ARC Review: The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1) by Sally Green

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?

Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC by Penguin India in exchange for an honest review. However, all the thoughts, feelings and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It took me three different tries just to start this first book in a new fantasy series by a new to me author! At first, I thought it was mostly because I wasn’t in a fantasy binge reading; I was into mystery/thrillers when I started it all the times, so I thought it was because of my own reading tastes. So; when I started the book the fourth time; I honestly wasn’t expecting to be sucked into it. And I was hooked right in; & honestly that makes the rating and the review all the more that difficult.

This book has six different MC’s which results in six different POVS – which if you know me is like my drug of choice when it comes to books! This is the first book in the series; so I was expecting a whole lot of foundation to be laid for all the characters to meet – 6 different characters from diverse backgrounds.

But what I wasn’t expecting was to lose my interest in the plot about 10 different times, because the foundation honestly took a long time to be laid (please remember that is an ARC, so the final version just might not have this same problem!).

The plot is unlike other fantasy series for sure – there is demon smoke that is taken like drugs and violence that is as graphic as it is gory – so it is my strongest endorsement that this book NOT be recommended for at least below 16 years.

The romance is certainly with representation, so that is a good thing but my issue certainly remains that too much time was undertaken for the foundation of the characters to be laid that when the climax and / or the plot twist actually came to effect, I was already too tired of reading the book!

But I am still excited for book 2; mostly ‘cause I am hoping that since the I quite enjoyed the plot style; there will be more of action and here’s to hoping that the second book will not have this detailed backgrounds but will be full of action!