I absolutely loved Sally Green’s Half Bad series growing up. It was dark, it was gritty, and it was unafraid to give us characters and heroes who were human, and deeply flawed.
With that in mind, I turned to The Smoke Thieves with great excitement, expecting… I don’t know, Sally Green concentrated? More brilliance, definitely.
What I personally got from it was a mixed bag. The Smoke Thieves is set in a fantasy universe where competing kingdoms squabble for power, armies are on the move and, in the cold north, trappers hunt demons, the smoke of which sells for small fortunes. It’s a huge, sprawling universe, and without any ado we’re plunged straight into the middle of it, into the lives of a tumultuous variety of characters- from Catherine, the princess whose father is selling her off into a marriage she doesn’t want, to Ambrose, whom she loves, to Tash, a demon trapper, to March, an orphan from a conquered land who wants revenge for the murder of his people…
It’s a dizzying array to get used to, especially as we’re treated to chapters showing each character (and more)’s point of view. It’s a bit much to take in, to be honest, but where Green excels is quickly and deftly creating characters with their own distinctive voices, personalities and character arcs. It’s a feat to how skilled an author she is that I ended up caring about all the people in the story- and that each of them develops in a realistic way over the course of the novel. I especially liked reading about March, the downtrodden servant who gets radicalised and happens to fall in love with the prince, Eydon, that he’s kidnapping- the romance that blossoms between those two is remarkably sweet and natural, and are perhaps some of my favourite scenes in the book.
It’s when the plot starts to unfold, though, and characters intersect, that things start to get interesting- and messy. One problem I had was the sheer number of plates that Green sets spinning, right from the start: seemingly unconnected, you’re faced with several plot threads that don’t seem to bear any relevance to each other. Indeed, some of the questions asked at the start are only answered right at the end, at the point where I’d forgotten completely what they were. It’s as though Green is having too much fun playing in and testing out her new world to focus on anything as mundane as plotting, and the story, for me, sagged a little in the middle- before taking off into the stratosphere in the final act, where so much happens that my head was left spinning.
For me, the real joy was in getting to know the characters and seeing them grow- from Catherine’s gradual growing in confidence, to March realising that perhaps what he wants is different to what he first thought. By the end, I didn’t want to say goodbye to some of them- so needless to say I’m looking forward to the next book!
Interesting and exciting, this is definitely one for your summer reading list.

I loved this book even though it did take me a little while to get into with so many POVs as I'm not used to 5 POVs in a book. But as soon as I got round that I got sucked into this world. I think it definitely helped that all the POVs had me guessing how they would all come together in the end. I also adored the little illustrations at the beginning of each chapter that showed which character would be narrating, it was a nice little touch!
Definitely can't wait for the next installment!

I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1) from Penguin Random House UK & Netgalley. 

This is my true and honest review of The Smoke Thieves (The Smokes Thieves #1) by Sally Green. This is due to be published on 3rd May 2018

This is the first book I have read from this author. After reading this I am sure I will give the Half Bad Series a try. This is a high fantasy book told from many points of view. These characters are interlinked with each other in different ways. The characters are likeable and made me want to learn more about them. The story does give you Game of Throne vibes but in a good way. This is book 1 and will defiantly be carrying on with new series. This kept me on my toes all the time reading it and would highly recommend giving this a try when its released.

Great book for fantasy lovers and multiple POV’s and high fantasy.

Earlier this year I finally read Half Bad, and while I wasn’t quite so taken with that book I still wanted to give this one a go. This sounded so much more up my alley than her previous series. Unfortunately this is a typical mediocre young adult fantasy. 

The Smoke Thieves is Sally Green’s adventure into an epic high fantasy. Unlike Half Bad this book is written in five third person point of views, alternating each chapter that tell three separate story lines that find each other in the end.  While the synopsis talks about 4 characters we get 5 point of views which I found a little odd. The ones talked about in the synopsis are Edyon, March, Catherine and Tash. And jumping along for the ride is Catherine’s body guard Ambrose, because you guessed it, love interest. 

