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♟️Rating:1/5⭐
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Thank you Netgalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

To put it simply, the execution of this book is so bad that the French had to bring back the guillotine in order to execute someone properly. The funny thing is, I read this book during the ‘very demure’ trend and some of my friends know I absolutely hate that trend. The culprit for my vendetta towards the demure trend? This book. I genuinely wanted to love this book because the Prologue started off strong but that was only the good part.

Let's start off with Shan who needs to act very demure and very mindful but she isn't acting demure and mindful in real life. But at times she can't act demure and mindful because she needs to be confident and cold to people. I think you get the idea. Every time I see demure or demur, a part of me just lost It. We’re constantly being told her brilliant and cunning Shan is but we don’t actually get to see that. This book has a very serious issue of telling instead of showing (will talk more about the writing style later on). Anyways, I feel like the first chapter started off so strong where Shan killed her father, the author struggled to let Shan develop. I honestly wished we could see how Shan established her network which we were repeatedly told how important it was to Shan but the information she received weren’t cleverly used in the novel at all. Why is that so you may ask? Because Shan was busy partying away like the nobles during the French revolution! But guess what Shan has a plan, or rather concepts of a plan. I find her absolutely frustrating because her plans were extremely naive even though she claimed she had thought long and hard about it. I also find her actions contradicting at times, considering how she abhor the novelty and want to change it but she has done absolutely nothing to change the current state except for some vague reference to let Samuel sit on the throne instead. This brings me to the next point, even the French knows that a mere change in ruler won’t change anything. And is that the end of her plan? YEP THAT’S IT! There are no in between steps as to how she would actually carry it out, she just got the spirit. Even though Shan was repeatedly challenged by others for her monarchist view and ‘concepts of a plan’, she still refused to change her POV or character. I just can’t stand her blind her character is and how there’s no real consequences to her actions.

Moving on to Samuel, who is bland, naive and innocent. Yep, that’s all you need to know. He cares for the people because he used to be one of the unblooded until it turned out he was from a rich family and had magical powers. But what did he do next? Of course, partied the night away instead of coming up with reforms for his people and became sad when the unblooded still didn’t get their rights. I’m sorry Samuel but you need to get a grip.

Issac and Anton were the more interesting characters and I honestly would have loved to witness the story from Anton’s POV instead. He just provides the delicate balance of the division in this book and he’s actually doing something behind the scenes unlike Samuel or Shan. I won’t say much about Issac but he’s just the better one in the trio. I also preferred the dynamic between Issac and Samuel then Shan with the both of them. However even though I say that Issac had the potential to carry the book, the ending was so rushed that his character just fell flat near the end.

The characters had like insta love and to be honest, I can’t be bothered again. I’m sorry babes but the country is in shambles, I don’t think you guys should be throwing parties so often just to meet up.

The plot was super draggy in the middle and the ending was super rushed. A lot of the time spent in the book was spent on going to more parties, bars or some other forms of socialising activity. We didn’t get to see much of the investigation plot or reap much insights from those one-two investigation trips. To be honest, the actual murderer was hinted super early in the book and going by my fantasy common sense, it didn’t take me long to deduce who was the actual murderer. I couldn’t be bothered if I’m honestly speaking. We didn’t get to see much worldbuilding at all. Even though I’m done with the books, I still don’t have a solid understanding of how the magic system works except for some vague rules. Like what’s the limit of the blood working? Why did Shan not throw up drinking Samuel’s blood during the second and third times? There are lots of unanswered questions and plot holes here and there. Also, this book does not contain vampires, it’s just blood working. (Slightly off tangent, but that one scene where Issac drew Samuel’s blood made me cringe so hard) Even though other countries were mentioned, like they banned blood working and they hate the Eternal King, we don’t actually know the actual causes of it.

Moving on to the writing style, there's a lot of telling instead of showing. We are constantly being told how the characters feel and act. Some of the descriptions came off weirdly as well like “fragile, brittle thing” or “looking utterly and totally alone”. Please stop, especially with the something, something thing. I lost it when the phrase ‘literally growled’ came up. I think this part does not need any further elaboration. I honestly feel that this book can go through a few more rounds of editing before being published.

