I had to mark this as dfn (down for now) because I found The Smoke Thieves incredibly frustrating. I was here for slow-burn pining between people of different classes and that... Wasn't what was happening with the princess at all. And the story arc about the young boy turning on the people who conquered his home country was irritating, because it was BLATANTLY A TRAP, and this boy just immediately goes along with the first person who tells him that everyone he knows is evil. The one story arc I'm actually invested in is the girl who's demon bait, so I'm going to go back to it for her. Just need to let the frustration ebb.

Set in a fantasy world where demons, political intrigue and, of course, romance and duty intersect with one another, 'The Smoke Thieves' is a great first book in Sally Green's newest trilogy. The story is told through five different points of view, allowing the readers to become acquainted with the main characters, their personal stories and their role in the novel's plot.

I loved every moment spent in Green's fantasy world, and I also loved her characters. Although none of the plot twists was really that much a surprise for me, I really enjoyed the narration and seeing how the stories of the five main characters were interwoven together by the end of the novel. I don't read that much YA anymore, but this book really sucked me in its world and made me feel part of it throughout my reading it.

'The Smoke Thieves' is a great beginning to a very promising fantasy trilogy, and I truly cannot wait to read what happens next.

LOVED this book and love this author. Have read her other work. Magical. Looking forward to the next book in series.

The title alone sets the most atmospheric tone for this book and after reading it I most definitely want to join Tash in her job of gathering demon smoke. I adore when books feature an ensemble cast of characters and there was definitely an abundance of personalities to relate to, the story gets particularly exciting when the lives of our protagonists crossover.

The clashes and developments of their interlinked fates are well crafted, especially Princess Catherine's character arc of dealing with an arranged marriage; she feels this is a betrayal from her family. This explores feminist values in an interesting way as the story is clearly influenced by history where daughters where often used for political gains to secure alliances through marriages.

An interesting start to a new series, I struggled in parts due to the number of characters/locations but was satisfied with how the book progressed. I will definitely read the rest of the series.

Sally Green builds worlds that draw the reader in. I was hooked from the beginning of the story and stayed hooked until the very end. Fantastic book!

A great new series by this author with battles for kingdoms, magic and demons! I read this book at a fast pace -- it was a page turner!

Absolutely adored this read. One of my favs. The story is fascinating with unusual twists and different concepts.

I was initially interested in reading this book, however my tastes have shifted and I do not think I will be able to get to it now. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital copy!

A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief.

Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands.
Five nations destined for conflict.

I couldn’t get into this story and did not finish it.

i have reviewed this book over on my blog!

https://bookdaydreamersblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/10/the-smoke-thieves-review/

Received a free copy from NetGalley

This book was not my cup of tea, the plot sounded promising enough and caught my attention but i felt the book didn't deliver

Sally Green is always a fantastic fantasy ya author who remains popular in our branches. This book for me was quite slow paced at the beginning and took quite a while to get going but nevertheless I enjoyed it and think that our readers will love it too!

i really enjoyed reading this book even though it took so long to read. It is told in 5 different points of view. First Character we get to meet is Tash. Tash is a young thirteen year old teenager who is a demon hunter. She is very brave and independent for a girl of only thirteen and someone who has lived basically on the streets her whole life being faced with danger every few days. The next character is Catherine. Catherine is our princess who is being forced to marry prince Tzsayn, a prince for Pitoria. I felt sorry for Catherine as you can really see the battle she has with trying to please her farther rather then doing what she truly wants to do and what she believes in. She still has guts thought and i love how she isn't afraid to stand up to her enemies. The next character is Ambrose. Ambrose is our siolder who really had his world turned upside down in this first book. He was the character i felt the most pain for but i was admired in how even though he was knocked down so many times he still kept his head held high. Our next character we meet is March. March is a servant to a prince but is also the traitor in this story. March was probably one of the character i felt it was hard to connect to but I'm glad he had faithful companions who went on his adventure with him. hen there was Edyon. Edyon is a theif who turns out to be a prince after finding out he is a princes bastard child. I love the setting of the book and how we saw the different characters end up in the same place from different parts of the world.
I gave this book 4 stars as there was just something stopping me from making it 5 stars and i cant wait for the second book.

If you are someone who doesn’t like changing POVs, this book is not for you. Even as a lover of fantasy, 5 different POV proved a bit too much for me.
The highlight of the story is how distinct and well developed each character is. The princess and the demon huntress being my favorites. Each of these characters brought a particular dimension to the story even though I had a tough time following all their views and the subsequent events (I get confused very easily).
The plot and world building were well handled and it has all the thrills and finesse of a high fantasy. A lot of twists were predictable and sounded a bit repetitive but the element of magic didn’t feel misplaced. The political events were well written too and the characters were so impressive, especially the female characters- strong and impressive.
‘The Smoke Thieves’ left me unsure and it took me a while to reach a conclusion about whether I would recommend it or not. But then, if you are someone who is okay with a steady pace and love fantasy, this might just be the book for you.

