A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. The lands of Calidor, Brigant and Pitoria are at odds. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict, and so you need to find out how...



What a fast paced, engaging read. It features through its core the arrogance of royal Brigant men, making great and brutal baddies. Predominantly this is set against the more courteous and noble Pretorian people. Then there is the devil smoke and the power it holds that is a precursor for war.



Each chapter moves between the lives and events of these teenagers concurrently, so that you determine how their lives will eventually converge. Of note some of the battle scenes and injuries are quite graphic, which some readers may struggle with, but this does well to convey the brutality of King Aloysius.



All the teenagers are very different in their nature. They encounter a plethora of people on their travels of which many are untrustworthy. The characters like the carnival depictured are colourful and somewhat exotic. There is fighting, the need to draw upon lots of wherewithal, route out deception and subterfuge, amidst some tormented romance, good looking knights and good old heroism. The female characters are intelligent and formidable in their own rights and all the characters develop nicely. Essentially everything a YA series ought to offer. Not sure I would compare it to a YA King of Thrones, but taking on board the warring families, book one definitely leaves you with a sense of an all-consuming adventure, cut throat behaviour and plenty of perils along the way.

Ok so for the first time I feel like I really don't know how to rate The Smoke Thieves. I can't work out if 3.5 is too high or too low. I really struggled for the middle third of the book and it was only when I hit the last third I felt like I actually wanted to find out the ending.

The Smoke Thieves follows five characters, a princess (Catherine), a traitor (March), a hunter (Tash), a solider (Ambrose) and a thief (Edyon). I did feel in parts that all of these points of view were a little bit overwhelming. Though towards the end of the book it did get better. I found that I loved reading Catherine, Tash and Edyon's parts but found Ambrose's kind of boring and March's really tough to read too.

I really loved that at the start of a chapter of Catherine's POV we got an except from a fictional book from the world of The Smoke Thieves. I found this really helped with the world building and helped to highlight the differences between the countries (as well as helping the reader understand Catherine too.)

I found myself most drawn to Catherine, Tash, Edyon. Though I must confess I found Catherine a little bit whiny at times, especially when it came to her thoughts regarding Ambrose. What I did love about Catherine was that she really took to adapting to her new life, and became her own person over the course of the book, it was really interesting to read. She accomplished so much in such a short space of time, and I really can't wait to see what she does in the next book!

I feel like Ambrose was simply a mirror for Catherine's feelings and there were only a few points when his narrative added to the story. Maybe one less point of view would have worked better and helped with the slow pacing in the middle of then book?

I loved Tash's character, she was bold and fierce and I found her working relationship with, and devotion to Gravell to be really interesting. I think that Tash was the most interesting character for me, and I can't wait to see where her story goes in the later books.

Edyon was just so likeable and I loved reading from his POV. I even found March more endearing through Edyon's eyes, as much as I disliked reading March's POV. I felt that the budding romance between Edyon and March was much more interesting than the Catherine/Ambrose one.

As for March, I just couldn't find anything likeable about him, I know that he background went some ways to explain it and he was manipulated by a character who I won't name as I don't want to spoil things. But I just found him too venomous, but I am hoping that the character development, which started towards the end of then book, continues in book two as I liked the way it was headed.

All in all I found that The Smoke Thieves was an enjoyable fantasy read, there were so really interesting parts, like demons and the demon smoke, and some really interesting characters. The middle section of the book was a little too slow for my liking and I feel that 5 pov really stretched the focus a bit too much. The cliffhanger ending was a good one and I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it is released.

This book was interesting from the opening chapter. It was the first multi-perspective novel that I've read in a while where I actually enjoyed all of the characters- usually there is at least one where I have to drag myself through their chapters because I just didn't care- but all the characters here were interesting and their narrative styles unique. The world felt a little under-developed, I was left wanting to know more about it than I got because there was so much potential for fascination. The book was mostly a set-up for the sequel, which also left the plot a little lacking as the closure-to-establishment ratio was a bit off. That being said, I am excited to read the second instalment

A fantastic start to a series - this fantastical book will leave you constantly asking questions as the 5 story-lines inter-cross and weave and meet, finally, at the end. There's a mixture of character with their strengths and weaknesses alike, so there's bound to be a favourite for everyone. Excited to see what happens next!

