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The Knave of Secrets
A twisty tale of card sharps and con artists, in a world of magic where secrets are traded and gambled like coin. The Lies of Locke Lamora meets Casino Royale
Never stake more than you can afford to lose.
When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets—he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.
Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in that envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war…
Never stake more than you can afford to lose.
When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets—he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.
Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in that envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war…
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2022
12 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 31, 2022
The Lies of Locke Lamora meets... whatever
That reference alone was my undoing. How was I supposed to resist?
The world Alex Livingston created is detailed and unique. The plot is complex, featuring con masters with questionable morality and cunning spies and ruthless mages that weave layers over layers of schemes and secrets. In that respect, the Gentlemen Bastards' vibes are undeniable.
However, where the Lies of Locke Lamora intrigued me with its clever and vivid characters pursuing absurdly elaborate heists and delighted me with hilarious banter, the Knave of Secrets falls short. The main characters and their relationships feel pretty bland. The concept of a tournament where players gamble with secrets is very cool, but there is a lot of telling rather than showing that spoils readers' enjoyment.
It's a good story overall, but if you expect to find the new The Lies of Locke Lamora, well, prepare to be disappointed.
~ Thank you to NetGalley & Rebellion Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review ~
May 8, 2022
The Knave of Secrets is a book that has left me with somewhat mixed feelings. I absolutely loved the premise, and was excited to see it play out – and the idea is wonderful, but it was the execution that I wasn’t completely sold on. I will say the blurb pretty much encompasses the entire plot.
I think the main issue boils down to the fact that this book could have done with being longer, as a lot is happening in this book. I will say that I did enjoy the worldbuilding a lot – also there were maps!! Livingston clearly put a lot of care and detail into the world, there’s a lot of history and lore, and layers of intrigue and while the story was very focused on Valen’s group against this backdrop, I loved the feeling that there was more happening beyond the border of the story. Although sometimes the delivery, especially information on the games, ended up feeling a little heavy-handed and slowed down the pacing, although the appendix at the back was a great asset. But, the games were a fantastic addition to the worldbuilding and the culture, and not something I had seen on this scale, where it was such an integral part of so many levels of society, and it made for a very refreshing take on fantasy – and I loved the stakes that were involved. I also loved that there were snippets from texts between each chapter, which is one of my favourite things to find in fantasy books and a great tool to add extra layers to the worldbuilding.
The magic in the world of The Knave of Secrets was fantastic, and it felt like the system fell nicely in the middle of soft and hard. Here again we see the author’s attention to detail, and again the variety gave great depth to the world – and some of my favourite moments in the book were those that were focused on the magic.
It did feel as though this was a world that wanted more space. The level of detail would certainly have lent itself to a longer story, and I would have loved to have spent more time exploring the world and the magic system.
The action in this book is a lot more understated than in a lot of fantasy, in that there weren’t massive battle scenes, but more battles of wit and skill at the table. We’re pretty much dropped straight into this with the beginning, and it was a great way to establish how this book was going to play out. I’m also not sure how deliberate it was, but with the way, the intrigue and cons play out, and how information is provided particularly around reveal moments, it felt that as the reader we were also being pulled into the con. On some brilliant levels, and really added to the feel of the book and focus on the intrigue aspect, but there were points where it was a little frustrating, as that information would have made investment in the story and characters a lot easier. I think in a longer story, that information or at least more hints could have been woven into the story, and with the twists and turns in this story, I don’t think it would have detracted from the feeling of intrigue.
Another reason the length worked against it, is that it sometimes felt as though character depth and development were second to the plot and worldbuilding, which made it harder to become invested in the characters and with an ensemble cast and multiple POVs I needed that investment. I enjoyed Jac and Valen as characters, but it felt like some of the others struggled in comparison and while I didn’t dislike them, they weren’t characters I particularly cared for in one way or another. I will say though, that even though some of this depth was also missing in the relationship between Valen and Marguerite, I did enjoy seeing a married couple that wasn’t at odds or broken apart by tragedy, and it added a nice component to this book.
As much as I enjoyed the worldbuilding, I think it was Livingston’s writing that really sold me on The Knave of Secrets as it was immensely readable, and some of the strongest character moments really came through in the dialogue for me.a
Overall this was a fun read, and I really enjoyed the setting and worldbuilding, and would certainly be interested in seeing more stories within this world, and I really hope that the author isn’t done with this setting. There were also some wonderfully refreshing elements, from the use of games to intrigue-based action rather than swords and epic scale battles to the relationship between Valen and Marguerite. One to check out if you’re a fan of heists and intrigue, and something a little different.
I think the main issue boils down to the fact that this book could have done with being longer, as a lot is happening in this book. I will say that I did enjoy the worldbuilding a lot – also there were maps!! Livingston clearly put a lot of care and detail into the world, there’s a lot of history and lore, and layers of intrigue and while the story was very focused on Valen’s group against this backdrop, I loved the feeling that there was more happening beyond the border of the story. Although sometimes the delivery, especially information on the games, ended up feeling a little heavy-handed and slowed down the pacing, although the appendix at the back was a great asset. But, the games were a fantastic addition to the worldbuilding and the culture, and not something I had seen on this scale, where it was such an integral part of so many levels of society, and it made for a very refreshing take on fantasy – and I loved the stakes that were involved. I also loved that there were snippets from texts between each chapter, which is one of my favourite things to find in fantasy books and a great tool to add extra layers to the worldbuilding.
The magic in the world of The Knave of Secrets was fantastic, and it felt like the system fell nicely in the middle of soft and hard. Here again we see the author’s attention to detail, and again the variety gave great depth to the world – and some of my favourite moments in the book were those that were focused on the magic.
It did feel as though this was a world that wanted more space. The level of detail would certainly have lent itself to a longer story, and I would have loved to have spent more time exploring the world and the magic system.
The action in this book is a lot more understated than in a lot of fantasy, in that there weren’t massive battle scenes, but more battles of wit and skill at the table. We’re pretty much dropped straight into this with the beginning, and it was a great way to establish how this book was going to play out. I’m also not sure how deliberate it was, but with the way, the intrigue and cons play out, and how information is provided particularly around reveal moments, it felt that as the reader we were also being pulled into the con. On some brilliant levels, and really added to the feel of the book and focus on the intrigue aspect, but there were points where it was a little frustrating, as that information would have made investment in the story and characters a lot easier. I think in a longer story, that information or at least more hints could have been woven into the story, and with the twists and turns in this story, I don’t think it would have detracted from the feeling of intrigue.
Another reason the length worked against it, is that it sometimes felt as though character depth and development were second to the plot and worldbuilding, which made it harder to become invested in the characters and with an ensemble cast and multiple POVs I needed that investment. I enjoyed Jac and Valen as characters, but it felt like some of the others struggled in comparison and while I didn’t dislike them, they weren’t characters I particularly cared for in one way or another. I will say though, that even though some of this depth was also missing in the relationship between Valen and Marguerite, I did enjoy seeing a married couple that wasn’t at odds or broken apart by tragedy, and it added a nice component to this book.
As much as I enjoyed the worldbuilding, I think it was Livingston’s writing that really sold me on The Knave of Secrets as it was immensely readable, and some of the strongest character moments really came through in the dialogue for me.a
Overall this was a fun read, and I really enjoyed the setting and worldbuilding, and would certainly be interested in seeing more stories within this world, and I really hope that the author isn’t done with this setting. There were also some wonderfully refreshing elements, from the use of games to intrigue-based action rather than swords and epic scale battles to the relationship between Valen and Marguerite. One to check out if you’re a fan of heists and intrigue, and something a little different.
May 7, 2022
I really enjoyed this book – the style of writing really appealed to me and sitting down to this read felt like wrapping myself in a duvet as the words surrounded me and immersed me in the story. I felt I was in the story and right next to the characters; sharing their experience, smelling the smells and seeing the sights.
And that was before the story got going – the world of the cardsharp fascinated me, I don’t know how real the information is but must assume there is a degree of truth, and was blown away with what I read. Add in to the world of the cardsharp themes of magic, deceit, underhand activity, gangs and diplomatic excursions and you have a book full of wonder that takes you in a different direction with each chapter.
The book is well structured and takes you by the hand whilst delving into the history of the world and bringing the themes of real life to the table (class, race and sexism). I immediately took to the ‘gang’ who are the centre of the story; Valen Quinol, his wife Marguerite, Teneriève and Jacquemin all of whom bring their own dynamic and skills to the party but, together, balance each other out and operate together to assure themselves of the outcome they desire at the table.
My only slight observation is that the ending just, kind of, happened – the story was progressing and then the pages simply stopped. Could this be a set up for a sequel? Only time will tell.
If you enjoy a good fantasy in which you can lose yourself in the building of the world and characters then this is a book for you – rich text, detailed description and a decent storyline.
The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own
And that was before the story got going – the world of the cardsharp fascinated me, I don’t know how real the information is but must assume there is a degree of truth, and was blown away with what I read. Add in to the world of the cardsharp themes of magic, deceit, underhand activity, gangs and diplomatic excursions and you have a book full of wonder that takes you in a different direction with each chapter.
The book is well structured and takes you by the hand whilst delving into the history of the world and bringing the themes of real life to the table (class, race and sexism). I immediately took to the ‘gang’ who are the centre of the story; Valen Quinol, his wife Marguerite, Teneriève and Jacquemin all of whom bring their own dynamic and skills to the party but, together, balance each other out and operate together to assure themselves of the outcome they desire at the table.
My only slight observation is that the ending just, kind of, happened – the story was progressing and then the pages simply stopped. Could this be a set up for a sequel? Only time will tell.
If you enjoy a good fantasy in which you can lose yourself in the building of the world and characters then this is a book for you – rich text, detailed description and a decent storyline.
The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own
May 28, 2022
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a solid fantasy novel. It has a really cool premise - think The Lies of Locke Lamora meets Casino Royale. Unfortunately, I think my expectations were just way too high. That said, the both the world-building and magic system were done well. The characters, though, took a backseat to the world-building. The novel is about 400 pages, but I think it could have done with being a little longer to help flesh out the characters. I think I will have to try more from this author in the future.
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a solid fantasy novel. It has a really cool premise - think The Lies of Locke Lamora meets Casino Royale. Unfortunately, I think my expectations were just way too high. That said, the both the world-building and magic system were done well. The characters, though, took a backseat to the world-building. The novel is about 400 pages, but I think it could have done with being a little longer to help flesh out the characters. I think I will have to try more from this author in the future.
June 9, 2022
I’ll be honest – I wanted to love this one more than I actually did. There is a huge amount of explanation regarding the world, which is full of complicated names, a tangled and even more complicated political situation and characters who all have complicated backstories. Livingston’s insistence of giving a lot of the information in big lumps throughout, rather than letting the reader absorb it alongside the unfolding action meant that I always felt distanced from the characters.
The writing style favours telling over showing, which isn’t my personal preference. And while the characters are all layered and nicely ambiguous, I didn’t ever feel particularly close to them as Livingston tends to keep them at one remove from the reader. The same applies to the action scenes – while they were vividly depicted, some of the urgency and snap was diluted by yet more explanation that should really have gone elsewhere. The overall plot, which was suitably twisty and surprising, worked well and came to a solidly good conclusion – although I did feel the ending was a tad abrupt.
That said, for those who are fans of detailed worlds with huge amounts of background detail, including maps, historical events and long explanations of a variety of fantasy card games – this is a solid treat. I was particularly impressed at the sheer intricacy of the games Livingston constructed and the appendices make fascinating reading. While I obtained an arc of The Knave of Secrets from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10
The writing style favours telling over showing, which isn’t my personal preference. And while the characters are all layered and nicely ambiguous, I didn’t ever feel particularly close to them as Livingston tends to keep them at one remove from the reader. The same applies to the action scenes – while they were vividly depicted, some of the urgency and snap was diluted by yet more explanation that should really have gone elsewhere. The overall plot, which was suitably twisty and surprising, worked well and came to a solidly good conclusion – although I did feel the ending was a tad abrupt.
That said, for those who are fans of detailed worlds with huge amounts of background detail, including maps, historical events and long explanations of a variety of fantasy card games – this is a solid treat. I was particularly impressed at the sheer intricacy of the games Livingston constructed and the appendices make fascinating reading. While I obtained an arc of The Knave of Secrets from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10
February 13, 2022
Con artist Valen Quinol gets the chance to compete in the Forbearance Games, and he can't resist the invitation. Valen is sent by a gangster to defeat a certain man. When Valen accomplishes this task and wins the valuable secret the man had. Valen and his crew are now being chased by gangsters, thieves and many other people. The secret is worth a fortune and can start a war.
What can I say? This sounds like an amazing idea, right? And that is exactly what it still is, a great idea. The execution of this idea was not great, to put it lightly. I had to rate it 1 star in the end, and that is something I don't do often. Let me explain my reasoning:
I'll start with the positive things about the book. First of all, the book has maps at the beginning! I think it is safe to say that everyone who reads fantasy books likes maps in the book. It just makes it so much easier to understand the story and where the characters are moving to. Also, there were appendixes at the end of the book, which is great to keep up with the characters and the games that are being played.
When I started reading the book I loved how we immediately started in the middle of the action. It pulls you into the story and makes you want to read more. Unfortunately, this did not continue throughout the rest of the story.
