MASQUERADE OF MIRRORS Book Review

Masquerade of Mirrors (Halls of Glass) by Samantha Hartwood, eBook, 592 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: The only thing more dangerous than falling for a lie is falling for the liar. Don’t look at the desert. Don’t think about the desert. Never step onto the sand. Taera has followed these rules her entire life—until he arrives. Impossibly gorgeous, with a face masked in magic, Nikolai kidnaps Taera and drags her deep into the dunes. He says she’s powerful and needs to be trained…if she ever wants to see her family again.

Thrust into a deadly school of illusions and lies, Taera can’t trust anyone. Especially not her breathtaking, ruthless captor. Top student and notorious liar, his secrets run deeper than the sand. He’s her worst nightmare—and everything she craves. The cutthroat Halls of Glass have a mind of their own. Trapped within their looping corridors, Taera is surrounded by hostile students and forced to rely on Nikolai. Taera knows she shouldn’t fall for his illusions. But magic requires a partnership, and he’s the only mage who can handle her wild, untamed power. And the only way he’ll help her is if she pretends to be his.

Masquerade of Mirrors is a fast-paced, slow-burn fantasy romance. Taera and Nikolai’s story is for readers who love crackling chemistry, daring escape plans, and as many lies as truths. This book is highly addictive and contains adult content.

BOOK REVIEW: For me to finish this book in under 2 weeks for it's size definitely confirms how addicting and fast pace this really was. I also will say that the last half went way faster than the first half. I sat down yesterday just under 50% through and finished it today. I probably would have finished it last night if I could have kept my eyes open for another 3 hours. As far as the adult content mentioned in the synopsis, we learn early on that Nikolai and really all the students are very sexual. We're not talking open orgy's in the classroom but we are talking like the bare minimum it takes to cover the private areas on a person when they're dressed for an event or party. We do get a whisper of heat in a scene, a little more in another scene and a little bit of spice in another. Nothing overly graphic. I think my spice rating for this is like a 2.5. It's there, it's hot, but not so graphic that I would feel dirty recommending this to my mom.

I don't really know what my favorite part was. We do have a dual POV here with Taera and Nikolai but we're mainly focused on Taera. Sometimes her constant hot and cold towards Nikolai seems overly childish however so does his attitude towards her. There were several times when I wanted to smack some sense into both of them but overall I totally get the hostility and whatnot. Nikolai is a magician. He's a liar. She doesn't know what is true, if anything out of his mouth. Holy hell sometimes thought they drove me crazy in all the best ways!

For this being the author's debut novel, she knocked it out of the park. This is a 5 star all the way! The characters are interesting and unique, not just the main but the supporting as well. The world that she has build feels harsh outside (like the desert and Taera's village) and cold and calculating on the inside (like in the Halls of Glass). I don't know if this is going to be a series of stand alones or not. I say that because I feel like we got Taera and Nikolai's story wrapped up and unless they go on an adventure, I feel like we could get a story focusing on maybe Ezran or Annie or Omi or even Jezebel. Regardless, if you like epic fantasy, dark academia with a little spice, mark your calendar for February 17, 2026.

5/5 Stars

2026 Reading Challenge: 3/55 complete