The Mask of Mirrors
Rook & Rose • Book 1
by M.A. Carrick
Narrated by Nikki Massoud
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
Every character in this city is running a con — Nikki Massoud makes sure you can't tell which one is actually Ren's.
- Great if you want: layered political fantasy with a con artist at its center
- Listening experience: slow-burn and intricate — richly rewarding over 23 hours
- Narration: Massoud navigates class and accent distinctions with quiet precision
- Skip if: dense worldbuilding and a slow start frustrate you
About This Audiobook
Ren is a con artist who infiltrates the noble House Traementis in the glittering city of Nadezra with a specific scheme in mind, but the deeper she goes the more she discovers that every faction in the city is running its own deception. As nightmare magic begins bleeding through the city's social fabric, Ren's manufactured identity becomes harder to maintain, and the stakes of exposure rise from financial ruin to something considerably worse. M.A. Carrick's debut fantasy is a richly imagined heist-and-intrigue novel.
Nikki Massoud narrates the Rook and Rose trilogy opener with a quick, nimble intelligence that suits both the city's rapid social calculations and the darker magic threading through them. Her handling of Ren's multiple performance modes, the different versions of herself she presents to different audiences, is a genuine achievement of audiobook craft. The ALA Alex Award, given to adult books with special appeal for teens, reflects the novel's crossover accessibility.
