it rose up in my mind so I could walk around with the characters.

Honestly, Ren was a little exhausting. With four different personas, much of the story was focused on her and what felt like her day-to-day life. I really enjoyed the romance introduced into her life, but I felt there were quite a few quiet moments when more important and interesting things were being done by other characters. It also kind of made her seem like she was jumping from one mask to another and no one really seemed to question it. I would have appreciated more conflict between all four masks and how it might impact the people around her. But I did feel she carried it off well, and things started to feel a lot simpler when she started revealing herself.

Vargo, as always, was a ton of fun. Rising from Lower Bank scum to having a noble house of his own, and an opportunity to get a Cinquerat seat, I couldn’t help but admire how he so neatly balanced the two sides of himself. He’s not wholly welcome in either world now that he straddles both, but he makes it work. The best part of him though is his spider friend. I loved everything about that revelation and how it helped develop the story and make things a lot more fun for more of the characters. I love how his personality felt like it kept shifting, but I think, deep down, he’s really a good guy, even if some of what he does is quite questionable.

And then there’s Grey. I love Grey so much. He’s upright and moral, always trying to do the right thing. He looks out for his own, and his struggles were sometimes just so difficult that I really felt for him. The two sides of him were a lot of fun and I loved that he was able to play both roles while still maintaining the core of himself. It was fantastic to really get to know both sides since his secret was revealed at the end of the first book, and I loved how it did and didn’t change the way he interacted with the other characters. Because of it, there are some fun bits that I really enjoyed, but it also made the ending a little heartbreaking for me, and leaves me wondering quite a bit.

But I really have to mention Giuna here. I wish there had been more of her because she really came into her own and it was amazing! From the almost timid girl in the first book who’s starry eyed at her long-long cousin, she really grew in this book. It was fantastic to see her growth, and her developing a tough spine. I just wish she’d had more scenes. Her and Tess. Tess certainly had to her role to play and did it to perfection; I just wish we’d seen more of her as well. I was dearly missing out on Ren and Tess scenes, but it was understandable.

The Liar’s Knot certainly presents a tangled, knotted story that just tightened as the story wore on. So many revelations occur, so many changes take place that the tangled web just seemed to grow ever more tangled and ever more tighter. As much as some scenes were on the boring side and didn’t necessarily add to the story, they helped develop the characters and their relationships, which really helped create the knotted story that drew them so tightly together. There were many times where I just had no idea where the story was going and I felt a little frustrated at the beginning with it’s slow start and not much happening. But then, like the first book, the halfway point came and then everything just seemed to cascade into an impossible to untangle knot.

The Liar’s Knot presents a complicated, layered story. Despite some slower parts and scenes that don’t really advance the story much, there’s a richness to this story and world that makes reading it into an immersive experience. I really enjoyed walking through the story and world with the characters. I loved how they became wound tighter and tighter together despite the tensions that arose and previously existed between them. Most of all, I loved how they all had to balance the different parts of who they are. There were times when it felt almost pointless for them to try to hide from each other, but some of it was quite a bit of fun. Overall, The Liar’s Knot is an incredible second book in the trilogy and I look forward to what the final book has to offer and how it’ll close out the story of Ren, Grey, and Vargo.

Thank you to Angela Man at Orbit for a physical review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

As a child, the city betrayed Ren in many ways, and now she’s back to exact revenge: by conning her way into the nobility, only to find out there’s a deeper game afoot and she somehow plays a role.

I’ll be honest and say the cover was a big reason why I wanted to read this book. The masks had me dreaming of Carnevale in Italy, but, after reading the book, I’m pretty sure I read somewhere one time that there were Slavic influences woven through the world, and I kept getting an Eastern European feel to it with tarot cards thrown in for good measure. It was kind of a dizzying world and something of a slog to get into, what with being thrown into a completely foreign world and having to wade through almost incomprehensible titles, families, places, and terms. It was confusing and I just gave up on trying to keep everything straight, hoping it would become clearer the longer I read on, which it did as the story picked up and took quite a few terms to become one of my favorite reads.

The Plot: Where Games Come to be Played
Ren was orphaned as a young child when her mother was killed and robbed. She ended up being raised alongside Tess and Sledge by their knot leader Ondrakja, but the city once again betrays her as Ondrakja kills Sledge as punishment to Ren. So Ren poisons Ondrakja, committing an unforgivable betrayal of her knot, and runs from Nadezra with Tess.

Years later, Ren and Tess are back. Aiming to take revenge on a city that has stolen everything from her by conning her way into the noble Traementis family, Ren poses as Renata Viraudax, the daughter of a woman struck from the Traementis register, with Tess as her maid. She makes waves as she ensures everyone in the city knows her name so the remaining Traementis family can’t ignore her. She also draws the attention of a masked vigilante known as the Rook and reformed criminal named Vargo who has eyes on joining the nobility himself.

