The Mask of Mirrors

This book was great right from the start. I loved it. The characters in this book are fantastic. The magic is complex. There are so many plot twists that I was wishing it was even longer than 672 pages.

The story follows Ren, orphan/con artist. Her latest and most ambitious con is to become Alta Renata and join the ranks of the rich and elite. She has plans to con her way into the wealthy Traementis family and let them support her. It will be hard to keep up her ruse with all the dark magic popping up in the city. Not to mention her past dogging her every step.

Great start to a new series. I can't wait for the next one.
I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
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.”

* 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.

Cyrano de Bergerac

THE MASK OF MIRROR

The Mask and the Mirror

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.