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A review by tencutepuppies
Master of One by Dani Bennett, Jaida Jones
4.0
(4.5) I’m so glad I took a chance on this story. I think I saw it on one of those Goodreads promoted book ad things, and thank god I did. As a gay heist/Indiana Jones adventure type vibe with fae, way more people should know about this.
Worldbuilding:
God, this world is so good. I don’t even know if I can describe the exact feeling it gave me. For some reason I was getting kind of dark-fairytale energy from the very beginning, but as the dark aspects became more and more fleshed out and the grimness of Cheapside set in, it became much more complex than that. I really underestimated the complex political situation going on in this world. I mean, hell, there’s a whole genocide happening. On the range of popular fae worlds, this is definitely closer to The Cruel Prince than ACOTAR. Very whimsical, yet holds surprising depth.
Rags:
Rags is easily my favorite character out of the bunch. He’s a scrappy little foul-mouthed gremlin of a thief, and he loves to steal more than anything. What more could I ask for? But he’s pretty multi-faceted beyond that exterior, especially as he sort of battles his feelings that he’ll never be meant for anything as grand as the others in the group because he’s just an orphan from Cheapside who’s had to fend for himself his entire life. No one has ever been there for him but himself, which buds a lot of selfish and self-serving tendencies. It was so sad to see him question why he never got a silver animal like the others and wonder when Shining Talon would wake up and see him the low way he sees himself. I also thought the way he is so protective over his own hands was an interesting addition to his characterization, just because I’d never seen that in a character before. It makes sense though. His skills as a lockpicker and a thief rely on them, so once they’re gone, he will quite literally be nothing.
Shining Talon:
His name is so funny. When I first read it I was kind of like, “Okay really...?” but it grew on me. I do think the addition of the different style names for fae helped mark a simple but glaring difference between their culture and human culture.
In like every single negative review I’ve read, people are saying he’s boring. Were we reading the same story?? Of course we don’t get the complexities of his inner monologue since he doesn’t have a POV, but he’s more than open about how he feels with Rags. The man has literally been awakened a thousand years after his race was killed out and had their entire culture obliterated only to find that he’s the last one of them alive. As if that’s not bad enough, he then has to see with his own eyes that the scant fae survivors are being basically used as child slaves to the Queen. He’s getting devastation after devastation thrown at him, give the poor guy a break. Just because he’s not as sarcastic or foul as Rags doesn’t mean he is unable of being an interesting character. I mean, despite the loss of his entire race sitting alone on his shoulders, he continues to be a fiercely protective and kind friend to Rags. He never lets his tragedy mar his kindness, which I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for.
The Romance:
As soon as I was done with this book, I instantly added it to my Best Book Couples shelf. I just know I’m going to be thinking of them for such a long time after. I was never one for the protective guard x guarded person trope, but I think this book has singlehandedly converted me.
I think part of the reason it worked so well was because it was done so differently than I’ve seen it before. Their dynamic is something completely original, in my opinion. The protector was a skilled fae warrior, but he wasn’t domineering or anywhere close to being an overprotective alpha male asshole. He is overprotective, but in an attentive way that lets us know he’ll do anything to keep Rags safe. He’s not loud or showy about it, he treats it like something necessary for him to repay Rags for awakening him. But he will cut a bitch for Rags, which is couple goals.
Their slow burn was so slow with a lot of burning, but it was very much worth it. To see Rags go from resenting his constant mother-henning to wanting Shining Talon to just look at him once he had to widen his protection to the others, cutting Rags out a bit, was so good. The growth of his feelings for Tal was really natural and beautiful. Normally I don’t love it when couples kiss in the first book just because I want to feel like it’s really earned (aka I want to suffer for it), but this book was long enough that I needed to see it before it was over. The buildup was a major factor in that. They were already kind of blurring the lines between flirting and reluctant friends in most of their interactions, so the tension was always high. I think I might have shed a single tear when Tal let Rags fall asleep on him.
Side Characters:
Cab - He was cool and I liked reading his connections to the rebel group that took him in. His insight into the brainwashing and mob mentality of the Queensguard was really cool and almost gave me Matthias Helvar vibes.
The Prince - I feel really bad that I can’t remember his full name. It’s on the tip of my tongue. But he was another one I really liked. We’re led to believe he’s this little sunshine prince who struggles with his limb deformities, but by the end, our eyes are opened to how he uses that guise of weakness to gain secrets and manipulate members of the court. I loved that about him.
Inis - Miss Inis and I simply ~did not connect~. Maybe it was because she seemed like the only one lacking real depth. It was like her only personality trait was her anger about her family’s slaughter. I mean, it’s obviously understandable, I just feel that I wasn’t given much more than that to work with where she was concerned. You know I love a strong, angry bitch of a character, but she just was a little lacking to me.
The Plot:
Like a lot of other readers, I did think it was going to be more of a heist than it was, but the Indiana Jones style search for lost artifacts was cool too. I mean, there was a heist, it was just maybe 15% of it. Which is fine, I just would have liked maybe a more accurate story summary going into it. But I loved when they went back to the Queen’s court, loved the rebel base and their scramble to save the fae children. I just want to make it clear that just because I wasn’t expecting the plot I got doesn’t mean it was bad at all.
