Midnight Thief
by Livia Blackburne
It's not done!! There's another book coming out!!! :-D Woohoo!!!!
Some books honestly should not stop and thankfully the author realized we needed another story in this place with all these awesome people. This book is complete, yes, but there's MORE 'cause so much is revealed towards the END! :-D
Why 4.5 and not 5 stars? The romance is... not. Really, what romance? For me it would've been better if we left it at "what is going on, if anything and with whom?!" Because this is a self-discovery story for Kyra. The potential of romance has just enough shock value plus a whole bunch of questions and I liked it at that level. Throw in a kiss and it's like... um... it felt young to me, like we stepped back into immaturity when we were grappling with gory death less than 24 hrs ago.
Not saying the next book won't tip me into wanting to re-read both of these (5.5 for me) 'cause the world-building and Kyra, herself, knock this story outa-the-park, into home run territory.
I really love Krya. She's loyal to her own family, whatever that means to her, and she earns my respect for that even has she balances difficult decisions and grows into her skin. She's true to herself and thinks fast on her feet. She's up there with my favorite heroines in fiction.
The world is nice and gritty, with just enough chance to fight and realistic odds of makin' it (not good). Yeah, it might get a little crazy how Kyra's survival techniques are so effective, but honestly, every escape from death felt downright deadly. I mean, just getting caught, for cryin' out loud... what thief/assassin ever gets caught? That's not how stories work, right?! Well, it makes more than one awesome character vulnerable.
Let's give a shout-out to great leadership, hey? James rocks as a cold-hearted, calculating leader. Leyus takes the cake for the cave-man, gut-instinct Makvani (That is a fun word to say.) And Malikel wins for the civilized, counsel-ruled, stuck-up wall-hugging group. These three leaders give this story a sort of chess-moving strategy book where any of them might win and all deserve to.
Um... and Tristam? Compared to these three and Kyra, our loyal knight is, you know, nice. He is very nice. And kind-hearted, well-meaning... and a good strategist who overthinks things and chooses the right thing to do at great cost to himself. So, he is self-sacrificing, too.
I don't mind that Krya is in a position to rescue some of these guys, that's cool with me. She could share a little of her good luck. She gets lots of good luck and they get lots... of bad luck.
There are some really great side-kicks. Flick is a winner. He deserves more spotlight. Martin adds so much to other characters. He's one of those happy-go-lucky guys that shines the spotlight on those around him. Bella's presence in the story gives Kyra the chance to make better decisions. She's a 3 dimensional mom. The sort that don't make it into stories often. And Lettie adds a jolt of importance to everything just by being her little, vulnerable self. I even like Rand and hope he survived (I can't remember). And Pashla... the one you can't help appreciate even after you figure out who she is.
So...
My break-down is 5.5 Stars for the world-building and plot development and pace. Great pace, the story is hard to put down. Probably 3 stars for the romance and Tristam (sorry, dude!) and 4 stars for all the side characters except for the leadership. They're all 5's. So my overall score is 4.5 stars and I cannot wait for Daughter of Dusk!
