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tinysierra's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Dance of Thieves plays very well into its tropes.
-Enemies to Lovers (knife to throat!!)
-Forced Proximity
-Reluctant Allies
-Fake Dating (kinda?)
Based on the TikTok hype and the sypnosis, I assumed that this would be a high stakes, fast paced adventure similar to Six of Crows and Guilded Wolves. While there was a bit of an adventure in the first few chapters, the book overall was slow paced, focused on characters, family, romance and politics. It was more akin to Graceling.
The title was fitting. It felt like a dance or a game being played between the main characters. We get both Kazi and Jase’s POVs, which was a nice setup for the story.
I have a soft spot for thieves with angsty backstories so I loved Kazi. I liked the way that she came up with riddles.
The romance was well done. It felt like it developed a bit fast but it made sense considering the forced proximity, and they continue to develop their feelings over the rest of the book.
The fatal flaw of the book for me was the amount of telling instead of showing.
It ends on a cliffhanger but I personally will be ignoring the last chapter and will not be reading the next book.
A bit confused on why Jase invited a stranger into his home and decided to trust her and tell her everything? Including telling her about the family vault?? Vaults are supposed to be a secret?? Like… what. But it’s not really even a vault… it’s a bunker?
-Enemies to Lovers (knife to throat!!)
-Forced Proximity
-Reluctant Allies
-Fake Dating (kinda?)
Based on the TikTok hype and the sypnosis, I assumed that this would be a high stakes, fast paced adventure similar to Six of Crows and Guilded Wolves. While there was a bit of an adventure in the first few chapters, the book overall was slow paced, focused on characters, family, romance and politics. It was more akin to Graceling.
The title was fitting. It felt like a dance or a game being played between the main characters. We get both Kazi and Jase’s POVs, which was a nice setup for the story.
I have a soft spot for thieves with angsty backstories so I loved Kazi. I liked the way that she came up with riddles.
The romance was well done. It felt like it developed a bit fast but it made sense considering the forced proximity, and they continue to develop their feelings over the rest of the book.
The fatal flaw of the book for me was the amount of telling instead of showing.
It ends on a cliffhanger but I personally will be ignoring the last chapter and will not be reading the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Classism, Trafficking, and Torture
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Miscarriage
serena_hien's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Abandonment, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence
jg34's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I was pulled into this one from the start! I am a sucker for a good romance and I loved Kazi and Jase. Love a male main character who gets proved wrong by a woman over and over but takes it like a man and doesn’t let pride get in the way. I felt like at the end Jase could see why Kazi did what she did and was understanding and even grateful despite how angry he may have been at first. That type of maturity may only exist in books but I knew this was a fantasy going in and I LOVED. I also liked the female friendships in this book!
I will say I’m coming at this just focusing on the story, I really don’t pay close attention to how well the world building and lore and all that is so I can’t be critical about that. I was confused about certain details sometimes but likely my fault. Some plot lines were left open but there is a sequel so I will be reading that asap!!
Not spicy if that’s what you’re looking for (but u shouldn’t be bc this is young adult)
I will say I’m coming at this just focusing on the story, I really don’t pay close attention to how well the world building and lore and all that is so I can’t be critical about that. I was confused about certain details sometimes but likely my fault. Some plot lines were left open but there is a sequel so I will be reading that asap!!
Not spicy if that’s what you’re looking for (but u shouldn’t be bc this is young adult)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: War
hales_1243's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Trafficking
abibea's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Slavery and Injury/Injury detail
thebookwhale's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
I loved this. I loved every chapter, every page, every word of it. This book, it is fantasy with a romance in enemies-to-lovers style as a subplot and it has DUAL POV(!!!!). And everything is so well thought out. I have to admit I haven't read the Remnant Chronicles yet which come before this duology , but still, I didn't feel like I was missing too much information, even though some things were a bit confusing, but that's my fault and not the books.
Kazi is one of the best FMC I've ever read. She reminded me of Katniss sometimes and I fell in love with her. I feel like I know her because her flaws, her thoughts, and her emotions are so well written. We get to know things about her past, her family and also her relationship with her fellow soldiers / friends (I love Synové and Wren btw) who she deeply cares for.
Jase is another great guy, I love him. I love the connection he has with his family, and how they come before anyone else. I love his thoughts about Kazi, how they are not that different from each other than what they think.
The romance, it is definitely a slow-burn, even though we get kisses pretty early. But the ways they showed their affection and their love and how they went through ups and downs together, I have to say that it did feel genuine, it didn't feel out of character for them to act the way they did with each other.
One thing I have to criticize is that the ending felt a little rushed.All of a sudden Kazi and the other Rahtan decide to leave, and though I did understand their reasons, I didn't like how fast that decision was made. Like one day they were on good terms with the Ballengers and the next they decide to leave.
Also a few plot holes were left open, like
How did Jase find out that Kazi replaced the sleep medicine with salt?
Why would Synové kill the prisoner she hates if she said she wouldn't and she knew it was the Queen's order not to do so?
I know these are kinda irrelevant but I still want to know
Also, leaving a book on a cliffhanger like this? A disgusting and genius thing to do. Just stop before chapter 62 if you don't want to read the next book or don't have it yet or if you don't want to be left on a cliffhanger. Because now I have to wait weeks until my bookstore has it again.
Loved it, 5/5
EDITED:
Okay so I reread this because I wanted to read Vow of Thieves, and I think I have to change a few things.