Ren is drawn into a web, a dizzying game being played around her without her being aware of it while she plays her own, that has her reaching into her Vraszenian roots and playing both sides of the city, the Nadezran half and the Vraszenian half as the two clash in a class war around her.

The Mask of Mirrors is, as I’ve mentioned, dizzying. The reader is tossed whole body into a completely foreign world where nobles aren’t even lords and ladies, but altans and altas. There’s a handy cast of characters and a glossary that I found myself referencing throughout the book, but I found it easier to figure out by simply shrugging it off and hoping it would make sense and the pieces would fall into place as I read along. But it was often confusing and slow going as story and world building wound so tightly around each other. It was difficult trying to understand one piece without the other. So, the beginning was kind of a dizzy mess and will likely merit some re-reading. But I did like getting to know Ren as both Ren and Renata and the history that drove her to doing what she was doing. It was fascinating to read about how she worked to con the nobility of Nadezra.

The middle both disappointed and thrilled me. At its start, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at a too common device used in fantasy. It felt like an easy way out to transition from the story of Ren conning her way into the Traementis family to the story of a disgruntled woman from Ren’s past and the story of a larger con game afoot throughout the city. Really, it’s quite a lot packed into this book, and I’m a little surprised it, more or less, flowed. But that middle part, as much as it had me rolling my eyes and feeling a little letdown, really did come through and add a little more to the story. Though it also bloated the story to near bursting.

The second half of the book was kind of a roller coaster. I found it impossible to put down. There was so much going on, so many events, so many different disparate parts coming together into a whole. I loved that control slipped from Ren and an entirely more sinister plot brewed to throw the city into chaos, chaos that maybe only Ren could help temper. It was an incredible ride and, at the end, I was mad that it ended and I would have to wait for the next book to be published because, by then, I’d gotten a good grasp on the world and was so pulled into the games being played that I wanted to read more. I don’t think I’ve ever been so indignantly angry at a book before.

The Characters: Focused on a Core Group
Like most fantasies, The Mask of Mirrors comes with a large cast of characters, but not so large as the dramatis personae list would have you believing. There are quite a few minor characters that do carry some importance, but the reader doesn’t really get to meet or interact much with them. Instead, the story is focused on a handful or so people, making it much easier to keep track of them and where in the world and the story they belonged.

There’s Ren and Tess who are sisters and have spent years together. Ren is the con artist while Tess plays her role as a lady’s maid and is quite a wizard with a needle. They’re a lovely pair that balance each other and I adore the close, sisterly bond they share. Tess is more of a shrinking violet, always unsure of herself when not playing Ren’s maid. Ren was, essentially, three faced as she portrayed herself, Renata the noblewoman, and Arenza the Vraszenian pattern reader. It was a lot of fun reading how she managed to pull them all off and keep them all separate. I thought Ren was much more boring than Renata, though, and Arenza didn’t do much but dutifully play her role. I liked that she was able to pull off all three, but I find I don’t really know Ren herself.

Then there’s Vargo and the Traementis family and the Rook. Each portrays a different part of Nadezran society. Vargo is the reformed crime lord trying to edge his way into the nobility, and he will play anyone and every game to do so. But there’s something suave about him, something that’s both oily and alluring. The Traementis family is rapidly diminishing, both in size and wealth. With the arrival of Renata, they number four. The matriarch is, of course, suspicious, but her children, Leato and Giuna welcome her as a long-lost cousin. There’s both distrust and desperation in the once prominent noble family. The Rook is a symbol for the Vraszens. A shadowy, unknown figure that has endured for 200 hundred years, the Rook exacts revenge for the lower classes, but seems to have a separate vendetta of it’s own.

Put together, the characters alone, with how diverse they are, hints at a huge story. Each is a different cog in a plot the reader only starts to learn of in the latter half of the book. There’s much at stake for each of them, but bonds also grow that will likely be tested over and over before the story is concluded.

The Setting: Focused on a City, but Complex
The Mask of Mirrors presents a fascinating, yet confusing world. As the reader is simply dropped into it and the authors don’t take a moment to introduce anything, it feels like a crazy mass of made up words that only slowly spin into a cohesive world. Instead, all the explaining is left to the glossary, requiring much flipping back and forth.

But I do have to admit that, as ambitious as it is, it somehow works. Once I was as fully oriented as I could be, or could at least keep altas and altans separate. I kept expecting Venice to pop up, especially with the prevalence of masks and all the canals, but Poland kept invading my thoughts. I definitely got more of an Eastern European feel than Italian, which just made things more muddled in my mind.

As I read on, though, I adjusted to the world unfolding before me to the point where I was fully drawn into it. I loved how it depicted a city full of the people native to Nadezra, the Vraszenians, and the descendants of the invaders. It’s a classic class story of the conquerors shoving down the people who were there first. But now things are becoming heated as cogs begin to turn, creating a city of unrest and distrust.

On another level, there’s a more mystical component at play. The magic is in the form of numinatria, designs that, when drawn a certain way, induce different kinds of behavior in the people caught up in it. But there’s also pattern magic, accessible only to Vraszenian pattern readers who take what are, essentially, tarot cards, and tell someone’s fortune and misfortune and that which is neither. The magic is subtle, but strong, and I get the feeling there’s more yet to be unraveled about how, exactly, it all works considering how strong the pattern magic of the Vraszenians are and how predominant the numinatria of the Nadezrens are.

Overall: Amazing After a Shaky Start
While The Mask of Mirrors started on shaking footing for me, I’m glad I stuck with it. It was absolutely slow going, but, by going as slowly as I needed to, I was better able to absorb the story and the world to the point where I really didn’t want it to end. As confused as I was at first, I found myself angry that I would have to wait for the next book to be published to find out what was going to happen next. I was not ready to stop reading, especially since the real story of the series was just starting to gear up. I wasn’t a fan of how the story seemed to evolve from one thing to another, but it all made sense and, thinking back, I can see wisps of the overarching story reaching all the way back to the first pages. Overall, an almost too bloated and ambitious story, but fascinating enough for me to eagerly anticipate the next book.

Thank you to Angela Man and Orbit for electronic and physical ARC copies. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ren comes to town planning to con one of the noble families, acting the part of a long-lost niece, but soon finds herself part of a much larger game. The Traementis family is down to only three members and face an enemy in the Indestors. Son Leato Traementis is good friends with Grey Serrado, a member of the Vigil who has a strong sense of justice but who is stymied because Indestor is ultimately his boss - but who still is investigating missing street kids. And Vargo, a ruthless and cunning man, looks for Ren's help but his exact motives and ultimate goal remain elusive.

Fun characters and complicated world-building make this fantasy book an absolute delight. The world includes a ruling class of nobility and the conquered, Leganti and Vedezran, who each have their own religions, naming conventions, and way of speaking. The political tensions and intrigue become central to the story, but at its core is Ren and her friends and allies, fascinating and complicated characters you can't help but root for.½

eek! the third in the trilogy is not out yet? but i'm so ready for it now... write faster. i wouldn't have gone with the bit more romance, myself, but i'm probably in the minority there. the complex system of magic seems perfectly familiar in this second book, which is a feat in itself. and just keeping straight the lies required by all three principals, in the context of each maintaining as many as three different personas, is a high-wire act of writing they actually pull off - though it's rather a relief when that part's over and they all come clean (well, mostly clean).

possibly a tad overcomplicated, but a fine romp just the same. intrigue, various forms of magic, and a collision of classes, clans, and secrets lead to a tricky coalition of a con artist, a crime lord, an aristocrat, and a vigilante, who all seek for their own reasons to restore justice to a medievalist city.

I received this novel from Orbit Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

It’s been less than a year since I read and enjoyed the first book in this series, The Mask of Mirrors, so I was quite eager to see how the story of Ren’s “long con” continued, given the unexpected developments and the intrigue-laden background that made that novel such an enticing read. Well, I was quite enthusiastic about the way in which The Liar’s Knot moved the story forward, keeping the pace lively while at the same changing the stakes in the game.

Former street rat Ren succeeded in her goal of being accepted by House Traementis after posing as a long-lost relative, but she’s come to unexpectedly care for her adoptive family and the misfortunes that are slowly bringing it down, to the point that she’s risking much to unravel the longtime plots woven against them, and in so doing she discovers that the problem is far more widespread and possesses deeper roots encompassing the whole city of Nadezra. Juggling her three personalities - noblewoman Renata Viraudaux, fortune-teller Arenza Lenskaya and the mysterious Black Rose - becomes even more difficult as perilous currents threaten to upset the city’s fragile balance and her carefully constructed personalities are in danger of being unmasked.

Captain Grey Serrado is experiencing even more conflict than before: while it’s never been easy to be a Vraszenian officer of the Vigil in a Liganti-ruled city, other problems are surfacing that make his difficult path even harder, and his quest to avenge his brother’s death even more complicated. Moreover, his growing feelings for Renata/Arenza are adding another layer to an already burdensome mix…

Last but not least, crime lord Derossi Vargo, even after being accepted in Nadezra’s high society, struggles with his past and the burning thirst for power that has fueled all his endeavors, and that struggle starts to show some chinks in his apparently impenetrable armor.

Where the first book in the series was more focused on Ren’s daring gamble of passing for a noblewoman to finally gain some financial security for herself and her adopted sister Tess, here the story rests more on a deeper world-building and on the exploration of Nadezran society, a world where intrigue, appearances and ruthless political maneuvering make one’s life quite complicated - not to say dangerous. At the end of The Mask of Mirrors the dramatic events in which Ren played a considerable part had left Nadezra shaken and its people struggling to recover a semblance of normalcy. In The Liar’s Knot we start to perceive that the corruption - both political and magic-related - runs far deeper and threatens to destroy the uneasy balance between the various factions, and that many of those in charge have little or no care for the consequences, as long as they can be assured more power.

