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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
DNF’ed. I was like halfway thru the book. And nothing had happened?? It is a super boring read, and I was missing the action. The writing style was okay, but reading 200+ pages without ANYTHING happening... that isn’t for me. The book is pretty though
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Six of Crows meets Game of Thrones in this spell-binding new epic fantasy adventure novel.
The Smoke Thieves follows five young protagonists spread out across Green’s fantasy world, whose lives collide as war brews between two powerful countries. In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares to marry a man she’s never met while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner’s block. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, Edyon stands at a crossroads: family and fortune one way; destruction, the other. And in the barren northern territories, Tash is facing her demons - literally.
I’m a huge fan of sweeping, intricately-plotted epic fantasy stories, but honestly, I’ve read very few novels which have managed to do justice to the genre. Too often, I find epic fantasy novels are either so focused on world-building that the characters are comparatively underdeveloped, or the characters are great but the world-building is flimsy. The Smoke Thieves has just the right balance of political intrigue, slow-burning romance and high-stakes adventures, led by five well-developed and likeable protagonists.
I don’t want to say much more about The Smoke Thieves, because I think part of why I enjoyed it so much was because I started reading it knowing very little about the plot. I will say that although I guessed the direction the story was heading in early on, Green still managed to surprise me. The ending was especially well-written, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this world. If you’re a fan of Leigh Bardugo, Kristin Cashore or Melina Marchetta, I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Smoke Thieves!
Many thanks to Penguin for providing a copy of The Smoke Thieves. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 5 stars | ★★★★★
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd Reviews
The Smoke Thieves follows five young protagonists spread out across Green’s fantasy world, whose lives collide as war brews between two powerful countries. In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares to marry a man she’s never met while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner’s block. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, Edyon stands at a crossroads: family and fortune one way; destruction, the other. And in the barren northern territories, Tash is facing her demons - literally.
I’m a huge fan of sweeping, intricately-plotted epic fantasy stories, but honestly, I’ve read very few novels which have managed to do justice to the genre. Too often, I find epic fantasy novels are either so focused on world-building that the characters are comparatively underdeveloped, or the characters are great but the world-building is flimsy. The Smoke Thieves has just the right balance of political intrigue, slow-burning romance and high-stakes adventures, led by five well-developed and likeable protagonists.
I don’t want to say much more about The Smoke Thieves, because I think part of why I enjoyed it so much was because I started reading it knowing very little about the plot. I will say that although I guessed the direction the story was heading in early on, Green still managed to surprise me. The ending was especially well-written, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this world. If you’re a fan of Leigh Bardugo, Kristin Cashore or Melina Marchetta, I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Smoke Thieves!
Many thanks to Penguin for providing a copy of The Smoke Thieves. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 5 stars | ★★★★★
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd Reviews
Odotin tätä kuin kuuta nousevaa, koska Sally Greenin Puoliksi paha on yksi lempikirjoistani. Savuvarkaat ei harmikseni aikaansaanut samanlaista innostusta. Tarina on mielenkiintoinen, mutta kerronta jätti tapahtumat ja henkilöhahmot etäisiksi. Vaikea selittää, mutta jäin kaipaamaan eräänlaista syventymistä, ns tarinan "puhaltamista henkiin". Kaikesta huolimatta jään odottamaan kiinnostuneena kirjan jatko-osia.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
After a dry spell of reading several books that were either downright terrible or mediocre, this one was a breath of fresh air. I loved everything about it. The characters’ stories intertwined in a masterful way and not much of the plot was predictable. The world building was deep and extremely believable. I especially loved Catherine’s character development and arc in general, though I cared for each of the characters. The themes were pronounced and recognizable, but subtle enough that they didn’t sacrifice the story to make a point. I can’t wait to dive headfirst into the rest of the series! Read this book, you won’t regret it. It reminded me of the Mistborn series.
The only reason I had to deduct a quarter of a point was that the author could have been more original with the swearing. All the characters speak with such graceful eloquence right up until they swear; then they assume the language of an American redneck. Only two swear words were used, and they were used over and over again by multiple characters, and the words were very out of place with the rest of the language. It wouldn’t have been hard to invent some foreign swear words or slurs is all.
