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Hello Fairy Friends!
Today is day 1 of our readalong of Master of One by Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett and I’m so excited to be reading this one with you all!
Before we begin, how have you been? And how has your reading been going so far this month? Did you read any good books at the weekend? Any new favourites you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments!
Okay, now that we’ve had a little catch up, let’s jump on into the readalong!
Today we will start from the prologue and read up to the end of Chapter 18! It’s time to get nice and cosy for a reading session so grab a blanket, a beverage and some reading fuel (a.k.a snacks) and let’s get started! Once finished you can join me in the comments to chat all about today’s section!
Please be warned, the following will include spoilers for Master of One by Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett chapters 1-18! Read only if you’ve finished those chapters!
-!SPOILERS!-
Wow, what a beginning!
We open up with quite the alarming scene, no? Tomman Hail of House Ever-Loyal has made some kind of discovery, one dangerous enough to mean his death at the hand of the Queen’s Guard…
After witnessing the brutal slaughter of what seems to be his entire family, Tomman would still rather die than give up this secret information to the sorcerer. Ultimately sacrificing himself to keep that knowledge safe!
What did he discover and why is the Queen so desperate to keep it hidden? The scene is set and I’m already so intrigued!
We meet Rags, a cheeky thief who has been in a cell in the dungeon for sixteen whole days! If the Queensguard aren’t hauling him in for torture and questioning, where are they headed?
Okay, I hope he isn’t meeting the Queen, anyone else getting major bad vibes about her already? Could she be the villain in this story?
Oh no, more bad vibes, he is to meet with two men, one a Nobel and the other a sorcerer which judging from Rags’ reaction isn’t…good.
“We’ll only kill you if you don’t agree to our proposal.”
“I agree to your proposal,”
I may be slightly in love with Rags already!
Ooh interesting! The sorcerer wears a cloth over his mouth and nose but it doesn’t stir with his breath, is he maybe undead? Ah this is the dude who slaughtered the Ever-Loyal family in the prologue, yeah this doesn’t seem good for Rags ?
They want him to steal something for them! The vault job was a test, one that Rags apparently passed, Rags is in trouble here!
We learn about the destruction and rife poverty in the city all due to the Queens mining which has caused sinkholes to develop. I wonder what she is digging for, what does she seek?
Oooh the Lost-Lands sound cool, are they really just a legend? The thought of the fearsome Fae ready to enact their ghostly vengeance against the sorcerers sets Rag’s hair on end. Yeah they sound pretty terrifying in those stories, I wonder just how true those are? Nevertheless I’m excited to see how this expedition goes!
Oh god turns out he wasn’t their first choice and six others have already tried and failed.
Hold up this Mirrorcraft magic is truly terrifying! Rags will have to obey Morien until he decides otherwise and when he’s no longer of value, the sorcerer will kill him…yeah I’d probably pass out too!
So Morien is an interesting character, he looks no older than a man in his early twenties. Is he perhaps immortal, being kept alive by his sorcery? Or could Morien really be Fae perhaps, what are we thinking?
I love how Rags is consistently questioning if he can steal the things around him ?
Okay so the first test didn’t seem too difficult but how is he going to get across this chasm?
Anyone else getting Indiana Jones vibes right now? Brave of him to use the vines considering they may be murderous. Luckily the vine he chose didn’t try to kill him. But wait..maybe he shouldn’t have touched that.
Yeah he shouldn’t have touched that…
Poison arrows-a classic booby trap!
A new corpse, not a Fae this time and a magical maze of mirrors?! This setting is so creepy! Being murdered by your own refection?! This is like something straight out of a horror movie.
An interesting thought! Do we think the sorcerers killed the Fae to steal their magic for themselves?
And now he’s hearing the voice of his dead friend at door eighteen!? Wow, that’s some psychological torture right there.
We have a coffin folks! His hands perfectly fit the grooves in the lid, it shatters and….it’s a living Fae man!