The characters were a bit older than most of the characters are in the fantasy books I normally read. This was a nice change. Normally they are barely adults and this time they were older than I am, much more mature.
Now for what I did not like about the story. I really had to push myself to finish this book. I finished it because it was an ARC and I wanted to write the review for it. Writing reviews is not always about loving the book, in that case, I would only be writing reviews for 5-star ratings. But if it had not been for this and I had actually bought the book, I probably would have DNF'ed it because it was making me not want to read.
The worldbuilding was quite confusing. It was difficult to understand where the characters were and what their place was in the story and their world. The distinction between places was often not made very clear most of the time. The maps helped a little with this but, I could not continuously keep going back to the pages with the maps on them. I also feel like the history between these places was described very poorly. If more detail had been put into it, it might have been clearer to the reader what was going on and how this could develop. More descriptions would have pulled me more into the story instead of questioning what was going on the whole time. In the second half, it became a bit clearer but it was quite late. Normally I already would have put it down by this time.
I liked Valen and his crew at the start of the book, but quite quickly they started to annoy me. It was little things that made me not like the characters anymore. And because the story moved quite rapid and often with breaks in the story, the author could not really explain the motives for the characters actions. Many problems also would not have existed if there had been more communication between them. They had supposedly been working together for such a long time, literally years, but somehow they communicated like they had met the other day. I also felt like the marriage between Valen and Margo could have had a bigger impact on the story. Now it felt bland and like Margo was just 'the wife'. There was just so much more potential.
How these characters ended the story was also quite underwhelming, and that might even be an understatement.
The book consists of numerous POV's, which did not work for this book and story. I often got confused because switching to a new POV often also meant a time jump or missing information in general. There also were too many different POV's. I counted at least five, which was just too many. If the story had been more detailed it could have possibly worked, but not in this case.
The last thing I want to mention is that the story in general just moved way too much. Important parts like the Forbearance Games moved by way too quickly. This is just an example, but there were more scenes where I just needed to know more and then it switched to a different POV.
In the end, I had to conclude that this book was not my cup of tea. I still want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.
What can I say? This sounds like an amazing idea, right? And that is exactly what it still is, a great idea. The execution of this idea was not great, to put it lightly. I had to rate it 1 star in the end, and that is something I don't do often. Let me explain my reasoning:
I'll start with the positive things about the book. First of all, the book has maps at the beginning! I think it is safe to say that everyone who reads fantasy books likes maps in the book. It just makes it so much easier to understand the story and where the characters are moving to. Also, there were appendixes at the end of the book, which is great to keep up with the characters and the games that are being played.
When I started reading the book I loved how we immediately started in the middle of the action. It pulls you into the story and makes you want to read more. Unfortunately, this did not continue throughout the rest of the story.
The characters were a bit older than most of the characters are in the fantasy books I normally read. This was a nice change. Normally they are barely adults and this time they were older than I am, much more mature.
Now for what I did not like about the story. I really had to push myself to finish this book. I finished it because it was an ARC and I wanted to write the review for it. Writing reviews is not always about loving the book, in that case, I would only be writing reviews for 5-star ratings. But if it had not been for this and I had actually bought the book, I probably would have DNF'ed it because it was making me not want to read.
The worldbuilding was quite confusing. It was difficult to understand where the characters were and what their place was in the story and their world. The distinction between places was often not made very clear most of the time. The maps helped a little with this but, I could not continuously keep going back to the pages with the maps on them. I also feel like the history between these places was described very poorly. If more detail had been put into it, it might have been clearer to the reader what was going on and how this could develop. More descriptions would have pulled me more into the story instead of questioning what was going on the whole time. In the second half, it became a bit clearer but it was quite late. Normally I already would have put it down by this time.
I liked Valen and his crew at the start of the book, but quite quickly they started to annoy me. It was little things that made me not like the characters anymore. And because the story moved quite rapid and often with breaks in the story, the author could not really explain the motives for the characters actions. Many problems also would not have existed if there had been more communication between them. They had supposedly been working together for such a long time, literally years, but somehow they communicated like they had met the other day. I also felt like the marriage between Valen and Margo could have had a bigger impact on the story. Now it felt bland and like Margo was just 'the wife'. There was just so much more potential.
How these characters ended the story was also quite underwhelming, and that might even be an understatement.
The book consists of numerous POV's, which did not work for this book and story. I often got confused because switching to a new POV often also meant a time jump or missing information in general. There also were too many different POV's. I counted at least five, which was just too many. If the story had been more detailed it could have possibly worked, but not in this case.
The last thing I want to mention is that the story in general just moved way too much. Important parts like the Forbearance Games moved by way too quickly. This is just an example, but there were more scenes where I just needed to know more and then it switched to a different POV.
In the end, I had to conclude that this book was not my cup of tea. I still want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 23, 2022
Big thank you to the wonderful TheWriteReads and equally wonderful Rebellion Publishing for providing a free review copy of the book!
What can I say? I ADORED The Knave of Secrets!!!! It's such a clever and unique fantasy. Where most fantasy heroes survive and triumph due to strength of arm or sword, Valen Quinol survives on his wits and skills at cards, trickery and generally deviousness. I loved it!
Due to his skills Valen is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—an invitation-only card tournament where players gamble with secrets and omg things get crazy from there.
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away so what I will do instead is concentrate on the characters. There are loads and each one brings there own special something to the tale. There is Valen of course, our con artist, card-sharping magician main character, his wife, Marguerite, and a selection of eccentric and mildly villainous companions like Teneriève and Ria.
The book does jump around a lot between different POVs, but as long as you are paying attention its easy to keep up.
All around this is a great read that is a bit different to what you will normally get in this genre.
What can I say? I ADORED The Knave of Secrets!!!! It's such a clever and unique fantasy. Where most fantasy heroes survive and triumph due to strength of arm or sword, Valen Quinol survives on his wits and skills at cards, trickery and generally deviousness. I loved it!
Due to his skills Valen is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—an invitation-only card tournament where players gamble with secrets and omg things get crazy from there.
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away so what I will do instead is concentrate on the characters. There are loads and each one brings there own special something to the tale. There is Valen of course, our con artist, card-sharping magician main character, his wife, Marguerite, and a selection of eccentric and mildly villainous companions like Teneriève and Ria.
The book does jump around a lot between different POVs, but as long as you are paying attention its easy to keep up.
All around this is a great read that is a bit different to what you will normally get in this genre.
June 29, 2022
**I received a proof copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, alcohol, fire, xenophobia
--
The Knave of Secrets follows 5 points of view and a handful of storylines, the main event that brings them all together being an invitation only tournament called the Forbearance Game where secrets are up for gamble.
The lead perspective follows an ex magician turned cardsharp called Valen Quinol who gets coerced into participating in a particular game that finds him coming into possession of an envelope holding an extremely valuable secret. This not only puts him and his crew in the middle of a political conspiracy but also makes them targets for the thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards that are all pieces in a much bigger game.
This is one of those books that by the end I would say I enjoyed but it also didn’t exactly live up to expectations.
For one thing the beginning of the book had me quite confused, more so because of how much of everything was getting introduced all together - a lot of characters and titles and games and places were introduced and the tense political situation tying them all together. I feel like a clown because I only realised half way through that there was an accompanying appendix at the back with information that would help me understand a lot of the these details earlier. I think I was a good 100 pages in before I started to feel a little more familiar with things.
Then you have this Forbearance Game scene which pretty much goes the way that the synopsis tells it and happens almost halfway into the book. The action started to pick up after this section which is why I say I did eventually enjoy it but it took some time to get there.
My favourite aspect about this book has got to be the worldbuilding though because the setting and the magic had so much going for it. It was so interesting that the world was themed on card games and gambling and that different locations had a favourite game.
The vibe overall felt quite similar to the Rook and Rose trilogy and at times it reminded me of City of Stairs too but I also feel like there wasn’t enough detail to make you feel fully immersed in the world. Not to say that it wasn’t well developed in the short length that the book is because it did feel very lived in, I think there were just some aspects I would have liked to be fleshed out a little more and for there to have been a little less telling and more showing.
I definitely want to go back and reread this one at some point and I’d be down to read Livingston’s future work as I liked his writing style.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, alcohol, fire, xenophobia
--
The Knave of Secrets follows 5 points of view and a handful of storylines, the main event that brings them all together being an invitation only tournament called the Forbearance Game where secrets are up for gamble.
The lead perspective follows an ex magician turned cardsharp called Valen Quinol who gets coerced into participating in a particular game that finds him coming into possession of an envelope holding an extremely valuable secret. This not only puts him and his crew in the middle of a political conspiracy but also makes them targets for the thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards that are all pieces in a much bigger game.
This is one of those books that by the end I would say I enjoyed but it also didn’t exactly live up to expectations.
For one thing the beginning of the book had me quite confused, more so because of how much of everything was getting introduced all together - a lot of characters and titles and games and places were introduced and the tense political situation tying them all together. I feel like a clown because I only realised half way through that there was an accompanying appendix at the back with information that would help me understand a lot of the these details earlier. I think I was a good 100 pages in before I started to feel a little more familiar with things.
Then you have this Forbearance Game scene which pretty much goes the way that the synopsis tells it and happens almost halfway into the book. The action started to pick up after this section which is why I say I did eventually enjoy it but it took some time to get there.
My favourite aspect about this book has got to be the worldbuilding though because the setting and the magic had so much going for it. It was so interesting that the world was themed on card games and gambling and that different locations had a favourite game.
The vibe overall felt quite similar to the Rook and Rose trilogy and at times it reminded me of City of Stairs too but I also feel like there wasn’t enough detail to make you feel fully immersed in the world. Not to say that it wasn’t well developed in the short length that the book is because it did feel very lived in, I think there were just some aspects I would have liked to be fleshed out a little more and for there to have been a little less telling and more showing.
I definitely want to go back and reread this one at some point and I’d be down to read Livingston’s future work as I liked his writing style.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
February 13, 2022
TLDR
Characters - 3.5
Plot - 3.5
Setting - 4
Writing - 4
Final Impression - 3.75
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The world-building here is very strong, highly driven by the political machinations of various ruling parties. Gambling is a massive part of this society and one's ability at certain games determines the level of respect they get. It was all very lavish and glamorous and cool. The writing in this book suits the themes and setting it's going for. There's a certain flourish to it that at once feel both ostentatious yet utterly natural to the world-building. In other words, the style feels very fitting to the general vibes of the book.
Full Review
3.75*
Big thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for sending me an eARC ahead of the book's release date. All opinions are my own.
Characters
5 POVs
So here were have a crew of con artists. We've got Valen, cardsharp, failed magician and essentially the group's mastermind. We also have his wife, Margo, an expert forger. Jac, ex-pirate, brawler and distraction. And then Ten, diviner, lesser cardsharp, and just a general does-whatever-she's-told.
Jac had some cracking lines.
"We'll take payment in coin or wine, as the only difference between the two is time."
Love that the main character Valen is married. So often it feels like being in a thieving crew is the occupation of single men, so to find a mastermind who's married to a crew member, and devoted to her is so refreshing. I've only ever seen it done once before (Facefaker's Game) and loved it then too. Nothing says loyalty to the crew like being married to one of them. And I also loved how, at times, he and Marguerite acted like a normal married couple in such simple ways. Sharing a bottle of wine, visiting the in-laws. It was so simple yet felt so special to them.
All that being said, and as sweet as I found them, their relationship was very much 'told' to us, rather than 'shown'. Were we not told at all that they were married, I probably would never have known, maybe even considered them siblings. They were clearly very close, but there's not a lot of intimacy between them. They don't kiss, I don't even think they hug. I'm not saying I need romance in every book, but considering they were married, they lacked chemistry a little. Margo never really seemed to worry about Valen's safety when he played all these risky games. There's no sense of urgency or great concern between them. But all the same, I loved seeing a married couple within a con/heist crew.
I don't know how to feel about Ten. On one hand, she's very cool and competent, but on the other, she comes across as very disloyal. Considering Valen is one of her oldest, closest friends, she's always so quick to shit on him and doubt him, or flat out betray him. I'm so disappointed in her.
I don't like that vibe in a thieving crew. I prefer a more Gentlemen Bastards vibe where the crew is so unwaveringly loyal to their leader, and 100% trust him and each other. Who would die for each other if need be. And though Ten shows some of these qualities, she's also quick to hate on Valen when he finds other, more clever ways out of a scrape that doesn't involve her getting hurt. You'd think she'd be greatly he uses that big brain of his, but she just resents him for it.
Ten goes on about feeling betrayed by her friends, how they don't listen to her, don't appreciate her, etc. And I know she feels this, but I didn't feel it. And if I can't feel what the character is feeling in that moment then it hasn't been developed enough beforehand. I know the instances Ten is implying, but in those moments, none of it felt that bad to me, so then I'm left disliking Ten for blowing things out of proportion. It's a shame because in the beginning I really liked her, but by the end, she's such a whinge-bag.
In truth, I'm not sure what she actually brings to the team. She's not much of a fighter, she rarely gets involved with the games or card-sharping, she doesn't do any thieving, she just seems to hang around on street corners waiting for something to happen and then gets pissy with Valen when he makes something happen. I know Ten is a diviner, but so is Valen, so in reality, her skill isn't really required in this crew.