Awesome - epic characters and awesome world building! Loved it!
Never read anything by Sally green and I’m always wary of starting new fantasy series as I have high expectations but this did the trick. Fantastic!

Sally Green is back and better than ever with the first book in her new fantasy series, 'The Smoke Thieves.' It's my first foray into a fantasy with this many perspectives a la 'Game of Thrones' and, I have to admit, I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it!

All of the different perspective were necessary, and there wasn't anything overly complicated about the story. I wish the characters had been a bit quicker on the uptake too, as it felt like we were in the mode of exposition for a lot longer than I would usually have liked, but I forgave that on the basis that there were just so many characters to begin with.

Catherine was my favourite, but I also enjoyed Tash and Edyon too. When the threads started to come together, and the characters collided that was my favourite of all, though, so I'm definitely more excited for the next book in the series.

There's plenty of intrigue, and still a lot of the world-building left to explore, that's for sure, but this - for me - was an excellent start to this fantasy world! And I really appreciated the craft for balancing all of the POVs!

I received an early ARC copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard about this book I was intrigued. After reading so many YA fantasy novels with a single protagonist I was excited to read one that focused on a group, and this is definitely one of the strengths of the book. You get to see the world through so many different perspectives and from differing social classes, which makes it much more layered. I was also excited about the concept of demons and Tash was my favourite character throughout.

Unfortunately I felt like the ensemble cast feel did also detract from the book in that quite a few of the characters didn't really feel fully developed. I think Edyon, Catherine and Tash are probably the most fully realised, and while the others had their drives and motivations they didn't really have much beyond that. Additionally, the world building didn't feel particularly original, as the demons weren't really explained or even really that present, though maybe this is being saved for a sequel.

Overall I think the main problem with the book is that it's the first in a series, just the tip of the iceberg, but it didn't really absorb me much as a reader into the world. I am curious about how the story progresses but I don't know if I will buy the next book, though perhaps if it expands on the world more I might consider it.

I was so excited when I was approved to read this book, as one of my highly anticipated books of the spring. This book had 5 perspectives, with each chapter coming from a point of view of a different character. There are an abundance of different character backgrounds, from knights, princesses, thieves and demons. The use of demons in this book I found was interesting as it is not a concept I see very often in young adult literature. Overall the book was fast paced and intriguing. Sometimes the story was hard to follow because of how many perspectives there were. However this did not take away from the plot, which was in depth and exciting.

An amazing cast of characters comninated with epic fantasy and with even more epic world building gives us this phenomenal novel!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved finding out about the world this was set in – well, except for one of the countries, for the thoroughly ridiculous way the women were treated there. But I feel change is afoot and hopefully that will get sorted out by the end of the series.

This book is told from 4 points of view (pov) to start and a 5th is added a little further in, when it becomes relevant. I really liked watching this one meet that one and the other one come along and totally miss them and how they all converge – because you know they were going to, that’s not a spoiler...right?
I liked it when some of them were together and we saw the same event from multiple angles because that's my favourite thing ever.

I liked the character development of Catherine and March. I look forward to seeing more of it in book 2. They're the most different from the start of the book than any others. I’m not an Ambrose fan, because I like who Catherine is becoming without him and I want her to marry the prince! Because they never do.
I hope March follows through on his promise quickly and I hope it goes down the better way (these things always go the bad way, it's frustrating) – a throwaway line will hopefully be remembered and is possibly highly important!!! So hopefully that will impact the promise too. Is that vague enough to make sure you have no idea what's going on?
I hope so.