Is Rags right to be suspicious of Shining Talon? Are the Fae as deadly as legend says? I must admit I love how Shining Talon hates Morien and calls him ‘lying one’
Turns out the weapon they seek, the Great Paragon, was “Built as a gift of alliance, given by the Fae to humans, only to have them turn it against them”…ouch! No wonder Shining Talon hates sorcerers.
Ooooh so the first fragment takes the form of a metal lizard?! One is just the first fragment of the Great Paragon and is impatient to meet her master, the title now makes sense folks!
What do we think about Rags being the Mater of Five? Is this another stalling tactic, a way for Shining Talon to keep rags safe as long as possible? He does have the metal ball from the coffin so I have hope!
Thankfully there can only be one of each master per generation so hopefully this will stop Morien from killing Rags, *Crosses fingers*
It’s time for them to leave the ruins and find One’s master, but who will that person be? Will Rags and Shining Talon be able to get out of this sticky situation they’re in? Will all the fragments form to be lizards? I have so many questions! I’m so excited to continue to find out more and I hope you are too!
Let me know your first impressions and thoughts down below and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Love,
Codie
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Everything was so well described, the atmosphere, the feelings, I really felt like being there with Rags. Did you guys think so, too? And I was also like ??? when the title finally made sense, there was no way to guess that One is actually someone!
So glad you’re enjoying the atmosphere of the book!
Oh i always forget about the title. But it makes sense now ?
Same about the title, haha! I wonder if they’ll find all fragments. They probably will, since the book is 500 pages xD
I can already tell I’m going to love the humour of this book! Rags’ dry, sarcastic sense of humour keeps making me chuckle and I have to agree that I may already be slightly in love ? I didn’t think that Shining Talon may have been lying about Rags being Master of Five to protect Rags so now I’m a bit sceptical of Shining Talon and his potential deception but also maybe more trusting of him, after all I doubt Morien would be too impressed if Shining Talon manipulated him which may put Shining Talon in a bit of danger in that case
The humour is top tier! ?
Hi Codie, hi everyone!
I’m so hyped about this book that I actually misread the schedule and thought the readalong would begin on February the 1st ?
However, this first part was already action-packed… maybe even a little too much, I wouldn’t have disliked a little more of worldbuilding. Anyway it was enough for me to already have ✨ theories ✨
Theory one: that’s pretty easy to guess, but the fae wasn’t the cruel monsters everyone is forced to believe.
“History is written by the winners” afterall, and the Queen is super shady.
This bring us to theory two: the Queen and the sorcerer are actually faes. This would explain the magic, how well Moriel seems to know the fae ruins and it was mentioned that his ears are “too small for the head”…like they have been cut?
About your question: I’ve read Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff and I loved it! Weird that everyone seems so quiet about this series.
Hi and thank you so much for joining!
I completely agree about the pacing actually! I wouldn’t have minded it slowing down a little! We went from the fifth door to eighteen in a short paragraph that I had to reread and make sure I didn’t miss anything!
Oh wow that opening prologue! It instantly hooked me! And I love Rags’ prison rating system and Rags’ wit and… ok I just love Rags! I’m so so excited to see what happens next. Shining Talon is lowkey kind of adorable and how protective he is of Rags is so cute (already ship lol). The tests Rags had to go through were so sadistic though! The one where he heard his dead friend was especially cruel. And then you have Morien (I prefer Shining Talon’s name for him: Lying One), who uses truly evil magic and is basically just untrustworthy as anything. I’m kind of agreeing he might be undead or immortal or something other – I’m really interested to find out more about the world’s magic system. And I love that One just hates Morien – good metal lizard. I’m so excited to continue reading tomorrow!
Always a win when the beginning is attention grabbing!
Omg, I am already shipping them too!
I completely agree! I am all here for Shining Talon and Rags moments and relationship from here on out!!
I got a head start because the 100~ pages a day was too much for me and I’m over halfway already. Excited to see what people think! I loved the first part of the book, so much action and I love Rags!!
I love that we got right into the action straight away! I’m pretty suspicious of the queen and Morien, I agree they could be the villains, maybe there are more Fae we don’t know about and they want rid of them? I’m not to sure what I think yet but I love Rags and Shining Talon!