Another, very minor, issue I had was I found the character names a bit too grandiose, even random side characters. I struggled to pronounce about 90% of names and it got a bit tiring. It really says something when I have an easier time pronouncing French-sounding names than the general fantasy names. (French is not my strong suit). There was too much of a flourish to every single name, just felt over the top.
Plot
The premise of this book is so enticing. Set on the independent island nation of Valtiffe, there exists a political point of contention for the natives. The Tipping Point, in which two opposing empires are playing a long game in a bid to swallow up Valtiffe as part of their own empire. To own land on the island presents the opportunity to vote. As more nobles from each side of the political war buy up land, eventually there will be more from one side than the other, after which they can vote to join with either the empire or the queendom. Either of which could have quite dire consequences to the natives of Valtiffe.
Yet despite how cool and political this sounds, the plot does get a little bit lost within its own complexities. Perhaps there just wasn't enough foreshadowing to build up a satisfying conclusion. Anticipation is born from the hints dropped, and I don't think there were enough hints throughout to build all that much anticipation for the. For instance, the prize for winning the Ambassador's Game is a favour from the Ambassador herself. If this had been hinted at sooner and more regularly, I would have built up a lot more excitement for the game, anticipating what could happen next. I think if the book had a lot more foreshadowing, this would have been far more edge-of-the-seat reading.
Based on a few things that I thought was foreshadowing but turned out not to be, I thought this would happen. and then I was a little disappointed when it didn't happen.
Though I did have a question throughout. Why was Dusmenil even gambling with such an important secret in the first place? What possessed the man? I'm not sure it was ever explained why he risked something so valuable and dangerous over a game of cards.
Also, I thought at first Ten was doing a double-doublecross on Valen's instruction, but turned out she was just double-crossing, which was a little deflating. I love those cons where the opposing side thinks they have the upper hand, but turns out it's all part of the plan to make them think they have the upper hand.
I did like the ending though, that final chapter that leaves it open for a sequel on a hopeful note.
Setting
The world-building here is very strong. I loved the French-inspired world, other than the fact I've always had a terrible time with French pronunciation. I had to look up how to say various phonetics to get an understanding of how to say a bunch of made-up names (yeah I know, pedantic, right?). Funny, I'm fine with pronouncing the phonetics of Italian, Polish, and Chinese, but give me something as simple as French (simple because the English language is already basically half French) and suddenly I'm like oH nO, I cAn'T sAy iT. *sigh* I really need to learn French one of these days.
Anyway, The world was highly driven by the political machinations of various ruling parties. There's an important social structure to the world with a clear divide between the nobles and the common folk, but interestingly, at the casino tables, everyone is equal. Gambling is a massive part of this society and one's ability at certain games determines the level of respect they get. It was all very lavish and glamorous and cool. I liked it a lot. It gave me vibes of the salons of Versaille back in the day when the nobles just used to sit around the king's court gambling, gossiping, and conspiring.
I'm really going to need to buy a print version just to take a proper look at the map. Although the eBook had one, it's awkward to refer back to it and impossible to do so in the middle of a chapter without losing my place. There were so many places mentioned that I struggled to keep track of where's where. But I do love how expansive and lived-in this world feels, and I'd love to get a better look at the map to really study it.
Writing Style
The writing in this book suits the themes and setting it's going for. There's a certain flourish to it that at once feel both ostentatious yet utterly natural to the world-building. In other words, the style feels very fitting to the general vibes of the book.
I enjoyed the writing, though I did feel the author deliberately chose long, elaborate words where perhaps simple ones might have sufficed. I don't consider myself an idiot and like to think I have a pretty reasonable vocabulary, but the number of times I had to Google words I didn't know only to discover they had such basic meanings got a tad boring. This isn't to say I think fiction should be dumbed down to nothing like mulch to feed the masses. Not at all. But sometimes it just felt like the author was trying to sound clever.
For instance 'internecine' instead of 'violent'.
'habiliments' instead of 'clothing'.
'Inculcate' instead of 'ingrain'.
They're nice words and all, and if they'd been used in dialogue I'd take zero issue. If there's a character that always speaks fancy, say no more. But mostly all they were used in the narrative and just seemed to over-complicate something simple.
Final Impression
So I didn't quite like it as much as I'd hoped, I did find a lot of issues with it that personally didn't gel with me, but ultimately I enjoyed it and had a good time with it. I really think the character could grow on me and I'm very interested to learn if there will be a sequel. If there is, I'd certainly give it a read.
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Characters - 3.5
Plot - 3.5
Setting - 4
Writing - 4
Final Impression - 3.75
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The world-building here is very strong, highly driven by the political machinations of various ruling parties. Gambling is a massive part of this society and one's ability at certain games determines the level of respect they get. It was all very lavish and glamorous and cool. The writing in this book suits the themes and setting it's going for. There's a certain flourish to it that at once feel both ostentatious yet utterly natural to the world-building. In other words, the style feels very fitting to the general vibes of the book.
Full Review
3.75*
Big thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for sending me an eARC ahead of the book's release date. All opinions are my own.
Characters
5 POVs
So here were have a crew of con artists. We've got Valen, cardsharp, failed magician and essentially the group's mastermind. We also have his wife, Margo, an expert forger. Jac, ex-pirate, brawler and distraction. And then Ten, diviner, lesser cardsharp, and just a general does-whatever-she's-told.
Jac had some cracking lines.
"We'll take payment in coin or wine, as the only difference between the two is time."
Love that the main character Valen is married. So often it feels like being in a thieving crew is the occupation of single men, so to find a mastermind who's married to a crew member, and devoted to her is so refreshing. I've only ever seen it done once before (Facefaker's Game) and loved it then too. Nothing says loyalty to the crew like being married to one of them. And I also loved how, at times, he and Marguerite acted like a normal married couple in such simple ways. Sharing a bottle of wine, visiting the in-laws. It was so simple yet felt so special to them.
All that being said, and as sweet as I found them, their relationship was very much 'told' to us, rather than 'shown'. Were we not told at all that they were married, I probably would never have known, maybe even considered them siblings. They were clearly very close, but there's not a lot of intimacy between them. They don't kiss, I don't even think they hug. I'm not saying I need romance in every book, but considering they were married, they lacked chemistry a little. Margo never really seemed to worry about Valen's safety when he played all these risky games. There's no sense of urgency or great concern between them. But all the same, I loved seeing a married couple within a con/heist crew.
I don't know how to feel about Ten. On one hand, she's very cool and competent, but on the other, she comes across as very disloyal. Considering Valen is one of her oldest, closest friends, she's always so quick to shit on him and doubt him, or flat out betray him. I'm so disappointed in her.
I don't like that vibe in a thieving crew. I prefer a more Gentlemen Bastards vibe where the crew is so unwaveringly loyal to their leader, and 100% trust him and each other. Who would die for each other if need be. And though Ten shows some of these qualities, she's also quick to hate on Valen when he finds other, more clever ways out of a scrape that doesn't involve her getting hurt. You'd think she'd be greatly he uses that big brain of his, but she just resents him for it.
Ten goes on about feeling betrayed by her friends, how they don't listen to her, don't appreciate her, etc. And I know she feels this, but I didn't feel it. And if I can't feel what the character is feeling in that moment then it hasn't been developed enough beforehand. I know the instances Ten is implying, but in those moments, none of it felt that bad to me, so then I'm left disliking Ten for blowing things out of proportion. It's a shame because in the beginning I really liked her, but by the end, she's such a whinge-bag.
In truth, I'm not sure what she actually brings to the team. She's not much of a fighter, she rarely gets involved with the games or card-sharping, she doesn't do any thieving, she just seems to hang around on street corners waiting for something to happen and then gets pissy with Valen when he makes something happen. I know Ten is a diviner, but so is Valen, so in reality, her skill isn't really required in this crew.
Another, very minor, issue I had was I found the character names a bit too grandiose, even random side characters. I struggled to pronounce about 90% of names and it got a bit tiring. It really says something when I have an easier time pronouncing French-sounding names than the general fantasy names. (French is not my strong suit). There was too much of a flourish to every single name, just felt over the top.
Plot
The premise of this book is so enticing. Set on the independent island nation of Valtiffe, there exists a political point of contention for the natives. The Tipping Point, in which two opposing empires are playing a long game in a bid to swallow up Valtiffe as part of their own empire. To own land on the island presents the opportunity to vote. As more nobles from each side of the political war buy up land, eventually there will be more from one side than the other, after which they can vote to join with either the empire or the queendom. Either of which could have quite dire consequences to the natives of Valtiffe.
Yet despite how cool and political this sounds, the plot does get a little bit lost within its own complexities. Perhaps there just wasn't enough foreshadowing to build up a satisfying conclusion. Anticipation is born from the hints dropped, and I don't think there were enough hints throughout to build all that much anticipation for the. For instance, the prize for winning the Ambassador's Game is a favour from the Ambassador herself. If this had been hinted at sooner and more regularly, I would have built up a lot more excitement for the game, anticipating what could happen next. I think if the book had a lot more foreshadowing, this would have been far more edge-of-the-seat reading.
Based on a few things that I thought was foreshadowing but turned out not to be, I thought this would happen. and then I was a little disappointed when it didn't happen.
Though I did have a question throughout. Why was Dusmenil even gambling with such an important secret in the first place? What possessed the man? I'm not sure it was ever explained why he risked something so valuable and dangerous over a game of cards.
Also, I thought at first Ten was doing a double-doublecross on Valen's instruction, but turned out she was just double-crossing, which was a little deflating. I love those cons where the opposing side thinks they have the upper hand, but turns out it's all part of the plan to make them think they have the upper hand.
I did like the ending though, that final chapter that leaves it open for a sequel on a hopeful note.
Setting
The world-building here is very strong. I loved the French-inspired world, other than the fact I've always had a terrible time with French pronunciation. I had to look up how to say various phonetics to get an understanding of how to say a bunch of made-up names (yeah I know, pedantic, right?). Funny, I'm fine with pronouncing the phonetics of Italian, Polish, and Chinese, but give me something as simple as French (simple because the English language is already basically half French) and suddenly I'm like oH nO, I cAn'T sAy iT. *sigh* I really need to learn French one of these days.
Anyway, The world was highly driven by the political machinations of various ruling parties. There's an important social structure to the world with a clear divide between the nobles and the common folk, but interestingly, at the casino tables, everyone is equal. Gambling is a massive part of this society and one's ability at certain games determines the level of respect they get. It was all very lavish and glamorous and cool. I liked it a lot. It gave me vibes of the salons of Versaille back in the day when the nobles just used to sit around the king's court gambling, gossiping, and conspiring.
I'm really going to need to buy a print version just to take a proper look at the map. Although the eBook had one, it's awkward to refer back to it and impossible to do so in the middle of a chapter without losing my place. There were so many places mentioned that I struggled to keep track of where's where. But I do love how expansive and lived-in this world feels, and I'd love to get a better look at the map to really study it.
Writing Style
The writing in this book suits the themes and setting it's going for. There's a certain flourish to it that at once feel both ostentatious yet utterly natural to the world-building. In other words, the style feels very fitting to the general vibes of the book.
I enjoyed the writing, though I did feel the author deliberately chose long, elaborate words where perhaps simple ones might have sufficed. I don't consider myself an idiot and like to think I have a pretty reasonable vocabulary, but the number of times I had to Google words I didn't know only to discover they had such basic meanings got a tad boring. This isn't to say I think fiction should be dumbed down to nothing like mulch to feed the masses. Not at all. But sometimes it just felt like the author was trying to sound clever.
For instance 'internecine' instead of 'violent'.
'habiliments' instead of 'clothing'.
'Inculcate' instead of 'ingrain'.
They're nice words and all, and if they'd been used in dialogue I'd take zero issue. If there's a character that always speaks fancy, say no more. But mostly all they were used in the narrative and just seemed to over-complicate something simple.
Final Impression
So I didn't quite like it as much as I'd hoped, I did find a lot of issues with it that personally didn't gel with me, but ultimately I enjoyed it and had a good time with it. I really think the character could grow on me and I'm very interested to learn if there will be a sequel. If there is, I'd certainly give it a read.
July 12, 2022
First thanks to Rebellion Publishing for a copy of this book!
I'll go straight to the point here because I will be talking more about this book on a video coming next week. The weakest ponint of this book is it's lenght. The scope of the politics of this novel cannot be contain into such a small book, and it ended up being rushed, especially towards the end. I literally had to listen to the ending on audio 3 times because I thought there was some kind of mistake.
I will 100% check more books by this author, because I believe it could very well become a new favorite so don't be afraid to give us a chunker of a book!
I'll go straight to the point here because I will be talking more about this book on a video coming next week. The weakest ponint of this book is it's lenght. The scope of the politics of this novel cannot be contain into such a small book, and it ended up being rushed, especially towards the end. I literally had to listen to the ending on audio 3 times because I thought there was some kind of mistake.
I will 100% check more books by this author, because I believe it could very well become a new favorite so don't be afraid to give us a chunker of a book!
