An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass
Published 21st May 2019 by Tor Books
Star Rating - ***.5
Goodreads Challenge - 41/50
I was kindly gifted a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
In Cantagna, being a sorcerer is a death sentence.
Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is caught thieving with the aid of magic, Romy's aristocratic influence is the only thing that can spare his life—and the price is her banishment.
Now back in Beggar’s Ring, she has just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it. To do so, she’ll have to rely on newfound allies—a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they'll need the very thing that could condemn them all: magic.
Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is caught thieving with the aid of magic, Romy's aristocratic influence is the only thing that can spare his life—and the price is her banishment.
Now back in Beggar’s Ring, she has just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it. To do so, she’ll have to rely on newfound allies—a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they'll need the very thing that could condemn them all: magic.
My Thoughts
I was kindly gifted a copy of this one from the publisher in exchange for review. After reading the premise I was excited to get to this one and I did enjoy the story but there were some aspects that didn't really gel with me, which was a shame.
As I said, I enjoyed the story however, I struggled a bit with the writing style. The setting of this one is based on Italy, so it has a European feel which I enjoyed. I thought the setting was interesting and the world building was great however, the writing style was very flowery and metaphorical and I found this hard to read at times. There were definitely points throughout this story that I lost the plot thread completely because of the writing style and I found myself having to go back and reread passages. This did mean that the story was a bit disjointed at times. The plot overall was interesting though but it was a bit slow. It felt like it took a while to get into the main action part of the plot however, once we got there it was great. The magic was interesting too, I liked how different people had different powers, some of which were super intriguing.
The thing I really enjoyed about this book through was the characters and their relationships. Romy, our main character, started out as a 'companion' to the Lord of this world and I thought this was done really well. The idea of being a paid companion in itself is quite problematic however, in this story at no point was Romy forced into anything she didn't want to do within this relationship which I appreciated. I enjoyed the development of Romy's character throughout the story too, especially her relationship with her brother and with her magic. I also really enjoyed the group dynamics and I loved reading the scenes with all of our characters together. Also shout out to this book for not having any romance! The main relationship focus in this book is between Romy and her brother which I definitely appreciated.
Overall I enjoyed the story and the plot and I loved the characters and their relationships but I was just a bit disappointed with the writing style, unfortunately it wasn't for me.
As I said, I enjoyed the story however, I struggled a bit with the writing style. The setting of this one is based on Italy, so it has a European feel which I enjoyed. I thought the setting was interesting and the world building was great however, the writing style was very flowery and metaphorical and I found this hard to read at times. There were definitely points throughout this story that I lost the plot thread completely because of the writing style and I found myself having to go back and reread passages. This did mean that the story was a bit disjointed at times. The plot overall was interesting though but it was a bit slow. It felt like it took a while to get into the main action part of the plot however, once we got there it was great. The magic was interesting too, I liked how different people had different powers, some of which were super intriguing.
The thing I really enjoyed about this book through was the characters and their relationships. Romy, our main character, started out as a 'companion' to the Lord of this world and I thought this was done really well. The idea of being a paid companion in itself is quite problematic however, in this story at no point was Romy forced into anything she didn't want to do within this relationship which I appreciated. I enjoyed the development of Romy's character throughout the story too, especially her relationship with her brother and with her magic. I also really enjoyed the group dynamics and I loved reading the scenes with all of our characters together. Also shout out to this book for not having any romance! The main relationship focus in this book is between Romy and her brother which I definitely appreciated.
Overall I enjoyed the story and the plot and I loved the characters and their relationships but I was just a bit disappointed with the writing style, unfortunately it wasn't for me.
Overall Rating (3.5)
I like character driven stories
ReplyDeleteAlways a shame when you can't connect with the writing style. Great review.
ReplyDeleteTo me if I can't connect with the story I stop reading. It's amazed that you continued, at least you enjoyed something
ReplyDeleteGreat honest review, sorry the writing style of this book wasn't for you, but I'm glad overall you enjoyed reading the story. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.
ReplyDeleteI hate when I can't connect with a writing style even when the characters are good.
ReplyDelete