THE MASK FALLING: Booksta Review

Original Instagram post: February 24, 2021

You know when a book you’ve been waiting (3) years for completely defies your expectations? The author takes you and her characters to unknown depths (sometimes literally) and then knocks the ending out of the park? And when you’ve read the last sentence, you stare at the ceiling for a while because you’ve forgotten how to use words effectively? That was this book.

I feel like I don’t have to vocabulary to explain how much I love this book and this series.

If you love a complex urban fantasy world populated by imperfect, messy people* who you love anyways, tightly spun plot lines, and a deeply felt slow burn romance, PLEASE PICK UP THE BONE SEASON. (Yes, the capital letters are necessary.) *the characters are messy as people, not messily written

❖

I’m not going to say too much about the plot because this is the fourth book in a seven-book series. Instead, I’m going to share a few things about the writing First....

Samantha Shannon is a wizard.

Not a flashy one, but a quiet, etymology-loving, sneaks-up-and-casts-a-spell-when-you-weren’t-looking kind of word wizard. While the action of The Mask Falling (and the previous books) clips along, she finds room for breath and small swirls of lyricism. Every sentence is beautiful, no matter how simple.

The way she spins plot… I can’t even say. There were times where I couldn’t breath. I’ve read the third book three times and, even knowing the ending, I chew my fingernails to the quick out of worry. When it comes to the story, she takes you along one path, and then turns into a thru street you didn’t even notice. It’s the kind of storytelling that grips me. And it doesn’t let go.

Samantha Shannon has grown tremendously as a writer over the course of these books. So, what she’s finessed by Book Four is in its early stages in Book One. It’s something to know when you read this series. Please read them. Then message me immediately.