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ellemnope 's review for:
The Mask of Mirrors
by M.A. Carrick
4.25 stars. This is an intense and complicated high fantasy. It normally takes me about 4 days to get through a 350 page novel. This is about twice that size, so I figured it would take me about a week. Nope. It took me THREE WEEKS to read. There is just so much jam packed in this book. TOTALLY WORTH IT.
Political intrigue and power-grabbing are not usually intriguing to me in a read, but HOLY CRAP this one sucked me in. There is a lot at play and it is woven together fantastically. So many balls in the air in this narrative, but not a single one drops. It is masterfully crafted.
Expect to be really pulled in and held captive. You will need to move slowly and focus. This is not a breezy read. Hence the reason my read was so long. It is necessary to pay attention to detail and there is a lot of intricate world building. But boy is it magnificent. I love the world that has been created.
The protagonist is a strong and smart female who keeps track of her own scheming SOOOOO much better than I could ever manage. Honestly, EVERYONE in this book has something up their sleeve and it is freaking awesome. There is so much backstabbing and alliances for the sake of achieving something nefarious. Darkness and deception are around every corner and from every angle.
The magic system is super cool and I LOVED the transporting/underworld type scenes. It felt like existing in a mist or a dreamlike state and just added to the complexity in a fantastic way. There was so much darkness and intricate workings at play. I will admit that it was hard to keep up with what was going on now and then, but when it all fell into place it was amazing. This will definitely be one of those books where I read it again to really understand everything going on. And I'm totally cool with that. This world and its characters are fun, intriguing, and just morally gray enough to totally have me hooked.
I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Political intrigue and power-grabbing are not usually intriguing to me in a read, but HOLY CRAP this one sucked me in. There is a lot at play and it is woven together fantastically. So many balls in the air in this narrative, but not a single one drops. It is masterfully crafted.
Expect to be really pulled in and held captive. You will need to move slowly and focus. This is not a breezy read. Hence the reason my read was so long. It is necessary to pay attention to detail and there is a lot of intricate world building. But boy is it magnificent. I love the world that has been created.
The protagonist is a strong and smart female who keeps track of her own scheming SOOOOO much better than I could ever manage. Honestly, EVERYONE in this book has something up their sleeve and it is freaking awesome. There is so much backstabbing and alliances for the sake of achieving something nefarious. Darkness and deception are around every corner and from every angle.
The magic system is super cool and I LOVED the transporting/underworld type scenes. It felt like existing in a mist or a dreamlike state and just added to the complexity in a fantastic way. There was so much darkness and intricate workings at play. I will admit that it was hard to keep up with what was going on now and then, but when it all fell into place it was amazing. This will definitely be one of those books where I read it again to really understand everything going on. And I'm totally cool with that. This world and its characters are fun, intriguing, and just morally gray enough to totally have me hooked.
I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.