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daisy222de's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.75
gperna01's review against another edition
5.0
“And magic, well, it was the cleverest thing in existence.” -Chapter 5
I have never encounter a book that the characters embody the cleverness of the magic system within the story. These characters are the epitome of cleverness and intelligence, I wish I could be them and for a matter fact I will be speaking like them from now on.
This book had me on the edge of my seat and goes beyond the description of unique. The Bassette sisters were the funniest MCs I have ever read, their dynamic was intriguing, mysterious yet hilarious. This first book focused on Larkyra, she is the youngest of the three sisters, Arabessa is the oldest followed by Niya. Each one as fiery as the next and made this book all the more interesting. The premise of the story (without any serious spoilers) is our youngest Bassette sister, Larkyra, just turned 19. After each Bassette’s sisters 19th birthday they must venture out on their own solo mission to help their community, her first mission is to find out how this Duke is getting drugs from outside the Thief Kingdom and who his drug supplier is. Through her investigation she finds healing, love, self acceptance, friendship, and best of all peace and freedom.
This story was a beautiful journey of the acceptance of all scars one has whether visible or not, of learning to accept help, and to know you are not unlovable. The themes of this book touches on and the traumas it covers and heals was truly remarkable.
There were parts that were dicey and I honestly kept thinking Hayzar was gonna do something really scary like lock Darius up but thankfully nothing happened. E.J. Mellow created such a good villain I was truly terrified he would do something awful to Darius or Larkyra.
I cannot wait for this next book about Niya I am currently downloading my EArc as I type this out. I was thoroughly pleased with the ending of this book and would 100% reread. Thank you tiktok for another great book recommendation and E.J. for writing such a killer book.
5/5 stars for me, a must read!!!
I have never encounter a book that the characters embody the cleverness of the magic system within the story. These characters are the epitome of cleverness and intelligence, I wish I could be them and for a matter fact I will be speaking like them from now on.
This book had me on the edge of my seat and goes beyond the description of unique. The Bassette sisters were the funniest MCs I have ever read, their dynamic was intriguing, mysterious yet hilarious. This first book focused on Larkyra, she is the youngest of the three sisters, Arabessa is the oldest followed by Niya. Each one as fiery as the next and made this book all the more interesting. The premise of the story (without any serious spoilers) is our youngest Bassette sister, Larkyra, just turned 19. After each Bassette’s sisters 19th birthday they must venture out on their own solo mission to help their community, her first mission is to find out how this Duke is getting drugs from outside the Thief Kingdom and who his drug supplier is. Through her investigation she finds healing, love, self acceptance, friendship, and best of all peace and freedom.
This story was a beautiful journey of the acceptance of all scars one has whether visible or not, of learning to accept help, and to know you are not unlovable. The themes of this book touches on and the traumas it covers and heals was truly remarkable.
There were parts that were dicey and I honestly kept thinking Hayzar was gonna do something really scary like lock Darius up but thankfully nothing happened. E.J. Mellow created such a good villain I was truly terrified he would do something awful to Darius or Larkyra.
I cannot wait for this next book about Niya I am currently downloading my EArc as I type this out. I was thoroughly pleased with the ending of this book and would 100% reread. Thank you tiktok for another great book recommendation and E.J. for writing such a killer book.
5/5 stars for me, a must read!!!
lexyverstraete's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mattressy's review against another edition
I got too angry about how badly written the "common folk" dialogue is
malisac16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
loathey's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thesnobbyscrutinest's review against another edition
3.0
This book felt like a prequel for book 2. It was still good and I enjoyed reading about the Thief Kingdom- but it wasn’t what I would call great.
atrailofpages's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book, especially the world!
This follows Larkyra, or Lark for short, who has just come of age to do missions for her father the Count of Jabari. She’s sent to on her first solo mission to spy on the Duke of Lachlan who has been taking, stealing and using a drug called Phorria that is magic siphoned from magic users illegally and used as a drug to give non-magic users a high and the illusion of being able to wield magic. Lark has to find out who is the one behind giving the Duke the drugs and to stop the Duke. Meanwhile, she meets the Duke’s stepson Darius who is not quite as he may seem. She’s trying to figure out how to spy and stop the Duke, and how to rope Darius into helping without revealing to him all her secrets and Darius is also trying to avoid from letting her in on his personal secrets, and at the same time are trying to help each other and avoid the budding romance between the two of them.
First off, the world is just breathtaking! I love the idea of an alternate world called The Thief Kingdom to the current reality where thieves, pirates and cutthroats thrive. Where The Thief King rules and his daughters are known as the Mousai. They are rare magic users that not many know even exist in the real world. This world also gave me the impression of a Robin Hood type world. They may be thieves, but they only steal from those that don’t deserve or who are monsters and take care of those in the kingdom who need help. It’s a really interesting concept, and there’s so much more to the world! I look forward to reading more in the next book!
Aside from the world, I liked and disliked the characters at the same time. I’m all about sarcasm, I love it, but there is a point where you need to let the sassy comments go and take things a bit more seriously. And Lark, at times, really didn’t know when to just stop and it irritated me at times, which bums me because I actually really liked her character, but sometimes I wanted to smack her! And then Darius I adored, but he kind of just let her do her thing instead of standing his ground. I would have put my foot down more often than he did, but I guess was just his character
This follows Larkyra, or Lark for short, who has just come of age to do missions for her father the Count of Jabari. She’s sent to on her first solo mission to spy on the Duke of Lachlan who has been taking, stealing and using a drug called Phorria that is magic siphoned from magic users illegally and used as a drug to give non-magic users a high and the illusion of being able to wield magic. Lark has to find out who is the one behind giving the Duke the drugs and to stop the Duke. Meanwhile, she meets the Duke’s stepson Darius who is not quite as he may seem. She’s trying to figure out how to spy and stop the Duke, and how to rope Darius into helping without revealing to him all her secrets and Darius is also trying to avoid from letting her in on his personal secrets, and at the same time are trying to help each other and avoid the budding romance between the two of them.
First off, the world is just breathtaking! I love the idea of an alternate world called The Thief Kingdom to the current reality where thieves, pirates and cutthroats thrive. Where The Thief King rules and his daughters are known as the Mousai. They are rare magic users that not many know even exist in the real world. This world also gave me the impression of a Robin Hood type world. They may be thieves, but they only steal from those that don’t deserve or who are monsters and take care of those in the kingdom who need help. It’s a really interesting concept, and there’s so much more to the world! I look forward to reading more in the next book!
Aside from the world, I liked and disliked the characters at the same time. I’m all about sarcasm, I love it, but there is a point where you need to let the sassy comments go and take things a bit more seriously. And Lark, at times, really didn’t know when to just stop and it irritated me at times, which bums me because I actually really liked her character, but sometimes I wanted to smack her! And then Darius I adored, but he kind of just let her do her thing instead of standing his ground. I would have put my foot down more often than he did, but I guess was just his character
susannah_h's review
4.0
This was a very nice middle of the road fantasy/romance novel with some pretty great characters. It had all the good elements and I really don't have anything like bad to say but I did find my attention and interest for this book waning the longer I read it. I had read the second book in the series before this one, and that one was definitely more up my alley so I think this may be a result of that :(