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sofiadanielle's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A little on the fence for the 4 star rating, but 3.75 felt too harsh. I’d say this book sits somewhere below 4 for me, but nothing too severe.
Okay! With that out of the way! As other reviews have said, I don’t know that this story was the most original plot line ever (though maybe it’s just me having read a lot of Fantasy novels recently.) This book doesn’t reimagine a storyline you’ve never heard before. However, I think Pearson writes in such a way that it’s so easy to continue to read, which was an incredible feeling for me personally. You could easily sit through 50 pages of this book, feeling like only 5 minutes passed. I think this point about her writing really drove my rating being closer to a 4 star than anything.
The romance was a bit rushed, and the pacing is hard for me to get a grip on, but the story is honestly fine. I still enjoyed it enough, and do look forward to reading the second book. I will say, though, I don’t feel so driven to read the Remnat Trilogy before this series, though. Will see if that changes at all after the second book.
Okay! With that out of the way! As other reviews have said, I don’t know that this story was the most original plot line ever (though maybe it’s just me having read a lot of Fantasy novels recently.) This book doesn’t reimagine a storyline you’ve never heard before. However, I think Pearson writes in such a way that it’s so easy to continue to read, which was an incredible feeling for me personally. You could easily sit through 50 pages of this book, feeling like only 5 minutes passed. I think this point about her writing really drove my rating being closer to a 4 star than anything.
The romance was a bit rushed, and the pacing is hard for me to get a grip on, but the story is honestly fine. I still enjoyed it enough, and do look forward to reading the second book. I will say, though, I don’t feel so driven to read the Remnat Trilogy before this series, though. Will see if that changes at all after the second book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Trafficking
Minor: War
ayahelsheikh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
I somehow had no idea this was a romance book when I picked it up but it was good fun! Sometimes the talk about Ballenger pride was a bit redundant and sometimes Jase was a lil corny, but it was made up for by the intricate lore. I really enjoyed uncovering the web of secrets that Jase and Kazi kept from each other by having their voices alternate — it made the mystery (and tension) more exciting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
tinysierra's review against another edition
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
veni_vidi_legi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The first 100 or so pages are a little slower, but after that it’s very gripping. Ends on a cliffhanger. I recommend you wait to read Chapter 62 (the last chapter, about 1 1/2 pages) until you have book 2 on hand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Slavery, Grief, Child abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Kidnapping, and Blood
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
readsswithines's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not going to read nor listen to bad reviews about this book, I'm going on a highway of good books and nothing it's going to k*ll my vibe
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Blood
victoria_elaine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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? N/A
4.25
Loved this book! It was a perfect mix of romance and fantasy world building/politics kind of vibe. It starts out a little slow, but just give it a couple of chapters and you’ll be hooked! Love Jase and Kazi ❤️❤️ cute lil enemies to lovers moment but it’s predictable so I’m not spoiling dw. ALSO THE END???? (There’s a sequel btw)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment and Trafficking
mrsalexisrjones's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
This book is a dystopian possibly fantasy novel that links together the rich and the poor, the friends and foes, the enemies and lovers. It’s a dance amongst thieves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Trafficking, War, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Death
jana_f's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Trafficking, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Torture
livelaughomo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Trafficking and Blood
Minor: Miscarriage and Torture