The universe created by the authors (M.A. Carrick is the pen name uniting Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms) is a very complex, many-layered one and here we see much more of the magic system underlying it - both its wonders and its dangers - while the sense of impending doom, of time dangerously running out, becomes more and more tangible with each new chapter. And against that doom our characters fight with all their resources, to the point of forging unexpected alliances that would have looked impossible in the first book of the saga. Ren, Serrado, Vargo and even the Rook (the masked avenger who has been righting the city’s wrongs for two centuries) come to team up against the evil threatening Nadezra, and even when that alliance feels uneasy they manage to work together well: given that all of the characters here are holding secrets (be they identity- or goal-related) the teamwork is at times fraught with suspicion, adding more fuel to an already tense situation, and proving quite entertaining for the readers who enjoy the privilege of holding all the information while the characters possess only a limited amount of it.

This fragmented knowledge also gives way to many misunderstandings that put at risk the fragile ties that some characters are building - one such case creates a quite dramatic scene between two of them (and no, I’m not offering any spoilers here…) - but the authors very wisely choose not to drag this situation beyond the breaking point: I very much enjoyed their choice of having the characters unburden themselves of some of their secrets, with the double effect of clearing the air and strengthening their alliance on one side, and of creating some poignant moments where they could be their true selves, even if only for a short while. I found this quite emotionally satisfying.

Character-wise, Ren here is stretched to the limits of her endurance: the drawn-out need to play many roles is starting to weigh on her, compounded by the distance she’s forced to keep with Tess - sister and confidante - because she cannot be seen to be too close to her “maid”. This forces her to rely on others - Grey and Vargo - for support and despite her understandable reluctance one can see how the choice is helping her to bring the better parts of her personality to the fore, particularly where her intrinsic kindness is concerned.

Grey Serrado was something of a mystery to me in the first book, and I perceived there were untapped depths in his character: here he’s given more space to grow and to reveal more of himself to the reader, so that he grew on me more than it happened before, even though I have to admit that he pales in comparison with Vargo, who appeared from the beginning as the more intriguing among the many figures of this story. We see much more of him in The Liar’s Knot, and what we see fills out his personality in a wonderful way, particularly when we come to understand that under the thick skin of the ruthless crime lord there is a history of pain and vulnerabilities seeking redress from a society that always snubbed him.

And it would be impossible to talk of Vargo without also mentioning Alsius, the venomous spider riding on the man’s coat and telepathically linked to him: all of my questions from book 1 received an answer here - and some of those answers are quite momentous! - and the authors also gave him and independent voice that proved to be delightfully funny and quite enjoyable.

The Liar’s Knot is an intense, totally engrossing read that moves forward the series through quite dramatic developments and that keeps the reader enthralled with its many twists and revelations, very effectively giving the lie to the notion that a series’ middle book tends to be weaker: with the foundations laid by the saga so far, we can only expect an explosive conclusion, and I am more than looking forward to it.

4 1/2 stars only because I won't rate a book 5 stars on my first read, I'm sure it'll be a 5 next read.

I loved the world of Nadezra, a little like Venice but with a fewer bridges and islands but the thing that really made me love the book were the characters. So many to like and a few to hate, I think the most developed characters are the ones that we actually a love. Favorites for me, were Ren, Tess and the Rook along with a character who came into her own throughout the book Giuna. Ondrakja was a great villain.

The magic systems are cool, they use magic for mundane things to make there lives easier like water purification, birth control, security.

“You carry the gift. Use it to see—to find our path through this storm.”

Ren bit her lip. What path? What gift?

She means reading pattern.

The Mask of Hollows. Four Petals Fall. Sword in Hand. The Mask of Chaos. And at the center of the pattern, Storm Against Stone.

This reminded me of Roger Zelany's Amber, but instead of Tarot Card walking a pattern between worlds in Amber, Ren walks through a drug and magic dream pattern.


I was surprised that Grey was the Rook, I'd hoped that it was Oksana Ryvček I thought both Grey and the Rook were at the Wellspring , also surprised that Leato was killed off so early.

The ending makes Ren think that Vardo has been using her but I'm not really sure that is the case, while he did let Indestor use him, he didn't know that Ren would be hurt or Leato killed. I think it is more likely that Vardo is using Iascat Novrus.

I hope Tess forgives Pavlin in the next book and finds some kind of happiness, she is such a nice person. I hope Pavlin does something to regain her trust so that she can.