In conclusion, the only feminine rage witnessed in this book is my own feminine rage towards this book. I desperately tried to love it because of the premise and introduction of this book. However, I’m not reading the sequel and I want my time back.

i couldn't just get it and pass this YA book. Yes, it is marked as Adult, but for me, this is just a YA trying to appeal to the adult audience and failing to deliver it; the characters are just plain and dull. From the beginning, I was rolling my eyes so hard that I forced myself to stop several times just to breathe and continue with the story. The MCs are just quite the opposite of what they described to be or just kinda "dumb" to say something and then be so easily manipulated. this did not help te plot creating a narrative very boring

Mistress of Lies truly had an intriguing premise but really struggled from being too obviously descriptive.

Now, it started very Shakespearean, patricide for power, sounds familiar right? Add in some vampires and blood magic and you should be onto a winner. But this did read like a debut and could have done with a little more polishing. As someone with a huge love of powerful descriptive fantasies, I think this is where it fell flat for me. This won't be the case for everyone but I would have just liked a little more, the descriptors that we did have were delicious and I just wanted a bit more of that.

HOWEVER, I bloody love the LGBTQ+ representation in this and I think it was done well (as a cis-bi woman) but others may have different opinions.

Thank you for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book started out strong, but I fear that the characters werent as strong as they were supposed to be.
For someone so inclined to be a heartless ruler, our FMC is still too sensitive. For someone hating the rich and powerful so much, our MMC is quite easy to manipulate. So much so, that the book got quite boring in the first half. Characters that don't stay true to their beliefs, that change their opinions so easily and get carried away so easily arent that compelling to me. Turns out, a bit of money and someone hot is enough to shake someones whole personality.
I unfortunately wasnt able to finish, might try to continue reading in the spooky months, but Im not very convinced its worth my time.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: murder, patricide, gore, blood magic, body manipulation, sexual content, racism, classism, references to rape

Mistress of Lies is set in a truly brutal world where Blood Workers- people who can control and manipulate blood magic- reign supreme and those who are Unblooded are little more than cattle to be fed upon. Ruling over all is the Eternal King, a vampire of ancient lineage with no heirs surviving. Shan LeClaire is the daughter of a disgraced Blood Worker, and having spent her time establishing a second life among the Unblooded as the information trader Sparrow, only one problem remains: her father. To protect her brother, Shan assassinates her father and takes her rightful place at the head of the LeClaire family. She wants to destroy the regime that her family’s legacy is built upon, even if that means killing the immortal King in the process, but she’s missing one key part of her plan, a way to gain access to the King. Samuel Hutchinson is Unblooded and wants it to stay that way even as he struggles in the slums. He has a terrible gift, the ability to weave people’s minds to his wants with words, and any use of it will lead to his execution by the Blood Workers. However, after Samuel discovers the first victim of a serial killer, he is pulled into the world of the court- having discovered he is the last remaining family of the Eternal King. Aided by Shan, Samuel soon has to adjust to this new violent, backstabbing court lifestyle even as she prepares herself to manipulate him into aiding her. Alongside Isaac, the King’s right hand and a figure from Shan’s past, Samuel is asked to search for the killer before they can strike again, despite his growing feelings for both Shan and Isaac. Caught between Shan’s plans for revenge, Samuel’s doubts about his abilities and Isaac’s desperate need to be respected, the three of them crash together in desire- but as Samuel realises what this new life will cost him, he has to decide if the survival of their nation is worth his damnation.

This is such a brilliantly plotted and tense piece of fantasy fiction, set in a cutthroat world of Filipino vampire-like figures and the humans they use as glorified cattle. Shan is ruthless from the first page, murdering her father and taking his place after years of planning. I loved how she shifted between the two versions of herself and even if she wants happiness, she can’t risk her plans being ruined. Her relationship with her brother is a powerful motivator for Shan but at the same time she’s never forgotten the way she’s been treated for looking different due to her mother’s race. She’s brutal and brilliant, flirtatious but impossible to get a grip on. Samuel, by comparison, is incredibly damaged and sensitive so when he’s thrown into the world of nobility he’s completely out of his depth. I really enjoyed getting to read his gradual understanding of just how terrible his new life is, even as he unintentionally becomes part of the King’s wider plans- and as a weapon for Shan to use against the King. I wish we’d seen more of Isaac and had some of his perspective, his relationships with both Shan and Samuel are both so important to the plot. He’s absolutely ruining himself in order to be recognised and appreciated properly and I can’t wait to see how that might go further in the second book. I really enjoyed how casually diverse this story was as well, and the fact that Isaac is trans was so well written. I love politically motivated, morally grey books and “Mistress of Lies” is exactly what I wanted, with the added benefit of polyamory and a brilliant world where even the “good” people have to become terrible to survive.