The thing with The Smoke Thieves is that it doesn’t stand out.  There is very little that is surprising about this book from the princess that gets shipped away to marry to the thief who turns out to be a prince to the reason why the war started. I’ve read a lot of fantasy. I read it 98% of the time. I could guess everything happening. 
I could have forgiven that if the writing and characters had been stellar but unfortunately for me that was not the case either. The writing is dry in places. Too much tell and no show. The pacing is off and some short chapters felt like fillers added in just so that character got their usual chapter in the format of alternating between the characters.  I also have absolutely little idea of what Brigant is really like and it felt as if we got not nearly enough of what Pitoria is like because we spend most of the time in the forest or on plateaus.  There were attempts at getting to see the people with Catherine but even those felt half hearted.
 
The characters are okay. I took a straight liking to Tasha. As a 13 year old with a very cutting and straight forward personality, she stands out from the others.  But unfortunately in the role that she gets she doesn’t get to shine at all and I genuinely wonder what her importance is to the story. And it is a shame because I think if she had been more of a focus we could have gotten a very vibrant story. 

As for the others they are okay but just do not stand out. There is so little there to hook me. I could like Edyon, March and Tsazyn. I see smidges of characters I could genuinely like, but I’m not getting everything with them. Just a portion, not the whole character. Or that is what it feels like to me. As the story progressed that got a little better. 

I think from where the story left us, in the middle of a war, there is a chance for this story to take a leap forward because the idea of the smoke, the smoke thieves and the demons is an interesting one. It just did not come forward well enough in this book. And I’m just not sure I am interested enough  to want to read it.

I received an advance copy of The Smoke
Thieves by Sally Green from Net galley in return for an honest review. This book will be published on 3 May 2018 by Penguin Random House.

This book is the first in a new Young Adult, fantasy series. Those who are fans of the Half Bad series will surely enjoy this book.

The book is set in a fantasy land the main locations being Brigant, Calidor and Pitoria. 

5main characters take turns in telling their story. A princess - Catherine of Brigant forced to learn the lesson on the fate of a traitor by watching the sister of her bodyguard be executed. Prior to the execution a sign is communicated to Catherine which she subsequently tries to decipher. The soldier and bodyguard of Princess Catherine, is anguished at the execution of his sister. When his honour is questioned in regard to his relationship with the princess he defends himself then flees. He seeks to discover the truth about his sister. March (the traitor)is a servant of the King of Calidor however is unhappy at the lack of help the King gave his people. He seeks revenge by travelling to locate the illegitimate son of the king and hand him to the King of Brigant. Edyon is the thief and the illegitimate son of the King of Calidor. He steals some demon smoke and ends up on the run when he is caught with it. March aides his escape and tells him he will take him to his father. Tash and Gravell are demon hunters who take the illegal smoke from demons and sell it. When a bottle is stolen from them they set out to retrieve it.

The 5 character POV is well written in my opinion. Each of the individuals had stories that were intriguing in their own right. The way in which these stories converged resulted in my opinion in an interesting conclusion to book 1.

I would say that Tash was my favourite character she comes across as strong, feisty and opinionated. I also liked Catherine as she is also a strong character despite her challenging family background. She strives to be better morally than her family. 

Character and plot development was good however with the first book in a series there are always threads and questions left unanswered. This is the downside of receiving an advanced copy as there is even longer to wait to get answers.

Depending on how the second book develops I would love to see a POV from Prince Tsayn who struck me as humorous / sarcastic but kind and well measured. Also Prince Boris who came across as arrogant, self righteous and a bit of a (trying not to say a bad word) bully. 

I really enjoyed this book and have given it 4 stars as there is the wait to resolve the unanswered questions. I would recommend this book for readers of fantasy.

At the time of writing due to the book not having been released I have reviewed on goodreads however I have been unable to review on other sites. This review will be put up when it is possible to do so.

