Just thinking about a man and his spider who is also his dad

For the roughly seven other people in the Rook & Rose fandom on tumblr, please consider: Ren, Vargo and Grey but it's this picture

Only one more week til our Kickstarter launch for the pattern deck from our Rook & Rose epic fantasy series! We go live on August 8, but you can sign up for notifications now.

anyone in the rook and rose fandom PLEASE message me it is consuming my LIFE!

Iascat: You have to apologize to them, Vargo.

Vargo: Fine! But I must warn you that this might make me a better, nicer person and that is NOT the man you fell in love with!

Title: Labyrinth's Heart | Author: M.A. Carrick | Publisher: Orbit (2023)

finished the rook and rose trilogy today. (spoiler-free, if anyone is interested, which you should be oh my god please read these books)

after almost two weeks of reading this trilogy, multiple nights spent reading until i realised "oh shit it's 8am and i haven't slept", and essentially not being able to do any of my other interests because i couldn't stop thinking about these books (literally pulled me away from my special interest, guys, oh my god), i feel both happy and sad that it's finished. happy that i experienced this journey, and sad that there isn't more.

the queer representation. the cultures, and languages. the history. the magic. the politics. the characters. i adored every single word of it all.

it was such a satisfying ending, but i still can't help how hungry i am for more. i adore this world and our three main characters, and all of the supporting characters too. i desperately wish to see more of them. i hope some day we might, despite this being the trilogy ending.

my heart feels so full, but i also miss the story and characters already. i feel like this trilogy caught me in a chokehold for almost two weeks solid, and now i don't really know what to do with myself.

2024 reads / storygraph

The Liar’s Knot & Labyrinth’s Heart

books 2&3 in a fantasy trilogy set in a Venetian inspired city full of political intrigue

follows a young woman who conned her way into a noble family, a masked vigilante, and a crime boss, who eventually become allies while juggling multiple identities

and trying to save their people and city by joining a secret society to find origins of a corrupting curse, to eventually destroy the powerful magical objects at the heart of it

tarot magic & sigil/geometry magic, dreamworlds, sentient magical disguises

When the River Meets the Sea

I don't tend to hype up books or signal boost ones I like too much but, as you, dear readers know, there is a series I've stumbled upon in recent years that I am most enthusiastic about. Why it isn't a TikTok darling is a mystery to me. The cover is GORGEOUS, the plot a work of GENIUS and the characters are some of the most lovable I've ever set my mind's eye on. Don't even get me started on the world-building!

The work of fiction, of course, is none other than the Rook and the Rose trilogy by Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms. AKA M.A. Carrick - the pseudonym they chose to write under.

From the moment I cracked open the first book and stepped in the city of Nadezra, I was spellbound. Quickly, I came to love the world within those 600 or so pages. But if I have to shout out one character who resonated strongly with me, it would be Ren.

Hers is a story many may know. An orphan with no name trying to eke out a living in an unforgiving city.

While many fantasy authors these days tend to make their protagonists thieves or assassins or royalty in disguise, Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms went a different route. Yes, Ren is a thief and con artist but she isn't a character living on the fringes of high society. Instead, she throws right into the political machinations of the gentry and find a way to put her name onto a noble family register. Along the way, she makes new allies, finds love and gets adopted into a loving family. And all through the use of her silver tongue and skill at pattern-reading.

As such, she's a refreshing protagonist when so many are either hyper-sexualised (although she isn't afraid to use her feminine wiles to her advantage) or turned into another stoic caricature of what people think a strong female protagonist has to be. In all honesty, it's probably how she relies on her wit rather than brawn to win battles that won me over.

The city of Nadezra, too, is a the perfect microcosm of many issues our current world faces when it comes to the divide between ricfh and poor, white and black. True, the Vraszenians are more akin to gypsies rather than, say, African-Americans or Indigenous Australians but their struggle is similar. Nadezra, after all, is the holy city of the Vraszenians, conquered by the Liganti (a light-skinned race with many of their attitudes reflecting that of the Western European gentry although their names were very Italian-esque).

In the history of the world, it was the Tyrant King who first took control. Though he died centuries ago, the city of Nadezra, has, however, remained in the hands of the Liganti. Their control of the city remaining tight due to the influence of special medallions charged with the power of a Primordial.

