Award: Awesome Indies: APPROVED
Categories: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Series: Highland Magic
Author: Helen Harper
Orphan. Runaway. Thief. Since the moment I was ripped from my mother’s womb, I’ve been an outcast amongst my own kind. The Sidhe might possess magical Gifts, unbelievable wealth and unfathomable power but I don’t want a thing to do with them. I ran away from their lands in the Highlands of Scotland when I was eleven years old and I’ve never looked back. I don’t need a Clan. I’ve got my own family of highly skilled thieves who mean more to me than any Sidhe ever could. Unfortunately for me, the playboy heir to the Moncrieffe Clan has something I desperately need. To get it back, I’m going to have to plunge myself back into that world, no matter what the consequences may be. I suppose it’s just as well I have sense of humour. I think I’m going to need it.
Assessed for Awesome Indies
The Amazon button should take you to your regional Amazon. If you purchase this book, the AIBA coordinator may receive a small commission from Amazon. Payment of this commission does not affect the price you pay to Amazon or the royalty paid by Amazon to the author. ~:~:~:~:~:~Available from: Amazon Author's Website
Reviewed by Katt Pemble
June 22, 2016
3 Star
Gifted Thief is an enjoyable urban fantasy read with likable and complex characters. It is, for the most part, well written and the action is peppered throughout to allow for a reasonable reading pace.
Why only three stars then?
Unfortunately, the pacing of the story in the beginning dragged quite a lot. The content was interesting, and while most of the detail helped form the rest of the book, it felt stilted and cumbersome, rather than lithe and agile like the rest of the book.
The characters were mostly really well done. Some of the extreme stereotypes were a little annoying, but they worked in most instances.
Where things got really interesting was once Integrity delved back into the Sidhe world. I’ve read a number of Sidhe related books and I’d have to say this one was one of the best for creating a great deal of complexity in their belief and power dynamics. I also quite enjoyed the clan versus clan-less theme that ran throughout. It added another dimension to the story that I’m sure will come into play later in the series.
I will probably read book 2, I am keen to see how things progress, but I won’t rush into it.
A couple of things I noticed:
78% – …now it stood as docile than (delete than, insert as) Barbie.
87% – …The only (one) who thinks you’re…
**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book through the Awesome Indies Reviewer program.**