12 Days of Giveaways – Day 11 For the Young Adult Fantasy Reader

For day 11 of our 12 Days of Giveaways, we’re sticking with a young adult vibe. Today we’re offering up fantasy/adventure novels for teens. This year, I’ve read some really amazing series that were reimagined fairy tales. The Splintered Series by A.G. Howard and The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer are among my favorite to recommend at the bookstore. Both are filled with incredibly artistic renditions of fantasy worlds, with great attention paid to character development. The heroines of the stories really grow and develop incredible depths that make them absolutely irresistible reads. With that in mind, I hope you’ll give the books below a shot. Giveaway instructions follow the book blurbs.

Wrecked by Anna Davies – Ever since the death of her parents, Miranda has lived on Whym Island, taking comfort in the local folklore, which claims a mysterious sea witch controls the fate of all on the island and in its surrounding waters. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe things are out of your control.

But then a terrible boating accident takes the lives of several of her friends, and Miranda is rescued by a mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. Consumed by guilt from the accident, she finds refuge in late-night swims—and meets Christian, a boy who seems eerily familiar, but who is full of mystery: He won’t tell her where he is from, or why they can only meet at the beach. But Miranda falls for him anyway…and discovers that Christian’s secrets, though meant to protect her, may bring her nothing but harm.

Seductive and compelling, Wrecked brings a contemporary, paranormal twist to a classic enchanting tale.

(Giveaway is a paperback ARC)

Omega by Lizzy Ford – In a modern world ruled by territorial Greek gods, the human race has been oppressed, exploited and now, nearly destroyed by the constant infighting of gods.

However, a human girl with the power of a goddess is coming of age. Alessandra is the Oracle of Delphi – the last prophesized – and bears the mark of the double omega. Soon after she turns eighteen, Alessandra is told her destiny: to step between the warring gods and the human race and save her world from certain ruin.

For the gods, her appearance marks the beginning of the end – their end. They and the Triumvirate – leaders of the human elite – who serve them will stop at nothing to preserve their power.

Alessandra emerges from the forest where she spent her life hidden from gods and men and immediately plummets into a race against time, gods, and herself to discover who and what she is in a world where everyone she meets has a hidden agenda, and those pulling the strings remain in the shadows.

Before she can determine exactly what kind of savior her world needs, she must first master her power by completing three trials devised by the Triumvirate to enslave her.

One lone girl stands between warring gods and the people she’s destined to protect, but it’s the battle to understand who she is that she must win first.

(Giveaway is a paperback ARC)

Vanish by Sophie Jordan – To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

(Giveaway is a hardcover)

Giveaway Instructions – (Special thanks to Simon and Schuster and Captured Press for our giveaway ARC copies!)

Three lucky winners will have the opportunity to win ONE of the three books listed above! For your chance to win simply leave a comment below about a young adult novel you’ve enjoyed reading.  Comments will be accepted through midnight on Thursday, December 31, 2015.  The winner will be picked at random and announced on Friday, January 1, 2016.  Open to US residents only. Good luck!

12 Days of Giveaways – Day 2 – The Thieves of Legend (Michael St. Pierre #4) by Richard Doetsch

Day 2 in the 12 Days of Giveaways here! Today I’m giving away a great adventure book that I was lucky enough to read last fall. It’s entitled The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch and is the fourth in his Michael St. Pierre series. Instructions on how you can win a copy follow the book and author blurbs below. Good luck!

From Goodreads:

The next ingenious thriller in the Thieves series after The Thieves of Darkness —reformed thief Michael St. Pierre and his crew travel to China on behalf of the U.S. government to obtain a legendary diary that holds the clue to a long-forgotten mystery.

In a baffling world where East meets West and ancient meets modern, a horrific act sets former thief, Michael St. Pierre, on the trail of a mystery with roots more than a half- millennium in the past. Michael and his ex-girlfriend KC Ryan are coerced by a U.S. Army colonel to travel to opposite ends of China, each responsible for stealing an artifact to help solve an ancient puzzle. With their lives depending on each other’s success, they face off against the complex underworld of the Chinese triads, a twisted female assassin, and a madman whose only desire is to possess the secret held within the pages of a diary supposedly lost to time—a secret that would give him frightening power and lead to the downfall of nations.

