a beautifully written story with nicely fleshed out and real feeling characters.
I loved the magic system, and the very unique feel of this story.
I can't wait to read more from this world and these characters!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I really loved this one. It had everything I like in a book, a complex magic system with immersive world building, complex characters and a nicely paced plot. While exploring the inequalities of society within a fantasy setting is not a novel concept, I did enjoy how in this book different characters had very different ideas of what should be done about it, which created interesting tensions and conflict throughout. Very much looking forward to the the second instalment!

This has the bones of a fairly incredible book. But the meat of it - the blood of it, if you will - didn't quite live up to its potential.

First, let's talk about what worked. And first and foremost in that category is Shan. One of the two POV characters, Shan is an absolute star. She has different sides to her, quite literally with her personas of the Sparrow and Lady LeClaire, she has determination, and she doesn't always make great choices. But that makes for a great character! Yes, too many other characters called Shan clever (often to her face) without her doing anything particularly clever, but I can overlook that for the first five or so times it happened. I thought Shan was captivating and engaging, none more than in the opening chapter - which sounds a bit like, "Oh, it's all downhill from here," but I mean. It was a VERY strong opening chapter.

I also thought the political aspects were very cool and had lots of potential to create a fully fleshed out world over the series. I like political machinations, and this had all the setup for that! I think that's another reason why Shan was such a wonderful character for me, as she was the one involved in the politics and being torn in a couple of different directions between her desires to make her world a better place and to gain power.

While I didn't really care for the romance(s) personally, I did appreciate the poly rep and the lack of love triangle! Cheers for that!

And while parts of the worldbuilding were a bit shallow, such as information about other countries, I think the history of their own country was intriguing and there was some great groundwork laid to expand upon the entire world.

Finally, I liked how different this take on vampirism was. At its bones, it really wasn't that unique of a take, I suppose, but the way it was presented in the novel as a whole and interwoven was refreshing!

What worked less well for me? Samuel, the other POV character, was . . . difficult for me. It wouldn't be fair for me to say that he lacked depth, because I don't think that's true, but he was somewhat boring for me if only because his character just seemed TOO good. He's almost the perfect moral compass with very little lapses into any vices or sins or, you know, complex thoughts. I understand that some of that is positioned in such a way to set him as a contrast to his family and that it's an important part of his character, to be afraid of turning out like his family, but it made it low stakes because there was absolutely no doubt that Samuel would emerge as a beacon of goodness.

Otherwise, the main thing that kept me from being drawn into this book was simply the writing. It was perfectly serviceable. It was fine. But it just didn't work for me. I think that's in large part because there were so many paragraphs and pages that would be describing things, telling you things, and often not broken up by dialogue. Which can be a stylistic choice, to be sure, but the style of the prose didn't work for such a choice for me, and instead, those paragraphs and paragraphs just came across as a writer who was still finding their voice and falling into telling over showing. I think some more writing experience would help better flesh out the characters and the world as well.

There were a handful of other things that I could nitpick, but ultimately, those were the big things that I think impacted my enjoyment of the book. That said, both are things that can easily be fixed in future books in this series, and I hope they are as I think this book and this world have a lot of potential. Plus, that cover is so gorgeous that I'd love to want this series on my shelf, and let's not underestimate that. So, overall, a fantastic concept whose execution couldn't quite live up to its full potential - but there is potential in this creative debut.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I need more Shan, Samuel and Isaac in my life right now.

This book sunk its claws into me and I am begging to know where this trilogy is going to go. I absolutely adored this story and Shan is such an intelligent main character - I struggle when authors call their characters smart without anything to back it up, but that was not the case here at all. I loved learning about her, the network she created and felt truly connected to the characters. There was so much depth to each one and the writing was lush!

I want to be back in this world as soon as possible! Highly, highly, highly recommend!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

3 stars.

This book was good.

The approach to blood based magic was what drew me into this book and sadly, I came away from it wishing the magic had more development.

The first chapters of this are very promising and instantly show us what type of character Shan is (I absolutely support women's rights, but more importantly, I support women's wrongs.) Shan is someone who will do absolutely anything to get what she wants and I love her for that.

We start out strong with Shan scheming and there's a background plot of murders, so this book has some murder mystery notes, but then the main plot gets pushed to the back burner whilst we focus on more on the relationship side of things between Shan, Isaac (a childhood friend), Samuel (a crucial part of her schemes). I did come away from this wishing that the murders weren't pushed so far back for a large stretch of the book.

There's a lot of representation in this book! We have a transmasc character, multiple mixed race characters, polyamory!

I did enjoy this book by the end and I'm interested to see what happens next, though I did wish the magic system was more developed.

Thank you for this ARC! The following review will be published on Goodreads on August 1st.

A magician heiress of a fallen family trying to find her place in a court full of conspiracy and blood.

I really liked the magic system of this world, it was dark and seductive, and felt like a unique spin on vampire lore. The worldbuilding of Aeravin, with its Unblooded and Blood Workers, was strong, and having two POV characters from opposite sides of the world really helped illustrate the inequality—especially as Samuel rises in the world and is horrified by the contrasts in their society. The intersectionality of Shan and Isaac’s specific experiences also made the world feel more real and complex, as well as being an important topic to discuss.