This book has made it to my favorites list. The world-building was rich and detailed without any data-dumps that I could identify (pet peeve) ; instead, it was progressively revealed through character interaction (which can be a tad disorienting for some in the beginning until enough has been filled in to provide context for the rest of the story). The world location had a Venetian feel, with the intrigue of a noble court ruling over a conquered city that seems to be in decline. There is an undercurrent of rebellion from the original inhabitants, who seem to be modeled from Gypsy Roma and Traveller clan cultures. Stir in a seedy criminal element amongst the poor and oppressed majority and you have set the stage for all kinds of drama and intrigue. Proper names are a bit of a challenge with letter decorations not often seen in English; while it helps give the story an exotic flavor, it also slows down reading quite a bit and may put some readers off (I am actually not a fan of this technique, but it was close enough that I could skim over most of it and still figure out what it was referencing). I did actually enjoy the constant word play ... with the Vigil (police force), knots (gangs - slipknots are traitors) and pattern decks (tarot). Even the magic system was well thought out and fairly diverse with derivatives of oneiromancy (not my favorite), cartomancy, astromancy and numeromancy/geomancy (eg. Feng Shui) fairly prominent within the story (and not over the top powerful in most cases). Plus 1 star just for the fantastic world that I found here.

The central character (Ren) is a former pick pocket/gang banger just trying to survive along with her sister; and after betraying her capo, her best bet seems to to be a long con targeting the weakest of the noble houses. Now a creature of both worlds (noble and peasant), she proves to be ideally suited for the complex world building the authors do so well. With the gentry, you have the expected power politics. With common folk, you get tribal/social politics. Within each, Ren finds unexpected friends and allies, as she juggles identities like a secret agent. Throw in a mysterious Zorro-like figure and my mind was spinning after each new reveal trying to figure it all out (several time I though I had it ... but I was wrong). With all of the complex plots running through the story, it is amazing that most of them all pulled together in a satisfying finish ... bad guys foiled, good guys live to fight another day (and this is important ... there are a few things left unresolved, but there is not a cliff in sight ... and I still want to read the next book).

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheMaskOfMirrors #NetGalley

The first half of the story had me simultaneously cheering for Ren and being appalled by her. The tone was quite different by the end. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Everything about this book was utterly amazing, and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

So why was it amazing?

Let's start with the cover. I have a problem where I do actually tend to judge books by their covers. I mean, doesn't everyone to an extent? That cover is absolutely gorgeous, and one of the reasons I was first interested in reading this one. The description on the back didn't do it justice, and from what I read, I thought it was going to be a completely different story.

Then, the characters. Wow. I loved them all. Ren, Tess, Leato, Vargo, Captain Grey Serrado... Most of these characters were morally grey with their own motives and desires, sometimes utilizing questionable means to achieve their ends. I love characters like that, ones that aren't inherently "good" or "bad" but have qualities of each - which makes them realistic and relatable. Vargo was possibly the most "despicable" - the one that came from an "unsavory" background and trying to make it in elite society - and even though he is still a crime boss, you can't help but root for him.

The world-building was intricate and very well done. There was an interview (http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/m-a-carrick/) where the authors spoke about, among other things, how they worked together to write this story. I found it very interesting and insightful. In this same interview, they also talk about their inspiration for the book, and discuss the development of the language, culture, and world - for example, Liganti was more Latin/Italian based and put more stock in astrology, where Vraszenian culture was more based on Slavic languages and used pattern decks. The language was just one part of the world that was so intricately developed, and it really showed that the authors put a lot of work into their world. The authors also spent a lot of time describing fashions and fabrics, which I loved.

One of my favorite parts of any book is when I learn why the book is titled as it is. While the title of the book (as the others in the series will be as well) is based on one of the pattern cards, the full series title doesn't make sense until the end; every time the Rook appeared, I wanted to know - who or what is the Rose? So you do find out in this one, and I'm excited for the role the Rose will play in the future books in this series.

The story itself kept me on the edge of my seat, especially the end. I like how the authors wrapped up the story enough, but left strands to pick up in the next book instead of having the story end in a HUGE cliffhanger where nothing is resolved. The one thing missing in this eARC was the lack of map and appendix; however, in the final copy of the book, there is a beautiful map along with a glossary and list of "Dramatis Personae", which are all super helpful and eally does a lot to enhance the reading experience.

Inclusivity is important, and in this queer-norm world, there were several LGBTQ+ characters. I love stories like this where these characters can just *exist* without it being a big deal.

I tried to think of one single thing I didn't like about this book, and I honestly couldn't think of a single thing -- well, unless you count that I can't read the rest of the series yet... -- it was that good. You can tell how much work and love and detail went into this book, and it made it all the more enjoyable to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books (they're killing it lately!) for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I received this novel from Orbit Books, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

When I first became aware of The Mask of Mirrors I was intrigued because it promised to portray many of the elements I enjoy in a story, like a daring confidence game, many political maneuverings and an interesting social background. The book contains all of that and much more, delivering a story that went well beyond my initial expectations.

