• I received an ARC for this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and I appreciate both your work and commitment to this project. The following opinion is my own and holds no major spoilers. •

• Queen of Faces
• Petra Lord
• Rating: 3/5

I have several conflicting opinions about this book, which made it hard for me to pick an objective rating instead of just letting my emotions judge it. Either way, here are some of the points I want to dissect.

First of all, the whole premise of the book is really interesting. I found it really interesting how the author got the academic theme and mixed it with a heist plot, merging two genres into one. I was also mesmerized by the twisting of character’s gender in this story, highlighting the transexuality concept into a deeper theme.

However, despite how much I wanted to enjoy the story, I couldn’t. I found the characters shallow and their interactions forced almost as if they were bad actors trying to convince me of their roles. I also had a hard time connecting to the side characters and I realized things were badly developed when something really terrible happened to one of them and I couldn’t feel anything since I barely knew any of them. Their connection with each other is also pretty much pushed and I felt no chemistry whatsoever.

I also felt like there’s no proper alignment to the reading age of this book. It starts with very heavy themes and out of nowhere it turns YA and then goes back to the mature themes. It flicked so fast that it was almost unbalanced and it made me uncomfortable.

When I saw his book wouldn’t be a stand-alone and I wasn’t looking forward to reading the next one, it bummed me out because I was really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, I feel like most themes explored in this book would’ve been more interesting with older characters that behave like it.

This was a very unique dark academia story, I loved all the twists and turns, and how people can swap bodies as and when they please (if they can afford too).
Ana Gage was a true underdog, and the way she overcame everything to come out stronger was brilliant.
Wes, on the other hand... I found that character morally grey. Some of the actions, I was rooting for him, then he does something despicable and I hope he gets whats coming.... but then he's redeemed again.
I think that's a mark of a good author- being able to sway the reader's opinions on a character.
There were some confusing bits, but I mark that down to me reading past 1am then the book itself.

I would rate this 4 stars and I'd love to read the sequel.

I inhaled this book, I'm still dealing with the idea that I no longer have it to read, and I've had to wait a few days to digest it in order to write this review!

The story leans on a few tropes, but in new and interesting ways, I didn't easily work out the twists and loved the semi-resolution at the end.

Pre-order and expedite it to the head of your TBR when it arrives, then come to me and we can mourn that you've also finished it and need to live in the real world again!!

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

3.5 stars.

This is a fantasy novel set in a really unique world and magic system. The idea that this is a world where people have magic in different "branches" and can swap bodies was really fun. The realism came in with the idea that this is incredibly expensive and only available for the powerful. Annabel Gage and Wes have a really interesting dynamic that I loved exploring in this book. Key themes of power, war, colonialism and identity are central to this story while also having some elements of magic as well. I did feel the Found Family came together rather randomly and didn't necessarily flow as well but I enjoyed the dynamic overall. As the book likes to tell us, a mage can always surprise you.


thank you Netgalley for the ARC!