Mistress of Lies was an interesting fantasy with political and mystery elements and engaging - if not always likeable - characters.

It's set in a world of noble bloodworkers and common Unblooded people, with growing tension between the two escalated by a string of grisly murders. I found the world building to be an intriguing take on vampires and blood magic.

Our three main characters - Shan, Samuel and Issac - are all complex characters, with an exploration of their differing relationships with power (both magical and political) in particular. Their MMF relationship was an interesting dynamic, though I do wish it had been explored a little more.

I did find the central murder mystery a little lacking, mainly because the plot and the characters spend very little time actually looking into the mystery.

Overall though, would recommend for anyone looking for romantasy with a more political/ mystery bend or a new take on vampires.

A dark and dramatic fantasy that did some very interesting things with the typical romantasy tropes - I very much appreciated the inclusivity of the world. I'm reserving judgement on the plot until I see how the second book pans out, but it certainly left me wanting to read more!

From the first page, i was immediately immersed in the world. we have amazing morally grey characters, blood magic, vampires, murder, sibling dynamics, and a great MMF romance.

while i loved a lot of aspects about this, i was a little disappointed by the murder mystery plot. i felt like that should have been fleshed out more because during a lot of the book i ended up forgetting about it! i also didn’t like something else at the end because it felt too easy! other than that, i absolutely devoured this book!
Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Mistress of Lies is the queer dark vampire fantasy I didn’t know I needed! I was in awe from cover to cover—and I am including the cover in that assessment because look at it!! 😍

This is a story of political intrigue, cutthroat schemes, and a series of mysterious, gruesome murders. Also, messy queer people in messy queer relationships. Did you know a polyamorous love triangle allows for three times the potential heartbreak? 🥲

Shan, a young, ambitious aristocrat with a secret network of spies, and Samuel, an unknown bastard thrown into the spotlight, are tasked by the vampiric Eternal King to find the identity of a serial killer; all the while they are plotting against the king and his cruel rule.

I am definitely counting this among my all-time favourite books and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about blood magic, court intrigue, and tragically flawed characters. I can’t wait for the second book, because that ending broke me! 😀

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit for an eARC of this book!

I was super excited for Mistress of Lies upon reading the synopsis earlier this year and it has been on my radar for the longest time. While I can say it met some of my expectations, it also did leave me a bit frustrated as a reader.

Mistress of Lies is a book that has an incredible world built into it that whenever we got a true glimpse at it, it enthralled me. It gives me a dark and enticing victorian vibe that I haven't really found in many other novels but rather in TV shows like Penny Dreadful. Anything relating to the blood magic and the politics was always a highlight for me and my hope for the sequel is that this is explored and fleshed out a bit more. What we do get is enticing and exciting and I wish it was more at the forefront of this book.

Where I felt the book struggled was with the balancing of plot vs character relationships. The murder mystery, which we are lead to believe initially is going to be the driving force for the plot is only peppered throughout the novel until around the 80% mark where it then needs to be wrapped up. Most of the book felt concerned with exploring the developing relationship between our three main characters and while parts of it were endearing to me I found it hard to engaged fully with Shan, Issac and Samuel. In an ideal world the main plot elements would be intertwined with the relationships but it took up such a huge part of the book that the main plot suffered for it. I do feel that with the groundwork done in this book it will allow the sequel to breathe more.

I also tended to agree with the sentiment this book does a lot of telling vs showing us certain elements about the characters. As I said this could be a teething issue when it comes to setting things up for the second book but it did get a little repetitive when whoever was narrating at the time would repeat sentiments or motivations multiple times.