The city of Nadezra, formerly the center of the Vraszenian culture, has been for several generations under Liganti domination, the original inhabitants looked on by the conquerors as second-class citizens: in the past, the stipulation of the Accords created a sort of truce between the two factions, but social and political unrest are always ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. Ren, a former Vraszenian street urchin now graduated to successful con artist, has concocted a daring plan to insinuate herself in the powerful Traementis family posing as Renata Viraudax, the daughter of a relative who left Nadezra long ago: once accepted by these Liganti nobles she hopes to be able to enjoy all the comforts of wealth for herself and her adopted sister Tess, now posing as Renata’s maid.

Unfortunately, the Traementis are not as influential or wealthy as they used to be, and Ren finds herself enmeshed in ever-convoluted political schemes geared toward helping the Traementis regain their former status so that she can help herself in turn. This plot-within-plot game, however, turns out to be more than Ren could possibly handle, because it dovetails with someone’s malicious strategy to foment a Vraszenian insurrection whose short- and far-reaching consequences are worryingly unclear….

While I am reluctant to reveal more about the plot to avoid spoiling your pleasure in uncovering it as the story develops, I can enjoy much more freedom in the description of the fascinating background in which the novel is set, and of the wide range of characters peopling it: these two elements blend in a captivating whole, and if the pacing feels slightly on the slow side at the start of the book, I can assure you that once the avalanche starts its inexorable downward shift, it gains speed at a breakneck, breath-stealing pace until the conclusion.

Nadezra is a fascinating place: a city built on a series of islands connected by bridges and waterways, its Venice-like quality enhanced by the description of dark alleys and wide plazas, of canals hosting floating markets or covered by impenetrable fogs that conceal both beauty and misdeeds. It’s also a place of glaring contradictions where the mansions of the affluent give way to the poorest hovels or to the crumbling buildings from which crime lords direct their armies of young thugs. And where magic permeates many of the aspects of everyday life.

The two coexisting cultures engage in different kinds of magic: the Liganti employ numinatria, which requires channeling power through a form of numerology focused by special geometrical shapes, while the Vraszenian prefer a form of Tarot based on a deck of cards that show the pattern shaping any given individual’s life. Moreover, objects can be imbued, i.e. gifted with special properties that make them more effective in their everyday use. In this world magic is so pervasive as to be almost mundane at times, but it also plays a pivotal role in the story arc, and with literally mind-bending effects and consequences.

In such a fascinating background, the characters are equally intriguing, starting with Arenza or Ren, both as herself and in the assumed persona of Renata Viraudax: she is a consummate con artist with a harsh past, playing a dangerous scheme to ensure a comfortable future for herself and her adopted sister Tess. Ren is the perfect representative of Nadezran society, one where playing a part, saying a thing while thinking another, is the rule, and she manages this feat with consummate ability. It took me a little while to warm up to Ren (even though I enjoyed her character from page one) because of the callous way in which she acts, but as the story progressed I was able to see her frailties and insecurities, to learn the horrors of her past and to understand where she comes from, emotionally.

The perfect (and quite enjoyable) foil for Ren is represented by Derossi Vargo, a powerful mobster whose ambitions of cleaning up his act and joining respectable society make him an interesting, multi-layered character whose very unpredictability is his most fascinating quality. To call him ambiguous would be a massive understatement, and he maintains this ambiguity to the very end, where an important revelation enhanced my expectations for the next book in the series, particularly in respect of my deep curiosity about the identity and role of a certain Alsius - if you read the book, you know what I mean…

On the opposite side of the personality spectrum is Grey Serrado, a Vraszenian who joined the the city’s law enforcement ranks and is forced to walk a fine line between the pull of his origins and the need to bring order and justice to a city where both concepts are too often mistreated if not ignored: the tight rope of conflicting loyalties he’s forced to walk soon managed to earn my sympathy, and I hope he will be given more narrative space in the next installments, because I feel there is still an untapped potential there, one that the final section of the novel seems to point at.

And then there is the Rook, a mysterious, hooded and masked figure whose acts in defense of the poor and the weak have become legendary - and have been for some two hundred years, hinting at a series of people taking up that mantle over time.

These are the major players, but there are other figures I was able to appreciate, like Donaia Traementis, the iron lady at the head of the failing house, whose strength of character, even in the face of many adversities, is a delight to behold; or young Tess, Ren’s sidekick, accomplice and moral support, whose skills with needle and fabric offer many delightful descriptions of the gorgeous clothes that are such a great part of the story’s background. But the list does not end here, of course…

I had a great deal of fun with The Mask of Mirrors, its skillful blend of adventure, mystery and drawing-room verbal battles creating a rich, multi-layered story I enjoyed losing myself in: the seamless transitions from day-to-day life to vicious political battles, from high-end social gatherings to drug-induced, reality-bending nightmares, proved to be so compelling that it was hard to put the book down, and I hope that authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms - working here under the pen name of M.A. Carrick - will not make us wait too long for the next installment in this very promising series.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE MASK OF MIRRORS ABOUT?
What isn't it about, really? In The Princess Bride novel, the fictionalized William Goldman recounts how his father introduced the story to him:

“Does it have any sports in it?”

“Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

That would work as a decent start on a list of what this book is about (except the bit about Giants, maybe they'll be in the sequel), but just as a start. There's just no way to say what this book contains briefly. At times it felt like Carrick* took an "everything but the kitchen sink—and all right, we'll throw that in, too" approach.

* Yes, I know that Carrick actually equals two authors, but there's one name on the cover and it's just easier to play along with the conceit for the purposes of this post.

If you find yourself not particularly enjoying a storyline (either at all, or in a particular moment), that's fine, just wait a couple of pages and you'll be on to another that will quite possibly be to your liking.

Yeah, often this kind of thing feels unwieldy, clumsy, and hard to follow. But somehow—Carrick pulls it off. It's a grand-scale novel—focusing on several people, classes, and segments of the city, but feels very contained, very personal, and not all that difficult to take in at once.

I joked while reading this that I didn't know how I was going to be able to talk about this novel in less than 10,000 words. And I really think it's true if I wanted to do a complete job. But no one wants me to do that. So I'll set "complete" aside and go for "almost adequate" instead. The best way to do that is to start our discussion with the initial plotline:

THE LONG CON
Years ago, Ren and Tess were low-level thieves, working for a Fagin-esque character. The sisters split from that group in a fairly dramatic fashion and left the city of Nadežra. Now, they're back to make their fortune. Ren poses as Renata Viraudux, an estranged family member of one of the city's noble families, with Tess at her side as Renata's maid.

The plan is to endear themselves to the Traementis family and to be officially listed as one of them. She can then plunder their accounts and set the two of them up for a comfortable life. Ren had a good period of time working as the maid of the woman she's now pretending is her mother, so she knows her, she knows stories about her family—so she's able to pull off the con pretty well (at least at first).

But there's a catch..the Traementis family is on the verge of falling apart. Tragedy has whittled the family away to Donaia (the family's head and the sister-in-law of Letilia, Renata's supposed mother) and her two children, Leato and Giuna. And the family's material wealth has been chipped away even more. There's enough to barely sustain their lifestyle, and Donaia isn't sure how long she can continue doing that. Some nobility suspects this to be true, but no one other than Donaia knows it—Renata is very ignorant about the status of her targets. Which almost makes her doomed before she begins.

Do note that "almost," because Ren is as clever and resourceful as you could want for this situation. Once she discovers the family's situation, she's not going to let a simple thing like the verge of bankruptcy stop her.

There are times when I almost wanted Ren to get caught—protagonist or not, she has it coming and you will frequently like Leato and Giuna a lot more than her (also, it'd be a lot of fun to see Ren try to get out of it). But overall, you get sucked into her cause and find yourself rooting for her.

In many ways, this story is the heart of the novel. But the more I thought about it as I read—this story is really just an excuse to get Ren involved in everything else going on in Nadežra, and it could practically be eliminated without doing a lot of damage to the book. It is, however, a load-bearing plotline and can't be removed without doing structural damage (it just feels like it). That may seem like a criticism, but it's not intended to be one—I find myself oddly drawn to the idea that there's enough other things of interest and weight going on that you could excise the Primary Plotline and still have a novel worth reading.

THE MASKED VIGILANTE
Nadežra, like all good fictional cities, has a masked vigilante running around. The Rook has been a presence for a couple of centuries, defending the helpless, punishing the wicked—particularly if they're part Of the nobility. The Rook is sort of a Batman/Zorro-esque figure, stepping out of the shadows (or on the rooftops). We meet him first as he comes to duel with an arrogant twit over an offense straight out of Cyrano de Bergerac, and who can resist that? He remains a favorite part of the novel for me, dropping in at pivotal moments, but not becoming a focus for long.

Ren quickly becomes fixated on him and in discovering his identity. It is fun watching her try and try to either discover or figure out his identity.

THE QUEST FOR LEGITIMACY
Derossi Vargo, how do I discuss him? Think Lando Calrissian meets Michael Corleone. Vargo has spent years building and building his power base and at the time that Ren comes to the city, he's at the top of the criminal portion of the city. He's so powerful now that he's itching to shed that side of him and embrace being a legitimate businessman. He just needs the chance.

Renata sees this and forms an alliance with him. He aids her in some of her schemes to prop up the Traementis family's standings and success and she, in turn, will help him with his schemes. Neither fully trusts the other, but they can be of mutual benefit to one another, and that's enough for them. The relationship builds from this point—but both Ren and Vargo are careful enough with their secrets, their plans, and their ambitions to truly let the other see what's going on—but they have that in common and can respect that.

