Review

The Order of Masks is an utterly compelling YA fantasy tale that follows two women in their quest for power in the deadly Ravalian court. Mira has spent most of her life on the run, though she has no idea why, she hopes to compete in the Trials and win herself a life at court, but it be everything she hopes? Meanwhile, Scarlett is the daughter of the Emperor, but she is cast aside by her half brother’s and their quest for power. When Scarlett sees an opportunity to seize some power of her own, she’s determined to take it, but at what cost?

I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was such an engaging, fast paced read that I found myself completely hooked on this tale. I really enjoyed the writing style and I thought the world building was detailed and well fleshed out. I thought the magic system was really interesting with the different orders and I’m intrigued to see more of that in book two. I also loved that the story featured a trial aspect, as this is one of my favourite tropes. Bellchambers really brought the tension during the trials and there were a couple of scenes that really had me on the edge of my seat.

The thing I loved most about The Order of the Masks is the characters. Most of our characters are on a quest for power and they will do pretty much anything to get it. I loved that there were so many morally grey characters and that they did plenty of questionable things to get what they wanted. The story is told from both Mira and Scarlett’s POVs and I adored them both. I thought this was an incredibly entertaining tale and I cannot wait to see where things go in book two. If you’re looking for a fantasy tale that features trials, court politics, betrayals and twists you won’t see coming, The Order of Masks should absolutely be your next read.