Title: The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season #5)
Author: Samantha Shannon 
Genre: fantasy, dystopian
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: 2025
Format: Hardcover
Length:  552 pages

Read if you like: supernatural dystopia, clairvoyance-driven magic, criminal underworlds, morally ambiguous characters, alternate histories, urban fantasy, diverse cast

Rating: 

The Dark Mirror was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I’m now confident it’ll be one of my favourite reads of the year. It was everything I could have wanted from another instalment in this series and then some. 

At book five, this is now in contention for one of the longest series I’ve read, and it somehow gets stronger with every subsequent release. I’m still so amped up from reading this that I’m going to dive straight into the review as I’m already wishing that I could read this for the first time again.

Be warned: As this is the fifth book in the series, the review below may contain some spoilers for previous books.

The Book Synopsis: The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade – but she has no idea how she got to the free world. Half a year has been wiped from her memory. 

As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret – one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist. 

And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories – Arcturus Mesarthim – might also hold the key to saving Italy.

The Review

What an absolutely outstanding addition to this series. Shannon continues to completely blow my mind, she’s such an incredibly prolific fantasy writer.

First, I loved the way that the book began with six missing months. I felt like it was such a brilliant way to catapult the plot forward and introduce a whole slew of additional characters and interests that simply couldn’t have fit otherwise. Generally, when a character forgets key plot points, I find myself just impatient for them to catch up, but I felt like this particular twist was so well drawn out I was just on the edge of my seat instead. What I initially (and naively) thought seemed obvious in terms of Paige’s missing memory quickly became much more complex and intricate than I realized. When you’re finally up-to-speed on what transpired and why, I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautifully Shannon had drawn it out and led you to the conclusions. 

Also, Shannon might be the master of the slow-burn romance. FIVE BOOKS before we finally, finally got to see the romantic aspect of the plot come to fruition in its totality. I’ll admit that the romance in a book is not typically a primary draw for me, I much prefer it as a subplot. While that’s exactly the case in this, because of how painstakingly it’s been drawn out, it feels so much more important and impactful, even as a secondary storyline. It couldn’t have been more perfectly told in my opinion, my heart is so full.

From a plot perspective, this book was incredibly action-packed while simultaneously building more and more of the universe and its inhabitants out. The addition of the free-world perspectives were both interesting and, at times, frustrating in equal parts, but I loved seeing the contrast of views from the now familiar Scion ones. The depth to this story seems to know no bounds, it just continues to grow in complexity in all the best ways. 

Lastly, the characters. Oh my goodness, my love for these characters. It’s been a joy to see Paige grow so significantly, and the surrounding cast is an equal delight to observe. I loved that we got so much more of Maria in this book, who is just a great time, and seeing more sides to the Ranthen also added a lot more intrigue and connection. I almost always hate Jaxon, but he brings such drama and flair that he’s pivotal. The found family in this series is so superbly executed that it’s one of my favourite aspects.

I don’t know what I expected from this fifth book, but I know my expectations were high and that they were definitely exceeded. I will be waiting on pins and needles for the next instalment, whenever it lands. This book secured this series as a favourite of all time for me.