#NetGalley
#SmokeThieves

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green is a new fantasy series that revolves around the lives of five people. A princess, a soldier, a traitor, a thief, and a demon hunter. These people dwell in different parts of this fictional world. They have their own paths and problem before destiny brings them all together to save the world from a cruel king and his mad plans.

“War is often seen as the end, but often it is a new beginning.”

What I liked about the book:

The Premise. Demon Smoke is kind of a drug inhaled for pleasure. It’s acquisition and possession is illegal. But it also has properties that can lead thousands on the path of destruction to acquire it.

The world building is lovely. I fell in love with the land of Pitoria and its culture. I wish there is more of Illast in the next books. Reference to this exotic land where women are free and independent has me intrigued.

“People dismiss, belittle or ignore women. But when I represent my country I am not a woman: I am a land and a people and a queen” – Queen Valeria of Illast

There are a lot of characters in the book to start with. But the narrative steadily removes the unwanted characters and brings the rest of them closer towards one destination and one goal.

Characters. All the characters have their own point of view. We get to know each one intimately as they trudge through their lives, facing their own challenges, and end up together. My favorite characters are Catherine and Tash.
Catherine is a princess who has always lived an oppressed and dependent life. But once in Pitoria, she grows and develops into a loved queen-to-be with her wit, charm, and courage.
Tash is a fierce young girl who knows no fear. Her character is a contrast of innocence and crime. I loved her loyalty to Gravel. She does not forget to care about him even when she is struggling for her own life.

I liked the steadily growing romance between March and Edyon. Even though Edyon is frivolous and soft, he cares about March deeply. It will be interesting to see where their relationship grows given that March is reluctant to admit his feelings and that one of them is a prince.

Action packed scenes is another part I enjoyed reading.

What I feel was lacking:

I found the progress of the story slow. At the end of this first book, we only know the background of various people involved and how they ended up together.

To make the multiple narratives seamless, a lot of information is repeated. This made the story verbose.

Recommendations:

It was an enjoyable read, though a little slow. But I think it is a promising series that can get readers hooked.

I received a free ARC of the book. Many thanks to Netgalley and the Penguin Random House for the opportunity.

The Young Adult Fantasy market is becoming a tough sell as it is reaching saturation point with a number of clichés. This book hasn’t fallen into that trap. The story is told from a number of povs, each of them interesting in their own right. Though there is a stock boy/girl romance with hints of a triangle to come, this really isn’t the main focus of the story. 

A twelve year old girl and her master are illegally killing demons for their smoke/blood. A seventeen year old princess is leaving the care of brutal father and brother for an arranged marriage. A royal guard investigates the circumstances of his sisters execution. A sixteen year old survivor of a genocide seeks vengeance on the king who saved him but failed to save his people. A nineteen year old fatherless kleptomaniac finds out he has a bright future, maybe.

The stories of all these characters run parallel for quite a while which at times felt like hard work and a bit too drawn out. However, I felt a growing excitement as the storylines began to converge. I’m not sure where this story is heading but I want to find out.

If you love multiple viewpoints and strong fantasy worlds, you should enjoy this one.

For me, a book like this is driven by it's characters as much as it is the plot. I loved everyone. My favourites were Catherine, Tash and March which is three out of the five main characters, I do really like Ambrose and Edyon too I'm picking favourites from a really great bunch. If I have to pick one, I'd probably choose Catherine, but Tash is a very close second.

Catherine is fierce. She’s knows what’s right and wrong and at least where her brother is concerned, she is willing to stand up for it. Being a woman, even a Princess is a dangerous thing in this story, not unlike the real world in some instances. Catherine is a second class citizen despite being of royal birth, daughters are good for one thing and that’s marrying off. Living a sheltered life, Catherine didn’t get to socialise with many people who weren’t her maids or guards. One of those guards was Sir Ambrose.

Ambrose is honourable and kind and smart enough to know that any feelings he has for Princess Catherine must be kept hidden. Even a look can be trouble, and trouble occurs. 

