Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne Review

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne
(Midnight Thief, #1)
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; 368 pages
Rating:

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

I'm not going to lie; this book took a bit of convincing. All of my friends were raving about it and I was at least 50 pages in before I started to see why. It's not that it was bad it's just that it wasn't all that captivating. However, if you'll notice I've given this book a nearly perfect rating, so clearly the slow start didn't do anything to detour me away from my love for it. I just wish I could've felt so drawn in from the beginning BUT this is the only negative thing you will hear out of this mouth of mine (or read from the words formed in my head delivered to you here through the internet).

While reading this, I had many times where I compared it to Throne of Glass but not really comparing it to Throne of Glass. I think I was comparing it more to it's aweomeness than the story itself (I'm a die-hard Throne of Glass fan). They're both fantastic fantasies that deal with assassins in a world much different than our own. Well, not too different but different enough. But the feel of the story and the world is pretty perfect if you're a fan of Sarah J. Maas.

There wasn't much romance, which usually is an issue for me but the story made up for it where it wasn't really needed until it was and then we got it. It's worth the wait, is what I'm trying to say and you won't be depressed there isn't more because I am holding out hope for more in the second book.

I am intrigued by James. I should hate him and a part of me does but the rest of me is interested in him because he's an interesting characters. I will definitely be reading the novella now that I've finished this book, especially since I've been told that it gives some insight into his character. I'm curious about his character so sign me up!

Krya is another character, the main character, that really intrigues me. She doesn't remember her childhood, really. Flick, who kind of reached out to her ten years ago has been like a big brother to her. He's been a very important part of her life and he remains that way throughout this book. There are times when I wish she would've listened to him but honestly, how many of us ever listened to our siblings? She is smart, independent, stealthy, and graceful. We learn a lot about her throughout this book and most of it we're learning the same time she is so it's fascinating to see how not only we, the reader reacts, but how the character reacts, as well.

This is a fantastic fantasy, with many twist and turns but nothing too shocking. A great, slow build up to a romance I'm looking forward to seeing more of in the upcoming book(s). It's one I'd recommend to anyone who loves the fantasy genre because I don't think you'd be disappointed. (This is not one of my best reviews, I know this but even though I loved this book so much, putting everything in to words (without spoiling everything) was just too hard. I've been trying to write this review for days now...)