December 20, 2022
Book source ~ Tour
DNF @31%
Valen Quinol is a cardsharp with a motley crew trying to win enough money to realize a dream. A local gangster is coming to call and Valen has no idea what he wants, but he knows it can't be good.
Ok, so this is a rare one for me. I'm not DNFing because I don't like the book or think it's bad. It's just too intricate for my brain right now. (It's been a bad year.) I'm absolutely enjoying the world building and characters in this story so far. It’s a multi-layered, multi-POV suspense filled with danger showcasing a tricky card system and magic added to the mix. It's rich and complex and I really hope I can revisit this at some point in the future because what I have read is quite good.
DNF @31%
Valen Quinol is a cardsharp with a motley crew trying to win enough money to realize a dream. A local gangster is coming to call and Valen has no idea what he wants, but he knows it can't be good.
Ok, so this is a rare one for me. I'm not DNFing because I don't like the book or think it's bad. It's just too intricate for my brain right now. (It's been a bad year.) I'm absolutely enjoying the world building and characters in this story so far. It’s a multi-layered, multi-POV suspense filled with danger showcasing a tricky card system and magic added to the mix. It's rich and complex and I really hope I can revisit this at some point in the future because what I have read is quite good.
February 5, 2022
This book drew me in for its interesting world and characters.
The schemes of some of the characters were intriguing and clever, which I enjoyed. All of the characters were well-written, and there was a great deal of thought put into crafting the large-scale political plotting in the book.
It's a good story overall, but falls a bit flat in the telling, in my opinion. The inserts of excerpts from fictional writings in the world were distracting and not helpful; they break the immersion without any benefit to the story. The arc of the story becomes more complex and unexpected as it goes on, which made it interesting but also a bit cumbersome to follow, and the climax sort of fizzles out rather than wowing.
Since I'd read an advanced copy of the book, some of the kinks may have been improved by the time this goes to public printing. It could be a really good book with some adjustments.
The schemes of some of the characters were intriguing and clever, which I enjoyed. All of the characters were well-written, and there was a great deal of thought put into crafting the large-scale political plotting in the book.
It's a good story overall, but falls a bit flat in the telling, in my opinion. The inserts of excerpts from fictional writings in the world were distracting and not helpful; they break the immersion without any benefit to the story. The arc of the story becomes more complex and unexpected as it goes on, which made it interesting but also a bit cumbersome to follow, and the climax sort of fizzles out rather than wowing.
Since I'd read an advanced copy of the book, some of the kinks may have been improved by the time this goes to public printing. It could be a really good book with some adjustments.
June 23, 2022
The initial start and con gave me a great hope but things soon felt for a short novel felt slow; thin characters and a little too much focus on cards for my liking that all got in the way of making me care about the story
Full Review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full Review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
May 5, 2022
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S THE KNAVE OF SECRETS ABOUT?
Valen Quinol has pretty modest ambitions—he's not looking to become rich or famous or anything, he's seeking stability and comfort. He wants to open a casino with his wife, he just needs to get the money to do that. Earlier in his life, he went to wizarding school and left in a pretty noteworthy fashion, when it was clear that his scholarly ambitions were going to be thwarted. So he turned to the only thing he knew he could support himself with—gambling. And sure, in addition to being a pretty savvy gamesman, he became pretty skillful in ways to rig games.
Valen's wife, a friend who left school with him—Teneriève—and another friend work with him now—traveling around from casino to casino, from tavern to inn, etc. making enough money to support themselves, and maybe put a little away.
After the reader meets the crew, a local ganglord pays Valen and Margo a visit to hire/threaten them into doing a job for him. Valen typically shuns his work, but this one comes with some tantalizing bait—Valen will be given the buy-in for a local tournament and can keep the money he earns. All he has to do is make sure one competitor walks losing everything they came to play with. If he turns this down, well, there'll be a duel in his future. And Valen's a cardsharp, not a fighter. It will not go well for him.
Because this isn't that kind of Fantasy novel, Valen and his talents go with the less violent option. What Valen doesn't realize—and his sponsor doesn't either—what the defeat of his target is going to kick off and drag them all into.
Espionage, murder, political intrigue, societal upheaval—and the imminent possibility of a world war. All because of a game of chance.
We get to watch Valen and his crew (partially) realize what they've instigated, as well as getting points of view of several of the major players in the fallout.
TENERIÈVE
Teneriève is one of the more interesting characters in the novel—she's from a group that's essentially an analogue to the Roma, and faces hostility and discrimination everywhere she goes. Valen's crew are the only family she's known since leaving home, but even then, she doesn't feel secure—not because of anything they do/think, but because of her own issues.
Her story arc doesn't go the way you think it will initially, and I'm glad it didn't. Her story definitely doesn't get wrapped up in a tidy bow. She could probably serve as the central character in a follow-up novel because there's a lot to her that could be explored. I also really appreciated while the Roma-esque nature of her background informs her actions and attitudes, her story isn't all about that identity.
Quick tip: As good as the other storylines are, pay special attention to her scenes, they're better (and frequently more frustrating and rewarding) than the rest.
SOMETHING THAT JUST OCCURRED TO ME
Before I hit Publish, I was struck by the thought that this is one of the most PG-13 Fantasy novels I've read in a dog's age that wasn't targeted at an MG audience. Maybe even PG (but a couple of the deaths probably shove it into the PG-13 world).
I don't know that this is a plus or a minus in some readers' minds, but I thought it was noteworthy—who writes like that anymore?
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE KNAVE OF SECRETS?
I'll tell you this upfront: I was not in the right frame of mind for this book when I started it. A novel with a new magic system, an involved history, a complicated (but not convoluted) political situation, and gambling—and people cheating at gambling. So you've got to understand the new games pretty well to visualize not just how to play, but how to cheat. Frankly, that's a lot of work.
Now, that's not unusual for a Fantasy novel—and I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that when I started this book I didn't have the mental energy to dive in, and I really wasn't in the mood for it. So when I say that before the halfway point Livingston had me very engaged and invested in the plot and characters, that's saying something.
Livingston has done his homework and has created a very rich world here, we get to see some of it, but probably not all of it. Whether or not this is true, he really gives the sense that he knows all of the ins and outs of the history of these nations going back centuries—and (most importantly) has resisted the impulse to dump it all on the reader. Instead, he gives us just what we need to ground the story and character actions. Give me a book that hints at worldbuilding any day over a book that reads like a history textbook (however interesting the history may be).
All the marketing for this mentions The Lies of Locke Lamora, and insofar as the book centers on a specialized form of criminals fleecing the rich, sure, I can get behind it. But this has a very different flavor and feel than Lynch's novel. Some marketing mentions The Mask of Mirrors—and that feels a bit more on point. Other comparisons involve Casino Royale—beyond the gambling, I don't know if that's appropriate or not, I fell asleep each of the four times I started that flick. The political intrigue of this makes it more like The Mask of Mirrors or the less bloody and sexy parts of A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't point this out (just) to criticize the marketing materials, just to help expectations—don't go into this novel to meet the next Gentleman Bastards, go into it for a new and distinct kind of Fantasy novel.
Despite not being in the right headspace for The Knave of Secrets and going into it with wrong expectations, I ended up pretty impressed with this novel and would definitely recommend this to a wide audience. It's a satisfying read that will leave you wanting to know more about this world and most of these characters.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel via NetGalley and Rebellion/Solaris) they provided.
---
WHAT'S THE KNAVE OF SECRETS ABOUT?
Valen Quinol has pretty modest ambitions—he's not looking to become rich or famous or anything, he's seeking stability and comfort. He wants to open a casino with his wife, he just needs to get the money to do that. Earlier in his life, he went to wizarding school and left in a pretty noteworthy fashion, when it was clear that his scholarly ambitions were going to be thwarted. So he turned to the only thing he knew he could support himself with—gambling. And sure, in addition to being a pretty savvy gamesman, he became pretty skillful in ways to rig games.
Valen's wife, a friend who left school with him—Teneriève—and another friend work with him now—traveling around from casino to casino, from tavern to inn, etc. making enough money to support themselves, and maybe put a little away.
After the reader meets the crew, a local ganglord pays Valen and Margo a visit to hire/threaten them into doing a job for him. Valen typically shuns his work, but this one comes with some tantalizing bait—Valen will be given the buy-in for a local tournament and can keep the money he earns. All he has to do is make sure one competitor walks losing everything they came to play with. If he turns this down, well, there'll be a duel in his future. And Valen's a cardsharp, not a fighter. It will not go well for him.
Because this isn't that kind of Fantasy novel, Valen and his talents go with the less violent option. What Valen doesn't realize—and his sponsor doesn't either—what the defeat of his target is going to kick off and drag them all into.
Espionage, murder, political intrigue, societal upheaval—and the imminent possibility of a world war. All because of a game of chance.
We get to watch Valen and his crew (partially) realize what they've instigated, as well as getting points of view of several of the major players in the fallout.
TENERIÈVE
Teneriève is one of the more interesting characters in the novel—she's from a group that's essentially an analogue to the Roma, and faces hostility and discrimination everywhere she goes. Valen's crew are the only family she's known since leaving home, but even then, she doesn't feel secure—not because of anything they do/think, but because of her own issues.
Her story arc doesn't go the way you think it will initially, and I'm glad it didn't. Her story definitely doesn't get wrapped up in a tidy bow. She could probably serve as the central character in a follow-up novel because there's a lot to her that could be explored. I also really appreciated while the Roma-esque nature of her background informs her actions and attitudes, her story isn't all about that identity.
Quick tip: As good as the other storylines are, pay special attention to her scenes, they're better (and frequently more frustrating and rewarding) than the rest.
SOMETHING THAT JUST OCCURRED TO ME
Before I hit Publish, I was struck by the thought that this is one of the most PG-13 Fantasy novels I've read in a dog's age that wasn't targeted at an MG audience. Maybe even PG (but a couple of the deaths probably shove it into the PG-13 world).
I don't know that this is a plus or a minus in some readers' minds, but I thought it was noteworthy—who writes like that anymore?
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE KNAVE OF SECRETS?
I'll tell you this upfront: I was not in the right frame of mind for this book when I started it. A novel with a new magic system, an involved history, a complicated (but not convoluted) political situation, and gambling—and people cheating at gambling. So you've got to understand the new games pretty well to visualize not just how to play, but how to cheat. Frankly, that's a lot of work.
Now, that's not unusual for a Fantasy novel—and I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that when I started this book I didn't have the mental energy to dive in, and I really wasn't in the mood for it. So when I say that before the halfway point Livingston had me very engaged and invested in the plot and characters, that's saying something.
Livingston has done his homework and has created a very rich world here, we get to see some of it, but probably not all of it. Whether or not this is true, he really gives the sense that he knows all of the ins and outs of the history of these nations going back centuries—and (most importantly) has resisted the impulse to dump it all on the reader. Instead, he gives us just what we need to ground the story and character actions. Give me a book that hints at worldbuilding any day over a book that reads like a history textbook (however interesting the history may be).
All the marketing for this mentions The Lies of Locke Lamora, and insofar as the book centers on a specialized form of criminals fleecing the rich, sure, I can get behind it. But this has a very different flavor and feel than Lynch's novel. Some marketing mentions The Mask of Mirrors—and that feels a bit more on point. Other comparisons involve Casino Royale—beyond the gambling, I don't know if that's appropriate or not, I fell asleep each of the four times I started that flick. The political intrigue of this makes it more like The Mask of Mirrors or the less bloody and sexy parts of A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't point this out (just) to criticize the marketing materials, just to help expectations—don't go into this novel to meet the next Gentleman Bastards, go into it for a new and distinct kind of Fantasy novel.
Despite not being in the right headspace for The Knave of Secrets and going into it with wrong expectations, I ended up pretty impressed with this novel and would definitely recommend this to a wide audience. It's a satisfying read that will leave you wanting to know more about this world and most of these characters.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel via NetGalley and Rebellion/Solaris) they provided.
May 7, 2022
3.5 stars
I received a copy of this book to take part in the blog tour hosted for it, in exchange for an honest review.
This book was an interesting discovery, and even if in the end it wasn’t what I was expecting, I had a good time with it. I was hooked, I was intrigued by the plot and I simply had to know what would happen to all of them. Because things get twisty soon enough, and full of dangers too.
Let’s start with the expectations: I was expecting something similar to Locke Lamora’s books, full of action and deception, and cons inside cons, and without the time to take a full breath. And this was not it.
This book is, to say it in one word, sedate. And I am not really complaining, because sedate does not mean boring, at all. I was invested in the characters and their choices, and their risky bets, the book is captivating, but it has a slower pace (not really slow, but slower than what I was expecting) and another thing that I was expecting and that was missing was the sense of almost blind loyalty in the found family that we have.
Okay, this is a tad hard to explain with sense, but bear with me a moment. Found families are one of my favorite tropes ever, and usually, when we get to have one in the books, we have always a sense of undestroyable and uncompromising loyalty between all the people involved, and we have some deep feelings toward each other. But it wasn’t really the case in this book. We have a found family, and it is a beautiful one because the characters show us what a real family should be, and we have some moving moments in this department, but we have also doubts, we have resentments from time to time, and the feeling that the bond is not unbreakable. And it was good. Really!
