I honestly feel so lucky that I didn't have as long of a wait between book 4 and 5 like a lot of people since I only started the series in June this year!

Continuing off from THE MASK FALLING, there's no hesitation in jumping straight in to the story. It had me enraptured from the beginning, as did the previous books.

To the surprise of no-one, it's action packed and a rollercoaster of emotions combined with plot twists.

And now I'm going to sit and twiddle my thumbs until the next instalment...

BOOK REVIEW: The Dark Mirror by @say_shannon @bloomsburypublishing

5 Stars!!

This is a tough book to review without giving anything away and yet doing this INCREDIBLE book justice. I won't be going into the storyline of the series so...just READ IT! That's an order!

Somehow Samantha Shannon gets better and better with every book. Although I have given every book in this series 5 stars! These characters and this storyline has me in a chokehold. I could not put it down! Samantha, you owe me sleep!

The intrigue and politics in this book is on a WHOLE new level. It utterly astounded me and the amount of detail that went into it was simply incredible. I was completely hooked and was desperate to find out more about all the new organisations and people involved. I couldn't guess anything about how this story would go and it had me both anxious and LOVING it.
The book involved a lot of action, confrontations and tense moments which had me on the edge of my seat. There was also beautiful intimacy, reconciliations, friendships and growth of relationships. Basically it made me happy, stressed and incredibly obsessed!
I loved how we knew more than Paige for some of this book. And also how Samantha Shannon sprinkled clues in for Paige to try to remember. It added a real sense of urgency for the reader.
The humour in this book is really brilliant. Its a VERY full on story with a lot of hardship so these moments of humour meant a lot and had me laughing and smiling along. A certain pyromancer in particular was an absolute gem!

The writing is Samantha Shannon at her very best. Which is PERFECTION. I was hooked from the first word to the last and that is due to the characters and the storyline but also how engaging the writing is. It really shows off the work Samantha puts into research and also just how incredibly intelligent she is. It really blew me away.

I genuinely cannot recommend The Bone Season series more. It is in my top 3 series of all time and I just want MORE people to be as obsessed as I am. Now to wait for the next book...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

I couldn’t have been more excited to read a book. Reading this book felt like coming home, being reunited with characters and finally continuing from where The Mask Falling left off was a whirlwind of emotions and action that simultaneously made me want to speed read this book but also take my time and savour every second.

Samantha Shannon just seems to be giving us better and better instalments of this series, the wait for the sixth book is going to be dreadful but I can not wait to see where things go next.

Another excellent installment of the bone season series, these keep getting better and better! Shannon has incredible storytelling powers, creating underground and backalley worlds with sumptuous richness that feels utterly believable

I have loved this series for so long and it was so excellent to be back in this world. My favourite thing here was spending more time on the relationship. There's a bit of a wait for it, but when it arrives, it's beautiful and heart wrenching and so perfect. All in all this was a fantastic continuation of the series and only served to remind me how brilliantly done this whole series is - the politics, the magic, the love story - it's epic in the best way and reduced me to tears multiple times. Highly highly recommend,

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an advanced review copy.

Avoiding providing spoilers while reviewing The Dark Mirror is incredibly difficult: I will try my best here. Just know that if you love the first four volumes, the Dark Mirror won’t disappoint: it is an excellent continuation of the series, expanding the universe, characters and stakes and showing them in a different light. The rest of this review is just a few points that standout for me about this book and series.

Goodbye Paris, welcome to the free world. From the Czech Republic to Italy, the focus is to a world without Scion or On the Merits. The rules are changing and become uncertain under freedom and secrecy. It feels like the ground can fall under each of your steps and everyone you meet could be a new enemy while Scion is still looming, hungry for more control. But watching people living freely shows that a world without Scion is possible. Hope is there.

New locations were carefully selected by Samatha Shannon. One of the elements that got me hooked to the series is the choice of real locations. I kept checking Google maps to find and mark them: I can get a view of the building but also follow the Paige steps on the map. That is one thing that is remarkable: the way the characters move, is incredibly accurate and you can almost use the novels as a tour guide. I did it for Oxford, London and Paris and will probably plan a trip to Italy in the near future.