While the third book in the trilogy, Labyrinth's Heart, manages to resolve these issues by the end, I thought it poignant the authors made it clear the racism and institutionalised disadvantages the Vraszenians faced hadn't completely vanished overnight. House Traementis, while being more open-minded to befriending Vraszenians and granting them contracts was still trying to unlearn many of the prejudices they held.

Still, the fact Ren is of mixed heritage and that she saved the city numerous times with Vraszenian, Liganti and mixed blood Nadezrans allies was an important step towards equality and making a fairer multicultural society.

It also helped this was a fictional fantasy novel where such problems can be more easily resolved. Nevertheless, I liked the inherent message within that diplomacy rather than violence is the key to navigating differences. Of course, for it to work, both parties need to approach the thorny issue of past grievances in good faith. Nothing would get done if people held onto old grudges instead of setting such things aside. That isn't to say compensation shouldn't be paid to those that have suffered.

I'm sure in the world of Nadezra, there is still many things that will need to be addressed but I'm also appreciate of the fact the conflict between the two races wasn't so black and white. In fact, the extremists among the Vraszenians were also a threat Ren and her allies needed to manage.

But while racism and the impact of one's cultural and socio-economic status play large roles in the narrative, I felt the crux of The Rook and the Rose trilogy, was the theme of family. If anything, given it's a trilogy with three main characters it revolves around, I'd say it was a fitting theme given the Tricat numinatria represented family as well as the number three in the world's lore.

And who would have thought this fantastic story would all come from the two authors playing a table-top role-playing game?

Certainly not me!

Which is why I would like like to see these books being boosted more on social media. Be it BookTube (thank you Reads with Rachel for showing off Mask of Mirrors) or Booktok. After all, can you imagine this wondrous and colourful world being turned into a TV adaption? Just the set dressing and costume design has me salivating given how much attention Alyc Helms has given.

Now that Shadow and Bone and its spinoff Six of Crows has been cancelled, what better faux European world to have fun in? When you also mix in the brooding Rook and the scheming Vargo, the cast of characters are set. The Rook and the Rose is one part Game of Thrones, one part Bridgerton high society (at least, I assume that's what Bridgerton is all about. I've never watched it) and one part Lies of Locke Lamora/ Six of Crows. Viewers would get to see the inner workings of the nobles and how Ren manages to disrupt their very conservative views by showing off her arms without sleeves! And then, maybe in the same episode, we could see how the other side lives as Ren dons the disguise of a szorza to figure out why children are disappearing in the city.

Heck, you even have the terrifying zylzen to be your creepy CGI enemies Ren and her allies will have to do battle with!

And then in the second season, you get to enjoy a nice cruise on the river before the plot embroils us all into a secret cult!

It just makes sense!

Throw in the very liberal view when it comes to LGBTQI+ relationships and you have a WINNER!

Please, anyone, if you're a TV producer, I'd really like to see the Rook and the Rose as a television series. Can you just IMAGINE the playground the writers could have with this world and setting? It's CRIMINAL not to adapt it to the silver screen.

Anyways, that was my many cents take on a trilogy I stumbled upon at my local Kinokuniya and immediately fell in love with at the first sight of the cover. And while I'm sad Ren's story has come to an end, I would like to dive back into the world Marie and Alyc have created to see what else the world has to offer.

Like Seteris!

Or whatever adventures Alsius might be having in the Realm of the Mind.

I'll miss you, Mr Peabody.

Someone, anyone, please draw me a picture of a green spider wearing gloves. I beg of you!

"It'll be all right. We'll fix it." Somehow.

Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick is wall to wall great moments, but spider-dad and his crime lord son have me in a chokehold.

Unfiltered thoughts on Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick, book 3 of the Rook & Rose trilogy.

The notes below are very spoilery, so if you haven't read this series I recommend instead having a look at my reviews of the three books on Reddit, where spoilers are tagged.

[Review & Discussion] The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick: magical cards and masks, ballroom duels and secret identities all around

[Review & Discussion] The Liar's Knot by M.A. Carrick: Masked Vigilantes, Secret Identities and Ancient Evils

[Review & Discussion] Labyrinth's Heart by M.A. Carrick brings the Rook & Rose series to a thrilling, satisfying and sometimes heart-wrenching conclusion and puts the trilogy firmly into my top of all time

labyrinth's heart (rook and rose #3) thoughts (spoilers!):

i fully did cry at least twice and my heart was so full at the end. i will literally be crying about Alsius for the next year

while it was super well done overall, i think my main criticism is it was way too plotty, especially compared to the first two books where there were wonderful character and slice-of-life downtime. there was so much going on and so much the characters had to do in service of the plot they barely had time to breathe let alone just sit down and speak to each other for more than 30 seconds

we were robbed of the ot3. all the sexy hints and moments and cultural references to everything in this world happening in threes was set up so perfectly for it!!! scream

truly hats off to the authors for such wonderful books, characters, and the world. one of the best recent fantasy series period.

