What a lovely surprise. I think I saw this on sale and got it, not expecting anything other than ye olde alternate world fantasy with pseudo-Western Europe trappings.
Not that. This is an extremely well developed fantasy based on a bit of Western Europe, but also some Eastern, possibly Turkish? And some other stuff thrown in, too. There are competeing, well developed magic styles based on two competing cultures (This is a city occupied by invaders who are now nobility), there are layers of society in this city, and there is great backstory and mystery around our main characters.
We are following Ren and her sworn-sister into the city where she is masquerading as the long lost cousin of one of the noble families. She will flirt, manipulate, trade and do anything in her power to not be poor, and slowly her horrific backstory is revealed as to why she doesn't want to be poor, why she has certain skills, why she and her sworn sister are so seemingly lost.
At the same time we find out about a robin hood like character called the Rook-- part of the fun is figuring out who of the main male characters in Ren's life the Rook is. I was wrong twice!
The other fun part is that there is an original kind of Tarot cards that Ren and the occupied culture uses for divining. It's super well developed and complex. If you like that kind of thing you're going to love this.
I am definitely reading on even without romance (there's flirting but nothing really romancey) because while the Rook is revealed at the end, I want to see Rook and Ren in action together, I want to find out why Vargo has a ghost riding him, and I want to see more political machinations.
I finally looked up MA Carrick and realized it was pseudonym for a team of authors who write under that name, one of which, Marie Brennan, whose work I've read and enjoyed before. Very cool.
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Reviews with images
Incredibly diverse world building
A long con, rich world building, multiple POVs, political intrigue. There’s so much that makes this dark fantasy worth reading. And plenty to keep you entertained. While it’s a long read, over 600 pages! It was deeply satisfying. I enjoyed the plot, the morally gray characters and the touches of unique culture that made the story feel real. For example, the use of “patterns” which was this world’s equivalent to tarot card reading.While the story started out a bit slow for my tastes, mostly due to the complicated world building, I couldn’t put it down once I was hooked. Especially because I was so eager to figure out the identity of the mysterious Rook.The culture stood out to me, with a following built around “patterns”, a unique magic system built around inscribing, and a strange drug that ties one to the dream realm. I can see this being an awesome read for tarot card lovers. Especially because there are many moments in the plot where things are discovered through the use of reading “patterns” in the cards. I LOVED this aspect. It was unique and I don’t think i’ve seen it done elsewhere.The world building was also impressive. Unique days of the week, months, titles. It was clear the authors put a great deal of effort into building this story. However, at times, I felt this was a downfall. There were places it felt unnecessarily bloated. Sometimes I couldn’t follow the story because I didn’t know which days of the week, or moths referred to what. I was either forced to flip to the glossary and slow my reading down, or forgo my understanding and deal with not knowing. This meant that plenty of holes in my overall interpretation of the story cropped up. This definitely took away from my reading experience and it’s the reason I did not give it 5 stars. Definitely a bummer there.But there was so much more to lend to my enjoyment. I loved Ren’s character. I loved Vargo’s even more. He was extremely morally gray. And of course Grey was fun too. Each of the characters came from a different walk of life, but yet, they were woven together seamlessly. I enjoyed each of their POVs.If you’re someone who loves complicated fantasy, political intrigue, rich cultural world building, and attention to detail, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. And it’s the first in the series. I will definitely be picking up the second, whenever it comes out. MY RATING: 4/5⭐️
Top reviews from other countries
Hal
A truly enthralling read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2021
Hal
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2021
Once I started it, I realised it was a fascinating story about Con artists, masked vigilantes, political intrigue, dynamic sword fights, seductive and witty dialogue, and a unique magic system - everything that rendered it a mesmerising read!
Our protagonist, Ren comes to the city of Nadežra with one goal in mind: to con her way into House Traementis, one of the city’s noble and prestigious houses, and to secure her and her sister’s futures. However, as Ren gets to know the family, she finds herself rather attached. She also realises that she’s not the only one hiding her true identity. Soon, Ren’s life becomes entangled within the politics and feuds of the city’s aristocrats. There’s also her landlord, Vargo and Captain Grey Serrado - both with their own deep secrets and complications. Not to mention the super mysterious Rook!
Then there’s the problem of a new, corrupt drug that has emerged in the underworld - bringing alive all the nightmare creatures from children’s fairytales and threatening the city with dark magic turmoil - which Ren also has to navigate through.
A truly stunning story! The authors have done a remarkable job at creating this extremely detailed, complex world and although it did take me a while to understand it all, I was left completely by awe by the end.
The City of Nadežra is dazzling. The vivid descriptions, the dynamic characters, the dialogue and even the fashion was enthralling!
The plot is complicated and some aspects completely caught me off guard. I was glad that I did the read along, as the TWW bookclub commentary really kept me on track and helped me process all the complex pieces of the narrative. It took me a while to get through the book but I’m so glad I did - It’s truly a brilliant read!
I look forward to reading the second book in the series. If you are a fan of complex fantasy fiction, The Mask of Mirrors (the Rook & Rose trilogy) is definitely one to check out.
NB: I started this book on audiobook but really struggled with the lacklustre narration and awful accents. Once I stated reading the physical book, I felt it all made more sense. However, this is my personal preference. I usually love audiobooks but very fussy with narrators.
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E Wells
I became Obsessed with the Mysteries!
Reviewed in Australia on February 12, 2021
