ARC Review: The Smoke Thieves

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Viking

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Publication Date: May 1, 2018

Synopsis: A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict.

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.

As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?

Review:

I ended up really loving this book. Though admittedly, I had a hard time getting into it in the beginning. There are a lot of POVs and a lot of characters to keep track of. However, once you start learning everyone’s names and the places, it’s hard not to get completely sucked into the story. All of the characters have their own personalities and so much going on in each of their lives that you really care about what happens to them and cannot wait to return to their POV. Also, for reference there is a list at the back of the book of places and characters. Which will be super helpful when I return to the series for book 2!

I’ve seen The Smoke Thieves referred to as Game of Thrones for teens and I can definitely see the comparison. We see perspectives from different lands, there are a ton of characters, and so much death! That being said though, I think this book stands on its own just fine and is a fantastic new high fantasy world to fall in love with.

Definitely check this one out if fantasy is your thing!

Thank you so much to Penguin First to Read for sending me an ARC!