Hi Codie and everyone else reading this book ?
I love this book so far!! It’s a lot of pages each day but I’m gonna try to keep up ?
I wrote down one sentence : ‘Don’t pay attention to what you can’t do. Remember what you can.’ So true! It’s what i do now we’re in lockdown with a curfew for everyone.
Laughed out loud when they just met and the names came up ?
Like to know what happens next!
I love the atmosphere in this book so far! It was so fun to see Rags go through the gambit. I love it when a plan comes together…or when a clever character can cook one up at a moment’s notice. I’m excited about the McGuffin hunt and all the new characters we’re likely to meet along the way! I loved the twist too that the “One” from the title was an individual! I wonder if this is going to be a 6 book series?
I absolutely love a story that starts with puzzle-solving…it felt a bit Crystal Maze for me, lightened by Rag’s sense of humour, opportunistic mind and grounded realism. Did anyone else get to chapter 16 and dash to the reverse cover to finally understand the artwork?! Seeing through Rag’s eyes gives a great perspective of the world and of ShinTal…going to resist staying up to read on to keep pace with the readalong, but very intrigued so far…
Firstly got to say that this is a lot of pages in one day.
That prologue was fantastic and I’m loving Rags’ sense of humour.
Other than that . . . I’m not overly impressed yet. A lot of action without us really having a clue what’s going on. Whilst that’s OK for a few opening chapters the action just gets boring without any real meaning. So many chapters on finding this item and we still have no real clue about anything. I need some world building.
I agree, I would like to see more world building. I am confused how the kingdom works and the history of the world.
Hi everyone!
Dang am I the only one super struggling with this one already? I actually thought the opening was really not strong at all. I’m not opposed to books that throw me straight into the action without set up in general but I think Master of One totally missed the mark on how you do that. Like, I dont think we have had enough world building set up and Rags didn’t get any time to develop as a character before he was thrown into peril so I was just kind of left there like “okay, i dont know him, so why should I root for him?”
I thought the trial bit was fun but every trial passed so fast I found them tricky to follow -honestly, they could have spent more time setting up Rags as a character at the start and then dragged the trials out as a longer part of the book and I would have felt far more immersed, personally!
Not all negative though- I do quite like the sense of humour and now we have more characters interacting on the page ever since the introduction of Shining Talon (who i do like. He seems fun so far!) Its growing on me. It just took something like 14 chapters to get there, yknow.
Also I’m confused – so the queensguard and lord faolan are present right now, but just haven’t said anything in like several chapters? Or theyre not here? And are we supposed to know who Lord Faolan is? I cant tell if I’m not concentrating enough when I read this or if I’m accidentally missing entire chapters, but honestly i am so lost… ?
I see your point. I will say I do like Rags, and I think he has a strong voice and that I know him well because he is so honest about whom he is. However, I will say that I wish we got some flashback almost about his past to get more about where he is coming from.
They probably don’t reveal a lot of him, so it will be a surprise later. He’s probably an orphan. I think he might be from the family that was killed in the prologue or something?
I agree with you and I am completely struggling with this too!!
Oh, ok, prologue was a little confusing, but I think it can be connected with the One.
When Rags went through all rooms I was curious what will be next and really involved to his feelings. Personally for me journey though the rooms was too long, but atmospheric.
Talon is such an interesting person. Why is he so protective to Rags?
Idea with 6 elements of the Great Paragon, which have been split between 5 people and 1 fea, remember me a little “Lord of the Rings” situation which rings for each nation.
Overall it sound like really good story and I’m curious what will be happened next.
Hi everyone!
I’m so excited to keep on reading this book. Since the beginning, it got me hooked. So much action!
The traps to open the doors were so spooky too. Especially the one where your own reflection tries to kill you. I don’t know how Rags didn’t get a little more freaked out, I know I certainly would’ve!
Regarding the Fae, I think they are not actually what the people have come to know them by. Maybe the sorcerers or the queen herself have spoken those rumors to scare people? Control them?