Although I did really enjoy The Smoke Thieves it was clear to see that this was definitely the first book in a series. The book revolved around introducing the plot, characters and world building. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, It is just a pain having to wait for the next book in the series to come out.
Overall the book was a great read, it had a great variety of characters and representation as well as brilliant world building and what I hope will be an even better storyline in book 2 of the series.

This book has been likened to A Game of Thrones, but if you are looking for something akin to that then I would not recommend this to you. If you want a Game of Thrones that is much lighter, then maybe this is for you. Ultimately this is a book that suffered from a lack of depth, both in the five POV characters and the exploration of the potential of the plot.

I’m not a huge fan of Sally Green’s work. I only made it halfway through Half Bad, which I know so many people love, and I felt bad about it because she’s kind of local. But The Smoke Thieves seemed much more my kind of thing, so I was excited to give it a go. And it was pretty good. There is some problematic stuff in there, but generally it’s solid epic fantasy, with a bunch of ragtag misfits slowly coming together to fight evil rulers. It was nothing special or different though, and parts of it were quite slow. As with any book featuring multiple points of view too, there were characters I wanted to get back to and characters I couldn’t wait to get away from. I’d have liked a book with more focus on Catherine in particular, as she had the most interesting story in my opinion, but I’m sure there are people who hated her and prefered another character instead. In short, I’m glad I got to read it, but I’m not sure I’ll be desperate to read the sequel.

4 1/2 Stars
This story follows five very different people in a world teetering on the edge of war.
Catherine is the Princess of Brigant, who is about to travel across the sea to marry a prince she’s never met - a man she does not love.
Her royal guard, Ambrose, is the one who holds her heart, but in Brigant even thought can be considered treason and Ambrose is risking execution.
Just across the border in Calidor is March, a loyal servant to the prince who’s death he seeks, the prince who killed his people.
In Pitoria there is Edyon, a thief whose future could go either way - to riches or ruin, life or death.
And in the north is Tash, a young demon hunter who makes her living trapping demons and collecting the smoke that is their dying breath.
In a world where politics are unstable and alliances rise and fall without warning, these five people are tied together by fate and a bottle of demon smoke...
I adored Sally Green’s Half Bad series so when I received a copy of The Smoke Thieves I was so very excited. I dived right in and devoured a hundred pages before even realising it. This book is exactly the kind of fantasy I adore - multiple different characters from totally varying backgrounds, many kingdoms teetering on the edge of war, politics and romance and revenge, battles and weddings and demons. God, I just loved it all.
And I went into this book with insanely high expectations. Because her Half Bad series was so very amazing, I was really expecting great things from The Smoke Thieves - and that was before it was compared to Game of Thrones and Six of Crows! But somehow, even with these expectations, The Smoke Thieves managed to outdo every single one of them. It’s such an exciting and brilliantly epic start to a fantasy series and I seriously just cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the series!
Tash was brilliant - such a badass girl! She was the youngest of the five but definitely one of the coolest! She was sassy and spirited and so funny and brave.
Edyon was definitely a favourite of mine - he was adorable. My little baby thief! He was so funny and charming and sassy and flirtatious and I just wanted to hug him!
Catherine was the character I started off unsure about - and the character I ended up adoring by the end. She’s such a strong young lady who demonstrated her power in a different way than Tash and Amrose - she used words and politics and cleverness and I just loved her.
March - first off, I ship. So hard. Secondly, I just want to give him a hug! March is a traitor but he has a good reason! Plus he’s so lost and alone and confused and I just loved the journey he went on over the book. Plus that ship guys. Just that ship.
Ambrose was another sweetheart - my little soldier, so brave and loyal and dedicated.
As for the other characters, I seriously loved Prince Tzsayn - he was so brave and kind and amazing! Gravell the demon hunter was another brilliant character. As for Catherine’s father and brother? Hate them. They can die the way Daenerys’s brother died. Preferably as soon as possible.
The Half Bad series was told in a really unique way - a style I’m not sure everyone enjoyed but one that I just loved. The Smoke Thieves is told so very differently and I just adore Sally’s versatility! Also the five perspectives? I really, truly adore them! I especially love that each character has a little picture that represents them at the top of their chapter - and that Catherine, our book loving princess, has various quotes from books at the start of hers too.
Ah, these stories! I just loved following all these brilliant characters and seeing how their lives would intersect. It was seriously just so much fun to read - in fact, it was so compelling that I actually read it during a splitting migraine! If that doesn’t show how amazing The Smoke Thieves is, I don’t know what does! But that ending, guys! I’m dying here- I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself until I get book two!
This world, guys! That map! I’m in love. I love how the characters are from all over so we see so many various parts of this world. And the demons? Such a brilliant touch! Also a terrifying one. I can’t wait to find out more about the demons and their smoke - oh and the idea of demon smoke is just so utterly fascinating and unique.
So, if you haven’t gathered, I adored The Smoke Thieves. It is such a brilliant book - fast paced and non-stop, exciting and addictive as demon smoke. I am utterly hooked to this world and these characters (especially my baby Edyon) and I need my next hit so bad guys. I need Book Two. I’m going to go crazy waiting for it because that cliffhanger! It tugged at my heartstrings and left me gaping at my book like what? That’s IT? There’s no more? Sally, why would you do this to me?
And then I dissolved into tears and passed out. Reading it with a migraine is tiring and painful, but so worth it in the case of The Smoke Thieves.
So, guys, if you like fantasies or not, pick up The Smoke Thieves. You really won’t regret it, not even one bit!