Vargo is charming and suave, and it's easy for the reader or other characters to get swept up in that to the extent that they forget how he got to the position he's in. There's a cunning and ruthless criminal underneath his finery and smooth words. At the end of the day, Vargo is about Vargo's success, and if you're in his way—you need to watch yourself.

AN EYE FOR TAILORING
Now, while I had moments where I thought it'd be good to have Ren captured by the authorities, I never thought that for a moment about her sister, Tess. And Tess is the best argument for keeping Ren free and clear—I just couldn't stomach her being injured or imprisoned herself (and either would happen if Ren fell). She's one of those characters that readers immediately fall in love with and want to treat as a little sister. Woe betide any author who hurts her, I can't imagine readers of this series letting anyone get away with that.

She's Ren's accomplice, for sure, but she's not in her sister's league when it comes to criminal behavior. She's sweet, she's not out to get rich—she just wants enough to be able to have enough money that she could design and make dresses—maybe do a little cooking. There's a hint of a romance for her, and I found myself more invested in her happiness in that than I have been in other romances that form the central plot in several other books lately.

Tess has no magic abilities (that we know of), but she might as well have some when it comes to fabrics. She single-handedly keeps Ren at the forefront of Nadežran fashion, usually using scraps and bargain fabrics from the market. Her reactions to other people's fine tailoring are a delight (she practically swoons the first time she encounters Vargo over the cut of his jacket). Frequently this is the only source of comic relief in some pretty dark places of the novel.

THE CARDS
One of the aspects of this novel, this world, that I appreciated most is a Tarot-like practice. The cards are called a Pattern Deck. Much like Tarot, the cards are cut and dealt out, then interpreted (and there's both an art and a skill involved in that). There are people who read patterns (szoras), some of whom have the gift to truly do this and some are hucksters just making money off gullible patrons. I think it's that fact that sold me on the novel. How often in Fantasy novels do you get that? A magic system that's true, that really works, and yet many/most of its practitioners don't have the necessary ability, yet continue to practice?

THE WORLDBUILDING
As you read this and come across references to cultures and historical events/people, you almost get the impression that Carrick has a two or three-volume set of books on the history and culture of Nadežra to draw from. Not that the text approaches an info dump ever (even when you wouldn't mind a little one), and Carrick is very sparing with the details drawn from my theoretical three volumes.

The world, the various religions, and magic systems, the system of nobility and government the cultures that make up the populace of Nadežra . . . it's all so well and richly developed that it has to impress the reader. I love a good bit of worldbuilding as much as the next guy, and it doesn't get much better than this.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE MASK OF MIRROR?
Time does not permit me to keep going (and, let's be honest, this is already getting obnoxiously long), so let's try to wrap it up (if only so I can go over my notes and see what all I forgot to mention).

This is an impressive novel. At one point I was going to try to discuss the greater themes this work dealt with. But I think it would be almost as Sisyphean as trying to list the plots in this brief of a post. For a long time, I was going to talk about the futility of vengeance. But I'm not that certain it's correct (maybe by the end of the series, I'll have an idea what they're trying to say about revenge). There's a great deal said about family, loyalty, being trapped by history (personal and cultural), perception, and...you know what? I'm falling into that trap I'd tried to avoid. There's a lot to chew on while reading beyond the story and characters—and you'll easily keep mulling on the novel and whatever themes you were more interested in from it for days.

Carrick has a wonderful style, there are some very cleverly assembled sentences here—and the way the story is told is clever and impressive, also. There were times when I didn't care all that much about the characters being focused on or a storyline, but I couldn't stop reading, I had to know what was going to happen next. I'm not sure how that's possible to have no (conscious) investment or interest in people or what's happening to them, but an intense desire to know what's next for them. But Carrick does it—and does it in such a way that pretty soon I was interested in at least the story or characters again (usually both).

The plots (individually considered) are complex and layered, meticulously assembled and paced well throughout the novel's progress. Then Carrick takes them and weaves them together in an intricate and smart way to make these plotlines a rich tapestry. The skill necessary for this, and the effect this has is stunning. I am a little concerned that when the sequel is published I won't be able to remember enough of this to be able to dive in—and that's the worst thing I can say about the book.

I can't quite bring myself to give this all 5 stars, but I don't feel too bad, when I cross-post this to platforms that won't let me get away with half-stars I'll end up rounding up. It's entertaining, it's impressive, it's richly and wonderfully told, it's complex and filled with complex and developed characters. It's as difficult to succinctly evaluate the book as it is to describe it.

I guess I should just say: read The Mask and the Mirror, it's absolutely worth your time and you'll thank me for it. You'll also see why I'm having trouble crystallizing my thoughts.½