Book Review of Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright

 

Name of Book: Mistress of Lies

Author: K. M. Enright 

ISBN: 9780356521138

Publisher: Orbit 

Part of a Series: Age of Blood

Type of book: Dark, romance, fantasy, romantasy, immigrant narrative, foreigner narrative, female to male trans character, LGBtQ+ romances, immortality, blood, cutting, vampires, gothic 

Year it was published: 2024

Summary:

FATE IS A CRUEL MISTRESS

The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.

Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he's drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he's worked so hard to avoid - and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.

Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan's plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.

Characters:

Main characters are Shan and Samuel, although I would argue that Isaac should also have been one of the main characters as well. Shan is a half foreigner and comes from a disgraced bloodline and also has an Unblooded twin brother. She is the leader and seems to have strong yet fragile self control in trying to hold on to so many elements in her life, from her family life to her work life. She is highly ambitious and determined to reach her goals, no matter the cost she will incur from her actions. Samuel is an Unblooded human who seems to be extremely naïve and due to a mysterious power he has, he is hesitant and afraid of letting other people enter his heart. He seems to be a complete foil to Shan and often doesn't think before he acts. Although in this book Isaac is the secondary character, he is very important to the narrative. He and Shan have ancestry of foreignness, and Isaac is pull himself by the bootstraps type. I found myself being drawn to him and would describe him as charismatic and yes, tortured. Isaac often questions himself on whether or not what he has is worth or if there is a better way. 

Theme:

There is no rest for good or wicked

Plot:

The story is written in third person narrative from Shan's and Samuel's points of view. The tale begins with murder of patricide by Shan and already the author gives us a taste of Shan's home life, of things she has sacrificed and lost along her dark path. The second plot introduces the reader to Samuel, an Unblooded (think mortal human) who has his own dark secrets that he is afraid will be revealed. The story is both the rise of Shan and her schemes and plots as well as a mystery of who and why are Unblooded being killed. I was intrigued by the world and would have loved to see more of it, but there is more focus than needed on the love triangle between Samuel, Shan and Isaac which ended up being a frustrating experience. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

K. M. Enright is a Filipino-American writer of fantasy romance. When not writing, he can be found playing too many video games, cooking, or listening to Broadway musicals. He currently lives in New Jersey with his spouse and their black cat, Zuko.

Opinion:

I am sorry but no. I looked forward to the debut, to seeing vampires represented in Asian fantasy as well as to learning  a lot about the dark world that the characters inhabit. While I did get some promising glimpses of the story, in particular in beginning, those quickly disappeared as the story progressed. I think my main disappointment with the tale is a lot of tell don't show and constant reminders about how young and damaged the characters are. A lot of my questions about the blood world and how it worked exactly weren't answered in this book, I am sad to say. 

This was given for review

2 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.)