Sure, to be honest, I prefer my found family with more unity and fewer doubts, because life can be just so full of doubts and bad things, that a happy island is like a beacon that we all need. And so yeah, I prefer the other kind. But this one was even more real for its “dark” sides. And I think that there is another factor in this more frail found family, and it is one of the best features of the book: the characters are older than usual.
Yes, this was, for me, the best thing in the book. The characters are all grown men and women, and they are approaching the middle age mark if they have not reached it yet, and it was amazing to see a fantasy with older characters that are not your usual beaten-from-life warrior (mind me, I love them, but it was a nice change for once!).
Valen is the brain of the group, and he is a charming character, but to be honest all of the main characters have some charming quality. The only one with whom I had some difficulties was Ten, and it was strange, because usually I am keener on this kind of character, and I really enjoyed that she can think for herself and that she is not afraid to act on her conviction, and yet in this book, she was the one who talked less to me. She was an interesting character, and I didn’t dislike her, but I was expecting to like her more, that’s all.
And then let me spend a few words on the magical system. I really wanted more of it, because it was intriguing and fascinating. I love magical systems based on languages, and this one was no exception. And it reminded me a bit of Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara (and this is a series that I love!). And it was interesting to see that we have different kinds of magic, not only because there are different branches, but because it really is different based on the “class” of the practitioner.
All in all, it was a compelling book, that kept me interested from the start to the end, with some good cons, and some interesting twists!
I received a copy of this book to take part in the blog tour hosted for it, in exchange for an honest review.
This book was an interesting discovery, and even if in the end it wasn’t what I was expecting, I had a good time with it. I was hooked, I was intrigued by the plot and I simply had to know what would happen to all of them. Because things get twisty soon enough, and full of dangers too.
Let’s start with the expectations: I was expecting something similar to Locke Lamora’s books, full of action and deception, and cons inside cons, and without the time to take a full breath. And this was not it.
This book is, to say it in one word, sedate. And I am not really complaining, because sedate does not mean boring, at all. I was invested in the characters and their choices, and their risky bets, the book is captivating, but it has a slower pace (not really slow, but slower than what I was expecting) and another thing that I was expecting and that was missing was the sense of almost blind loyalty in the found family that we have.
Okay, this is a tad hard to explain with sense, but bear with me a moment. Found families are one of my favorite tropes ever, and usually, when we get to have one in the books, we have always a sense of undestroyable and uncompromising loyalty between all the people involved, and we have some deep feelings toward each other. But it wasn’t really the case in this book. We have a found family, and it is a beautiful one because the characters show us what a real family should be, and we have some moving moments in this department, but we have also doubts, we have resentments from time to time, and the feeling that the bond is not unbreakable. And it was good. Really!
Sure, to be honest, I prefer my found family with more unity and fewer doubts, because life can be just so full of doubts and bad things, that a happy island is like a beacon that we all need. And so yeah, I prefer the other kind. But this one was even more real for its “dark” sides. And I think that there is another factor in this more frail found family, and it is one of the best features of the book: the characters are older than usual.
Yes, this was, for me, the best thing in the book. The characters are all grown men and women, and they are approaching the middle age mark if they have not reached it yet, and it was amazing to see a fantasy with older characters that are not your usual beaten-from-life warrior (mind me, I love them, but it was a nice change for once!).
Valen is the brain of the group, and he is a charming character, but to be honest all of the main characters have some charming quality. The only one with whom I had some difficulties was Ten, and it was strange, because usually I am keener on this kind of character, and I really enjoyed that she can think for herself and that she is not afraid to act on her conviction, and yet in this book, she was the one who talked less to me. She was an interesting character, and I didn’t dislike her, but I was expecting to like her more, that’s all.
And then let me spend a few words on the magical system. I really wanted more of it, because it was intriguing and fascinating. I love magical systems based on languages, and this one was no exception. And it reminded me a bit of Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara (and this is a series that I love!). And it was interesting to see that we have different kinds of magic, not only because there are different branches, but because it really is different based on the “class” of the practitioner.
All in all, it was a compelling book, that kept me interested from the start to the end, with some good cons, and some interesting twists!
May 12, 2022
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a fantasy story about a world of gamblers, cardsharps, and conmen, with a touch of magic and a plethora of secrets that will leave you guessing until the end.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
When looking at the cover and the blurb, I’m first intrigued by how well the two go together. The title sounds like a playing card, and the figure on the cover looks mysterious and secretive, and he is holding a card. I haven’t read or seen either of the two comparisons mentioned in the blurb – The Lies of Locke Lamora and Casino Royale, which offers me no clues as to what to expect. I find the dark grittiness of the described world an intriguing juxtaposition to the magical world alluded to. Overall, I anticipate a dark and gritty thriller with a fantasy angle.
Actual Reading Experience:
As I sometimes do, I am going to start with the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the last thirty percent and the twist at the end. The action picked up, and the dialogue flowed naturally. Whereas there is a bunch of information about the world and characters in the early chapters that made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story, the later chapters quickly pulled me in.
The card game aspect of this story is fresh and creative. I like that this world has a Secret Broker that assigns value to different secrets and that this can be used in the card game to bet with. It intrigued me and kept me wanting more. I also enjoyed the enchanted objects and the creative use of these objects to both cheat and find cheaters. This definitely helped keep the pace high after the first few chapters.
Unfortunately, I struggled to find my way in this world. The world-building, in the beginning, presented a challenge for me that I was only partially able to overcome. I had trouble with the abundance of details in those early chapters because they were hard for me to follow, process, and put into context.
The story is mostly as I anticipated. It is dark and somewhat gritty but a bit different than I was thinking. There are thrills and a magical angle, and I enjoyed these aspects most of all. Most of the plot is covered by the blurb, which is a bit surprising but considering, it’s no wonder that my expectations were pretty spot on.
Characters
The story is told in third-person but also in a focused point of view (POV), and that POV changes from chapter to chapter. The following are the characters from whose perspective leads chapters:
1. Valen, the main character, is married to Marguerite, a proud and clever woman. He practices what he calls luck magic which he uses to stack the deck. When he wins the secret of Skyndiferth, his life takes on a whole new peril.
2. Teneriève is an associate of Valen’s. She took to “the social aspects of chicanery like she was born to it: the lies and false identities and playing on people’s prejudices.” I liked Ten, as she is a strong female character in ways that compliments Marguerite’s strength. I found her relationship with Jac a fun part of the story, though he could be gross at times.
3. Dona Ariadna de Alodesal y Juegon—‘Ria’ is grandee of Ombria, Gamesmaster of Torreçon, and Regal Ambassador to the Independent Country of Valtiffe. She gave me a look at the social classes from someone in the upper class.
4. Omer-Guy Bendine is the Cadois Ambassador to Valtiffe and representative of Empress Oceane Caraliere de Flechard. I don’t feel like I really got to know him very well, and he seemed a bit of a bungling fool to me.
5. Michel Alcippe is a Brother and Third-Honor Faculty, Order of the Sjónleysi. He represents the world of magic in the story which seems to be housed with the Order. Different social classes practiced different magic, and, as I understood it, the Brothers were the keepers.
I found that the number of POVs didn’t confuse me or disrupt the story as can happen. I enjoyed the different perspectives as they each lent a bit more information about this unique world and the world of card games within it. Though, on the downside, I can’t say any of the characters are developed deeply through multiple POVs.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a different kind of heist story, you will find The Knave of Secrets just what you are looking for.
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a fantasy story about a world of gamblers, cardsharps, and conmen, with a touch of magic and a plethora of secrets that will leave you guessing until the end.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
When looking at the cover and the blurb, I’m first intrigued by how well the two go together. The title sounds like a playing card, and the figure on the cover looks mysterious and secretive, and he is holding a card. I haven’t read or seen either of the two comparisons mentioned in the blurb – The Lies of Locke Lamora and Casino Royale, which offers me no clues as to what to expect. I find the dark grittiness of the described world an intriguing juxtaposition to the magical world alluded to. Overall, I anticipate a dark and gritty thriller with a fantasy angle.
Actual Reading Experience:
As I sometimes do, I am going to start with the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the last thirty percent and the twist at the end. The action picked up, and the dialogue flowed naturally. Whereas there is a bunch of information about the world and characters in the early chapters that made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story, the later chapters quickly pulled me in.
The card game aspect of this story is fresh and creative. I like that this world has a Secret Broker that assigns value to different secrets and that this can be used in the card game to bet with. It intrigued me and kept me wanting more. I also enjoyed the enchanted objects and the creative use of these objects to both cheat and find cheaters. This definitely helped keep the pace high after the first few chapters.
Unfortunately, I struggled to find my way in this world. The world-building, in the beginning, presented a challenge for me that I was only partially able to overcome. I had trouble with the abundance of details in those early chapters because they were hard for me to follow, process, and put into context.
The story is mostly as I anticipated. It is dark and somewhat gritty but a bit different than I was thinking. There are thrills and a magical angle, and I enjoyed these aspects most of all. Most of the plot is covered by the blurb, which is a bit surprising but considering, it’s no wonder that my expectations were pretty spot on.
Characters
The story is told in third-person but also in a focused point of view (POV), and that POV changes from chapter to chapter. The following are the characters from whose perspective leads chapters:
1. Valen, the main character, is married to Marguerite, a proud and clever woman. He practices what he calls luck magic which he uses to stack the deck. When he wins the secret of Skyndiferth, his life takes on a whole new peril.
2. Teneriève is an associate of Valen’s. She took to “the social aspects of chicanery like she was born to it: the lies and false identities and playing on people’s prejudices.” I liked Ten, as she is a strong female character in ways that compliments Marguerite’s strength. I found her relationship with Jac a fun part of the story, though he could be gross at times.
3. Dona Ariadna de Alodesal y Juegon—‘Ria’ is grandee of Ombria, Gamesmaster of Torreçon, and Regal Ambassador to the Independent Country of Valtiffe. She gave me a look at the social classes from someone in the upper class.
4. Omer-Guy Bendine is the Cadois Ambassador to Valtiffe and representative of Empress Oceane Caraliere de Flechard. I don’t feel like I really got to know him very well, and he seemed a bit of a bungling fool to me.
5. Michel Alcippe is a Brother and Third-Honor Faculty, Order of the Sjónleysi. He represents the world of magic in the story which seems to be housed with the Order. Different social classes practiced different magic, and, as I understood it, the Brothers were the keepers.
I found that the number of POVs didn’t confuse me or disrupt the story as can happen. I enjoyed the different perspectives as they each lent a bit more information about this unique world and the world of card games within it. Though, on the downside, I can’t say any of the characters are developed deeply through multiple POVs.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a different kind of heist story, you will find The Knave of Secrets just what you are looking for.
January 16, 2022
In a setting where everyone in several different cultures is obsessed with gambling games, this book focuses on a crew of crooked gamblers who end up in the position to maybe do some good.
There are a number of viewpoint characters, including two of the crew but also several other players in the complicated plotting and counter-plotting; at times I found myself wishing for a diagram, which I suspect the author has probably drawn. There's a kind of cold war going on between two powerful nations, an Empire and a Queendom; a third nation, an island where the story is mostly set, is coming increasingly under the influence of the Empire. Because landowning grants voting rights there, and because immigrants from the Empire tend to be prosperous and often buy land, the Parliament is heading for a "tipping point" where it may vote to become part of the Empire rather than remaining independent, which will shift the balance of power between the superpowers. Meanwhile, a supposedly apolitical order of wizards (to which two of the gambling crew used to belong) are keeping secrets that could upset the balance in a different way.
All of this sets the plot in motion, as one of the crew wins a game where people play for secrets, and somehow (it's never explained how) the man he beat knew the wizards' secret and gambled with it. They decide they have to try to keep the current détente between the Empire and the Queendom and the independence of their island, and prevent a war from starting, using their gambling abilities and some unreliable magic.
The issues in those spoiler tags, and my difficulty in following the overly convoluted plot at times, took this book down to the bronze tier of my annual Best-Of list, but it does have a good many strengths and shows potential. I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding, the different games and the feeling of deep and rich cultures. I also found the idea of a nation (one of the two superpowers) where the wealthy gain access to formal power by funding public works to be an interesting one, though I'm not sure how it would arise or how long it would be enforced in reality.
I received a pre-publication version from Netgalley, which needs some work for typos (mostly words missing, added, duplicated, or mistyped) and the occasional vocabulary glitch, but is otherwise largely sound.
There are a number of viewpoint characters, including two of the crew but also several other players in the complicated plotting and counter-plotting; at times I found myself wishing for a diagram, which I suspect the author has probably drawn. There's a kind of cold war going on between two powerful nations, an Empire and a Queendom; a third nation, an island where the story is mostly set, is coming increasingly under the influence of the Empire. Because landowning grants voting rights there, and because immigrants from the Empire tend to be prosperous and often buy land, the Parliament is heading for a "tipping point" where it may vote to become part of the Empire rather than remaining independent, which will shift the balance of power between the superpowers. Meanwhile, a supposedly apolitical order of wizards (to which two of the gambling crew used to belong) are keeping secrets that could upset the balance in a different way.
All of this sets the plot in motion, as one of the crew wins a game where people play for secrets, and somehow (it's never explained how) the man he beat knew the wizards' secret and gambled with it. They decide they have to try to keep the current détente between the Empire and the Queendom and the independence of their island, and prevent a war from starting, using their gambling abilities and some unreliable magic.
