An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock
Published by Tor Books on August 29, 2017
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0765389592
Goodreads

In a world of soaring continents and bottomless skies, where a burgeoning new science lifts skyships into the cloud-strewn heights and ancient blood-borne sorceries cling to a fading glory, Princess Isabelle des Zephyrs is about to be married to a man she has barely heard of, the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.

Born without the sorcery that is her birthright but with a perspicacious intellect, Isabelle believes her marriage will stave off disastrous conflict and bring her opportunity and influence. But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer-assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third. Aided and defended by her loyal musketeer, Jean-Claude, Isabelle plunges into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies. Step by dangerous step, she unravels the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth more perilous than any deception.

Have any of you heard of Book Outlet? I think it’s most useful for those living in the US and Canada but basically they have VERY discounted books with good shipping prices. The best part is they have EVERYTHING. Classics, adult fiction (sci-fi and fantasy and mystery and literary fiction), and TONS of young adult books. There are a lot of popular releases, but also a ton of lesser known books.

Anyway the point is I was on the Book Outlet website, as I frequently am, and I came across this book. It sounded pretty good, and had pretty good Goodreads reviews so I thought why not.

AND I’M SO GLAD I BOUGHT IT. This book!!! Was so!! Good!!! Whip-smart and disabled main character! Stalwart bodyguard who acts as her father figure! Skyships!!! Floating islands that make up the world!!! YES.

Amazing world-building!

There are so many things to love about this book. I think what really drew me in was the idea of floating continents if I’m being honest haha. I mean, the entire synopsis is amazing! But just the idea of floating continents reminded me of a short-lived animated series I watched as a kid that I really loved (Skyland, I think it was called). So basically it was very hard to resist that little bit of world-building haha. I also can’t resist skyships ever since reading The Edge Chronicles as a kid. So clearly I’m living proof that our childhoods influence our adult lives a lot 😂.

The magic in this book was also very interesting, and I hope it’s explore more in further books. There are certain noble families that have specific types of magic – such as one family being able to manifest things called bloodshadows, and another being able to project a version of themselves through mirrors. Of course, that isn’t the full story but I can’t give it all away!

Political intrigue! Twists and turns!

There is a good amount of action but where this novel really shines is the complex political plot. Or plots? I don’t know haha there’s a lot going on!! It all weaves together into a big plot at the end, but wow it is super intricate and I loved it. There are so many twists and turns that you never see coming (well, maybe some of you will – but I didn’t). There’s tension between large empires, tension on the civil war scale, and of course tension between family members. It was a bit confusing at the beginning, but it’s pretty easy to make sense of things once you read for just a little bit longer.

Stellar characters!

The two main characters are also very easy to fall in love with. Isabelle is very very smart, and has had to make her way as a conglomeration of things people in this world find abhorrent or lowly – she is a woman, she is physically disfigured, and she is of a noble line but has no magic. I love that she sticks to her principles, and tries to figure out how to get through things using her brain – which she knows is her strength. Jean-Claude is her unofficial bodyguard, and has basically become her main father figure over the course of her life. He is unwaveringly loyal, very resourceful, and a great fighter. He and Isabelle are kind of opposites in what their strengths are, and I think that is an added bonus to their relationship.

I wish we had a little more about the side characters, though I understand to create a complex political plot it is sometimes hard with characters to keep the mystery if too much is revealed about them. Hopefully we can see more of the already introduced characters in the next book!

Genre mashup!

Finally, one of my other favorite things was that this was such an amazing mashup of genres. It’s obviously a fantasy, but it’s kind of a historical fantasy and steampunk fantasy. There are also definite sci-fi elements thrown in, and I can never say no to a sci-fi/fantasy mashup. It’s a swashbuckling adventure story, but it’s also very much a political fantasy. Overall I highly recommend it! I hope some of you read it so that I have people to talk to about it 😂

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Had you heard of this book before reading my review? If not I hope I convinced you to pick it up haha.

What are some of your favorite reads that have been random finds?