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: “Lush, engrossing and full of mystery and dark magic" (BookPage), Labyrinth's Heart is the thrilling conclusion to M. A. Carrick's Rook & Rose trilogy, in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord become reluctant allies in the quest to save their city from a dangerous ancient magic.

May you see the face and not the mask.

Ren came to Nadežra with a plan. She would pose as the long-lost daughter of the noble house Traementis. She would secure a fortune for herself and her sister. And she would vanish without a backward glance. She ought to have known that in the city of dreams, nothing is ever so simple.

Now, she is Ren, con-artist and thief. But she is also Renata, the celebrated Traementis heir. She is Arenza, the mysterious pattern-reader and political rebel. And she is the Black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the legendary Rook. 

Even with the help of Grey Serrado and Derossi Vargo, it is too many masks for one person to wear. And as the dark magic the three of them helped unleash builds to storm that could tear the very fabric of the city apart, it's only a matter of time before one of the masks slips—and everything comes crashing down around them.

Review:

The finale to a fantastic fantasy series filled with romance, mystery, magic and so much more! A con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord all come together to not only save their city from dangerous ancient magic but to find an unlikely bond between friendship, romance, and family. Ren is now posed as the long lost daughter of a noble house, she's secured money for her sister and herself... and she had planned on vanishing without a backward glance until she became a con-artist and thief while juggling her other identity as a political rebel... and her other identity as the black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the city's own legendary Rook... who just happens to be the man she's fallen in love with. Grey, the once captain of the Vigil city guard and secret vigilante hero Rook, has now lost his Rook abilities and has left his job in the Vigil, yet he still will do anything to protect the city and the woman he loves as well as his new unlikely friendship with the crime lord Vargo. Vargo use to be a crime lord but now he, Grey, and Ren all hold magical coins that could destroy them all, they have to find a way to save the city from the dangerous magic that is threatening to tear it apart as well as the threats to their own lives as their own villains and secrets are coming out to destroy them. Ren has to find a way to finally confess the truth to the family she conned but now loves as her own and the fact that a person from her past has finally come to town and she demands Ren do what she wants or else.. while Grey has to find a way to continue as the Rook without the magical ghost in him and Vargo has to deal with his position in the city as well as the aftermath of the magical injuries he received and his partnership with his spider friend. This was such a fun and complex series to read. I loved the characters and their journey and getting to see them grow. Seriously this is a great series for fans of fantasy books with high politics and world building, filled with schemes, cons, magic and more!

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books, Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Here's the end of Sep and all of Oct reads! (Except for the last one) Sorry for the glare! (And the fuzziness, I need a new phone :P mines got a thin crack on the cam lens)

The Rook and Rose series was one I read back in 2022 and LOVED and wanted to reread it because the 3rd book came out August of this year! I've been excited for it because of the cliffhanger excerpt in the end of the 2nd, so I finally got around to reading it.

I only started Labyrinth's Heart like last week (only 40 pages because I've been busy with work and writing instead. Oops)

But I'd definitely reccomend this series (if you dont mind end book having 650+ pages lol)

I got the wonderful opportunity to see Labyrinth on the big screen last week (thank you Fathom Events) and I think this time around really helped me nail down one of the things that makes this movie so special to me: the ending message.

A story with a somewhat childish sixteen-year-old girl who immerses herself in magic and fantasy worlds who goes through a journey and a transformation and comes out the other side more mature could very easily have ended with the message of "Now that the adventure in the fantasy world is over, our heroine has grown and matured enough to leave magic and fantasy behind and become an Adult."

But Labyrinth doesn't do that.

Labyrinth says: "You might grow up a little. You might put away your costumes and your music box and your crown. You might give your teddy bear to your little brother. But that doesn't mean you have to leave it all behind. Every so often in your life, for no reason at all, you might need a little magic back in your life. And your friends in the fantasy world will always be there for you."

"Should you need them."