Tash is a little spitfire and gave me Arya Stark vibes, who is one of my favourite literary characters. As well as being a badass and a demon hunter, I loved how obsessed with boots Tash was, it was a fun little detail that stuck with me. She’s a tough nut and a warrior at heart, but she’s still a girl who likes nice things -which I thought was great. Too often strong female characters are written without any female stereotypes, like an addiction to shoes. Tash can fight a demon and be fashionable and I love her for that.

March has been betrayed by the king he thought had always had his back, now he's out for revenge. He is one of the few remaining Abask people, those who do remain are in some kind of service to royals, this leads March and fellow Abask surviver Holywell to seek out the kings bastard and potential demise. March's storyline is going to really shine in book 2 I can tell, and I can't wait for that. 

Edyon is another character who is going to have a great story in book 2, I can't say much more without spoiling things -but you will love him too. 

This is a very political story with a lot of references to drug use (inhaling demon smoke). So while this is a fantasy story there is a lot more going on than just knights and princesses. 

The comparison to Game of Thrones/A Song Of Ice and Fire was more to do with the format in my opinion, there would have had to have been sex and dragons for it to be totally Game of Thrones. There was a lot of swearing and violence and the inhaling of demon smoke, which is a form of drug taking. Like with GOT, I couldn't one hundred percent work out how the characters were going to fit around each other, but I knew one day they were going to meet and I was so ready for it.

The end of this book, no spoilers, has set up the next one perfectly. There was a lot of build up to a sudden and dramatic climax, even if you didn't completely get on with this book I think you're going to want to read the next one just to see what happens and whether certain characters get together, oh yes, there's one of those relationships for you to ship like mad for the next year or so while we wait for book two. 

Sally Green has fully captured me with this new series and I already find myself at a loose end without more. The Smoke Thieves is released on May 1st and I recommend you pick up a copy even if it is because the finished book is gorgeous and is complete with sprayed purple pages, I know I'll be getting one.

I have had my eye on this book for a little while, and naturally I was beyond excited when I received a copy from Penguin Random House to review it! That being said, receiving this book has in no way affected my review of the novel. Overall, I thought that this was a really good fantasy novel, and a good first book in the series. However, I did have a couple of issues with it.

One of the things that I disliked about the novel is the multiple perspectives. Personally, I am simply not a fan of it because I almost always find one character I like the most, and so I end up almost skimming through the others to get back to my favorite. Again, this is a personal preference, but in the novel, I felt like there were some characters who were incredibly interesting and relatable, and a few POVs that I simply did not really care about.

That being said however, Green has successfully created an incredibly expansive world, and one of the benefits of reading from the multiple POVs is that you got to see the many different sides of it. Again, I did have my favorite characters and so I tended to focus a little more on their settings - however, that is arguably a flaw with my reading style, and not the book itself.

There was also incredibly interesting character development, occurring with the different characters in the different storylines. Perhaps it occurred maybe a little quickly sometimes, but overall, Green did a very good job justifying the progress of the different characters.

I also feel like there is a little inconsistency with Greens writing - sometimes, it is absolutely fabulous and spot on, other times, the dialogue felt forced and unnatural. For example, when Catherine is developing as a character and becoming more assertive, I felt like the character development happened exceedingly quickly, and the ways she communicated with other characters just felt a little bit off.

On the other hand, I thought that Tash was absolutely excellent, and the diction Green used when writing from her perspective was pretty much consistently spot on.

Overall, I thought that this was a solid fantasy novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - even if there were a couple of inconsistencies and some awkwardness at times.

I wanted to like this book much more than I did, it has a promising premise but seems to fall a little short on this. There are too many POVs which spreads the story very thin and didn't allow enough time for me to get interested in each individual character as we would be swiftly moved onto someone else and cycle through multiple people before we would return by which point, the intrigue for that character has diminished. Perhaps because of this the chemistry between characters, especially the two pairs who could potentially be romantically involved, fell flat and felt forced. 