Overall I enjoyed certain aspects of this book but the flaws did shine through in a way that reduced my rating. I will be checking out the sequel however as the series has promise and I hope it will learn from what worked and did not in this book.

I don’t know. I was confused a lot of the time and it felt slow, like nothing happened for 100 pages and then 20 pages of drama and repeat.

This is a Fantastic book and loved every minute of it!

Blood soaked decadence! Schemes by awful people with kissing, polyamorous and wonderful characters.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.

TLDR: too much stuff happening to explore anything. Not a bad read, but i wouldn't recommend to a picky reader.

Read my full (non-spoiler) thoughts on my blog (with pretty pics!)

Things that were ok:
- the prose: not purple, correctly edited. I liked the descriptions. The sex scenes were just on the right side of cringe (i don't like them in general, this is a compliment)
- the lgbt rep: it's rare enough to mention it. There's even a trans character!
- enjoyment: i was a bit bored by the end, but overall it's fine. Not exceptional but it's wasn't a chore to read either. Ok for reader with little critical thoughts when they read.

Things i didn't like: with only 300 pages, you can't develop anything. The author chose to include all his ideas and not use any of them.
- no worldbuilding: you got a cool idea for vampires and blood magic and then proceed to not explain shit about it
- abilities come out of left field: since you didn't explain the rules, the magic powers only ever come out in tense situations, but then it doesn't feel genuine and i hate when the author thinks i can't see the thing was invented so he could write himself out of the corner
- underdeveloped romance: they meet, they fall in love, they take 3 seconds to get over the societal pressures against polyamoury. Nice, but also really shallow
- no character progression: i hate to format a goodreads review so i won't develop (i'm not an author, i have that right lol), but the characters don't grow, and not only that, they don't even match with their descriptions (the up-and-coming noble lady who doesn't ever go to soirees and salons, also she's a spymaster and she's so smart but only ever makes bad decisions like the 20 yo she is - there, i developped that for you)
- what murders?: yeah, there's supposed to be a murder plot, but you won't hear anyone investigate until the 70% mark, and when it's their turn, they'll stand around a body and do nothing else... yeah!
- the ya-level politics: you see in our world there are 2 groups of people - the powerful magic users who live in mansions and the poor humans who live in filth. And maybe the poor people want to rebel and get some rights, that could be nice. End of the discourse - literally no deeper thought than that! Can't market this as an adult book when the only kinda adult thing was a blowjob and you don't have any interesting political or social commentary either

I enjoyed this very lushly described and darkly gothic vampire fantasy. I love me a vampire, and this was something pretty different. I don't want to get too into the events of the novel, I think this is best read not knowing what's coming.

Enright's characters are really strong, and very well penned, but he is a little inconsistent with pacing and motivation, which made some sections a bit confusing.

This is really solid read in a lot of ways, and I think those that love it will really love it! Interested to see what the rest of the series brings. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book had a strong begining and interesting characters, but unfortunately suffered from a lot of telling instead of showing. I hope that it will be corrected in the sequel, since this book shows a lot of promise!

I was very excited about this one, especially because of that stunning cover. However, it didn't work for me. A lot of the things I would've found interesting happen off-page, so there's a lot of telling instead of showing. I can't really say I understand that choice; I don't get why you would leave out the most engaging parts of character development and just expect the audience to connect to the characters that way. I liked the idea of Blood Workers and how they worked, it's an interesting take on vampire-adjacent characters, but we don't get much worldbuilding or plot around that. I don't know, I guess I expected more.

Vampires, murder mysteries and LGBTQIA+ representation, Oh my!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I massively look forward to not only the follow up book but whatever else K. M. Enright brings to the book world. That said, you cannot go into this expecting full, steamy and spicy romantasy. I also do not recommend this book if you have issues with blood (appearance, use in magic, consumption, etc). This is a more a dark debut where a lot of people are pushing for things to further their own goals without necessarily seeing what those around them might also be doing.

Shan is unapologetically good at what she does. And sure this gets her in over her head but she is tough, she is clever and dammit she is determined. I want more female MCs like this! In comparison, Isaac and Samuel are more subdued due to what one has done and what the other could do. I didn't really mind that, I think it made Shan shine a bit brighter as a result.