Moving from the glittering casinos of Macau to its dark and dangerous backstreets; from the palace at the heart of China’s Forbidden City to the medieval castles of Spain; from the seaside mansions on the Amalfi Coast, to an uncharted pacific island, Michael is in a race against time to solve the riddle and save KC from certain death.

About the Author:

Richard Doetsch is the bestselling author of five previous thrillers, including The Thieves of Heaven, which is currently being developed for film by Twentieth Century Fox, and The 13th Hour, which will be adapted by New Line Cinema. He lives in New York with his family. Visit his website to find out more. You can also connect with him on Twitter.

Giveaway

One lucky winner will have the opportunity to win a hardcover copy of The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch!  For your chance to win simply leave a comment below.  Comments will be accepted through midnight on Wednesday, December 31, 2014.  Winner will be picked at random and announced on Thursday, January 1, 2015.  Open to US residents only.  Good luck!

Kim’s Guest Review of Pirates and Prejudice by Kara Louise

If you’ve ever wondered what Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice would be like as a pirate wonder no longer. Kara Louise has written a tale that puts Darcy aboard a ship on the high seas, while he pretends to be a well-known pirate captain. How he got there, why he agrees to the ruse, and how Elizabeth reenters his life are just three of the elements of this unique story you need to read about.

Creative, fun, and (at times) laugh-out-loud hilarious, Pirates and Prejudice is a story you’re going to want to get sucked into.

For a direct link to my review, click here.

Todd’s Review of The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd

At a time when the average temperature across America is a balmy negative 300 degrees, it was a nice change of pace (and scenery) to read Lloyd Shepherd’s The Poisoned Island, which partially takes place in Tahiti.  It was an altogether warmer and intriguing story that kept me from thinking about the chills outside!

From Goodreads:

LONDON 1812: For forty years Britain has dreamed of the Pacific island of Tahiti, a dark paradise of bloody cults and beautiful natives. Now, decades after the first voyage of Captain Cook, a new ship returns to London, crammed with botanical specimens and, it seems, the mysteries of Tahiti.

When, days after the Solander’s arrival, some of its crew are found dead and their sea-chests ransacked – their throats slashed, faces frozen into terrible smiles – John Harriott, magistrate of the Thames river police, puts constable Charles Horton in charge of the investigation. But what connects the crewmen’s dying dreams with the ambitions of the ship’s principal backer, Sir Joseph Banks of the Royal Society? And how can Britain’s new science possibly explain the strangeness of Tahiti’s floral riches now growing at Kew?

Horton must employ his singular methods to uncover a chain of conspiracy stretching all the way back to the foot of the great dead volcano Tahiti Nui, beneath the hungry eyes of ancient gods.

The Goodreads description doesn’t do this book justice; Shepherd packs so much imagery and description into his prose that my imagination had to work overtime to keep up.  I could only imagine the Solander’s arrival, laden with a multitude of colors and scents as it pulled into the docks of dreary London.  This was the backdrop for a creepy murder mystery, where all of the victims were found with looks of pure delight frozen on their faces as they were brutally murdered.  The constable appointed to look into this mystery is Charles Horton.  I took an immediate liking to him, as his natural inclination to investigate connected with me intellectually, and the fact that he is an all-around good guy didn’t hurt either.  As these were the days before detective work was commonplace, Horton is forced to do much of his work alone and in secret.  What’s more, his wife is inadvertently pulled into the fray, making the level of suspense even higher.

