OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: K. M. Enright is a Filipino-American writer of romantic fantasy for teens and adults. 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.

 

FORMAT/INFO: Mistress of Lies was published on August 13th, 2024 by Orbit Books. It is 464 pages long and told in third person from Shan and Samuel's POVs. It is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In the city of the Eternal King, blood rules all. The upper class belongs to the Blood Workers, those who can perform a variety of blood magics, while the slums belong to the Unblooded, those with no magic gift at all. But Samuel is an Unblooded who has a secret magic gift, one so terrible that he’s spent his life in hiding, resisting any temptation to use it. But when he stumbles across a murder victim, he is suddenly caught up in the life of Lady Shan LeClaire, a Blood Worker with an agenda to topple the kingdom - and her plans hinge on Samuel and his curse.

 Mistress of Lies is a seductive novel with a strong hook and an equally strong, ruthless female lead. From the opening pages, Shan makes an impression. She is quite literally not afraid to get her hands dirty, willing to murder, lie, or act the simpering maiden as circumstances dictate. Shan’s manipulations were the highlight of the book and the main thing engaging me with the story.

If only her male co-lead were equally interesting. The author repeatedly has characters describe Samuel as “innocent,” a working class citizen thrust into the politics of the upper class, who couldn't fathom the treachery that lurks there.. But I think a better word would be “helpless.” He kind of meanders about the plot, without a clear sense of direction or consistent moral code. Despite multiple protestations about the injustices against his fellow Unblooded, when push comes to shove, he does nothing to help - and at one point, bizarrely tries to argue that the Unblooded should give the nobles a chance to fix things, despite ample evidence they won't lift a finger.

And that’s where I think things break down for this book: its characters don’t really seem committed to any kind of revolution to fix the injustices in this city. Shan, at least, has justifiable character motivation; as much as she spouts flowery words about wanting to burn the system down to protect those like her Unblooded brother, she really is pursuing a personal vendetta. I can respect her commitment to the long game and her frustrations when talk of open rebellion upsets her chess board. But why Samuel would advocate for the upper class given everything we've been told and shown about his character is beyond me.

If you set aside the very weird revolutionary politics of the book, however, there’s still enjoyment to be found in the more sensual moments of the book. The author revels in the intimacy of blood magic, using it to draw its characters closer together. The book is at its strongest when Shan, Samuel, and Royal Blood Worker Isaac are trying to sort through their feelings and their growing attraction to one another, as necessity and magic keep them in close proximity.

CONCLUSION: Mistress of Lies is one of those books that can keep you thoroughly entranced, and yet when you look up from the seductive character moments, you wonder where the rest of the plot went. I got occasionally frustrated at the lack of real progress on the page at catching the serial killer, as we barely see the characters making actual progress in solving the case, despite the rising body count. While I was rooting for Shan the entire length of the story, at the end of the day this story felt a little more fluff than substance than I would have liked.