The only reason I had to deduct a quarter of a point was that the author could have been more original with the swearing. All the characters speak with such graceful eloquence right up until they swear; then they assume the language of an American redneck. Only two swear words were used, and they were used over and over again by multiple characters, and the words were very out of place with the rest of the language. It wouldn’t have been hard to invent some foreign swear words or slurs is all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore
I received this as an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
The Smoke Thieves has a Game of Thrones vibe, but other than being told the same way and being fantasy, that's really where the similarities end.
A thief, a hunter, a servant, a soldier, and a princess. Nope, not The Breakfast Club, but the start of a major conflict between nations. Catherine is a princess in a horrible family, guarded by her soldier, Ambrose. Tash is a demon hunter, leading demons to their demise in order to harvest smoke, why is illegally traded as a drug. March is a servant from a defeated country, who serves the prince that he despises. And Edyon is a bastard thief who aspires to the field of law. They each have a part to play in the coming conflict and their story is fascinating.
The Smoke Thieves has a Game of Thrones vibe, but other than being told the same way and being fantasy, that's really where the similarities end.
A thief, a hunter, a servant, a soldier, and a princess. Nope, not The Breakfast Club, but the start of a major conflict between nations. Catherine is a princess in a horrible family, guarded by her soldier, Ambrose. Tash is a demon hunter, leading demons to their demise in order to harvest smoke, why is illegally traded as a drug. March is a servant from a defeated country, who serves the prince that he despises. And Edyon is a bastard thief who aspires to the field of law. They each have a part to play in the coming conflict and their story is fascinating.
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because of the mixed reviews. I was super intrigued by the premise so when it became available at the library I thought I’d give it a go. While it definitely had some faults, I came to really like all of the characters (who all definitely annoyed me at first) and the world the author created has a lot of potential. I need more demons in the next one!
The Good:
Tash was my favorite. I loved her scrappiness and sass. And her boot obsession. I feel you, Tash! I felt like the author developed her voice well and it felt like reading the POV of a 13 year old. But not in an annoying way.
I also really liked Edyon. His charm but total cluelessness was endearing and I loved his burgeoning relationship with March. I hope we get to see his character development more in the next book.
Even Catherine grew on me in the end! I was bored by her at first but I loved her embracing her new roll and attempting to control her future. Catherine for queen!
The not so good:
The plot was slow. A little too slow. I can see why people lost interest so early on. Everything about this book was a slow burn and there was a lot of setup for the next book. Maybe one less POV would have allowed the author to tell more of a story? I found it interesting enough and my interest was held but this actually reminded me more of adult fantasy plotting than YA.
I also figured out the central mystery about half way through the book but maybe we were supposed to? I wasn’t sure how much as readers we were really supposed to be guessing.
The weird:
The swearing. There was a lot. Which is fine, I swear a lot, but it seemed weird for a YA novel and didn’t really seem to serve much purpose. Even I felt pulled out of the story a couple times.
Overall I think this is a promising start to an interesting and unique fantasy series!
The Good:
Tash was my favorite. I loved her scrappiness and sass. And her boot obsession. I feel you, Tash! I felt like the author developed her voice well and it felt like reading the POV of a 13 year old. But not in an annoying way.
I also really liked Edyon. His charm but total cluelessness was endearing and I loved his burgeoning relationship with March. I hope we get to see his character development more in the next book.
Even Catherine grew on me in the end! I was bored by her at first but I loved her embracing her new roll and attempting to control her future. Catherine for queen!
The not so good:
The plot was slow. A little too slow. I can see why people lost interest so early on. Everything about this book was a slow burn and there was a lot of setup for the next book. Maybe one less POV would have allowed the author to tell more of a story? I found it interesting enough and my interest was held but this actually reminded me more of adult fantasy plotting than YA.
I also figured out the central mystery about half way through the book but maybe we were supposed to? I wasn’t sure how much as readers we were really supposed to be guessing.
The weird:
The swearing. There was a lot. Which is fine, I swear a lot, but it seemed weird for a YA novel and didn’t really seem to serve much purpose. Even I felt pulled out of the story a couple times.
Overall I think this is a promising start to an interesting and unique fantasy series!