Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

Really enjoyed Sally's previous trilogy but only got about half way through before I stopped - just wasn't feeling it. Just didn't have the same oomf as her previous books.

I only read half of this book, but I enjoyed the plot and learning more about these characters and how they were all involved together.

After loving The Half Bad series by Sally Green I was very excited to pick up her new series however this just didn't live up to my expectations, the writing fell felt and the story felt like any generic fantasy telling without adding anything new. I think I have read so many fantasy novels now that I am now wanting something special  and new from the books that I read.

This book is amazing - the characters were really great, and the world-building with the demons and what they looked like, where they came from, was really intriguing. I really enjoyed reading this one, would definitely recommend!

Before I begin, a word of warning. This book does contain some content that could upset young or sensitive readers. This includes violence, torture, bad language, (fantasy) drug use and the objectification of women. Although it's not the most graphic young adult novel I have ever reviewed, you have been warned.

The Smoke Thieves was, unfortunately, one of my biggest disappointments of the year to date. While the novel was clearly aiming to be a young adult equivalent to A Game of Thrones, it unfortunately did not make the same impact as this series. The world building was very typical high fantasy, consisting of three warring kingdoms and a vaguely described humanoid species, known only as demons, occupying the wilds.

While the kingdoms did have vague differences, they all seemed to be styled around Medieval England and thus carried the typical themes of this time period that are frequently seen in this genre. Men rule the world, women are basically second-class citizens. The poor are almost entirely subservient while the rich just tend to stab each other in the back (often literally). This was just a tad unimaginative. It's a setting that all fantasy readers have seen a thousand times before and this novel did not really do anything to stand out.

Yet my biggest issue with The Smoke Thieves was its pacing. The novel was incredibly slow and did not pick up its pace until around 90% of the way through the Kindle version. This was just too little, too late. The story is told from the perspective of 5 different characters - Catherine, Ambrose, Edyon, Tash and March - and I personally felt that this was just far too many. The characters did not all meet until very close to the end of the story and, prior to this, were thinly spread across three different kingdoms. This just stretched the story too thinly, and meant that I did not really care about any of their single story-lines due to the fact that the novel jumped around too much.

The novel also ended incredibly abruptly. The "twists" concerning the importance of Demon Smoke and the ultimate plan of King Aloysius were both a bit too easy to guess and so I had figured out this grand plan a long time before this dawned on the protagonists. As the five characters finally joined together in what could have been an exciting climax, the story just suddenly ended. This ending did not resolve any of the lose threads of the plot.

In terms of character, the novel was also incredibly underwhelming. While I really did want to like the protagonists, the way that the novel rapidly cycled through its multiple narrators made it hard to get to know them. While Catherine probably got the most development, as her escape to Pitoria gave her the opportunity to become more than just an object, none of the other characters really gained anything as the story progressed. Tash probably received the least development, as so many of her chapters were preoccupied with obtaining a new pair of boots, but Edyon and March's relationship was more of a disappointment. Their relationship started to bloom from virtually nowhere, and ultimately was not given the chance to evolve into anything.

There were also no shades of grey to be found in the novel. The villainous characters - Aloysius, Boris, Holywell - were all unrepentant cruel with no redeemable features whatsoever. The protagonists, on the other hand, were all entirely virtuous. Even March, who initially set out on his journey in the hope of avenging his town, quickly lost the heart for this vengeance as his journey intersected with that of Edyon.

So, all in all, this wasn't one that I would recommend. The plot of The Smoke Thieves is highly generic and the multiple narrators really bogged down the story. If you are looking for a new high fantasy series, there are much more engaging ones out there.

So, I read a couple of chapters of this and really just felt I couldn’t get into it. It upsets me to DNF a book, but this was one of those times. It’s no reflection on the author at all - it could just be this story isn’t right for me at this moment in time!

I was so looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I read a couple of chapters but didn't end up finishing it as I just couldn't get into it. I am very much a plot driven reader and although there was some great character development happening I was a little bit bored at how slow the plot was developing in the beginning chapters so unfortunately didn't end up finishing this one.

Really sad to say I struggled to finish this book. I think Sally Green is a brilliant writer but this story didn't hook me. 2/5

Sally Green’s Half Bad is one of my favourite books of all time, which is why I have been constantly putting off reading The Smoke Thieves. I just couldn’t see it living up to Green’s debut, and my expectations for this one were through the roof.

Unfortunately, I was right.

My main issue with The Smoke Thieves is that there are too many viewpoints. As you can see from the cover, we follow a princess, a soldier, a hunter, a traitor and a thief, and only three out of the five kept me engaged.

I wasn’t interested at all in Princess Catherine or Ambrose – they are torn apart too early in the novel for me to feel invested in their separation or any kind of desperation for them to be reunited – and I found myself internally groaning every time I encountered another one of Catherine’s chapters. This a world where there is a lot of misogyny, but the scenes where males were talking down to Catherine and disrespecting her because of her gender were ones which I felt I’d read a thousand times before. I did appreciate the fact that each of her chapters started with a quote from a piece of literature from the world as it fleshed the setting out very nicely, but I think this would have had more of an impact if she’d done the same with all of the characters.

On the other hand, I absolutely flew through all of Tash’s chapters. She’s the female half of a demon-hunting duo and all she wants is to get paid so she can buy herself a pair of boots she’s been coveting. It’s a very simplistic motivation, but it does its job – that pair of boots pushes the plot in some action-packed directions! Not only that but Green has obviously thought through the way that she wants her demons to work, and it’s refreshing to see such a different version of them – I’ve never seen anyone else’s story feature dying demons releasing a smoke which people use to get high!

I also really loved March and Edyon. March is the last member of a race which was wiped out during the war between Princess Catherine’s father and her uncle, who we discover is Edyon’s father. The dynamic between the two of them is very interesting: Edyon is instantly attracted to March so he’s very flirty throughout the majority of their interactions, while March has no idea how to feel because he’s not planning on taking Edyon home to his father after all, meaning their entire relationship is built on a lie. I’m hoping this is going to be a slow burn romance which will be exploring throughout the other two books in the series, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens when March’s original plan is revealed.

The Smoke Thieves is a very strong start to the trilogy, but I think the success of the series is going to depend on how things continue. I’m looking forward to reading The Demon World, and I’m hoping I’ll enjoy it a bit more now that my expectations have been lowered.

This book was a little bit slow paced for a fantasy book.. it had 5 different POV, so a lot of intros and build-ups, but nevertheless the climax was reached. It wasn't great at keeping me wanting to read but I managed to read it.

Sadly did not finish this book. Got about 30% through, and the narrative could not hold my attention.

Sally Green blew me away with her Half Bad trilogy, and I was very excited to receive The Smoke Thieves. A bit of a slow burner, but it certainly picked up pace in the second half. YA fantasy books aren’t always easy for me to love, but Sally Green always leaves me intrigue for more. The alternate perspectives definitely helped with giving a well round view of what was going on. I’m very excited to see where this trilogy goes!

This book was not what I was expecting. I found it difficult at time’s to keep up with all the different points of view. The book however was well written and there was a lot of fantasy and the world building was amazing.

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.

I didn't finish it. It was not my cup of tea. I was hoping it will be better than Half bad, but it was worse.