The prose was good, though a little too much more showing than telling for me. In a fantasy book with complicated world-building I’d rather have things told to me explicitly than end up confused, but I do think Enright could trust his readers a little more.

I really enjoyed the central trio’s relationship. There was probably more focus on the romance over the rest of the plot than I tend to want in a book, but I still enjoyed their dynamics and the sexual tension was delicious.

I think my biggest critique was: I wasn’t entirely sure what either POV character wanted. They both seemed to have relatively vague goals (for Shan, raising her family’s reputation, replacing the King(but how?), for Samuel, surviving the new world he’s thrown into) but I feel like most of the time they were treading water, or being passive. Passive characters can be interesting, and make sense in a world where society is strictly structured, but at the same time I want characters to want something—especially Shan, who is set up to be this super ambitious, determined character, but you’re never 100% sure what exactly she’s ambitious for, or how each of her actions tie into her overall plans. Did she have an overall plan? I’m still not sure.

Despite this, I still enjoyed the book, and especially liked the murder plotline. The ending felt well-judged, and made me want to pick up the next book!

What an absolutely phenomenal title. I was so impressed by the prose and the storyline. Queer Filipino American author Enright weaves a highly political vampiric tale full of court intrigue and mysteries left and right. I was blown away

“Mistress of Lies” is the first installment of “The Age of Blood” , an adult fantasy series written by K. M. Enright and currently in progress. A book for which I had very high expectations, but which in the end unfortunately did not convince me.

The dark, intricate and extensive world building fascinated me a lot. The story takes place in a realm dominated by Blood Workers, creatures that essentially constitute a peculiar reinterpretation of vampires. The realm is controlled by the powerful as well as mysterious and ambiguous Eternal King, run by a council and marked by deep disparities between those who possess blood magic (the Blood Workers) and those who do not. The former are rich, privileged and favored, while the latter live off the crumbs, amid perennial hardship and injustice. A tense situation, made even more difficult by the ambition and power games of the nobles. I found it a well described setting, with the right amount of information provided, which in my opinion is lost on the magic system. I don't know, the explanations of blood magic (but not only) seemed rather nebulous, so much so that I struggled to understand how it actually works.

The narration proceeds alternating between short and long chapters, characterized by captivating and evocative prose and a fast pace. Two elements that kept me glued to the pages, despite the fact that the development of the story did not convince me. I don't know, despite the dark and ominous atmosphere, I didn't feel any sense of real urgency. On the other hand, I perceived numerous convenient situations, plot holes, with events happening too hastily and easily. The mystery part seemed to me to be more of an outline than anything else, a background element, gaining some importance only in the second half of the novel.

The characters disappointed me. I found them shallow, cold and detached. Not on the level of personality, but precisely on the level of writing. I could not bond with them, they conveyed nothing to me, and I'm sorry, because on paper they had the potential to win me over. The romance as a result left me completely indifferent, although I admit I found the LGBTQ+ representation really well done and interesting!

All in all, “Mistress of Lies” is a book with an intriguing premise and pleasant prose, which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development and characters.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the start of this book, it really enraptured me and I was so excited to learn more about this world. But I found that after the first few chapters the writing didn't flow as much, and conversations between characters often felt forced. I also thought that the difference between the blood workers and unblooded was not explained that well so it took me a while to understand how they are different. Overall I think this book just wasn’t for me but was good.

Summary: Shan LeClaire, a master of blood magic, seeks revenge and power, entangling Samuel in a deadly plot to protect her brother.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

Didn't like the overuse of the phrase "blood and steel", but overall the book is so intriguing with its the magic system, character dialog and tension and all the twists and turns I can't wait for book two to see how it all plays out.

This was a fine book; K.M. Enright is an incredible writer and that first chapter is one of the best openers I've read in a long time. The prose was tight, the world was fun, and there was some truly delicious dark imagery throughout. That said, I guess I hyped myself too much. I wanted more moral greyness and complexity from the characters, especially from Shan, and the M/F/M romance felt a bit rushed. Hopefully, Mistress of Lies will find its right audience, it's always exciting to see Romantasy with trans and Asian rep thriving in the book community!

What a fantastic start to a new dark poltical fantasy series. its absolutely horrifying how easy to was to relate the things happening in the book to the real world. what dark and twisted world we live in.

besides the storyline and the atmosphere of the plot, i loved how unperfect the characters were, everyone was flawed which made them even more real. in addition to that, i loved the way the love triangle turned into a "real" triangle. i love the recent trend of poly relationships in books!

i can't wait to find out what happens next!

I think we can this book by its name: romantasy. The murder mystery plotline is just a backdrop to have the three main characters interacting and there's hardly any investigation going on (starts at around 40 percent, when female mc looks at a dead body).
I would categorize it as new adult with the characters being in their twenties (also filipino and trans rep). The simple writing style makes you fly through, but it had pacing issues. After the first quarter of expostion follow another 10-15% of romantic exposition, that could not keep me engaged. Although I like the new take on vampires and I enjoyed reading the story from two perspectives, world building and atmosphere are lacking.

