Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller is the first book in a new young adult fantasy series. Sallot Leon is a thief, a street fighter and thirsty for revenge. Sal wants nothing more than to escape and become something… more. When Sal robs a rich, noble woman and learns about a contest to become part of the Left Hand–a group of four prestigious assassins in service to the Queen–Sal know’s that this is a chance for a new life and potentially revenge.
So begins the audition. The auditioners are all given masks and numbers and one goal… to kill the competition. Amidst this game of poison, lies and bloodshed the participants must hone their skills and develop new ones that will serve them in court. But the game soon becomes even more lethal than anyone could have imagined. Rumors fly and Sal must decide if becoming Opal is worth putting aside revenge.
Does Sal have the skills to win this game? And could lies lurking in the shadows change the face of the game forever?
I really wanted to like this one. There is something about a series starting off in a game, a contest, a trial that really intrigues me. Unfortunately, Mask of Shadows did not deliver for me. The contest itself was fine, but I couldn’t get into the rest of the story; the background, history and developing plot that is supposed to propel the series onward… I don’t know didn’t make sense or just didn’t interest me much. It almost felt like the author wanted to incorporate more but was hesitant to do so.
I am also not totally convinced that Miller succeeded in what she wanted to do with our main character Sal. Sal is supposed to be this gender fluid character–in a dress she is a “her,” in pants he should be referred to as “he” and all other times as they or their. We are told this several times. A success in that you don’t actually know what gender Sal is biologically but the character did feel more feminine to me… that could be because I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was female. I also don’t really feel like this should be labeled a LGBT book because gender is not meant to play any role in Sal’s life; we are meant to look at Sal as a person not as feminine or masculine. Anyway, obviously my thoughts are conflicted here as I keep rambling on.
I guess my biggest problem with this book is that it didn’t wow me. It was one I could take or leave. The ending didn’t feel totally believable and my feelings toward it are mostly blasé. This one gets 2 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-