I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 
 Acutal Rating 3.8 
 Mask of Shadows turned out to be a interesting and intriguing read. I was pulled into this story right away. Yes, the story may not be original and may remind you of books already done, but I really didn't care. I think Linsey Miller did her own thing and I found those aspects to be what I liked. 
 I really love that the main character Sal is gender fluid. I will admit I was confused at first, but it gets cleared up fairly early. I wish that this was explained about the character from the beginning so I could get to know the character more. Sal enters a competition to become the next Opal, an assassin for the Queen. There are 23 of them and only one will be left standing. So, yes they have to kill each other to win the spot. But I liked how the competition is done. There are specific rules, they must always wear masks with just their number, and train to become better fighters. 
 I liked that each person didn't know what the other looked like. Instead Sal picks up on other things like how they talk, their posture, and how strong their bodies were to see what their skills were. Yes, it takes away from caring about the people in the competition, but you know their going to die anyways and it made it that much more exciting and dangerous. 
 My only issues with this book is that I wished for a better or more detailed background of this world. The war that happened when Sal was a child is only explained through flashbacks and Sal's own hate and need for revenge. Also the fact that everyone was very accepting of Sal's explanation about how to be addressed depending on what article of clothing worn on a given day. I think the people and world could have been more detailed. Other than that I did enjoy this book.