Apart from that, are there more Fae hidden somewhere? Maybe asleep somewhere else like Shining Talon? Hidden?
I can’t wait to keep on reading and see if any of my questions get answered! ☺
I agree! I think there will be more fae coming before the book ends!
I really enjoyed the beginning. At first I wasn’t sure about this book but the moment I read a couple of chapters I was instantly hooked!
Rags is really adorable and I love how witty he is. Talon seems so protective and I am very intrigued to see how their relationships evolve overtime, will they become best friends? Enemies? Or even better lovers! Time will tell!
I am so intrigued with the plot it has me hooked and I cannot wait to read more! ?
Oo the queen sounds interesting ? we haven’t met her yet which makes me think that she’s maybe not the villain of the story ??♀️
Rags is amazing I love his humour so much ! And talon being so clueless about humans is really adding to it !
THE INTENSITY OF THIS START just to have Rags just win my heart with ‘I agree’ love it so far!
It’s 9:29 pm where I’m at now. I JUST got to read today’s chapters (busy day) and write down all of my thoughts.
So first things first, I’ve been good! Despite the chaos and situations of our world currently, it’s been okay! My reading month is . . . complicated. I’ve only finished one book so far (reread of ACOFAS by SJM for the release of ACOSF), but I’m currently reading four:
1. Animal Farm (for school)
2. The Shadows Between Us (been wanting to read ever since your BEAUTIFUL edition came out)
3. Master of One with y’all!
4. Blood Heir with Amelie Wen Zhao in preparation for Red Tigress
ACOTAR is definitely now one of my favorite series of all time!
Now about Master of One:
The beginning sucked me right in! I’m very intrigued by the scene and wonder how Tomman will play into the story. What was he hiding? And why did the Queen want [to know] it?
What’s with the Queen? She’s a pretty shady character currently – we don’t know much about her besides being rich and looking for something (mines).
Morien being undead would make a lot of sense – it would explain the breathing thing and how he looks to be 20 versus [probably] 200.
Yes, I do believe that the sorcerers stole magic from the Fae. It would explain why the war occurred.
Rags being Master of Five gives me “Chosen One” vibes. I mean, technically there are six Chosen Ones in that case. I personally don’t like that trope, but hey, whatever works.
What are the other pieces of the Paragon? Lizards, like One, or something else? Living or inanimate? And who is One’s master?
Based on the reverse dust jacket artwork, I can only assume that the LGBTQ+ couple is Rags and Shining Talon. So . . . I’m excited to see where that goes! I hope it’s not insta-love, but an actual progressing love story.
One thing I’d have to say I disliked was how easy the trials seemed to pass and how quickly the plot is progressing. I feel like they (the authors) could’ve fleshed out these scenes a little more. However, props to them for giving us little details about the backstory and building the world around the story!
I really like Rags and this has been a gripping story from the start, which isn’t usually the case for me.
I like Shinning Talon as well. Especially since he dislikes Morian so much. I think that the Sorcerer might be fae too and that Shinning Talon knows more about Morian’s history than we are being told.
I like that One is a mechanical creature and that she is going to lead them to their next clue basically.
I am excited to see where the story goes from here.
I accidently read this last week so looking forward to hearing everyone’s views!
I love Rags sarcasm and humour from the start. It gets straight into the action. I also wanted a bit more of world building at the start. I felt quite confused about how everything worked and what the bloody hell Rags was doing. I did like the different challenges though.
Wow! So much happened in the first 100 pages of this book. I must say I wish there was more world building but I like to think that will come when they start venturing out of the cave. This magic system though… like what can these sorcerers do with these mirrors and who are these lords of different houses? Also, I need to meet this Queen. So many questions, looking forward to reading on for day 2!
Don’t know what I expected tbh, but for sure I didn’t think it would be as funny as it is! Rags is cracking me up left and right!
“Fucking waste of a sausage!” I just love it! ?
Sorry is intriguing so far, giving me hobbity vibes. Can’t wait to see how this quest progresses. Off to find out!
Hi verybody
I was soo intrigued about the secret Tomman died for I hope we will find out what he died for.
