Paige Mahony finds herself in the free world of Venice, outside of the Republic of Scion with six months wiped from her memory. As she finds herself back in the Domino Programme trying to recall the lost months, she must also discover what Operation Ventriloquist is and look for Arcturus Mesarthim, who may be the key to saving Italy.
I adore The Bone Season series and have been looking forward to reading The Dark Mirror for so long, especially since it ended on such a cliffhanger the previous book was written back in 2021. Because of this, my memory of the series was just as foggy as Paige’s. I’ve been reading this series since it first came out in 2013, and with a four year gap between books it took me a little bit to remember who was who and what exactly was happening in Paige’s world, but I got there eventually. I remember at one point Shannon released summaries of what had happened so far in The Bone Season series right before the release of the next book, I’d love for her to bring that back for my own selfishness.
But it’s great to be back in this world and following Paige, who while frustrating at times to follow has such a spectacular voice and is a deeply layered character. The Dark Mirror was a bit frustrating because readers know more than Paige does in the book. There were some exciting revelations at the end of The Mask Falling that Paige had sorted out, but after being drugged with white aster that gave her an amnesia over the last six months of her life, it created a tension that while intriguing was mostly frustrating because I wanted more of a confrontation with the information that we had learned in the last book.
We do get there eventually, and as a whole The Dark Mirror is a good book. There are more shocking revelations, new information, old and new characters that I am glad are in the story, and a whole pile of emotions. Shannon has a talent of really getting her readers to care about her characters and is able to make them feel frustrated, angry, and whatever her characters are feeling as if it is happening to them. That being said, The Dark Mirror was also slower in some areas that I wasn’t expecting. I believe there are two more books coming in this series and it feels like we are building up to a big fight, but we need to know more before that can happen.
Overall, The Dark Mirror is a very welcome addition to the series and felt like a homecoming in some sense with how long it has been since the last book was released. I can’t wait to see how Shannon further develops and raises the stakes because I will be there for it!
Publication: February 25 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 576 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade – but she has no idea how she got to the free world. Half a year has been wiped from her memory.
As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret – one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist.
And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories – Arcturus Mesarthim – might also hold the key to saving Italy.
Sarah O'Connor 