Additionally, Shepherd doesn’t just keep us confined to London, as we travel to Tahiti itself and get to view the mystery from the point of view of a young prince.  This added another level of complexity to the story, as this point of view begins to intersect with those of Horton, Horton’s boss, the magistrate of the River Police, and the proprietor of the Solander herself, Sir Joseph Banks of the Royal Society.  With all of these characters so expertly depicted and developed, it was easy to fall right into the story from the first page.  My only complaint is that Shepherd got slightly too descriptive at times, which made things lag slightly.  Other than this, Shepherd has written a solid work that makes me excited to check out his other novel, The English Monster.

4 out of 5 Stars

The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd
Simon and Schuster UK (2013)
Hardcover: 386 pages
ISBN: 9781471100345

Special thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for my review copy!

Todd’s Review of Buzz (The Game #2) by Anders De La Motte

Fresh off of the nail-biting adventures of Game by Anders De La Motte, I was excited to see what else was in store for HP and his fight against the Gamemaker and his empire.  Not only did Game end with an amazing climactic action scene, but there was a definite cliffhanger that made me want to start Buzz as soon as possible.  I knew it was only a matter of time before HP found himself ensnared in the clutches of The Game again, and Buzz did not disappoint in this respect.

From Goodreads:

It’s been four months since he was dragged into the Alternative Reality Game that nearly cost him his life, and HP is still on the run. He has everything he ever wished for—freedom, money, and no responsibilities, but he still isn’t happy. Plagued by insomnia and paranoia, HP misses the rush and attention of The Game. Sometimes he almost wishes the Game Master would find him.

In Dubai, HP meets Anna Argos, a sophisticated and beautiful Swedish IT millionaire. When she disappears, HP is questioned by the police. Fearing he has been found by The Game, HP returns to Sweden after being released from custody. Determined to uncover the truth about Anna’s disappearance, HP uses a fake identity to apply for a job at ArgosEye, the company Anna worked for. In the business of online information management, ArgosEye is involved in some questionable practices, under the control of Anna’s husband, the CEO Philip Argos.

Meanwhile, HP’s sister Rebecca has started dating Philip Argos. When she unknowingly reveals her brother’s real identity to Philip, the police try to bring HP in for questioning again. On the run again, HP refuses to give up and tries to uncover what is really happening at ArgosEye. Before he can find the truth, HP is stopped in his tracks. Thinking he’s about to be thrown in prison, HP is taken to the outskirts of the city and left in the woods, where an elderly man hands him a piece of paper. HP believes the game is over, but is it really just beginning?

I think the best part about this series is the fact that it is multifaceted.  Just when you think that you’ve figured out The Game and HP’s place in it, your preconceptions are turned on their head and you are thrown for a loop.  Not only does this make the plot multi-layered, but it keeps you (and HP consequently) in the dark until the last possible moment.  Not only that, but HP’s overall likability and aloofness makes him an easy character to get along with and root for.  I found myself drawing some parallels between the twists and turns of this series (thus far) and my favorite TV show, LOST.  The plots of both of these franchises are complex and deceptive, and I think that’s what draws me in and makes me want to uncover the truth about The Game so badly, just as I wanted to find out the identity of “The Others” in LOST.  Therefore, it’s not surprising that I’ve rated Buzz so highly, and I cannot wait to read the exciting conclusion to this series: Bubble.

5 out of 5 Stars

Buzz by Anders De La Motte
Atria Books (2014)
Paperback: 496 pages
ISBN: 9781476712918

Special thanks to Atria Books for my review copy via Netgalley!

Kim’s Review of Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon

Four books in and The Outlander Series has quickly become one of (if not my favorite) book series. Each book refuses to be boxed in to any specific genre, allowing Diana Gabaldon to continually exceed her reader’s expectations. In Drums of Autumn, the fourth in the series, we find Jamie and Claire beginning to settle in mid 1760s America, while their daughter Brianna and her historian friend Roger continue to unravel their feelings for each other in the late 1960s.

From Goodreads:

It began at an ancient Scottish stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Dr. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice.

Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became a legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in the American colonies. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century—their daughter, Brianna….

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the circle of stones and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history … and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past … or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong….