Usually I lose interest in romance quite quickly. I was rooting for Nick and Zeke at the beginning but since Paige is the narrator, this storyline got put on the side. This leaves us with Paige and Arcturus and if you know them, you know that their relationship status is “it’s complicated”. I really want to slap them but Samantha Shannon got me with one sentence: I had to stop reading because I didn’t know if I should clap or cry (and reading the rest of the chapter, I opted for the second option). Kudos for getting me there.

As for the story, while previous volumes contained elements of spy thriller, it really feels like one here. Organizations are working with or against each other, everybody must choose a side, identities change or are uncovered. I was on my toes all the time and felt that not a moment was wasted: the pacing is well executed between action scenes and quiet moments. Like Paige, I also need to recover and catch my breath before the next roller coaster moment. Samantha Shannon’s craft is here at its best.

At last one last question remains, is everything really about to change? The answer is “yes” but you will need to read it to find what and how.

I was over the moon when I got the chance to read one of my MOST anticipated book of 2025, the fifth installment of The bone season by the brilliant Samantha Shannon.
Paige, my poor Paige, went and is still going through a lot, having lost six month to amnesia, Arcturus and being suddendly in the free world. When a new Scion threat comes up with the Operation Ventriloquist, threatening to invade Italy, she and her allies will do anything to save Arcturus and stop Scion.

I loved reading this book. If the first four book were set in the Scion world, The dark mirror bring Paige and us with her in Prague, the Alps and finally in Italy where the book is mainly set. Seeing Prague, Venice and Rome, letting Paige in a free world, letting discover her things normal for us, like latte, jeans, music and banned in Scion is was incredible and surreal.
Like the previous book Paige can't catch a breath. This book is filled with surprises, shocking revelations, secrets and it was such an emotional rollercoaster my heart couldn't take it. Not only the book is filled with action, but also emotional moments.
It was such a pleasure meeting Nick and Maria and having the relationship between Paige and Arcturus deepen and becoming more and more intense and serious. They are my favorites!
I love how the world Paige knows expands including new and old new allies and enemies and organizations.

I truly loved everything in this book. I cried, I laughed and now I'm even more eager for the next book.

Well, I won't go into too much detail on the plot to avoid giving spoilers, but The Dark Mirror continues on from where we left Paige in The Mask Falling.

As always, I love Samantha Shannon and I do think she just gets better and better. This is excellent.

this book was brilliant. I think it's my favourite book in the Bone Season so far.

My heart - this was such a rollercoaster. As with all things Paige, it was emotive, witty, clever, urgent. But we can also see how Paige is growing.

Speaking of growth: This book felt slightly different to the other bone seasons books. There was even more maturity and power in Samantha Shannon's writing. It's amazing to see how far her writing has come, and how that continues to evolve and improve this series.

The structure felt a little different, though not too different, from the other books. It was refreshing, not disjointed or out of place, it slotted in so well with the plot and narrative. It was still packed full of events, but there's even more political intrigue in this book, and SS does a great job of making it all make sense, fit with the story, and take you through it.

SS's ability to take the story to new places, literally and figuratively, is brilliant! I can feel the chest pieces being moved to set up for the final books, and this read has got me even more pumped for them! I recommend this series to anyone who wants something, action packed and addictive: it's a fantasy, urban dystopia, thriller.

What a ride.

Thank you Bloomsbury and Net Gally for the ARC(turus) (pun intended).

I've been committed and in love with this series since The Bone Season was published back in 2013.

It's been 12 years and 5 books and I can confirm that The Dark Mirror has secured my deep obsession with this world and these characters.

It's been a long wait (and not just for the book if you catch my drift 😉) but completely worth it.

The main highlights for me (without spoilers because you all need to experience this yourself)

Paige's growth. It may have been 11 years since book one was published but Paige is still 20. But after everything we have accompanied her through in the first four instalments, the fifth really shines a light on her self awareness. Is she still reckless? Well, she wouldn't be the Paige we all know and love if she wasn't.

The friendships - old and new, that's all I can say.

The romance - yup.

I will confirm I did cry, had my heart in my throat numerous times and as always with this series, the last 20% is NON STOP.