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I was really looking forward to this one. Included in the Netgalley approval email was a really interesting note from the author about the characters and the inspiration for the novel. Admittedly I never got around to reading the kindle version I got from Netgalley and I bought the finished hardcover from Barnes and Nobel and read that one. For a 500 page book I read it in just under a week.

And found it really disappointing.

About five different storylines with lots of different characters, lots of different POVs. It’s fairly obvious at some point while all these people seem so different and random that at some point all their storylines are going to cross in one way or another. I was waiting for something to happen that caught my interest. The different storylines are interesting enough, the problem I had was it all felt so…bland. The characters were kind of flat and boring.

Princess Catherine is the only daughter of a cold and uncaring king only interested in furthering his own reach and power. Catherine is set to head off to another kingdom for an arranged marriage with a prince she’s never met. A union which is supposed to strengthen ties and trade between the two kingdoms. Her cruel violent brother and a selection of armed guards will be escorting her. Only problem is…Catherine is in love with one of her guards, Ambrose. Too bad that in this reader’s opinion it’s one of the worst cases of YA intsa-love I’ve seen in a while. They’ve barely spoken, yet they’re completely dippy for each other.

Catherine is actually one of the most interesting characters, she knows she’s a political pawn and she’s quite strong willed and intelligent, she’s determined to turn the situation around in a way that advantages her, makes her appealing to the people of the new country she’s going to, learning their ways, their culture. She doesn’t just want to be a pretty figurehead with no say in anything. Especially since in her own country women seem to rarely be of any importance. One thing I found really interesting was that the women in Catherine’s country have developed a way to talking to each other, a sort of sign language that allows them to communicate without the men knowing what they’re doing or saying to each other. Catherine’s story starts at an execution for a woman accused of the highest treason. She tries to send Catherine a warning message of some sort. The first hint that there’s something going on behind the scenes.

Tying into Ambrose’s story, the guard who is dippy over Catherine. He has his own family secrets and when he starts getting involved in Catherine’s, things go badly for him.

Another storyline involves a thirteen year old girl, Tash, who is part of a team that hunts demons and sells their smoke for profit. Forbidden of course, but highly lucrative. Tash’s biggest dream at the start of the novel is getting a new pair of really nice suede boots. Another storyline is Edyon, son a tradeswoman, a cocky teen and a thief, with a big secret of his own he doesn’t even know when his storyline starts. Along with March, a servant from a war ravaged country, who’s Prince is the brother of Catherine’s father. March gets himself involved in a revenge plot.

There’s nothing wrong with the writing, the world building is solid, the political plot quite intricate, and what this reader really wanted to know is how all these people come together. Some storylines were more interesting than others. A mix of good guys and detestable bad guys, hidden agendas, secrets, twisty invasions, illegitimate children of royals, forbidden magic, forbidden love…

Yet there was something missing from this one for me. I can’t say it was a bad book because on reflection it wasn’t really bad at all. I’ve been on a big fantasy kick lately and read some fantastic books, while a lot of them have overdone tropes and storylines as this one did, this particular novel just wasn’t as good as some of the other fantasy books I’ve read this year.

I wasn’t really interested in following up on this one, but after thinking about it…yeah, I do want to know what’s going to happen after that cliff hanger of an ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for approving my request to view the title.