With every Outlander book Jamie Fraser takes another piece of my heart and claims it as his. I never thought I’d ever utter those words for anyone other than Fitzwilliam Darcy, but Jamie is my favorite character that has ever been written. Every book gives us another sliver of the enigma that is Jamie Fraser. His strengths, his weaknesses. The depths of his love for Claire, for his family. He truly is the very best of men.

While the events of the book moved a little slow for me at first, the last 600 pages really flew by. Within each Outlander book I’ve found that there is a chapter that just suddenly clicks. Once that click happens the pages and story fly by faster than you realize. For the last 680 pages I didn’t even move from my chair. I became so enthralled by this story and the twists and turns Gabaldon was taking me on. The more thorough introductions to Roger and Brianna were welcome (and surprising) additions as well.

I’ve been told that the series jumps the shark a bit beyond Drums of Autumn, but I’m determined to continue. After all, who doesn’t want more Jamie Fraser?

4 out of 5 Stars

This is my twenty-fourth completed review for the Historical Fiction Challenge

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
Random House Publishing (2004)
eBook: 928 pages
ISBN: 9780440335177

Todd’s Review of Game (The Game #1) by Anders De La Motte

When I first mulled reading Game by Anders De La Motte, I was quite familiar with its premise: A main character becomes involved with a perception-altering, omnipotent company/overlord that they were not aware of previously.  It’s something I was introduced to via The Matrix and am very familiar with.  In fact, I felt so familiar and slightly overloaded with this trope that I almost passed on reading Game.  And now that I’ve finished it, I’m incredibly glad I didn’t!  It was amazing and I can’t wait to read the next two installments in the Game trilogy.

Game begins with a man named Henrik Pettersson (“HP” for short), who is an average Swede with a slight criminal streak.  HP doesn’t have many friends, lives alone in a flat, and often commits small crimes such as petty theft to finance his lifestyle of generalized laziness and the occasional joint.  One day while on the train, he finds an expensive cell phone with the number 128 mysteriously printed on the back.  Just before he decides to pocket the phone and sell it, it asks him a question.  And not just any question, it’s a personalized one: “Do you want to play a game, HP?”  Although he is slightly alarmed, HP decides to play, thinking that it is a prank played on him by a childhood friend.  However, all is not as it seems…

At the same time we are introduced to Rebecca, a member of Sweden’s Special Protection Unit, which is analogous to the US’s Secret Service.  She is everything that HP isn’t: dedicated, cold, calculating, responsible, and predictable.  She’s rising through the ranks, and finds herself protecting the Prime Minister as he travels through the country on various matters for the European Union.  However, she doesn’t know that soon her world and HP’s will soon be inexorably linked, and that she will be facing a threat to her own safety and those around her that she could never have imagined.

As I said above, I was a huge fan of this book.  It was one of those instances where the beginning hook (the whole novelty of this “game” existing beneath the surface that the majority of the public is not aware of) was just enough to keep me interested.  It really wasn’t anything to write home about, but I stuck with it to see where De La Motte was going with the whole concept.  After this beginning phase, however, I really started to become invested in HP and his place within the game.  Although he doesn’t sound like the cream of the crop of society, he does have a good heart, which made me more sympathetic towards him from the start, and once the game began to take control over him, I really started to root for him and hope that he would find a way to fight back.

Additionally, when HP and Rebecca’s stories do align, it was in a way that I didn’t really see coming.  This was the start of several interesting revelations in the book, which added another layer of complexity that I definitely appreciated.  De La Motte takes a good amount of time to delve into the back story of both Rebecca and HP, so the revelations at the end of the book are especially poignant as they tie both the past and present together in a way that left me with goosebumps.  I can’t tell you much more than that, as this is a story with such great plot points that are so important that if I gave any of them away the whole setup would be ruined!  So, go grab a copy yourself and see what you’re missing.  I guarantee you won’t regret it.

5 out of 5 Stars

Game by Anders De La Motte
Atria Books (2013)
eBook: 384 pages
ISBN: 9781476712888

Special thanks to Atria Books for my review copy via Netgalley!