I will admit I was rather missing Scion at first (weird, right?) but Paige experiencing the free world was an absolute treat. Lattes? Champagne? Drones?!?

I also really loved that we got a bit more snark in this book, and not just from our favourite dreamer.

One piece of advice: as with all parts of this series, there are A LOT of moving parts. This is very political and the world building is deep (and solid) but would highly recommend a reread of the first four. I had just done that and it was a lot easier for me to digest it all.

Finally, that one hit hard Samantha. Harder than I thought it would. You know what you did.

The Dark Mirror, book 5 in The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon releases 25 February 2025 and if you've been on this journey too, you are in for a fantastic adventure.

This is, without a doubt, one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given.

I am astounded by this book. I’ve always hyped up the complexity of Samantha Shannon’s worlds, but this book truly just amps it up to another level, if such a thing is possible. Never before have I found myself almost sobbing because of how CLEVER a book is, but the absolute riot of emotions this book wrought from me was almost overwhelming. Samantha just knows how to write the most manipulative, scheming, heart wrenching, intimate, and tense moments that ring true to their core. Half the time I don’t know whether to love or hate the entire cast of characters. It’s just…a perpetual limbo, not knowing who or what to trust. And my god did I eat it up.

This is one I’ll be thinking about for years to come. I barely feel like this review even touches upon the overwhelming love I have for this book, but trust that if you’ve read this far into the series, you’re about to experience an absolute ride with this one.

This was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, with Shannon deftly navigating every twist and turn. An excellent installment in a series I love with my entire heart.

Samantha Shannon does it again and absolutely grips me for 48 hours straight. This book is everything, my favourite instalment in the series for sure. The Dark Mirror is eventful, exciting, tender and hopeful. I adored my time with this book and even weeks later I can confirm this was 100 stars out of 5.

It's been some time since the last installment of the Bone Season, to ensure I got the best experience with The Dark Mirror I committed and reread the entire series first. Wow am I glad I did.
With all of the world-building, jargon an intricate plot weaving my limited memory didn't stand a chance!
I would also recommend picking up the newly edited versions which are noticeably refined.
Note that you absolutely cannot read these titles out of order!

With enemies old and new at every turn, Paige discovers the world outside of Scion and traverses the free countries of Europe in search of new allies in the war against the Suzerain. The Dark Mirror leans hard into espionage with several new collectives, each with their own motives and infinite chances of betrayal.

Many of the characters we love and hate return for another epic showdown in yet another beautifully described location. I have to believe Shannon has been visiting the cities before writing about them, the detail doesn't detract from the pacing and yet you can perfectly visualise each location.

The continuation of the relationship between Paige and Warden is almost physically painful to read with the emotion Shannon packs into the pages, especially as we read from only Paige's perspective. Her amnesia will leave you wanting to shake those memories back into her as we know what she's forgotten.

My one complaint remains the same as with The Mask Falling, whilst I appreciate the reasons for incorporating other languages into a storyline spanning multiple countries, it is extremely frustrating to have characters momentarily converse in Italian, French and Polish. These moments may not include pivotal information, but upon translation they did give more insight to the character's personality or opinions. Something I only made effort to do whilst reading on an e-reader and would miss entirely in a physical copy. Please please stop doing this!

Now begins the arduous wait for book six of the promised seven in The Bone Season. I adore this series.

The Dark Mirror was everything I wanted it to be, and so much more I didn’t know I’d wished for.

I first started reading The Bone Season when it was originally published, having followed every book, novella, pamphlet, revised versions, and with the cliff hanger that The Mask Falling ended on, this has been my most anticipated release to date.

Samantha Shannon has absolutely outdone herself, and it’s a joy to see how her writing has grown with her over the years.

(I’m trying desperately to avoid any spoilers below!)

The reunions filled me with an unbelievable amount of emotions, like seeing old friends being reunited. The death had me in tears in a way that I just never imagined it would have done. Paige facing her fear of water, and what that ultimately leads to discovering had me on the biggest emotional rollercoaster I think I’ve ever experienced when reading a book.

Also, the hidden diamond of the book - Maria. The amount of times I was laughing to myself over some of her one liners, the amount of personality you get to see from her is one of my favourite things of TDM.

