Mask of Mirrors by M. A Carrick- Book review

That’s another one off my #beatthebacklog. Here is my review of Mask of Mirrors by M. A Carrick- a fantasy full of intrigue,magic,con women and a masked vigilante

Genre: Fantasy

Source: My own

Series: Rook and Rose ( Book1)

Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadežra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister’s future.

But as she’s drawn into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled…with Ren at their heart.

Review

This hasn’t been on my backlog list very long and perhaps I should have read some of the books sitting on my kindle for longer but I couldn’t resist that cover.

The story is told from a number of points in the third person but the main characters are Ren, the woman trying to con her way into high society, Donaia, the matriarch of the Traementis family that Ren is trying to con, Grey, a captain in the Virgil trying to find out the truth about Ren and Vargo, a crime lord trying to buy his way into the nobility.

All the characters, both main and secondary, have ulterior motives hidden behind their metaphorical masks as well as a long term con which makes the book so much fun to read. The characters are deliciously grey yet I found myself somehow rooting for them all except for the obvious villain of the piece.

Rook, a masked and hooded crusader is a welcome addition and the mystery of his identity is well played out in the book (although it did turn out to be the person I hoped it would be). I loved the hint of attraction between him and Ren. Ren’s growth from the cynical conwoman to someone willing to fight for the people she has begun to care about is well written and I cant wait to see how her story plays out in the next book.

There are plenty of sword fights, magic, peril and intrigue to satisfy most fantasy fans and I loved the fact that there was no gore, sexual violence or torture.

My only gripe is the length of the book ( I felt it could have been a bit shorter), but I imagine most people will love the fact that it is a tomb of a book.

Content warning

Death of Children

Perfect for fans of

The Knave of Secrets, The six of Crows.