The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon
Published: January 26, 2021
Dreamwalker Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion’s downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim’s puppet empire.
The mysterious Domino Program has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim-her former enemy-at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.
As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them-and could end with them…
This, without a doubt was my most anticipated read of 2021. The Bone Season is my all time favorite series and Samantha Shannon is my all time favorite author. I was BLESSED by the Bloosmbury Gods one year with an ARC of the Song Rising and I’m pretty sure at some point in my life I’ll be putting that into a glass case to preserve it. I’ve re-read the published books (with the exception of The Mask Falling) six times, one for every year I’ve gotten back into reading. The Bone Season is one of the books that reignited my love for reading. So…without further ado – A review on The Mask Falling.
Samantha Shannon manages to continue to keep up with the amazing ins and outs of the rest of the series, she builds such amazing plot with a billion twists and turns that you’re so surprised how everything plays out. I seriously SERIOUSLY have not read a series where each and every book has me picking up my jaw off the floor and The Mask Falling was no exception, actually, it took me DAYS to lift my jaw off the floor. I couldn’t believe what I had read and my goodness. I literally could feel my heart in my chest, the sound of my pulse in my ears, literal anticipation. She made me actually feel so many emotions, but the fact that she can write so impeccably to pull those feelings out of me? Day after day I will applaud Samantha Shannon to really pull on the emotions of a reader.
With the mix of high intensity situations, amazing character development, gripping plot lines, and amazing descriptions of location, this book is a true *chef’s kiss*. It truly is impeccable. The highs and the lows Paige goes through, really come through in this book. There’s a lot of inner conflict, pushing through these insanely difficult situations, she’s vulnerable at times which helps with connecting with her but at the same time, the development of Paige is amazing. And bringing in some old characters, that we haven’t seen in a while and seeing how they’ve been doing and who they are, and how they’ve been involved in the grander scheme of things, I feel like a lot of authors forget to look into those small tiny details and they make these webs of plots and development but never come back to them, where as Samantha Shannon has been doing an A++ job of really finding ways to bring back old plot lines and make them new again and continue on the story with these non-prominent characters which I appreciate (please bring Michael back in some way. I BEG of you).
So, with the mention of old plotlines/characters I have to bring up my most favorite book crush Arcturus. Seeing so much more of him and his interactions with Paige made my heart soar. I feel like their relationship is so nuanced and it’s like this huge intricate ballroom dance or something and watching that dance unfold and move along it’s absolutely amazing, I was happy, I was sad, it was a whole spectrum of emotions and I’m so glad that their relationship was further explored, I was waiting for that, very much.
Overall, this book was perfection, seriously. 10/10 times if anyone asks me for a recommendation for a book, I give them this series as a recommendation. Why? Because there has never been one time in the 6 re-reads and reading of this book, where I’ve been let down in plot, pace, location description, characters, development, drama, depth. Everything that makes a book good, no absolutely stunning, Samantha Shannon knows how to do it, and she does it so well in The Mask Falling. I love The Bone Season because it’s the beginning of Paige’s journey, but I love The Mask Falling because it’s a masterpiece.
5/5 Stars
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