The Mask of Mirrors

Rook and Rose, Book One

By: M. A. Carrick

Narrated by: Nikki Massoud

Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

'Utterly captivating. Carrick spins an exciting web of mystery, magic, and political treachery in a richly drawn and innovative world.' S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass

Darkly magical and beautifully imagined, The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a rich and dazzling fantasy adventure in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord must unite to save their city.

Nightmares are creeping through the city of dreams . . .

Renata Virdaux is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadezra -- the city of dreams -- with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune and her sister's future.

But as she's drawn into the aristocratic world of House Traementis, she realises her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as corrupted magic begins to weave its way through Nadezra, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled -- with Ren at their heart.

'I was utterly entranced by this glittering world filled with masked vigilantes, cunning conwomen, and dark magic. A sheer delight!' Katy Rose Pool, author of There Will Come A Darkness

'The Mask of Mirrors is exactly the fantasy adventure novel you're craving: an escape into a vast, enchanting world of danger, secret identities, and glittering prose'
Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne

'The Mask of Mirrors kept me up reading way past my bedtime. A web of intrigue, magic, and the art of the con this novel will catch hold of your dreams and keep you from sleeping'
Mary Robinette Kowal, author of The Calculating Stars

'The Mask of Mirrors ushers you into the fascinating city of Nadezra, replete with complex politics, intricate magic, and mysteries that readers will be racing to unravel. Wonderfully immersive--I was unable to put it down'
Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

'An intricate, compelling dream of a book that kept me turning pages, with a world and characters that felt deeply real and plenty of riveting twists and turns. I loved it!'
Melissa Caruso, author of The Obsidian Tower

'For those who like their revenge plots served with the intrigue of The Goblin Emperor, the colonial conflict of The City of Brass, the panache of Swordspoint, and the richly detailed settings of Guy Gavriel Kay'
Booklist (starred review)

©2021 Alyc Helms, Bryn Neuenschwander (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

I loved every second of it!

This was absolutely wonderful! I loved every second of it. It is definitely in my top 2 reads of the year.

I forgot what it's like for one story to have so many tropes and character types that I love. It is chockfull of intelligent, charismatic and interesting characters. I loved every single one of them. I even warmed up to Grey throughout the story and I don't really like cops as protagonists.
The story focuses on relationships between these characters. It has an urban setting which is very vivid (I imagined the ancient city of Alexandria). There are many different cultures that are rich and different and the story explores clashes between them. The are different magic systems (a trope that I love) but while they are important, they don't take over the story (which I also truly appreciate). There are many mysteries. There are multiple cat & mouse games happening at the same time. There are multiple slow burn romances to root for.

The narrator, Nikki Massoud, was great. She is particularly good with properly pronouncing sounds like "ž" in Nadežra or Dežera (and I say that as someone whose mother tongue has those sounds). My only critique is that when she is portraying one of the soft spoken characters, especially Vargo, the sound is so low that you basically cannot hear her. But if you raise the volume, characters that are not soft spoken, like Ren, then end up blaring in your ears. This was especially annoying because there are many conversations between Ren and Vargo.