The Mask of Mirrors cover art

The Mask of Mirrors

Rook and Rose, Book One

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The Mask of Mirrors

By: M. A. Carrick
Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
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About this listen

 '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 Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Heartfelt Dream

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All stars
Most relevant  
Fantastically performed by the narrator.
The story just got more and more complex
As it progressed.

Layer upon layers of political intrigue

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I have been looking for something immersive and full, and this was it. As another reviewer mentioned, there are a lot of terms to get to grips with at the beginning, but it gives you time to do that.
Intrigue, twists and turns and great characters. I really enjoyed this world. Looking forward to more

Brilliant book

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This is hands down the best book I have ever listened to. The setting is fantastic and immersive. The caracters are great. And the narrator was just fantastic. 11/10 would reccomend to anyone.

Best book I had the pleasure of lisening to

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This falls firmly into the 'Renaissance Mediterranean reimagined and rewritten' sub genre of fantasy, but that is not a criticism, and it is well thought out and very detailed, with the political system akin to Italian medieval city states, and multiple national groups with a fully realised history. There are also magical elements, but again, properly thought out and not too whimsical . It reminded me a little of Robin Hobb or CJ Parker, and I approved of the female led plot, which included multiple strong and varied characters. Regional or ethnic accents are always a dilemma for fantasy works read aloud or filmed, as the choices rather break the illusion (why Eastern European for one nation and Irish for another?) but it does help to differentiate the groups and characters, which for an audiobook is definitely a plus. The narration is good, although you do need to keep your wits about you to keep track of plot and characters, and is very long (good value for money!) but as my first exposure to this author I was favourably impressed

Enjoyable and richly detailed fantasy

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Gripping, good world building, good characters. I enjoyed it! Would recommend for fans of the Lies of Locke Lamora.

Good fun!

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I've read hundreds of fantasy books and was starting to despair about ever finding another author where I could get past book one of their series, but this one was OK. I'll definitely be reading the next book.

A lot of the time the worldbuilding comes in the form of info dumps, and the characters' emotions and motivations are mostly spelled out rather than shown via action or dialogue, but overall I enjoyed the characters and plot.

I guess the other reason I didn't get totally immersed in this book is that I generally don't like multi-POV storylines. I wish authors could just pick a protagonist and stick with that character.

At last I've found a decent fantasy book.

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I liked this book a lot. The plot has so many layers, interesting characters, engaging mystery and great worldbuilding.

Fun, engaging and misterious

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A steep learning curve but once it all clicks, you’ll be immersed in a world (and a con) that you can’t get enough of.

Top Notch

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Whilst the writing is good and the story cohesive I just didn’t feel that it grasped my attention.

Also on the narration the volume can go from a normal level to very very quiet (character whispering), unfortunately this means that you need to have the volume significantly higher than you ordinarily would as there are numerous low volume narration, this probably contributed to my lack of enjoyment of this book. 😔

Unfortunately it just doesn’t click

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Loved the narrator. The story was good. It's heavy on names and new information in the first half, but I could follow it pretty easily in the second half.
Has a few LGBT+ characters which is great to see.

Fantastic Narrator

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