Anton I would have liked more of. He's a character, and in fact there were a few of them, that have a lot happening off screen. While what comes out does highlight the hyper focus Shan had on her plans and directions, my own view is that I would have loved more from Anton, Bart, etc.

I have a couple of small bones to pick with the book overall. I'm not convinced Shan was a Mistress of Lies; information, secrets and manipulation, yes absolutely. But I can see how those might not have made for such a catching title. The other is I wasn't totally convinced by the reveal and resolution. It felt a bit rushed and while it led up to a haunting ending, I'm just not totally convinced. My last two comments are quite minor: I'm still not entirely clear on the blood working except that it seems to underpin everything in the world while also being sort of in the background to it all. And "Jessica James" is not the name of a murder victim in a world of vampires and blood workers. Jessica James is the name of the person that sat next to you in geometry and you occasionally wonder what they're up to.

Mistress of Lies was a fantastic book for anyone interested in slightly darker fantasy reads.

The unique concept and premise is similar to a Vampires vs Humans situation, whereby the Blooded (the vampires in this scenario) have oppressed and used the Unblooded (regular old humans) for centuries. The story follows a plot to take down the Eternal King at the hands of an extremely intelligent and ruthless Blooded woman and her newly-found Unblooded accomplice.

I really enjoyed reading this. It was well written and the dual POV between Shan and Samuel was the perfect balance to get both sides of the story. However, I did get a tad annoyed with the phrase 'Blood and Steel' as I found it was used quite a bit!

The diversity of the characters was brilliant. One of the main characters is a trans man, and his transition, and how it was possible within this fantasy, blood-working world, was so beautifully explained. I also found the way in which racism was included was really effective and added to the story of the main characters. KM Enright really nailed it on this front.

Perhaps the only thing stopping this being a 5 star was I found the pacing a bit slow, I didn't find much happened until the last 20% of the book. But with there being a sequel pending, I'd imagine the next book will be a bit more action-packed from the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Mistress of Lies.

Dark, sumptuous and full of a rich, culturally inspired magic, The Mistress of Lies was truly a top tier debut! The worldbuilding and magic system were easily my favourite parts and it was so clear how much attention and hardwork the author put into developing the “back end” of the novel, so to speak. It’s rare to find a world so fleshed out that it becomes almost a character in itself and really was such a great part of the book. Coupled with the multifaceted and dynamic main characters in Isaac, Shan, and Samuel - I really was gripped all the way through. Oftentimes when I see a protagonist labelled “morally grey” it actually means they just make some questionable (but completely justifiable) decisions, but in this case the characters really did skirt the morality line and I loved them all the more for it. With its richly imagined world, characters that leapt of the page and fast moving plot, KM Enright really is an author I’m desperate to read more from!

Mistress of Lies is a scheming, duplicitous book full of blood and lies.

This is such a backstabber of a book. I absolutely adored how deeply it delved into politics and the ever-shifting dynamics of power. It is an elaborate game of chess and you cannot see the next five moves coming. Enright has crafted such a tightly woven plot that is complex and compelling. Right from the opening few pages, I was seduced by this darkly entrancing book. It does not hold back with a fairly brutal scene that speaks to years of abuse and planning. Immediately you know that this book has teeth and it is not afraid to use them. It draws the first blood and keeps moving from there.

Straight away I was drawn to Shan and her drive - she is determined to gain power and wreck revenge on all those that have wronged her and her family. There is a deep seated sense of loyalty and love there, buried beneath facade upon facade necessary to keep playing the game. She has always been underestimated due to her gender and race, all of which stokes the powerful fire of her anger. That kind of rage burns bright and strong and yet you are drawn to the flame regardless. It is such brilliant character work and her arc is so interesting to watch unfold, even though we do not always know every facet of it. Enright keeps some aspects shadowed until you reach extraordinary reveals that made my jaw drop. The mystery plot is well-executed and ties into these wider ideas of legacy, revenge and the pursuit of power at all costs.

Mistress of Lies is a dazzling gem of a book, but beware its shine for it hides the blood seeping beneath. It has such an interesting take on vampirism and focuses on political intrigue, court dynamics and the pursuit of power above all else.