The issues in those spoiler tags, and my difficulty in following the overly convoluted plot at times, took this book down to the bronze tier of my annual Best-Of list, but it does have a good many strengths and shows potential. I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding, the different games and the feeling of deep and rich cultures. I also found the idea of a nation (one of the two superpowers) where the wealthy gain access to formal power by funding public works to be an interesting one, though I'm not sure how it would arise or how long it would be enforced in reality.
I received a pre-publication version from Netgalley, which needs some work for typos (mostly words missing, added, duplicated, or mistyped) and the occasional vocabulary glitch, but is otherwise largely sound.
May 12, 2022
There is an awful lot that is very impressive about this book, namely its cardgames, the economies, wealth and status built on gambling and the political intrigue of two rival rules - the Queendom and the Empire. So much research, planning and thought. That, however, also makes things a bit of a struggle in places ...
We start the story with Valen and his crew out on a rigged game. And, in many ways, that felt the main show of the characters' skills as gamblers. Even when Valen makes it to the Forbearance Games, there's not much that he can actually do. So if you're expecting lots of sitting around tables gambling James Bond style, it's not quite that. The rest of the time, the team are being caught up in bigger and bigger plot points that are quite out of their control.
There are two, even three big power dynamics in this world - one is the dependence on and normalisation of gambling. Each city, each island has its own preferred games and styles. A lot of thought and research has gone into this and its truly impressive. There's even a snippet of history or lore at the start of each chapter. But this also makes things incredibly dense - you're not quite sure what are pertinent details and what's just impressive padding.
Another dynamic is the politics - the nobility of this world are vying for power and status, and to constantly unbalance and re-balance the status quo between these two rival states.
And the final dynamic is the magic system - a Séminaire of Brothers (despite including women) who practice divination or enchantments and seem to have an awful lot of power, but are somehow removed from politics. It also seems that anyone with enough money can buy their way in to learning this magic.
There's just so much going on! Thank goodness the majority is set on one small island. But that also means that the timelines and the (many) points of view feel both stretched and squashed as you're not quite sure what is happening in parallel with something else.
It also means that the characters are a little densely packed too - the team is a great combination of the leader (Valen), his wife forger-extraordinaire (Maguerite), their school friend and Mistigri nomad (Tenerieve) and the pirate-witch Jacquemin. But with short snippets of at least three other characters, this takes away the focus from the main group. The more I read of them, I also found Valen and Jaq a little smug and bland - Ten and Margo would have been a much more interesting focus. I also found focusing on Ten's 'so white it's nearly blue skin', which set her up for racial profiling a little shoe-horned in, just to add diversity that isn't diversity.
But that's a lot of moaning for a book that I'm still rating pretty highly - I enjoyed the story, the layers slowly being peeled back, the characters not realising quite how far in over their heads they are, and the complexity of the world.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and The Write Reads in exchange for an honest review.
We start the story with Valen and his crew out on a rigged game. And, in many ways, that felt the main show of the characters' skills as gamblers. Even when Valen makes it to the Forbearance Games, there's not much that he can actually do. So if you're expecting lots of sitting around tables gambling James Bond style, it's not quite that. The rest of the time, the team are being caught up in bigger and bigger plot points that are quite out of their control.
There are two, even three big power dynamics in this world - one is the dependence on and normalisation of gambling. Each city, each island has its own preferred games and styles. A lot of thought and research has gone into this and its truly impressive. There's even a snippet of history or lore at the start of each chapter. But this also makes things incredibly dense - you're not quite sure what are pertinent details and what's just impressive padding.
Another dynamic is the politics - the nobility of this world are vying for power and status, and to constantly unbalance and re-balance the status quo between these two rival states.
And the final dynamic is the magic system - a Séminaire of Brothers (despite including women) who practice divination or enchantments and seem to have an awful lot of power, but are somehow removed from politics. It also seems that anyone with enough money can buy their way in to learning this magic.
There's just so much going on! Thank goodness the majority is set on one small island. But that also means that the timelines and the (many) points of view feel both stretched and squashed as you're not quite sure what is happening in parallel with something else.
It also means that the characters are a little densely packed too - the team is a great combination of the leader (Valen), his wife forger-extraordinaire (Maguerite), their school friend and Mistigri nomad (Tenerieve) and the pirate-witch Jacquemin. But with short snippets of at least three other characters, this takes away the focus from the main group. The more I read of them, I also found Valen and Jaq a little smug and bland - Ten and Margo would have been a much more interesting focus. I also found focusing on Ten's 'so white it's nearly blue skin', which set her up for racial profiling a little shoe-horned in, just to add diversity that isn't diversity.
But that's a lot of moaning for a book that I'm still rating pretty highly - I enjoyed the story, the layers slowly being peeled back, the characters not realising quite how far in over their heads they are, and the complexity of the world.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and The Write Reads in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2022
“Words had power. Words could kill. And secret words all the more.”
The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston is a fictional fantasy story of con men and cards, of gamblers and games, and the lengths some are willing to go to win.
The world that Livingston has created for The Knave of Secrets is a complex one. There are numerous cultures featured, not all of them friendly but all with one thing in common – the love of gambling and games. The same can be said for the characters, they too are complex with their love of gambling the main thing in common.
The main character Valen Quinol isn’t a young man but is described as one of middle age. A rarity in that most books of this kind feature a younger character often just starting out on their journey. Valen is well on his journey, having traveled it along with his wife and friends for some years already.
All of the characters are interesting in their own right and thankfully none of them are perfect. Mistakes are made and learned from. Fights and disagreements happen over plans. Even when things seem to go smoothly they don’t. Because of this, the characters are easy to relate to. Who doesn’t have arguments with their friends? Who doesn’t disagree sometimes with the ones they love most? It doesn’t mean we love them any less.
The only real quibble I have with The Knave of Secrets is the lack of “show don’t tell” in the storytelling. This is especially true during the many scenes featuring one game or another. In these instances, Livingston tells us what happens in the game but doesn’t really show us the action. While these scenes are intended to move the story along, sadly they fall flat while they attempt to do so.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Alex Livingston’s The Knave of Secrets. While the book is meant to be a standalone, I would very much enjoy seeing more tales from this world he has created. I recommend this book to my readers and I would remind them of an adage that every gambler knows:
The House Always Wins.
May 8, 2022
Thank you to The Write Reads, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I do love when I read the first chapter of a book and I just know I’m going to love it. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s such a great feeling when it does. And that’s certainly what happened when I picked up The Knave of Secrets!
This is a story of gambling and politics where we are following a cardsharp named Valen Quinol and his small crew. Valen is out to prove that the magic that got him kicked out of a prestigious magical academy is real and make some money while he’s at it. He has a small but dedicated group of compatriots to help him along the way, including an ex-sailor and an ex-classmate and his wife. But then, Valen is roped into a scheme that throws him and his crew into a political mess that is far above his head. Now he needs to figure a way out of the mess while keeping himself and the people he cares about alive.
There is something about a story surrounding a crew of miscreants that I can’t help but love. Valen, Margo, Ten, and Jaq captured my heart pretty much immediately and are a large part of why I loved this book so much. It’s that found family aspect that gets me every time! I thought they were incredible characters, with the nuance and vibrancy that made them come to life on the page. I would have liked to get more of Margo and Jaq’s POV because I felt like we didn’t get to know them quite as well as the other two, but I still loved them all!
I also enjoyed all the twisty politics in this story. I love a story with layers and layers of intrigue and this certainly delivered in spades! It wasn’t to the point that I was completely confused, but it definitely kept me on my toes. It was like watching a particularly brutal game of chess unfold. Which makes sense as this book and the world within are very much centered around games of all kind. I thought the complex system of card and dice games that are played throughout this world was so fascinating! I will admit to getting a bit lost in what was popular where and which deck was used for what, but I still found it an interesting element of the story. And the appendices at the end certainly helped.
Final thoughts: This is an compelling world built around some fabulous characters! I loved the found family aspect that we see with our main group of cardsharps. I thought they were a complex and interesting group that made me love this book all the more. The world-building is incredible, with a magic system and politics that could get a smidge confusing, but still had me absolutely intrigued. If you enjoy fantasy novels that focus on a group of cheats somehow getting embroiled in a deadly game of politics, I think you would enjoy The Knave of Secrets!
I do love when I read the first chapter of a book and I just know I’m going to love it. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s such a great feeling when it does. And that’s certainly what happened when I picked up The Knave of Secrets!
This is a story of gambling and politics where we are following a cardsharp named Valen Quinol and his small crew. Valen is out to prove that the magic that got him kicked out of a prestigious magical academy is real and make some money while he’s at it. He has a small but dedicated group of compatriots to help him along the way, including an ex-sailor and an ex-classmate and his wife. But then, Valen is roped into a scheme that throws him and his crew into a political mess that is far above his head. Now he needs to figure a way out of the mess while keeping himself and the people he cares about alive.
There is something about a story surrounding a crew of miscreants that I can’t help but love. Valen, Margo, Ten, and Jaq captured my heart pretty much immediately and are a large part of why I loved this book so much. It’s that found family aspect that gets me every time! I thought they were incredible characters, with the nuance and vibrancy that made them come to life on the page. I would have liked to get more of Margo and Jaq’s POV because I felt like we didn’t get to know them quite as well as the other two, but I still loved them all!
I also enjoyed all the twisty politics in this story. I love a story with layers and layers of intrigue and this certainly delivered in spades! It wasn’t to the point that I was completely confused, but it definitely kept me on my toes. It was like watching a particularly brutal game of chess unfold. Which makes sense as this book and the world within are very much centered around games of all kind. I thought the complex system of card and dice games that are played throughout this world was so fascinating! I will admit to getting a bit lost in what was popular where and which deck was used for what, but I still found it an interesting element of the story. And the appendices at the end certainly helped.
Final thoughts: This is an compelling world built around some fabulous characters! I loved the found family aspect that we see with our main group of cardsharps. I thought they were a complex and interesting group that made me love this book all the more. The world-building is incredible, with a magic system and politics that could get a smidge confusing, but still had me absolutely intrigued. If you enjoy fantasy novels that focus on a group of cheats somehow getting embroiled in a deadly game of politics, I think you would enjoy The Knave of Secrets!
May 19, 2022
Firstly, Id like to thank The Write reads and Rebellion Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review Knave Of Secrets by Alex Livingston.
I want to start off by saying that this book had a lot of great elements to it and though I found them interesting, some weren’t my cup of tea. With that being said, it is completely my preference. The story is French inspired and I figured that out by most of the dialogue that was spoken between the characters. The story is written in multiple POV which is something I do enjoy but I found that I did not quite connect with the characters in this one. The characters are an older group of friends which I did like because its not often you get a book where the characters are older than 25-30. I enjoyed the closeness they shared especially due to their love of gambling. Although there was a lack of connection I shared with most of the characters, I felt the closest to Valen. There was some lack of information in some parts of the story which led me to question a lot of what was happening. It could have just simply been me. I could not grasp the concept of the magic system. I just couldn’t understand most of it. I wonder if others felt the same way. There were even some disturbing types of magic for healing and I did not expect that but it was definitely interesting. I just wish I understood it better.
The concept of the story was great I just don’t think it was for me personally. The author is a great writer and anything pointed out does not stop me from reading anything else by him. I think that this book could be someone else favorite book who can appreciate the concept a lot more than I did.
I want to start off by saying that this book had a lot of great elements to it and though I found them interesting, some weren’t my cup of tea. With that being said, it is completely my preference. The story is French inspired and I figured that out by most of the dialogue that was spoken between the characters. The story is written in multiple POV which is something I do enjoy but I found that I did not quite connect with the characters in this one. The characters are an older group of friends which I did like because its not often you get a book where the characters are older than 25-30. I enjoyed the closeness they shared especially due to their love of gambling. Although there was a lack of connection I shared with most of the characters, I felt the closest to Valen. There was some lack of information in some parts of the story which led me to question a lot of what was happening. It could have just simply been me. I could not grasp the concept of the magic system. I just couldn’t understand most of it. I wonder if others felt the same way. There were even some disturbing types of magic for healing and I did not expect that but it was definitely interesting. I just wish I understood it better.
The concept of the story was great I just don’t think it was for me personally. The author is a great writer and anything pointed out does not stop me from reading anything else by him. I think that this book could be someone else favorite book who can appreciate the concept a lot more than I did.
July 31, 2022
3.5 star review
I loved the game aspect of the book, that’s what more than anything really gripped my attention. I loved learning the all about the background of the games as well as the rules. The games of which they were involved in definitely could be dangerous at times, could signify trouble and could also be tough for anyone who is hoping to win.
So admittedly, I ended up struggling with this one a little with the pacing at times, it’s not very fast paced but there’s a bit of action and intrigue which whetted my appetite for something to happen.
Filled with really cool, kick ass characters and some kick ass moments involving swords and magic. It was very hard to get to know the characters but I really enjoyed the magical aspects of the book as well and I loved reading about the world she had created. The book is filled with lots of different places as the characters go all over the world, some of it also taking place on board a ship. The author has done some fantastic work here in regards to world building, describing all the different places here and has really created something gritty.