My only problem was the silver animals. I liked them as artifacts to be collected, but when they started talking with their owners and stuff? I’m good. I know this is such a random, obscure book pet peeve, but I hate the talking animal companion trope. I don’t know why. But everything else was very much to my taste. I cannot wait until the next one comes out.
Worldbuilding:
God, this world is so good. I don’t even know if I can describe the exact feeling it gave me. For some reason I was getting kind of dark-fairytale energy from the very beginning, but as the dark aspects became more and more fleshed out and the grimness of Cheapside set in, it became much more complex than that. I really underestimated the complex political situation going on in this world. I mean, hell, there’s a whole genocide happening. On the range of popular fae worlds, this is definitely closer to The Cruel Prince than ACOTAR. Very whimsical, yet holds surprising depth.
Rags:
Rags is easily my favorite character out of the bunch. He’s a scrappy little foul-mouthed gremlin of a thief, and he loves to steal more than anything. What more could I ask for? But he’s pretty multi-faceted beyond that exterior, especially as he sort of battles his feelings that he’ll never be meant for anything as grand as the others in the group because he’s just an orphan from Cheapside who’s had to fend for himself his entire life. No one has ever been there for him but himself, which buds a lot of selfish and self-serving tendencies. It was so sad to see him question why he never got a silver animal like the others and wonder when Shining Talon would wake up and see him the low way he sees himself. I also thought the way he is so protective over his own hands was an interesting addition to his characterization, just because I’d never seen that in a character before. It makes sense though. His skills as a lockpicker and a thief rely on them, so once they’re gone, he will quite literally be nothing.
Shining Talon:
His name is so funny. When I first read it I was kind of like, “Okay really...?” but it grew on me. I do think the addition of the different style names for fae helped mark a simple but glaring difference between their culture and human culture.
In like every single negative review I’ve read, people are saying he’s boring. Were we reading the same story?? Of course we don’t get the complexities of his inner monologue since he doesn’t have a POV, but he’s more than open about how he feels with Rags. The man has literally been awakened a thousand years after his race was killed out and had their entire culture obliterated only to find that he’s the last one of them alive. As if that’s not bad enough, he then has to see with his own eyes that the scant fae survivors are being basically used as child slaves to the Queen. He’s getting devastation after devastation thrown at him, give the poor guy a break. Just because he’s not as sarcastic or foul as Rags doesn’t mean he is unable of being an interesting character. I mean, despite the loss of his entire race sitting alone on his shoulders, he continues to be a fiercely protective and kind friend to Rags. He never lets his tragedy mar his kindness, which I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for.
The Romance:
As soon as I was done with this book, I instantly added it to my Best Book Couples shelf. I just know I’m going to be thinking of them for such a long time after. I was never one for the protective guard x guarded person trope, but I think this book has singlehandedly converted me.
I think part of the reason it worked so well was because it was done so differently than I’ve seen it before. Their dynamic is something completely original, in my opinion. The protector was a skilled fae warrior, but he wasn’t domineering or anywhere close to being an overprotective alpha male asshole. He is overprotective, but in an attentive way that lets us know he’ll do anything to keep Rags safe. He’s not loud or showy about it, he treats it like something necessary for him to repay Rags for awakening him. But he will cut a bitch for Rags, which is couple goals.
Their slow burn was so slow with a lot of burning, but it was very much worth it. To see Rags go from resenting his constant mother-henning to wanting Shining Talon to just look at him once he had to widen his protection to the others, cutting Rags out a bit, was so good. The growth of his feelings for Tal was really natural and beautiful. Normally I don’t love it when couples kiss in the first book just because I want to feel like it’s really earned (aka I want to suffer for it), but this book was long enough that I needed to see it before it was over. The buildup was a major factor in that. They were already kind of blurring the lines between flirting and reluctant friends in most of their interactions, so the tension was always high. I think I might have shed a single tear when Tal let Rags fall asleep on him.
Side Characters:
Cab - He was cool and I liked reading his connections to the rebel group that took him in. His insight into the brainwashing and mob mentality of the Queensguard was really cool and almost gave me Matthias Helvar vibes.
The Prince - I feel really bad that I can’t remember his full name. It’s on the tip of my tongue. But he was another one I really liked. We’re led to believe he’s this little sunshine prince who struggles with his limb deformities, but by the end, our eyes are opened to how he uses that guise of weakness to gain secrets and manipulate members of the court. I loved that about him.
Inis - Miss Inis and I simply ~did not connect~. Maybe it was because she seemed like the only one lacking real depth. It was like her only personality trait was her anger about her family’s slaughter. I mean, it’s obviously understandable, I just feel that I wasn’t given much more than that to work with where she was concerned. You know I love a strong, angry bitch of a character, but she just was a little lacking to me.
The Plot:
Like a lot of other readers, I did think it was going to be more of a heist than it was, but the Indiana Jones style search for lost artifacts was cool too. I mean, there was a heist, it was just maybe 15% of it. Which is fine, I just would have liked maybe a more accurate story summary going into it. But I loved when they went back to the Queen’s court, loved the rebel base and their scramble to save the fae children. I just want to make it clear that just because I wasn’t expecting the plot I got doesn’t mean it was bad at all.
My only problem was the silver animals. I liked them as artifacts to be collected, but when they started talking with their owners and stuff? I’m good. I know this is such a random, obscure book pet peeve, but I hate the talking animal companion trope. I don’t know why. But everything else was very much to my taste. I cannot wait until the next one comes out.