Series Spotlight: The Artists Trilogy by Karina Halle

Kim here. Back with another Series Spotlight post! I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed putting them together.  In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a serious series book binger.  I find the first book in a series, enjoy it, and then need to read all of them ASAP.  It makes trying to describe each book as a single entity more difficult, as the series blends together as I progress through it.  Karina Halle’s The Artists Trilogy was one such series.  One story, told through three books and a novella, The Artists Trilogy is the perfect reading choice for anyone who loves anti-heroes.

This dark, gritty, crime-filled series had me hooked from the get-go.  Halle’s characters are an anti-hero lover’s dream.  Ellie, Camden, Javier, and even Gus are people you’d never expect to find yourself rooting for.  Ellie is a con artist, dealt some shitty blows in life.  Her parents were also con artists, and after one of their cons goes wrong she finds herself with a bad acid burn on her leg. The revenge she’s sworn on the man responsible for her leg is what drives and motivates her. Camden, on the other hand, was thrust into a life of crime when he married the wrong girl.  His ex-wife’s brothers were into some bad shit and forced him to become a money launderer after the divorce. While deep down he’s a great guy with a great heart, he is capable of some serious “dirty work.” Javier isn’t a true anti-hero, at least not in my opinion (I believe him to be one of the villains of the piece.)  He runs a cartel and is Ellie’s former lover.  She left him after she found out he was cheating on her and has been on the run ever since. Finally, we come to Gus.  Gus is a former cop who is now into forging ID’s, license plates, etc.  He was a friend of Ellie’s parents and helped them (and later Ellie) with several cons over the years.

Now that you’ve met the cast, we should move to the story.  Ellie has spent years on the run from Javier and heads back to her hometown to catch her breath and regroup.  While there she rekindles her friendship with Camden, a former friend from high school.  She realizes something isn’t quite right with his situation and comes to learn of his money laundering.  She decides she wants to help him when Javier comes back into her life in full force.  After a few games of cat and mouse, Ellie is forced back into Javier’s company.  It’s there she learns that the revenge she has yearned for her entire life is in her grasp, as long as she works with Javier.

So why am I telling you about this series? First because there aren’t enough anti-heroes out there.  They need more love and I think this series helps to right that wrong. Second, I just really love the dark, gritty nature of this series.  I found this series at a time I needed a break from the “perfect” nature of romance novels.  I needed flawed characters, the triumph of evil characters, and frankly, chaos.  Halle gave me all that and more in a well-written series, and as a reader it’s my job to share that with you! If you’ve been looking for a series that is totally out of the box, filled with crime, gun fights, hot sex, and car chases The Artists Trilogy is a sure bet.

In (story) chronological order (with my ratings) the series is:

1. On Every Street (Novella) –  3 out of 5 Stars
2. Sins & Needles – 4 out of 5 Stars
3. Shooting Scars – 4 out of 5 Stars
4. Bold Tricks – 4 out of 5 Stars

Emerald Green (Edelstein Trilogie #3) by Kerstin Gier

So I’ve been harping on all of you to start reading the beautifully covered Edelstein Trilogie for months now (seriously those covers are GORGEOUS.) I hope you listened to me, because here comes my spiel on book three, Emerald Green, just released in the US on October 30th!  (If you’re in need of recaps of Ruby Red, book one, and Sapphire Blue, book two, just click on the titles for direct links to my previous reviews.)

From Goodreads:

Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is.

She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

This stunning conclusion picks up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate

As expected, Emerald Green wowed me page after page with its never-ending twists and turns.  The action, adventure, intrigue, danger, and romance that hooked me when I first began Ruby Red was definitely still present here.  Gwen’s narrative voice was just as funny as ever, but we also get a glimpse of the hidden depths to her personality.  She’s intelligent and good at problem solving.  She can think on her feet, as evidenced in several conflicts present in Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, and Emerald Green.  I also enjoyed getting to know Gideon better.  He’s always been present, but on the outskirts of the story a bit.  He steps into his own in Emerald Green and proves that he isn’t just a pawn being moved by the Elders.  He definitely becomes a character worthy of your affection in this conclusion.