This is definitely a series which will be aimed at older teenagers and beyond with plenty swearing and gratuitous violence which may be unsuitable to younger readers. The world building felt akin to the first layer of a painting, it's thin but it there ready to be build upon in future books. Much like the multiple characters really. This book really felt like it is there to set up a series, a super-duper extended prologue if you will, which meant that it missed some punches - at least for me - in reader engagement throughout. I hope to see the next book will feature less characters or be split into two parts allowing the reader additional time to connect with the characters. For that alone, I will probably pick up the next book when it is released as it is promising but just veered off the mark for me. It's not dead in the water though, it is redeemable.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to finish this book before the expiry date. However, based on what I managed to read, I will be buying it for my library. A fantasy set in a medieval type world with three kingdoms jostling each other for dominance, it's definitely for young adults due to language and violence. It had the beginnings of an exciting story with love interest and the political maneuverings of those in power. There were a good number of characters all well drawn and believable. I have to reserve the 5th star for a future date when I hope to read to the end.

3.5 STARS

For the first book in a series, Smoke Thieves introduced an intriguing array of characters and set the scene nicely for the following books. However, as a fan of more intricately-plotted fantasy with a real emphasis on world-building this book failed to make a lasting impression on me. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to fans of light fantasy for sure, but I'm still undecided as to whether I'll continue the series. 

The story takes place across three kingdoms Brigant, Calidor and Pitoria, and shifts between multiple perspectives. The characters were the best thing about the book. Our POVs represented a real spectrum of backgrounds and characteristics, and they all had something which helped the reader relate to them. For the majority of the book, the main characters are set on different paths but they're all tied together nicely by the end. The best relationship was the friendship between Tash and Gravell, who have made a career hunting demons together. You just have to ignore the fact that he technically bought her off her family (she didn't like them anyway). 

I'm not usually a fan of the romances that tend to populate fantasy novels nowadays but I didn't mind Catherine and Ambrose's not-so-secret pining for each other because at least it didn't dominate their respective chapters. They both interacted with different people and had concerns outside of their love life so I'm willing to let this glaring cliche (princess betrothed to prince falls for sexy bodyguard instead) pass. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading Smoke Thieves and liked every one of the characters, which for me is high praise indeed. It just lacked the colour, the spark, that other more noteworthy fantasy novels have. But, as fantasy series go, this one is shaping up to be pretty decent.

An absolutely brilliant read. The kind of book which you can't wait to finish yet don't want to end. A fresh new fantasy, with intrigue aplenty. Well drawn characters who are easy to love or hate. I couldn't put this down.

I absolutely LOVED this book. 

The book starts with 1 of our 5 main characters, Tash and her companion Gravell, setting a trap for a demon. I loved this opening chapter, it really gives a lot of insight quite quickly into who Tash is and what she does, as well as doing a great job of building the world that we're entering into.

Each of the characters' opening scenes works really well and what I love most about this book is how each characters' journey progresses until they all intertwine. 

This book is very immersive, I didn't want to put it down once I'd started reading. Each character faces unique challenges and struggles on their respective journeys and I couldn't get enough. I love that the characters are diverse, I think the villain(s) are really strong, hate-able characters which drive the story really well and there's plenty of intrigue with a potential love triangle and 'forbidden' love brewing that I'm really looking forward to seeing more of. 

I loved this book. The author fulfilled her promise of a strong, intelligent heroine and also delivered more in the way of the other characters who I really can't get enough of, alongside the fantastic, magical plot.

I do also have to mention Gravell, who I loved, and who almost made me cry. 

Highly recommended for fans of Six of Crows, Children of Blood and Bone, Harry Potter etc 

4.5 stars for this brilliant YA fantasy.

Fantasy books are the key to my heart – especially those that drip in detail and a back story that makes me feel like I am actually there. The Smoke Thieves was fortunately one of those books that won my heart and I can only describe it as a whirlwind of adventure.

The pace of the story did start slowly for me and I put this down to the extensive world building and the introduction of many different characters. Once I got to grips with who-was-who the pace began to pick up and I found myself engrossed.