Anyone who likes dark, atmospheric and thrilling books will like this one.
The Knave of Secrets is very much so like a way more darker, fantastical version of The Queen’s Gambit!
I loved the game aspect of the book, that’s what more than anything really gripped my attention. I loved learning the all about the background of the games as well as the rules. The games of which they were involved in definitely could be dangerous at times, could signify trouble and could also be tough for anyone who is hoping to win.
So admittedly, I ended up struggling with this one a little with the pacing at times, it’s not very fast paced but there’s a bit of action and intrigue which whetted my appetite for something to happen.
Filled with really cool, kick ass characters and some kick ass moments involving swords and magic. It was very hard to get to know the characters but I really enjoyed the magical aspects of the book as well and I loved reading about the world she had created. The book is filled with lots of different places as the characters go all over the world, some of it also taking place on board a ship. The author has done some fantastic work here in regards to world building, describing all the different places here and has really created something gritty.
Anyone who likes dark, atmospheric and thrilling books will like this one.
The Knave of Secrets is very much so like a way more darker, fantastical version of The Queen’s Gambit!
May 4, 2022
***Thank you to TheWriteReads and Rebellion Publishing for providing a copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***
This was a fun read. There was tons of political intrigue, interesting magic, and intricate world-building. The writing was good, and the narrative style did a great job of setting up the tone of the world. The plot was a bit slow at times, especially in the second quarter of the book, but the excitement of the games and mysteries kept me engaged for most of it.
The world and magic system were probably my favorite things about this book. The political situation was tense, and the history of each nation was fascinating to learn about. The Seminaire brotherhood of magicians was an interesting concept, and I wish even more time had been spent on learning about their order and the magic, and secrets, they held. There was also a wealth of information about the different games of chance played by the people in this world, which I'm sure some people will appreciate. Personally, I wish more time had been spent on the magic and less on the different games. Furthermore, I enjoyed the political intrigue but found it to be quite confusing for the first half of the book because I kept losing track of whose side certain characters were on. Once some of the secrets came out, it all made more sense, but the author's attempts at showing the different political ties in the first half without any type of primer on the world's history/alliances really fell flat. All in all, though, the world was fascinating, and I think it has a lot of untapped potential for future stories (if the author decides to make this more than a standalone).
I liked many of the characters, but they all felt a bit two-dimensional. Valen was probably the most well-rounded, and I liked his personality. I enjoyed seeing him become an unlikely hero, and his struggle with guilt about the consequences of his gambling and cheating was probably the most compelling character arc. I also really liked getting a middle-aged protagonist, and the relationship he had with his wife was something I loved reading. They were just so supportive of each other and worked great together while attempting to build their dreams into reality. Many of the other POVs really could have been eliminated. The stories of the two ambassadors felt like filler and a way to impart knowledge about the current political situation. However, as I noted above, they only served to make me more confused, and Ria's perspective and motivations honestly felt a bit inconsistent. In general, the characters were fun to read, though, and many of them had plenty of great moments. They just all felt a bit wooden.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read filled with interesting magic, espionage, and lots of secrets. The ideas were good even if the execution of all aspects of the story weren't as great as I'd hoped. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
See more of my reviews and other bookish content here!
This was a fun read. There was tons of political intrigue, interesting magic, and intricate world-building. The writing was good, and the narrative style did a great job of setting up the tone of the world. The plot was a bit slow at times, especially in the second quarter of the book, but the excitement of the games and mysteries kept me engaged for most of it.
The world and magic system were probably my favorite things about this book. The political situation was tense, and the history of each nation was fascinating to learn about. The Seminaire brotherhood of magicians was an interesting concept, and I wish even more time had been spent on learning about their order and the magic, and secrets, they held. There was also a wealth of information about the different games of chance played by the people in this world, which I'm sure some people will appreciate. Personally, I wish more time had been spent on the magic and less on the different games. Furthermore, I enjoyed the political intrigue but found it to be quite confusing for the first half of the book because I kept losing track of whose side certain characters were on. Once some of the secrets came out, it all made more sense, but the author's attempts at showing the different political ties in the first half without any type of primer on the world's history/alliances really fell flat. All in all, though, the world was fascinating, and I think it has a lot of untapped potential for future stories (if the author decides to make this more than a standalone).
I liked many of the characters, but they all felt a bit two-dimensional. Valen was probably the most well-rounded, and I liked his personality. I enjoyed seeing him become an unlikely hero, and his struggle with guilt about the consequences of his gambling and cheating was probably the most compelling character arc. I also really liked getting a middle-aged protagonist, and the relationship he had with his wife was something I loved reading. They were just so supportive of each other and worked great together while attempting to build their dreams into reality. Many of the other POVs really could have been eliminated. The stories of the two ambassadors felt like filler and a way to impart knowledge about the current political situation. However, as I noted above, they only served to make me more confused, and Ria's perspective and motivations honestly felt a bit inconsistent. In general, the characters were fun to read, though, and many of them had plenty of great moments. They just all felt a bit wooden.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read filled with interesting magic, espionage, and lots of secrets. The ideas were good even if the execution of all aspects of the story weren't as great as I'd hoped. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
See more of my reviews and other bookish content here!
May 6, 2022
When failed magician and man of morals most questionable turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the game of Forbearance, a game which is strictly by invitation only where those willing to participate gamble with their secrets, he finds himself unable to resist. Mores the pity as he shall soon discover, or to put it more plainly he could surely not refuse, according to the very benefactor who is sponsoring his very seat the the table…
However upon what seems like a victory, Valen is handed one of the most valuable secrets that has ever been staked in the history of the tournament and perhaps this is rather an unwelcome gift.
People want Valen. Or to put it bluntly, they want the secret he now finds himself in possession of, and along with his crew are now being hunted by thieves, gangsters, wizards, spies, all with their own reasons for wanting the one thing Valen finds himself shackled to whether he wants it or not.
Even Valen cannot know every game that is played and in this game of nations vying for power and control, he knows nothing about just what moves those around him are making and should he make just one wrong decision the whole world could be plunged into war…
Inventive, imaginative and original, this story will have you hooked until the end wanting to know just how will Valen keep such a secret in his grasp? Or will he lose it?
However upon what seems like a victory, Valen is handed one of the most valuable secrets that has ever been staked in the history of the tournament and perhaps this is rather an unwelcome gift.
People want Valen. Or to put it bluntly, they want the secret he now finds himself in possession of, and along with his crew are now being hunted by thieves, gangsters, wizards, spies, all with their own reasons for wanting the one thing Valen finds himself shackled to whether he wants it or not.
Even Valen cannot know every game that is played and in this game of nations vying for power and control, he knows nothing about just what moves those around him are making and should he make just one wrong decision the whole world could be plunged into war…
Inventive, imaginative and original, this story will have you hooked until the end wanting to know just how will Valen keep such a secret in his grasp? Or will he lose it?
May 15, 2022
The minute I opened this book the first thing I noticed were the gorgeous maps. I love fantasy books with a good map. I just find something about them so evocative; I could spend ages just exploring them before I even start reading. Exploring the maps, the town names, the forests and the seas – and when I then see these names pop up in the book later it gives me this nice feeling, knowing that I’m already absorbed in the world and know the places in it.
The author clearly put a lot of effort into the worldbuilding. The aforementioned maps are a great indicator of that, but I do feel more time could have been spent on the individual characters to build them a bit more. We get to read the story from many different characters’ perspectives, which is a great way to add depth to it, but if we got to know them a little better, made them come to life a bit more, for us learn how they came to be how they ended up where they are, I think that would have made a great difference.
However, I love that most characters are (or seem) older than those we often get to see in fantasy these days. I also appreciated the fact that there was an Appendix at the end which helped clear things up when things got complicated. It did help a bit, and was a great reference point.
If you enjoy a good fantasy with a unique concept that is filled with card games, magicians, gambling, bargains and secrets, The Knave of Interest should be on your reading list too!
For my full review head on over to my blog:
https://theartsyreader.com/book-revie...
The author clearly put a lot of effort into the worldbuilding. The aforementioned maps are a great indicator of that, but I do feel more time could have been spent on the individual characters to build them a bit more. We get to read the story from many different characters’ perspectives, which is a great way to add depth to it, but if we got to know them a little better, made them come to life a bit more, for us learn how they came to be how they ended up where they are, I think that would have made a great difference.
However, I love that most characters are (or seem) older than those we often get to see in fantasy these days. I also appreciated the fact that there was an Appendix at the end which helped clear things up when things got complicated. It did help a bit, and was a great reference point.
If you enjoy a good fantasy with a unique concept that is filled with card games, magicians, gambling, bargains and secrets, The Knave of Interest should be on your reading list too!
For my full review head on over to my blog:
https://theartsyreader.com/book-revie...
November 20, 2025
I found the plot about card sharps and gambling fairly interesting, however (considering how long it was) it presented more as a preview, rather than a full length story.
It was also relatively objective and plot heavy, without much depth or focus on the characters themselves.
Finally, the writing style wasn't very smooth. It felt clunky and had me stumbling through the whole thing.
It was fine, but not great.
It was also relatively objective and plot heavy, without much depth or focus on the characters themselves.
Finally, the writing style wasn't very smooth. It felt clunky and had me stumbling through the whole thing.
It was fine, but not great.
February 15, 2024
Part “Princess Bride”, part “Game of thrones” all good fun.
May 13, 2022
A huge thank you to the author, publisher, the tour host (TheWriteReads) and to NetGalley! An ebook copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Valen Quinol is a failed magician turned cardsharp; the mastermind of a small crew of cheats, he’s been threatened, to fulfill a task; win a dangerous secret at the Forbearance Games and turn it over. Full of deadly secrets, this world that Alex Livington has built is nothing short of unique; vivid and rich with characters, magic, and in a society where gambling handles businesses, you might want to place your bets carefully.
A fantastic book that I couldn’t stop reading. The politics were a tad confusing, but not enough to stop me from pushing on. It may have even propelled me forward since I just wanted to keep going to at least see why this oh-important secret is so sought after.
Full review over at Cozy with Books
Valen Quinol is a failed magician turned cardsharp; the mastermind of a small crew of cheats, he’s been threatened, to fulfill a task; win a dangerous secret at the Forbearance Games and turn it over. Full of deadly secrets, this world that Alex Livington has built is nothing short of unique; vivid and rich with characters, magic, and in a society where gambling handles businesses, you might want to place your bets carefully.
A fantastic book that I couldn’t stop reading. The politics were a tad confusing, but not enough to stop me from pushing on. It may have even propelled me forward since I just wanted to keep going to at least see why this oh-important secret is so sought after.
Full review over at Cozy with Books
June 10, 2022
One Sentence Summary: When card sharp Valen gets caught in a plot and ends up with a valuable secret, he’s quickly in over his head, but hopes his skill in cheating at gambling games will save him.
Overall
The Knave of Secrets is a fantasy novel encompassing the world of card games and gambling. When it comes to the games and cheating at them, the world is rich and detailed, complete with appendices that discuss them. When it comes to the rest of the world, I found the details a little thin and the world thus poorly developed. This novel seems to pull from French and Spanish influences, but it doesn’t carry far to the point where I’m still hazy on the world. I did appreciate that the main character is older and married, but I felt most of the things that made him interesting were off page. As a matter of fact, all the real scheming happened off page and the reader is diverted to another character who is just as surprised as the reader. Overall, this wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but maybe someone who enjoys sharping might be interested.
Extended Thoughts
I normally write my own descriptions, but couldn’t come up with something that made any more sense than the one provided on Amazon:
Never stake more than you can afford to lose.
When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets—he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.
Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in that envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war…
The Knave of Secrets sounded like a really interesting fantasy novel. I liked the idea of combining card games and magic, and it sounded like there’d be some great adventures and intrigue. In the end, this was little more than an interesting premise that felt more like a vehicle for discussing gambling and sharping. Most of the world building went into that aspect, the magic system was a little lean on detail, too much scheming happened off page, and I felt like I was supposed to come away from this thinking how clever Valen must be because he was always a step ahead.
First of all, my reading experience was a little odd. This is clearly a fantasy novel that draws some inspiration from the French and the Spanish, especially in terms of titles, but the writing style felt completely at odds. It reminded me of when I read early 1800s literature, lending the whole book a vague Regency feel in terms of how things were worded and how the characters spoke. Overall, it gave the book an odd stilted quality that held me at arms length and kept me from being immersed in the world and the story.
But, if one is interested in gambling and sharping, The Knave of Secrets creates a whole world of it. Each chapter is preceded by an excerpt from one of several works, most if not all of which have something to do with card games or gambling. There are also two appendices devoted to defining every game mentioned and providing descriptions of every work excerpted from. Clearly, a lot of thought went into the gambling and game aspect of this book. It felt detailed and rich, but not necessarily helpful as the story felt like it wanted to go in the direction of groups of people after Valen for the secret he carries. Unfortunately, the rest of the world suffered. Just based on what one of the queens is called and the titles and names of some of the characters, there are Spanish and French influences, but I didn’t feel any of it trickled down to any other part of the world. I had a terrible time trying to figure out which queen went with which country (still no idea) and what the differences between the two countries were. The only part that felt explored was a people no one liked. I liked the history attached to the Mistigris and the stigma attached to them; it helped add some depth and really did wonders for Tenerieve, the Mistigris woman who is part of Valen’s crew.
