Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley. It is a YA fantasy novel with a gender fluid protagonist named Sal. Sal is a thief and a former street fighter, who is the only surviving representative of a nation called Nacea. His home country was wiped out during a brutal war in which magically created shadows were killing humans until they were stopped by a powerful mage turned queen of the entire land. In defeating the shadows, the Queen also banished magic from her land.

The Queen has a team of four assassins who are collectively called the Left Hand, and one of the positions on the team is open to all willing and deemed fit to compete for it. Sal decides to enter the competition, and the story takes off from there.

One thing that surprised me about this book was how violent and bloody it was. In that aspect it did not feel like a YA novel. I also had some issues with the plot. The main story line was centered around the competition for the assassin job. The author also did a fairly good job introducing the world, the history and the politics. However, the ending was very abrupt and confusing. I did not understand if it was left open-ended for a possible sequel or it was an actual ending. The story also was unevenly paced. Some portions seemed dragged out and I really had to push myself to power through those. Overall 3 out of 5 stars. A solid, interesting premise, a unique world, and a likable main character. But the plot and pacing could be improved.