I tend to worry when I read a book that has several character POV’s. Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this. Don’t get me wrong I love this series but it is so easy to get lost and come out feeling mega confused. The author manages to make the five different POV’s flow seamlessly into one another without causing any confusion.

Naturally there will always be preference over which character chapters you enjoy and look forward to the most, for me it was Tash and Catherine. Don’t get me wrong, the other three were still just as well written and their sub plots were just as interesting but I love reading from the perspective of strong women.

The differences between the two are obvious, Catherine is a princess who has had a very sheltered life whereas Tash was sold by her parents to a man called Gravell and is now a ‘demon hunter’. Regardless of their social status they do share one thing in common – they are strong outspoken women.

Tash thankfully gets on well with Gravell, he doesn’t abuse or neglect her – so I can assume that they consider each other family, though she is never afraid to voice her opinion or stand up to him when she feels fit. Catherine has a slightly different and worse situation. Her father and brother cannot stand the sight of her and she is treated awfully – like all woman in Brigant. It was as interesting to read how the author explores the treatment of women in this part of her world, most of the time I was incredibly angry but proud of how Catherine always remained calm.

I praise Sally for her use of diversity, we have POC as well as LGBT romance that brews (fingers crossed we’ll see more of this growing relationship in the next book!).

There is another romance in the story which is so obvious it hurts. I won’t spoil too much of it, so you can judge it for yourself.

My negatives were the ending of the book and the pace which I mentioned previously. For me the last few chapters felt rushed as a means to wrap up the story – I know I am being slightly picky but hey ho. I’m super eager for the next book because I’m in desperate need to know what happens next!

Read this book. I can’t stress how much you will fall in love with The Smoke Thieves.
4/5

I really enjoyed the parallel storylines, but definitely rooted for some characters over others! I was THERE for the LGBTQ+ rep and I loved their growth.  It was cute, flirtatious and relatably awkward - a highlight of the book.  I thought that in general the characters were pretty well rounded and the court of Brigant was awesome and twisted.  I read it in one sitting!

Although this book was quite difficult to get into, I liked it. It is about five different characters with very different stories, some of which know each other.

I liked how you found out about all of the characters’ backstories as I thought it was very creative. I think my favourite character is Tash because she is extremely brave and has an interesting life.

Some parts of the book were quite gruesome, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is a bit squeamish. It is a different book to what I have previously read and I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars; even though I enjoyed parts of it, some parts were hard to follow and I felt irrelevant to the story.

Review by Joanna aged 12

I didn't manage to write a full review of this one, mostly because I finished it at 2am despite being completely exhausted. That it itself suggests I enjoyed it -- I definitely felt engaged with the storyline and found the worldbuilding interesting. I was disappointed to realise it wasn't a standalone, though, as the ending was rather a cliffhanger and didn't quite have the resolution I was hoping for. What I didn't like was the writing style, which surprised me, as I've enjoyed Sally Green's books in the past. It felt clumsy and kind of unpolished, and that stopped me from getting into the book as much as I'd have liked. 

Real rating: 2.5*s. Come on, NetGalley, it wouldn't be that hard to let us do half-stars...

I was luckily enough to be gifted an arc of this by netgalley and the publisher and to them, I would thank. The smoke thieves follows four teenagers who must save the world. Sounds like every other YA book doesn’t it? I will say you are wrong on that one my friend. As you get further and further into the book you realise that you are more divulged from any other YA book you have read before. But anyway, this book follows Princess Catharine who is having an arranged marriage for political reasons, March, who is a servant who wants revenge for his people, Edyon, a petty thief who steals just for the fun of it and Thirteen year old Tash who is running for her life. All of these povs come together and make an irresistible story that is told. I have loved Sally Green’s writing since I met her at YALC when I first got her to sign my edition of Half Bad so I could not wait to read this book. It definitely gave me Game of Thrones vibes. Overall, an interesting read.

4 out 5 stars.