Book Review of The Liars Knot by M.A. Carrick

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Type of book: Fantasy, con, nobility, Italy based setting, masks, fortune telling, lack of trust, changes, lives, mysteries, numbers, magic, past

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Summary:

Characters:

Main characters would definitely be Ren, Vargo and Grey. Ren is a con artist who is now having to juggle multiple masks and identities at once; that of Renata, a sophisticated impoverished noblewoman, Arenza, a clanless szorza (fortuneteller) and Rose, a vigilante helper to the famous Rook. Having so many identities, along with being herself is tiring for Ren, but she does grow more vulnerable and trustworthy, in particular to Vargo and Grey. Vargo was perhaps the most intriguing character in the story, as the readers learn about the mysterious helper and watch him grow up from being selfish to somewhat selfless. Grey also went through some change, in particular deciding to reveal an important secret to Ren and maybe even Vargo. Definitely excited about 3rd book.     

Theme:

It's important to change and grow 

Plot:

The story is written in third person narrative from a myriad of characters points of view, namely Ren, Vargo and Grey and time was over six or so months. While the previous book was the setup for this deep and complex world, in this one we explore our beloved characters a lot more, even getting to know a lot of background information, in particular about Vargo and Grey. ( We learn a lot about Ren in first book) We also see Vargo and Grey grow as characters, gaining understanding and making a lot of surprising decisions. Ren to me remains a bit of  a static character in this book, although she also makes quite a bit surprising choices as well. And yes, reading a previous book is a must. In previous book, I felt that some parts were overly detailed. I am happy to say that in second one the issue is fixed. 

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Opinion:

Reading this book felt like coming home, back to scandals, manipulations, and the slow build of suspense and magic. For me the first half seemed a bit boring and it felt as if it had little to no end goals. ( I also found the whole gang clans to be confusing?) The second half definitely picked up and became a lot more engrossing and exciting. Having said that, I will definitely pick up and read the conclusion, The Labyrinths Heart. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)