Rags is such a funny character and I like how clever he is I also hope that the fact about him being the master of 5 is true that would be cool and I hope he will somehow be able to get rid of that mirror spell that Morien put on him.
Morien is soo cruel but I do wonder why he was so interested in this quest. If he and the queen are villains what will finding all six items mean for their plan hmm cant wait to see
Shining Talon is un interesting fae and I soo love how he calls Morien The Laying One
I cant wait where the adventure takes them next
Well, I answer the first question, I just finished reading These Violent Delights (tried to keep up with the last read-along but got so far behind, I decided to just pause) and I’m planning to start reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time!
As for Master of One, I agree with a lot of the points about world building and pacing in the beginning of this book. I would like to have more moments of learning Rags past and more about the Kingdom and how it works; however, I will say, I have no idea where in the book so far that would have worked without the exposition feeling clunky.
I really enjoy Rags’s humour and attitude! I can’t wait to see the progression of his and Shining Talon’s relationship (yes, I believe that they are going to be in a romantic relationship, and yes, i ship it completely)!!!
Overall, I’m excited to see more of this world and how it all fits together and who the real enemies are! I definitely think the Queen is sus, but I’m not sure if she will be the “main” villain of the piece. Due to her not being “on screen” yet, I wouldn’t put it past the authors to be leading us down a wrong path and have a different character in a less powerful position be the really antagonist!
I can’t wait to read the next part!
Hi everyone!
I like Rags so far, his dialogue is hysterical!
Shinning Talon seems like an intriguing character, I wonder what his role will be in the story in the future.
I’m also curious about the queen, she sounds fishy.
Can’t wait to continue!
I’m not feeling this book so far. Like what was said above, I wish there was more world building or character development first. I don’t care about things when I don’t know about them, sorry to say. We know little about Rags. I’m struggling to picture this world.
I loved the prologue, but after that, I just went, ‘Huh???” for chapterssss on end. I am generally a fan of fantasy, but this might just not be my jam.
We just met Shining Talon but I already like and feel like I know more about him than I do about Rags!
I should also mention I’m listening to the audiobook – and the narrator is good, but maybe its not helping me any with this type of high fantasy story.
Hi everyone ?? finally finished the first part (100 pages are a lot)
I really like the story so far and Rags and One are my favorites. So excited what two-six might be.
And i actually have no clue where this is heading. What are they going to do with the mirrow in Rags heart? So many questions…
So far I’m really enjoying the story. The action of breaking into the vault was amazing and kept me on the edge of my seat.I love Rags he is just the right amount of sarcastic. I can’t wait to see how his character grows.One thing that I want to know more about is Rags relationship with Dane. Were they friends or something more?
I’m loving the book so far. I often find the beginnings of stories are slow so I’m glad we have jumped straight into the action. I’m assuming we will eventually learn Rags actual name and his back story so I’m fine with how the story is being told so far. Rags is hilarious, I’m enjoying how literal Shining Talon takes everything. Everyone else I do not trust.
I loved how Shining Talon kept bagging on Morien. It was hilarious! I also enjoyed that he was trusting of Rags and I can’t wait to see more of their interactions in the book.
I finally made it through the first hundred pages. The book is entertaining, but not a fast read for me. Not sure why. I’m definitely curious to see what happens, and I’m expecting that the fae aren’t evil, the queen and sorcerers are world set up. The everything you thought you knew is wrong trope. But I always enjoy those.
I have been falling asleep reading so I’m definitely missing things. The problems with long work days and trying to read as much as possible every day.
I really like Talon so far. But I haven’t thought the fae were evil since reading the back of the non-special edition book I have. “Welcome to the Queen’s City, A terrible place to live, An Excellent place to die.”
Was definitely getting Indiana Jones vibes getting to Talon, it will be interesting to see where the rest takes us from here.
I’m a bit behind on scedule, but I like the book so far. I love books with humour and things are well described too.
I wonder if Rags is actually a novle or something.
Also, it was fun to recognise some of the puzzles. I’ve played a lot of Zelda games and saw some influences :p.