The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green- 4/5 Stars [arc review]

The new book by Sally Green has been described as the Young Adult version of Game of Thrones, and in this case I must say I agree. That is a very accurate description. They are of-course completely different stories, but they have a similar structure/format. I do caution the reader though to keep in mind this is a Young Adult novel, so don't go in expecting it to be as intense as Game of Thrones was/is. It has its moments for sure, but it is never as shocking, as intense. 

Before we get into the review, here is the blurb for you guys:

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?

The Smoke Thieves

I really enjoyed the book, specially from the half way point. Things start happening at than and the story gets more and more exciting. 

The story is told from different POV's. My favorite is Princess Catherine, she is the character with the most amount of growth through the book. She starts off as a very naive young girl leaving in a land were woman are seen as less. But by the end she has a much better view of the world, of herself, and of the future she wants.

The only thing slightly off with her is her romance with her guard. Don't worry, this is not a spoiler, their 'romance', if you can call it that is made obvious from the start. Because Catherine is so naive the fact her guard exchanged 2-3 sentences with her was enough for her to like him. So their so called romance has no background, no real reason to exist. They don't even know each other. There is another possibility for her however, one much more suiting of her situation in the end of the book, and I hope the author explores that more in the next installment instead of her 'relationship' with her guard.

The next character I enjoyed reading was Tash. She is a 13 year old demon hunter. Being 13, she is also naive, but in a fun way. I laughed at her silliness often. She is not all naive though, there are glimpses of greatness in her and I look forward to more. 

Prince Tzsayn was another character I really liked and I sincerely hope he continues as he is and there are no terrible secrets about him to come. He was sweet, honest, loyal. brave... a fantastic male character. 

I could keep on going and talk about each and every single one of the characters but I will stop here to avoid accidentally giving you all a spoiler. 

All characters are well written; all of the main characters are a tad naive and grow through the story. And towards the end, all of their paths cross in some way, bringing the story together for the next book.

The downside of Smoke Thieves for me was how slow it was for a while. But, that is to be expected when there are so many stories and characters that are not yet in contact with one another. So although that annoyed me, once you get over that 'hump' the story picks up and all is good.

Definitely worth my time!

Go read sunnies!

AUTHOR BIO

Sally Green lives in northwest England. She has had various jobs and even a profession, but in 2010 she discovered a love of writing and now just can't stop. She used to keep chickens, makes decent jam, doesn't mind ironing, loves to walk in Wales even when it's raining, and will probably never jog again. She really ought to drink less coffee. She is the author of the Half Bad trilogy. Follow her @Sa11eGreen.

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