I’d like the POV of the prince in the next book too!
I mean, obviously these are the important folk, the ones who are going to change the world or save it or rule the ashes or whatever, but I’d like a POV from him.
And, while I don’t really want one from Catherine’s family at the same time I do because I’d feel anxious about what they are getting up to...

How long do I have to wait for book 2?!
It's not even mentioned as 'untitled' on Goodreads!!

I enjoyed this a lot more than Half Bad, not that Half Bad wasn't a good book, but I found out that the voice put me off it a lot so I couldn't really get into it. With The Smoke Thieves though, it was in Third person and so much easier to get into.

I loved the characters so much. Each character was so strong and it was great to see them coming from such different places and coming together in various ways. I think though I might have been more interested in hearing from the Prince that Catherine was engaged to though, because I would love to know his side of things, though it might have made for too many character's viewpoints because it was already quite a lot to follow.

The story was so engrossing and I can't wait for the next book to come out. I want to see how everything works out and which side of things everyone ends up on. There's deception and allegiances and doubt and it really feels as though everything could change at any point.

The next book is going to be very interesting to read.

The Smoke Thieves is the first book I've read by Sally Green and I'm sorry to say that I was left underwhelmed by it.
It wasn't bad but I feel that it has been over hyped. This has probably contributed a lot to my disappointment. Maybe if I hadn't gone in expecting a YA Game of Thrones, I would have enjoyed the story, and the characters, more.

I enjoyed this book soooo much!
The world was so realistic but also complex and the perfect setting for this type of YA book. There are honestly my favorite books to read (SJM fan here).
I really liked the multiple POV's. It took me a little bit of time to get who's doing what and so on, which was a bit confusing. That being said, I really enjoyed it once I got into it as it made it so much easier for me to actually connect with each character. The confusion is why I took a star away, because it did take a while.
There was betrayal and also a lot of fighting scenes to keep you on your toes and I would love to continue reading the series.

Rating 4.5/5

I was so looking forward to reading this book, I love fantasy books but I was also intrigued as to how each of the characters would be brought together and for what cause. I'm happy to say that I loved it.

The story is told through five points of view we have Catherine the Princess being forced into a political marriage by her father and brother, Tash a young demon hunter, March a servant who decides to seek justice for his people, Edyon a thief who finds himself at the centre of something he would never have imagined and Ambrose one of Catherine's guards who wants to protect her at any cost.

I have to say out of all of these I found Catherine and Tash's chapters the most interesting. I loved how fiery Catherine could be and how even though she was so restricted that she was still defiant in small ways and often managed to outwit those that thought of her as a lesser person. I liked Tash for her rebellious nature and her spirit, I loved the banter between her and Gravell and that you could tell they had each other's backs.

I felt like March and Edyon's part in the story wasn't quite as strong as the rest, since this book is the start of a series I know that they will probably become more central to the story but I didn't feel as gripped through their storylines. I did enjoy witnessing the burgeoning relationship between them but felt like this was the only thing I was really interested in rather than the roles they were playing in the unfolding narrative.

The flirtation between Ambrose and Catherine was something that I was definitely hoping would develop. I loved Ambrose's sense of honour and that he tries to protect the Princess no matter what the cost, but I admit that I was exceptionally intrigued by Catherine's betrothed Prince Tzsayn and I am certainly looking forward to seeing more of him. I have to say the one thing I did admire about this book was that there was no outrageous falling head over heels for someone with one glance, there were the glimmers of forming relationships but this wasn't the main concern for the characters involved.

The pace of the story was almost perfect, I liked that we got time to get to know that characters in the beginning and then as the storylines converge the pace starts to pick up as the action starts to set in. It only lagged a little for me around the middle when we were hearing more from March and Edyon but luckily not for too long and not in a way that really affected my reading experience.

I really enjoyed all the different aspects of this book, the characters, the demons and their smoke, the different nations and their customs, the politics and the treachery, it really had everything I was after. Including an ending that has me desperate to get my hands on the next book.

