Blood workers have sanctuary in the Kingdom of Aeravin. Ruled by an immortal Bloodworking king, those with the ability can use their powers and flourish under his rule. But only some have been blessed, or cursed, with the ability to learn, control, and heal people by using their blood. The Unblooded have become the working-class backbone of the kingdom, and tensions are high under the entitled Blood Workers’ oppressive rule. Shan LeClaire is from a disgraced but powerful Bloodworking family and is willing to do whatever it takes to claim her title and rise in society’s ranks. Samuel lives among the poor and Unblooded, hoping to hide a horrible power building up inside him. When Shan and Samuel’s paths cross, they form a shaky alliance. Shan wants to overthrow the king and believes Samuel can help her do it.
I loved the idea of this book. There’s powerful blood magic, a murder investigation, and a city bubbling over with tension under an oppressive, immortal ruler. It checked every box for me, and the book appeared to be a recipe for a compelling, complicated story. But the execution of all these elements wasn’t there. The story was too big to meaningfully explore every part, and as a result, we get a very shallow experience with the individual parts. Mistress of Lies tries to establish Shan as a powerful blood worker who is trying to build up her family’s reputation, manage a network of spies, and overthrow their ruler. Then there is Samuel who possesses an unknown power, and once that power is discovered he has to find his footing among the nobility and learn to use his abilities. While ALL that is happening, there is a murder investigation, a magic-less class preparing to revolt, several romances, an all-powerful king being weird, and his Royal Bloodworker who loves to experiment.
The issue with this story is balance. These elements could have all played nicely together, but they’re all treated as the main story, and it’s too much. They all want to be in the spotlight but there isn’t enough space on the stage. Book one of this series should have prioritized the murder mystery, Shan’s work to restore her family name, and Samuel’s development. The complete overhaul of a government, the generations of Bloodworking experiments, and Shan’s (apparently) clever spying and machinations could have built up nicely and been revealed over several books. But everything happened in this book, so I’m not sure where the story can go now. It would have been nice to have had more worldbuilding and understanding of the magic system, but it’s a little too late to attempt that in book two.
And because the plot struggles to keep its many plates spinning, the character development is completely abandoned. This is probably the most disappointing part for me because there are several interesting characters and complicated connections that would have provided a thick and delicious layer of tension and drama in the story. There are many points of contention between these characters that span across class, family hierarchy, magical abilities, and political beliefs. But alas, we don’t get to sink our teeth in for a satisfying bite. The character development also suffers because the story doesn’t show them doing anything. Shan is supposed to be this incredibly clever and conniving person who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes through a network of spies. Characters constantly call Shan clever or allude to her shadow behavior, yet we don’t see her doing anything clever. Telling the reader that Shan is meeting with one of her spies is not a display of a master manipulator. This sort of tell-and-no-show writing plagues the entire story.
If you’ve made it this far, you won’t be surprised to hear that I found Mistress of Lies disappointing. The interesting world described on the book’s back cover was absent entirely, and I can barely tell you what it’s about because there are at least five plots for you to pick from. Let your eyes land on the dark, saintly cover but keep moving along the shelf to find something else to read.
Rating: Mistress of Lies – 4/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.