What a fantastic book. Every now and again I read something that reminds me what a good book actually is and this is one of those.

I love the darkness of the world we are introduced to. A supposed haven for blood workers that keeps its unblooded poor suppressed. The political scheming was intriguing and felt truly dangerous.

I often skip past the romance subplots but not in this case. The three way dynamic was brilliantly done and really added to the story.

If there’s some criticism I can give it would be that I wanted more details of the blood magic and how it works and the consequences of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5

Wow. The opening was as wild as any book could be, but for it to end as well as it started is unbelievable. With the thoroughly detailed warning at the start that this would not be for the faint-hearted, Mistress of Lies did not shy away from the vivid descriptions and the depths it went into for detail.

Our main character, Shan, is a manipulative noble woman who has her own plans to protect her brother and to bring her family back out of shame. Samuel is a good-hearted bastard with the right intentions, but what he believes to be a liability holding him back. Isaac is a greedy man who climbed very hard to get to where he stands today. All these characters have their own ideas to reach for, but with different ideas on how to get there. And sprinkle in some deep attraction to each other, and we almost have the making of a polyamorous relationship, This seemed to be hinted for future exploration in the sequel though.

The only thing that let the book down was the lack of blood magic involvement. For the majority of the characters we meet being blood workers, there wasn't enough mention or background towards what exactly this practice forbidden in other Kingdoms is. We read of how powerful it can be, and how it can do both good and evil, yet we do not get enough of it at all. Hopefully this is rectified in the next book too.

Overall, a great debut book into a dark and gruesome area. I look forward to reading more.

This book was almost perfect for me. The political turmoil, the messy love triangle where everyone involved forms a polycule, characters plainly calling themselves a monster to protect the ones they love, my literary loving heart should have felt so full.

The thing holding me back was the vagueness of the worldbuilding regarding the magic system and the country as a whole. It's never really explained where Blood Workers come from, nor exactly what they do/look like that stands them out from the Unblooded other than their blood letting weapon of choice (claws, daggers, etc.). It also isn't made very clear what the other nations outside Aeravin are like besides the Tagalan Islands, which I assume is this world's fantasy Philippines.

Other than that, I really enjoyed reading this. Shan and Samuel are such intriguing protagonists, complete opposites on the surface but beautifully come together over the course of the novel. Isaac could have been a main character, too, with how heavily he supported and drove the story. I also loved the romance they had, and the suggestion of them all being together felt so natural. [(It's immediately broken up when it's revealed Isaac was the serial killer, but I suspect Shan and Samuel will find a way to get him out in the next book, which was a great surprise because I thought this was gonna be a standalone!) (hide spoiler)] Plus, like I stated, the politics are so interesting, and the parallels between this and the real world felt authentic and so well thought out.

All in all, despite some lack of development on some of the worldbuilding, I still would can this a fantastic fantasy read, and I cannot wait to see what Enright will bring next!

I'm nothing if not a supporter of women's wrongs, so with Mistress of Lies opening up how with does I was bound to have a great time.
I loved Shan's complexity, the slow peeling back of layers to reveal what she does for the people she cares about (although admittedly she does make a few questionable decisions for a spymaster at times), and how well her personality worked with Samuel's, at times so different from one another and yet so similar, but Isaac, I'll admit, is my favorite out of the three, and I'm very curious to see what the author does with them next because Mistress of Lies lays opens up so many juicy possibilities.
The take on vampires and blood magic felt refreshing and was one of my favorite aspects of this book, though the magic-system was a bit hard to follow at times, mostly since there didn't seem to be too many set rules, and sometimes I got the sense that characters got certain abilities because it was convenient. I have one major issue with something that happens with one of the character's powers because for the build-up it got it was resolved a lot quicker and easier than I expected, but I won't go too much into that because of spoilers.
Mistress of Lies will likely appeal to readers who greatly enjoy character-driven stories and don't mind too much when the plot isn't as tight as it could be, which is where I happen to sit.
The vibes and viciousness were on point.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

I was SO excited for this one--it sounded amazing and that cover is so cool!--but unfortunately the execution really let it down for me. I found that the writing didn't flow, and conversations between characters often felt contrived and stilted. I didn't feel like the writing really evoked the setting or the world very effectively. And the result of all this was that I was unable to really invest in this world. It unfortunately read as overly simplistic to me.

I just finished Mistress of Lies and i really liked this book. Its a 4 star read for me. For me 4 stars is a good read that i enjoyed troughout. It is not on the top of my reread pile but i was pleased with the whole book.

The book started with one of my favourite characters in action. I feel like the characters (especially Shan, Samuel and Isaac) are the best part of the book. I like the love triangle and the messy family.

The part that made it a 4 star read for me (instead of a 5) was that i would have prefered some backstory about the magic and the world. I didn't understand the difference between the blood workers and unblooded that well.

I also thought this book was a standalone. So i got confused at the end.

This story grabbed me from the very beginning and had me feeling a torrent of emotions. I had the perfect time reading about this fictional world. I found myself absolutely enthralled. I will definitely be on the lookout to read more from this author.