From the author of the popular fantasy trilogy, Half Bad comes a brand new historical-fantasy series: The Smoke Thieves. Featuring a princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief, Sally Green’s fictional world is a dangerous place for these five teenagers. From demons to tyrannical fathers, they must do their best to overcome every obstacle placed in their way to survive a world that is destined for conflict.

The five main characters are a mixed bag of personalities and status. Princess Catherine is preparing for her arranged marriage, which aims to politically unite two nations, or so she believes. Her brutally ambitious father, on the other hand, has other ideas. Ambrose, Catherine’s guard and a traitor to her father, escapes death by chasing after Catherine with news of her father’s real plans.

Meanwhile, March, a soldier whose entire family and heritage were wiped out in a war, aims to get revenge by finding his king’s illegitimate son and only heir, however, he does not anticipate the prince being the naïve thief, Edyon. March and Edyon travel through the country in the company of an elderly man until they are ambushed by a demon hunter and his thirteen-year-old assistant, Tash. All Tash wants to do is hunt demons, collect their drug-like smoke and sell it so she can buy a pair of boots, but fate has other plans, and it is all because of demon smoke.

Coming from all walks of life, the unlikely characters join forces at the conclusion of the book, preparing to face the biggest battle of their young lives. The first book of the series is an exciting introduction to the action promised in the following novels. Slow to start but growing increasingly interesting, The Smoke Thieves is an engaging story with fantastic main characters.

As a work of historical fantasy, The Smoke Thieves is a welcome change from the contemporary fantasy Sally Green has previously written. This book suggests the author has great ideas to come in the near future.

The best way I can describe The Smoke Thieves is a YA Game of Thrones. There are interesting and interweaving multiple POV’s, different continents at war, betrayal and what could be seen as a form of historical fiction with the perfect dash of the fantastical. One marked difference I found with The Smoke Thieves however is that I didn’t find myself wanting to skip or skim certain chapters because I didn’t like or wasn’t interested in a character. Quite often in the GOT books I would often sigh when seeing Sansa’s or Catelyn’s name above the next chapter but with The Smoke Thieves I was excited to get back to each and everyone of our five main characters. Also thankfully Sally Green doesn’t find it necessary to describe a banquet over 10 pages so there’s that too.
The writing style in this feels spot on, there is the right amount of tension and the language used feels right. At 512 pages it’s a little longer than a lot of YA I’ve read recently but it certainly doesn’t feel it and although the story obviously does contribute to this I feel the writing does too in that it flows exceptionally well giving just the right amount of detail and it kept me guessing throughout which I found can be sorely lacking in a genre that can become easily saturated with very similar stories and troupes. The plot weaves together in such a great, natural way and even without the (awesome) map I found it very easy to keep track of where everyone was and how close they were to each other at most times which is a nice change for a fantasy book, I’m usually having to flip back and forth to said map but that isn’t the case here.
Thanks to all the different POV’s the story feels like it stays very fresh and interesting throughout because they are all very different. Our five main characters all fit the roles of the princess, the solider, the hunter, the traitor and the thief with instantly recognisable and eventually relevant headers signalling each of their chapters along with their names and where they were situated at the time was a really nice little touch with some beautiful little pieces of art. Even when in close proximity of each other and sharing the same events they all have different takes on these situations unique to them which gives the story this great extra dimension and honestly each one felt like it could have easily have been a story all of its own.
One aspect I particularly enjoyed seeing and think is worth mentioning is the use of sign language between the ladies of Brigtane, it made sense in the kind of environment they came from and how they were forced to live as well as adding an extra layer to the way their dialogue worked. I’d really like to see maybe a chart of a few of the common or important hand signals feature in the next book if it’s at all relevant because I really enjoyed learning some of the signs.
Overall this book was just a fantastic and interesting read. It was a great start to a new fantasy series without feeling like it was overloading me with too much information but everything making sense still. I was very pleased with the ending as well, the last hundred or so pages are quite emotional at times and tears were shed but although it was in essence a cliff hanger kind of ending and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel it didn’t leave me pulling my hair out which a couple of books have done lately and it honestly just stresses me out. This was an easy XXXXX rating for me and is another book I’m very happy and eager to recommend! I picked up the paperback edition with purple stained pages but I have also been made aware there is a limited edtion purple hardback out in the UK too which I think I’m going to have to get my paws onto as well!

