The bulk of the book is spent in setting up Caverna and all her quirks, so the schemes directly involving Neverfell and her mysterious past start moving late.

The pacing of all these plots is a little on the slow side. Yet surprises are brought by the one outsider working against the Court in general, who has decided to use True Wine to erase and reinstate his memories, so that even he himself has no idea what his next move will be. In a society where using the wrong fork at a banquet can get one executed, plots do not always have to be complicated. The courtiers’ plans may not be as convoluted or complex as it other books, but this is just a logical result of the world-building. Readers who like Grave Mercy or The False Prince will be equally gripped. Yet there is a plot here, and it is one of Court Intrigue. Imagine a book that is in intention somewhat like The Night Circus, although closer to traditional high fantasy. This is a book that is as much about the experience and the atmosphere as it is about the characters or the plot readers are to sit and marvel at the strangeness that is Caverna-an underground place where nothing and no one is what they seem. Review: A Face Like Glass is a strong, imaginative fantasy that strives to bring the readers into the magiv of the world that Hardinge has created.

Neverfell is swept into a world of intrigue, with courtiers plotting against her each and against her because someone is afraid she will finally regain her memories and ruin a plan seven years in the making. After she runs from his tunnels, this is exactly what happens. He knows the Court would use her face and her inability to lie if they ever found her. When a Cheesemaster finds a young girl in his tunnels whose face changes with her emotions, a girl clearly from outside but with no memory of her past, he calls her Neverfell and hides her. The one thing the people cannot do is naturally change their facial expressions, and so Facemaking is also a Craft. Summary: Beneath the earth in Caverna, the people practice True Crafts, making Jellies that taste like music, Wines that can alter memory, and Perfumes that ensnare the mind.

A face like glass review