Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Queen Of Faces" by Petra Lord. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers to please keep that in mind!)
"A desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and becomes an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.
Annabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it's rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can't afford to escape her tattered form. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. As the clock ticks down to her last breath, she's forced to use her illusion magic to steal a healthy chassis - before her own kills her.
But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor's smog - choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.
With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters - and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for."
I received this book as an ARC from Harper Fire, however all opinions are my own.
So the reason I wanted to read this is because as you all know I love reading stories by queer and trans authors, so when I saw this I knew it was going to be right up my alley. I was so happy to be sent this from Harper Fire and the moment I got the chance to read this I jumped right in. Friends, this was everything I wanted in a fantasy book and more. This was such a good read. I genuinely struggled to put this book down and got it read in 3 days. I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of this story. The found family aspect was beautiful, and heart warming and truly showed us there was more to these characters than what first meets the eye. There were also so many twists and turns throughout this book that I absolutely was not expecting. I laughed through this book, I cried through this book, honestly I feel like I went through every single emotion with our characters. I loved that this was multiple POV because it got us to see so much more of the story than we ever would've if it was just Ana. I loved almost everyone in this book has some morally greyness around them and showed that not all "heros" and "villains" are created from notthingness. I loved how dimensional the characters were and how easy it was to empathise with most of them, including the villains. I just loved this book as a whole, and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series. I definitely would recommend this to anyone who just wants something new and exciting in the fantasy realm to read.
I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on Goodreads.
This book comes out on the 29th January 2026!
What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!
Have a wonderful day!
Love, Doe!
