The Mask of Mirrors - Review

I received the physical and E-Arc copy from Orbit Books. All reviews are my own.

Continuing with the goal of clearing my NetGalley shelves and raising that reader percentage, the next book off the backlist is the dual-author M.A. Carrick's The Mask of Mirrors. I have been looking at thickums (630 pages) for some time now, and I won't lie, I was a little intimidated. But once I started the journey, I could not stop. Walk with me as I break down the Rook and Rose series.

"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."

If you thought I was going to sit there and flip through six hundred and thirty pages of trees and screens, we can end this reader relationship right now. It's like ya'll don't know me at all! Of course, I tackled this with audio! Not quite a newcomer to my eyes, but still unfamiliar, Nikki Massoud narrated the story for 23 hours and 13 minutes. Girl, I applaud you! I loved how she embodied each character differently, creating the story's atmosphere and setting the tone for the rest of the tale. I see she's done a few other titles on my TBR, such as The Lion Women of Tehran and the unfortunately flat The Stardust Thief, so I'm going to check her out in future projects.

Wheeew, this was a long one! But it was worth it. The Mask of Mirrors is a con artist heaven, as we follow Ren, who infiltrates a noble house in Nedezra to secure her and her sister's future. The plot involves political intrigue, a mysterious magical threat, and the secrets of various powerful figures, including a crime lord and a vigilante known as The Rook. Several things in this book kept me on my toes, and it's only right to talk about the main events.

I loved the con aspect of the story. It shows a couple of street rats trying to come up in the world, not for greed but for security. And the main character, Ren, plays the long game to ensure that the safety net she's weaving is enough to protect her and her made family so they never have to struggle again. But to do so, she has to restore the House of Traementis' name to good standing with the rest of the noble society. From there, she starts to shake hands and rub shoulders with crime bosses and semi-corrupt political leaders. All while she's playing the long-lost cousin to the Traementis, she's also battling an old childhood enemy ghost that, unfortunately, raised and shaped her into who she is now. Even though she tries to run from her past, it somehow catches up with her in the most diabolical way, threatening to undo her con at any moment.

The world-building in The Mask of Mirrors is a true marvel. The authors take us by the hand and slowly walk us down a pavilion, pointing out all the beauty and grit of the setting, and explaining in detail the magical structures, the cat-and-mouse aloofness, high society snobbery, and the scum of low society packs. Some may find it overwhelming, slowing the story's pacing, but I believe it was necessary to fully immerse ourselves in the world.

The interweaving of the characters' personalities and their deep connections in the plot is a true highlight of The Mask of Mirrors. In this book, everyone connects as if they are neighbors. One cannot move without the other knowing what's going on. It's like placing two magnetic pieces together. I could go on and on about what I love, but then I'd be love bombing the storyline and giving it away.

Overall, I'm rating this book 4-stars. And the only reason it's getting four stars is that, towards the end, I started to lose steam. To be fair, 600+ pages is a lot to get through, be damn if I like the book or not. I don't know too many books that can keep a momentum going for that long. Speaking of the length, I highly recommend checking this book out on audio. Not only for the speed, but also for the narration and word pronunciation. Lord knows I would have messed up terms, such as "Nedezra", "zlyzen", "Vrazenian", and "Traementis". The writing was excellent, the Fantasy and magical aspect of the story wasn't too hard to understand, and there are tarot card readings (and if you want your Mask of Mirrors pattern done, you can visit the author's website and see your future!). If you're into con games during the Regency/Victorian era, this one is for you! I'm off to the next book in the series, The Liar's Knot, another 600+ pages. An update may take a while.

The Mask of Mirrors is available now!

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