There is always an element of nervousness when you love a series so much, and you’ve been waiting for the next instalment, you’ve had time to think, theorise, discuss, reread and try and find foreshadowing, but so many thinks shocked me (in the absolute best way to be shocked as a reader).

I always stood by The Mask Falling (closely followed by The Mime Order) being my favourite, but without a shadow of a doubt, The Dark Mirror has taken that spot.

Thank you NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and author Samantha Shannon for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading this. I loved being back in Paige's head- it felt like returning to an old friend. The scope of Samantha Shannon's vision is huge and I'm already excited for book 6

“You should not be surprised by your strength. I never am.”

I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful to have received an eARC of The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon, it did not disappoint and certainly made the wait for February 2025 more bearable.

The book dove straight into the action, and it was so nice being back with Paige and reading all of her witty remarks and comebacks. It was so great to spend more time with Maria and meet some amazing new characters, as well as becoming reacquainted with older ones.

Some books pass over characters past trauma, but I’m so glad that we were reminded occasionally of everything Paige has been through, it always makes her character so much more realistic and relatable to me.

The beautiful depictions of the different European cities visited by the characters made me imagine readers seeing a piece of their homes in every chapter. It was so interesting to see Paige discovering things in the free world for the first time, like a cappuccino, the internet and even clothing like jeans.

I will say finally though that it felt like maybe there was too many different organisations and new characters with different aliases introduced at once, it could just be me being slow but I really struggled to keep up with some of the new organisations at times. I think rereading the book in physical format when it’s released will definitely help with that for me though.

Another beautiful book in my favourite series, it certainly didn’t disappoint and I’m so excited to see where this series goes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

In The Dark Mirror, Paige Mahoney finds herself navigating the free world for the first time in over a decade, only to realise that half a year of her life is shrouded in mystery. As she embarks on her journey back to the revolution, she travels to the enchanting city of Venice, where she uncovers a perilous secret that could alter the course of the war between humans and immortals.

Paige's mission to assist the Domino Programme in unravelling the ominous Operation Ventriloquist becomes a race against time. As the plot thickens, she discovers that Arcturus Mesarthim—the one person capable of restoring her lost memories—may also hold the key to Italy's salvation.

The world-building in this book is incredibly satisfying, as it delves into the complex relationships and tensions between the Scion voyants and their counterparts in the free world. The intricate layers of the narrative keep readers engaged, while the dynamic between Paige and Arcturus adds depth to the story.

The Dark Mirror masterfully blends intrigue, suspense, and rich character development, making it a compelling read for fans of fantasy and dystopian fiction alike. The stakes are high, and the twists will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

God I have so much to say about this book but that’s impossible without spoiling it.

This instalment of the bone season was just as outstanding as the other and this time we find ourselves in Italy instead of France.

Paige is as badass as ever of course however we are still following her trauma journey and watching her change and develop as a character (it’s crazy how much character development there is and how well it has been done throughout the series).

As well as this we have HUGE developments in her power which I loved and finally we find out more about her golden chord with Arcturus.

I had so many theories for this book, one of which was spot on but it was so well paced and plotted that I was never certain I knew what would happen next.

The only thing I will confirm is that it doesn’t end on a huge cliffhanger (so you’re left wanting the next book but not angry which is fab) I’m so excited to see where the next book takes Paige’s story.

Ouch, my feelings! Be prepared to have your heart wrenched in multitude of different directions for 500 pages in the 5th installment of The Bone Season series.

The Dark Mirror is a complex maze, built on the foundations of cleverly seeded half-truths and betrayals. Samantha Shannon is it's architect. Cleverly woven plots and sub plots had me guessing wrong every time throughout this book, only to be thrilled by the twists and turns of Paige Mahoney's on going battle with the Anchor. Who can she trust? I adore that this book challenged me to think outside the box. And still had my jaw dropping regularly.

I loved that this installment balanced pulse racing plot twists with moments of heart wrenching character development. The world building expands considerably too; Shannon beautifully represents these real world locations through the exploratory eyes of Paige. If these characters, their complex world and their nail biting plight haven't fused into your soul yet, they will be by the end of this book.

Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the eARC. The Dark Mirror will be out in February and I will be expecting to reread and reread it with you all then.