Speaking of Tenerieve, I kept getting the feeling the reader, especially towards the end, was supposed to be put in her shoes. She’s clearly an outsider no matter what the other characters say, and I felt her exclusion on a surprisingly deep level. She’s left out of all the plans, making just about everything that happened in the last third as surprising to her as to the reader. Which was annoying because the POV for the character who was doing most of the scheming was given throughout the book and was, indeed, supposed to be the main character (I’m assuming as he’s the only named character in the description despite sharing story telling duties). I can deal with being kept in the dark, but the ending was just rife with it, keeping all the exciting planning and foreshadowing off page seemingly just for the sole purpose of surprising the reader and remarking on, yes, how clever Valen is. Valen clearly has a blank face when he goes into gambling games, and he showcased that exceptionally well in his chapters because he gave not one iota away, making me wonder why he was the main character and why he had his own numerous chapters if all the notable things he was doing were all odd page.
But that’s not to say I didn’t appreciate anything about Valen. Indeed, I appreciated that he’s an older protagonist who also has been married for ten years. The domesticity was fun and I liked that he and his wife’s parents didn’t get along (and those scenes really seemed to pull from Regency-era novels). He’s also nondescript and has seemingly few qualms about doing anything. His wife seems equally ambitious, perhaps more so, and reading the two of them together was fun. The last member of his crew is Jaq, a former sailor who had quite a fun personality and who felt the most unique. I liked how plainly he spoke and how loyal he was to Valen. And then there’s Ria, a noblewoman of this world from the Spanish-inspired side who runs her family’s casino and periodically travels to Valtiffe to hold a tournament. She felt like she should have been a more major character, but her chapters were few and far between, so it was difficult to get a sense of her, though, in the beginning, she was delightfully quick to accuse and think poorly of most people. She made so many mistakes throughout the novel, but, by the end, there wasn’t much to her character even though some intrigue should have played a larger role in the story and put her at the heart of it. Michel was interesting. As a Brother, he has use of magic and seems to act sort of as a spy, but he seems to be quite prone at getting himself into trouble and he felt just as much of a tool as Tenerieve. Lastly, there was Omer-Guy, an ambassador from the French side who schemes, but, other than enjoying spying on other people, I have no real idea of what his role was supposed to be or why he was marked as a main character worthy of his own chapters.
Ostensibly, The Knave of Secrets is supposed to be about Valen being caught between two groups of people who want the secret he won. He’s supposed to be in over his head in a game that’s being played at a higher level but ends up on his own lower one. There are the queens of the two countries and their ambassadors, but I couldn’t quite tell what they were playing at, especially when one of the notable ladies of the island became involved. What any of them wanted I had a hard time picking out. It seemed like one wanted the secret and the other wanted to keep it a secret, but what it meant in terms of war and the ending was just a little confusing since the world isn’t fully built and the story, frankly, felt a little meandering until it hit on how it wanted to end. Then there’s the Brothers, the men who live in a tower that hovers over the town and who practice magic, but keep much hidden, meaning I have no clue how their magic was supposed to work and I have so many questions, like is magic something the Brothers just develop and anyone, provided they are male, can study to become a Brother? The idea of Valen being caught between all these groups sounds like a fascinating story and I would have loved to see more scheming and intrigue, but so much of the story was devoted to how to play card games and how Valen was cheating at them and expounding on how great a gambler Valen is.
The Knave of Secrets had a lot of the ingredients to make for a fascinating, rich fantasy, but it felt like it got sidetracked into a part of the world that shouldn’t have played such a huge role. Granted, that is the world the main character operates in, but the story is greater than him. There’s so much more I wanted from this book. In the end, it wasn’t quite my cup of tea with a poorly defined world and magic system and too much of the interesting, foreshadowing parts happening off page.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Overall
The Knave of Secrets is a fantasy novel encompassing the world of card games and gambling. When it comes to the games and cheating at them, the world is rich and detailed, complete with appendices that discuss them. When it comes to the rest of the world, I found the details a little thin and the world thus poorly developed. This novel seems to pull from French and Spanish influences, but it doesn’t carry far to the point where I’m still hazy on the world. I did appreciate that the main character is older and married, but I felt most of the things that made him interesting were off page. As a matter of fact, all the real scheming happened off page and the reader is diverted to another character who is just as surprised as the reader. Overall, this wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but maybe someone who enjoys sharping might be interested.
Extended Thoughts
I normally write my own descriptions, but couldn’t come up with something that made any more sense than the one provided on Amazon:
Never stake more than you can afford to lose.
When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets—he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.
Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in that envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war…
The Knave of Secrets sounded like a really interesting fantasy novel. I liked the idea of combining card games and magic, and it sounded like there’d be some great adventures and intrigue. In the end, this was little more than an interesting premise that felt more like a vehicle for discussing gambling and sharping. Most of the world building went into that aspect, the magic system was a little lean on detail, too much scheming happened off page, and I felt like I was supposed to come away from this thinking how clever Valen must be because he was always a step ahead.
First of all, my reading experience was a little odd. This is clearly a fantasy novel that draws some inspiration from the French and the Spanish, especially in terms of titles, but the writing style felt completely at odds. It reminded me of when I read early 1800s literature, lending the whole book a vague Regency feel in terms of how things were worded and how the characters spoke. Overall, it gave the book an odd stilted quality that held me at arms length and kept me from being immersed in the world and the story.
But, if one is interested in gambling and sharping, The Knave of Secrets creates a whole world of it. Each chapter is preceded by an excerpt from one of several works, most if not all of which have something to do with card games or gambling. There are also two appendices devoted to defining every game mentioned and providing descriptions of every work excerpted from. Clearly, a lot of thought went into the gambling and game aspect of this book. It felt detailed and rich, but not necessarily helpful as the story felt like it wanted to go in the direction of groups of people after Valen for the secret he carries. Unfortunately, the rest of the world suffered. Just based on what one of the queens is called and the titles and names of some of the characters, there are Spanish and French influences, but I didn’t feel any of it trickled down to any other part of the world. I had a terrible time trying to figure out which queen went with which country (still no idea) and what the differences between the two countries were. The only part that felt explored was a people no one liked. I liked the history attached to the Mistigris and the stigma attached to them; it helped add some depth and really did wonders for Tenerieve, the Mistigris woman who is part of Valen’s crew.
Speaking of Tenerieve, I kept getting the feeling the reader, especially towards the end, was supposed to be put in her shoes. She’s clearly an outsider no matter what the other characters say, and I felt her exclusion on a surprisingly deep level. She’s left out of all the plans, making just about everything that happened in the last third as surprising to her as to the reader. Which was annoying because the POV for the character who was doing most of the scheming was given throughout the book and was, indeed, supposed to be the main character (I’m assuming as he’s the only named character in the description despite sharing story telling duties). I can deal with being kept in the dark, but the ending was just rife with it, keeping all the exciting planning and foreshadowing off page seemingly just for the sole purpose of surprising the reader and remarking on, yes, how clever Valen is. Valen clearly has a blank face when he goes into gambling games, and he showcased that exceptionally well in his chapters because he gave not one iota away, making me wonder why he was the main character and why he had his own numerous chapters if all the notable things he was doing were all odd page.
But that’s not to say I didn’t appreciate anything about Valen. Indeed, I appreciated that he’s an older protagonist who also has been married for ten years. The domesticity was fun and I liked that he and his wife’s parents didn’t get along (and those scenes really seemed to pull from Regency-era novels). He’s also nondescript and has seemingly few qualms about doing anything. His wife seems equally ambitious, perhaps more so, and reading the two of them together was fun. The last member of his crew is Jaq, a former sailor who had quite a fun personality and who felt the most unique. I liked how plainly he spoke and how loyal he was to Valen. And then there’s Ria, a noblewoman of this world from the Spanish-inspired side who runs her family’s casino and periodically travels to Valtiffe to hold a tournament. She felt like she should have been a more major character, but her chapters were few and far between, so it was difficult to get a sense of her, though, in the beginning, she was delightfully quick to accuse and think poorly of most people. She made so many mistakes throughout the novel, but, by the end, there wasn’t much to her character even though some intrigue should have played a larger role in the story and put her at the heart of it. Michel was interesting. As a Brother, he has use of magic and seems to act sort of as a spy, but he seems to be quite prone at getting himself into trouble and he felt just as much of a tool as Tenerieve. Lastly, there was Omer-Guy, an ambassador from the French side who schemes, but, other than enjoying spying on other people, I have no real idea of what his role was supposed to be or why he was marked as a main character worthy of his own chapters.
Ostensibly, The Knave of Secrets is supposed to be about Valen being caught between two groups of people who want the secret he won. He’s supposed to be in over his head in a game that’s being played at a higher level but ends up on his own lower one. There are the queens of the two countries and their ambassadors, but I couldn’t quite tell what they were playing at, especially when one of the notable ladies of the island became involved. What any of them wanted I had a hard time picking out. It seemed like one wanted the secret and the other wanted to keep it a secret, but what it meant in terms of war and the ending was just a little confusing since the world isn’t fully built and the story, frankly, felt a little meandering until it hit on how it wanted to end. Then there’s the Brothers, the men who live in a tower that hovers over the town and who practice magic, but keep much hidden, meaning I have no clue how their magic was supposed to work and I have so many questions, like is magic something the Brothers just develop and anyone, provided they are male, can study to become a Brother? The idea of Valen being caught between all these groups sounds like a fascinating story and I would have loved to see more scheming and intrigue, but so much of the story was devoted to how to play card games and how Valen was cheating at them and expounding on how great a gambler Valen is.
The Knave of Secrets had a lot of the ingredients to make for a fascinating, rich fantasy, but it felt like it got sidetracked into a part of the world that shouldn’t have played such a huge role. Granted, that is the world the main character operates in, but the story is greater than him. There’s so much more I wanted from this book. In the end, it wasn’t quite my cup of tea with a poorly defined world and magic system and too much of the interesting, foreshadowing parts happening off page.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
April 21, 2022
I received an ARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinion.
THE KNAVE OF SECRETS is a book that I found so disappointing. The SPELLSLINGER series is one of my favourites, full of con men using magic (and pretending to use magic) to win card games (and deal with the tricky situations they find themselves in.) THE KNAVE OF SECRETS sounded like it would be in a similar vein, just adult in tone and content. Unfortunately, THE KNAVE OF SECRETS lacked all of SPELLSLINGER's charm and ease of comprehension.
This is such a short book, and yet it both felt way too short and way too long as I was so confused. It was so hard to follow what was going on because the action is absolutely sped through, and lots of key bits of information are kept from the reader until a reveal point - except knowing the information (and the context that makes it significant) would have vastly aided comprehension.
And yet, at the same time, there are chapters of backstory exposition about events way before the book that barely touch on the story itself. It really slowed down the pace and dragged me out. It felt like those words could have been better served helping the reader follow the plot rather than understanding a lot of backstory.
There are also a lot of POV characters - five I think? I'm not entirely sure as there were at least three I couldn't quite keep track of/understand why there were in the story. There's the female ambassador that doesn't really come into play until the end, and felt a bit superfluous/like she could have been explained through another POV rather than keep darting back to her.
There are also the two spies (both men) who are on opposite sides of the war? Or maybe double agents on the same side? I honestly struggled to keep them apart because they seemed so similar. Plus the short book and lots of POVs meant there wasn't much time with either of them.
he overly-tight information control meant that the secrets central to the book never felt fully explained, which undermined the ending somewhat. I didn't truly understand the importance of what everyone was after, so the ending never felt like it truly resolved.
THE KNAVE OF SECRETS is a book that I found so disappointing. The SPELLSLINGER series is one of my favourites, full of con men using magic (and pretending to use magic) to win card games (and deal with the tricky situations they find themselves in.) THE KNAVE OF SECRETS sounded like it would be in a similar vein, just adult in tone and content. Unfortunately, THE KNAVE OF SECRETS lacked all of SPELLSLINGER's charm and ease of comprehension.
This is such a short book, and yet it both felt way too short and way too long as I was so confused. It was so hard to follow what was going on because the action is absolutely sped through, and lots of key bits of information are kept from the reader until a reveal point - except knowing the information (and the context that makes it significant) would have vastly aided comprehension.
And yet, at the same time, there are chapters of backstory exposition about events way before the book that barely touch on the story itself. It really slowed down the pace and dragged me out. It felt like those words could have been better served helping the reader follow the plot rather than understanding a lot of backstory.
There are also a lot of POV characters - five I think? I'm not entirely sure as there were at least three I couldn't quite keep track of/understand why there were in the story. There's the female ambassador that doesn't really come into play until the end, and felt a bit superfluous/like she could have been explained through another POV rather than keep darting back to her.
There are also the two spies (both men) who are on opposite sides of the war? Or maybe double agents on the same side? I honestly struggled to keep them apart because they seemed so similar. Plus the short book and lots of POVs meant there wasn't much time with either of them.
he overly-tight information control meant that the secrets central to the book never felt fully explained, which undermined the ending somewhat. I didn't truly understand the importance of what everyone was after, so the ending never felt like it truly resolved.
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