I really liked this book!
The world was so complex, but that also made it really interesting to read about!
I really liked the five different POV's, though it took me a while to get used to it. After the first 100 pages I was really confused about who was who and what they wanted etc., but after a while I got it again! :)
The story was full of betrayal, thievery and fighting which was cool! I am really curious about the rest of the series ! :D

This book is difficult to review. It's the kind of book that has all the makings of an excellent fantasy, but falls down on some of the finer execution.

The Smoke Thieves features five points of view, smoke captured in bottles from the mouths of dead demons and that very same bottle changing hands a number of times due to petty, opportunistic thieves and scallywags. Which I like - I mean, if that doesn't pull you in I don't really know what would. However, each of the characters has a "role", even the secondary ones. By this I mean, you could categorise them into a particular type of character. A thief, a princess, a guard, a wanted bastard child of the king, a servant, a child demon hunter and her boss - you name it, it's there, and each character is very specifically type-cast. Which is helpful in some ways because it allows you to keep track of their stories, which rarely overlap, and limits confusion. But it also limits how interesting you find them - they are each very one dimensional, never stretching out of their confined roles and as such never really developing or progressing interestingly.

Having said this, I did enjoy quite a lot of the dialogue between certain characters - I think the author really beautifully captured the friendship with Tash, the demon hunter, and her boss. They have a very whimsical, banter-filled relationship which had me chuckling. Equally, Edyon, the bastard thief, was a pretty hilarious character. But the others remained flat and the predictable romances were too obvious to be exciting.

And that's kind of the major problem. The story is actually quite a clever one, at it's foundations, but in reality it never takes off further than the first few explanatory/world building chapters. There is some problematic lack of depth and development going on here. In fact, I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that nothing really happens until 75% of the way into the book. And that's not because of some luscious world building, because that is quite simplified too, or because of fantastic character development as a standard, well-written fantasy might have. It is instead just plain slow. And I hate to say it, but I was bored.

I really thought we would explore the concept of demons, the smoke, the theft of the smoke for an exciting purpose, but honestly I don't feel as though I know a great deal about what should have been the major part of the plot. And I'm not convinced enough that it will progress much further if I were to continue on with the series, as perhaps Game of Thrones has done (which this book has been compared to as a lighter version although I'm not convinced!) so I'll comfortably leave it here.

Unfortunately I was not a lover of this book. The plot is fascinating and I did love the settings. However I found the multiple perspectives too distant and they definitely made getting into the plot a lot harder.

THE SMOKE THIEVES was a cleverly crafted tale from the beginning and a little unusual in terms of having five teens as the lead main characters. Their journeys both figurative and actual don’t seem connected but do interweave and transect as the story progresses.

Each of these teen characters live in a fantasy somewhat historical world with fighting countries, demons, illegal substances, illegitimate children, royalty and criminals. It made for a real mix of lives, classes and was colourful in every way.

I favoured the stories of Tash, the demon catcher and Catherine, the princess sent off to an arranged marriage. I think I loved these two because they were strong young women but oh, so different from one another. The other characters were also interesting in the main. Ambrose, I liked but I felt that he was only Catherine’s young, immature crush and that Prince Tzsayn cut a much more inviting character.

This book ended well, leaving much unanswered but I didn’t feel unsettled. I really think there’s more to know about the demon initially captured and about their race in particular; I specifically want more about this element. This series has lots of potential with this starting gambit and I will definitely be continuing.

A voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.