#Labyrinth's heart

[linovadraws]

"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.

[alychelms]

R&R wiki woo!

The Rook & Rose wiki is live! We created this wiki for our own reference, so there are spoilers galore. But with some help we arranged to archive our version and make a public version that people can edit, add to, etc.

Our original is almost the same length as one of the novels, so lots of robust content for folks to poke around and play with!

[malicedafirenze]

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

[samduqs]

I hate when there's no content on tumblr about my new hiperfixation I can't live like this

[dovahvhenan]

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.

[aroaessidhe]

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

[winter-wise]

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!

[irontrashglitter]

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

[fitzchivalry]

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.

[bookcoversonly]

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

[linovadraws]

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

[alychelms]

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.

[malicedafirenze]

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

[samduqs]

I haven't finished Labyrinth's Heart yet and I'm already thinking about rereading the whole trilogy.

Not only it has become one of my favourite trilogies, but also I feel it has such a complex plot and so many layers that I`ve missed many things and I think a second read will help me appreciate the details <3

[kyndaris]

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!