Book Review: This Eternity of Masks and Shadows – Karsten Knight

Rating: 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ, LGBT

Review:

In a world where Gods reincarnate as humans, Cairn is an 18-year-old whose life used to be normal and her worries that of a simple teen. Then she lost her mother in what looked like suicide. Her life fell apart and she spiraled into a dark place, hell-bent on self-destructing. Until she unearthed secrets her mother had been keeping. As she dug deeper, she found out there was a lot more to her mother’s death than she realized.

At first, the book was very slow and it took me a while to get into the story. But as I kept reading, it got better. The story shifts from past to present, revealing the plot twists little by little, and with maximum impact. Truth be told, I didn’t like Cairn’s attitude. But I enjoyed the plot-line so much, I couldn’t stop reading.

Karsten Knight crafted an extraordinary plot-line with a backstory that left you stunned. I found myself intrigued, with a voracious curiosity as to what secret would be revealed next. The villain was wicked and super cool when first met. But I was kind of disappointed with the later character development.

Despite not liking the main character, I enjoyed the different side-characters and all the Gods with the detailed backstories. The action scenes were well done with vivid descriptions. I enjoyed this book a whole lot more than expected and I’m still wowed over by the story. Plus, let’s not forget that gorgeous cover!

*Thanks to Netgalley & Karsten Knight for the ARC.

Synopsis: In a city of gods and mortals, secrets never die. The gods walk among us. Some lurk in the shadows, masquerading as mortals; others embrace their celebrity status, launching careers from Hollywood to Capitol Hill. One of them just murdered Cairn Delacroix’s mother. As Cairn sifts through the rubble, she uncovers a conspiracy two decades in the making: a cursed island, the fellowship of gods who journeyed there, and the unspeakable act that intertwined their fates. One by one, the members of that voyage are dying, and Cairn’s investigations land her in the crosshairs of the rogue goddess responsible. With the help of Nanook, a polar bear god turned detective, Cairn descends into Boston’s underworld of supernatural crime and political aspiration. To avenge her mother and unmask her assassin, she’ll first have to reckon with a gut-wrenching secret that will rewrite the life she thought she knew.