I am not that big of a fan of the relationship anymore. It annoyed me that there could have been a single conversation to erase all of the problems but that just didn't happen and I don't know why. At the same time, it felt rushed. They barely knew each other and somehow fell in love so hard in a short time of 2 months?
A few characters were really underdeveloped. The queen, and her relationship with Kazi, Gunner, Mason, and Wren and Synové (especially Wren) are only some examples. The author could have made so much more out of it if she decided to develope them a little bit more.
Sometimes, Kazi and Jase felt a little blunt and dull, and I am a little shocked that I didn't notice it before. Sometimes, they, and especially Kazi, just annoy me.
However, this book still has a place in my heart, even if I see some of its flaws now. 4.75/5
Kazi is one of the best FMC I've ever read. She reminded me of Katniss sometimes and I fell in love with her. I feel like I know her because her flaws, her thoughts, and her emotions are so well written. We get to know things about her past, her family and also her relationship with her fellow soldiers / friends (I love Synové and Wren btw) who she deeply cares for.
Jase is another great guy, I love him. I love the connection he has with his family, and how they come before anyone else. I love his thoughts about Kazi, how they are not that different from each other than what they think.
The romance, it is definitely a slow-burn, even though we get kisses pretty early. But the ways they showed their affection and their love and how they went through ups and downs together, I have to say that it did feel genuine, it didn't feel out of character for them to act the way they did with each other.
One thing I have to criticize is that the ending felt a little rushed.
Also a few plot holes were left open, like
How did Jase find out that Kazi replaced the sleep medicine with salt?
Why would Synové kill the prisoner she hates if she said she wouldn't and she knew it was the Queen's order not to do so?
I know these are kinda irrelevant but I still want to know
Also, leaving a book on a cliffhanger like this? A disgusting and genius thing to do. Just stop before chapter 62 if you don't want to read the next book or don't have it yet or if you don't want to be left on a cliffhanger. Because now I have to wait weeks until my bookstore has it again.
Loved it, 5/5
EDITED:
Okay so I reread this because I wanted to read Vow of Thieves, and I think I have to change a few things.
I am not that big of a fan of the relationship anymore. It annoyed me that there could have been a single conversation to erase all of the problems but that just didn't happen and I don't know why. At the same time, it felt rushed. They barely knew each other and somehow fell in love so hard in a short time of 2 months?
A few characters were really underdeveloped. The queen, and her relationship with Kazi, Gunner, Mason, and Wren and Synové (especially Wren) are only some examples. The author could have made so much more out of it if she decided to develope them a little bit more.
Sometimes, Kazi and Jase felt a little blunt and dull, and I am a little shocked that I didn't notice it before. Sometimes, they, and especially Kazi, just annoy me.
However, this book still has a place in my heart, even if I see some of its flaws now. 4.75/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Genocide and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, and Infertility
mia_123's review
adventurous
dark
tense
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
why does no one mention the remnant chronicles????? like i just finished this book and am just now finding out about those books i wish i would’ve known so i could have read those beforehand and would’ve made this story a little less confusing. anyways dance of thieves was such a good read, i was kind of bored for the first 40 or 50 pages and also the language was so complex that i was having a hard time following along, but it got really good after that and i couldn’t put the book down. i couldn’t predict anything that was going to happen which i loved, and i just had such a great time reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
moanareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, War, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
pageafter_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I haven’t read any fantasy in a hot minute but I think this was a good one to read to get me back into it! I like how after the first 20 pages or so I was able to fully comprehend the fantasy world without much effort. I also love a dual POV and an enemies to lovers trope (also lowkey has the forbidden lovers thing)!
It was definitely a slow burn romance wise. I think the book had a pretty good pace, maybe a little slow at some parts but not too bad.
Honestly the thing that annoyed me the most was how the FMM being constantly described as an untouchable warrior but like we see she makes mistakes that seem a little obvious… maybe she blinded by love though so who am I to judge.
Overall I liked Jase’s character a lot and hearing the history of his family was VERY interesting I almost wish there was a book on that! Kazi was also likable and gave me Inej vibes form Six of Crows (except Inej is actually untouchable lmao). I’ll be interested to see what happens with them in the second book.
It was definitely a slow burn romance wise. I think the book had a pretty good pace, maybe a little slow at some parts but not too bad.
Honestly the thing that annoyed me the most was how the FMM being constantly described as an untouchable warrior but like we see she makes mistakes that seem a little obvious… maybe she blinded by love though so who am I to judge.
Overall I liked Jase’s character a lot and hearing the history of his family was VERY interesting I almost wish there was a book on that! Kazi was also likable and gave me Inej vibes form Six of Crows (except Inej is actually untouchable lmao). I’ll be interested to see what happens with them in the second book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, War, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Trafficking, Abandonment, Classism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
neko_reads's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I spent a lot of the start of this book confused about the world. I spent the rest of the time falling in love with Jase and Kazi. I absolutely love their relationship. I also loved the Ballenger family, as well as the rest of the Rahtan. I love the characters in general lol
So the reason that this book isn't a 4 stars is that I spent so much time confused about the world-building. That being said I cannot WAIT to get Vow of Thieves and continue with the duology.
So the reason that this book isn't a 4 stars is that I spent so much time confused about the world-building. That being said I cannot WAIT to get Vow of Thieves and continue with the duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, and Trafficking
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail