May you see the face and not the mask.
Ren came to Nadežra with a plan. She would pose as the long-lost daughter of the noble house Traementis. She would secure a fortune for herself and her sister. And she would vanish without a backward glance. She ought to have known that in the city of dreams, nothing is ever so simple.
Now, she is Ren, con-artist and thief. But she is also Renata, the celebrated Traementis heir. She is Arenza, the mysterious pattern-reader and political rebel. And she is the Black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the legendary Rook.
Even with the help of Grey Serrado and Derossi Vargo, it is too many masks for one person to wear. And as the dark magic the three of them helped unleash builds to storm that could tear the very fabric of the city apart, it’s only a matter of time before one of the masks slips—and everything comes crashing down around them.
*****
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
This review will contain spoilers for book 1, The Mask of Mirrors and book 2, The Liar’s Knot. Check out my reviews for book 1 and book 2.
Review:
Labyrinth’s Heart was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2023 and I was certainly not let down. Readers of my reviews will know I’ve continually sang praises for this series thanks to it’s certain core trio of Ren, Grey, and Vargo and in this book, we finally get their end game!
Those who’ve followed this series will know the metaphorical Sword of Damocles that’s been hanging over Ren’s head in the name of Lady Renata’s ‘mother’ and Ren’s former mistress, Letilia, finally coming home to roost. Although she’s worked her way into House Traementis and Donatella’s trust, the stakes for Ren’s deception are now higher than ever to maintain the life she’s built for herself and her friends. I loved that despite the stakes, there’s an aspect of comedy through the entire situation, as no one actually likes Letilia. Both Grey and Vargo offer to take her out early on in no-so-subtle ways, and even Dontella’s of half a mind to just kick Letilia to the curb.
On the grander side, our main trio have been hunting for ways, with little success, to destroy the medallions plaguing Nadežra’s nobility, and its city. It’s been almost a year and a half since I read the last book, so to be fully honest, I didn’t fully follow the more epic fantasy elements of the plot. There’s an extremely helpful ‘The Plot So Far’ at the beginning of the book that summarizes, well, the plot so far. Without it I would have been truly lost. With it, I followed just enough of the various factions, powerplays, and numinatira/patterning to enjoy the reading the characters experiencing the story.
As usual, the series’s main draw and biggest strength lies in it’s characters. I’m obliged to have a dedicated Vargo!!!!!!!!!! paragraph in every review and of course this one is no exception. In book 3, we really get the see his inner struggles and much more of his street rat origins. The suave, vaguely dangerous, fashionable nobleman is still there, but it’s balanced by his rougher edges. I loved father-son relationship we get between him and Peabody, the bantering and clear affection between these two is so sweet.
Of course, we also get the culmination of Ren and Grey’s stories too. If book two was the two of them juggling their many identities and separate lives, book three is where they all coalesce into just ‘Ren” and “Grey’. Again, while it’s been too long to follow the story fully, I loved how intricate the depiction of religion and the different cultures Ren and Grey move through are written. The worldbuilding of this book is so tightly tied to the identity of these characters and it’s truly incredible to read.
Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. A fantastic ending to one of my favorite epic fantasy series in recent times, where all three of the main trio get their happy endings.
r/Fantasy 2023-24 Bingo Squares:
- Published in 2023
- Queernorm Setting (hard mode)
- Sequel (hard mode)
Publication Date: 15 August 2023
Publisher: Orbit
Format: eBook, ARC
Pages: 688
Word Count:
ISBN: 9780316539753
Buy It Here: Amazon | Google Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
A Cup of Cyanide 