The only things that disappointed me were the translations and the ending.  The trilogy was originally written in German, then translated to English.  Unfortunately, some of Emerald Green reads as if this translation is incomplete, which in turn took me out of the story at parts.  Besides that, the ending seemed a bit unfinished.  You spend three books investing yourself in these characters, their lives, their tragedies and triumphs, only to end with what I felt was a weak ending.  I don’t mean that the book ended in a way I was unhappy with, but the characters’ stories aren’t really wrapped up.  The main conflict is concluded, but there is no final conclusion to the lives of all the other characters we’ve met along the way.  Despite this, I do believe that this conclusion to the Edelstein trilogy was a fitting end to a great story.  If you’ve followed Gier’s works thus far, you won’t be disappointed in how action packed the conclusion is.  If you’re new to the series, I highly suggest that you start with Ruby Red.  It’s an adventure you won’t want to miss!

4 out of 5 Stars

This is my seventh completed review for the Color Coded Challenge

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
Henry Holt and Co (2013)
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 9780805092677

Todd’s Review of The Thieves of Legend (Michael St. Pierre #4) by Richard Doetsch

After trying out a few different genres of books recently (check out my genre snob post), I decided to go back to the action/adventure side of things and check out The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch.  Featuring Michael St. Pierre as the main protagonist, The Thieves of Legend follows Michael and his ex-girlfriend KC as they travel to China to steal ancient artifacts.  Part spy novel and part thriller, the novel is the fourth part of the Michael St. Pierre series and promises to be the most exciting installment yet.

The Thieves of Legend begins with Michael St. Pierre on a dangerous mission in Italy, working to obtain a secret file and mysterious Chinese puzzle box.  Unfortunately for him, the items are missing, and he finds bodies in their stead.  Later, after witnessing even more murders, Michael is able to escape.  Soon afterwards in New York, he is propositioned by an Army Colonel to do some clandestine contract work.  The strange part is that Michael is certain that the same Colonel was also in Italy committing some of the very murders he witnessed days earlier.  Michael flatly turns down the Colonel’s request, but a strange turn of events forces another meeting with the Colonel hours later in an NYPD interrogation room, with Michael as a suspect in a murder.  Even stranger, the Colonel has files on all of Michael’s past exploits, and threatens to expose him if he doesn’t accept this assignment.  With no other options, Michael agrees to fly to China to do the Colonel’s bidding.  Additionally, a recent fight between Michael and his girlfriend KC leads her to leave him and fly to her hometown in England.  Unwittingly, KC winds up on a different flight and finds herself working on the same plot that Michael is.  What will happen once they begin this new job in China?  Who is ultimately behind their involuntary employment?

I’m no stranger to the strong male protagonist/inferior female character dynamic in spy/adventure thrillers (i.e. Dirk Pitt, Jordan Sandor, etc), but this one seemed different.  In most of the novels I’ve read, the male lead is coupled with an adventurous but slightly inferior female whom he works with or must save at some point.  It’s not really a damsel-in-distress type of thing going on, but usually the female characters opposite the male lead are usually in need of rescue at one point or another.  However, in The Thieves of Legend KC is different.  She is just as capable as Michael and just as determined.  It was refreshing to see the conflict between the two of them and it really fleshed out their characters.  It give this story a bit more characterization, which I often feel is the weak point in these fast-paced action works.  I found the rest of the book to be exciting and more than adequate for the genre.  Michael was a likable character who didn’t overplay the hero role, and the plot twists and turns kept me turning the pages.  In all, if you’re a fan of my other reviews of the Jordan Sandor series, this will definitely be another book (and series in general) to check out.  I can’t wait to dig in to the first three books in the series myself!

4 out of 5 stars

The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch
Atria Books (2012)
Hardcover: 406 pages
ISBN: 9781416598985

Special thanks to Atria Books for my review copy!