Dance of Thieves Paperback – August 6, 2019

An addicting new fantasy from one of my favorite YA fantasy authors. This book has it all. Romance, danger, conflict, fierce characters, and humor. Pearson's rich storytelling once again swept me off my feet, and had me falling head over heals in love with her characters, and their story.I absolutely loved being back not only in the Remnants world, but in a Mary E. Pearson book. This book is definitely my new favorite book of hers. It's richly detailed fantasy world set within a world I already loved. It's a new story with a rich history (which is the Remnant Chronicles), new characters, some previously introduced characters, a villain you'll love to hate, character chemistry that will you wanting more, and two characters that I absolutely loved falling in love, and whose stories I loved reading.It wasn't hard for me to quickly fall in love with Jase and Kazi. Individually, both are incredibly resilient, street smart characters who show no fear, and don't back down from a challenge. Both are on opposite sides of things, but it made things that much more interesting and complex for each other. After they find themselves in a complicated situation, they're forced to trust to each other enough to work together. It's during that time they form an deniable bond. Their bond felt right, and natural, but it also leads into their pretend relationship. Which really was my favorite aspect of the story, because while it's all pretend politically, neither can deny their true feelings, which makes things really interesting and complicated for the two of them.Having this story told in alternating points of views between Jase and Kazi was brilliant! I don't think this story would have worked any other way. It allows readers to really see the various situations that arise, and the full picture of everything that's going on both with Kazi's mission, and Jase's ruling, and now the situations between the two of them. It also allows readers to really get to know both the characters more, and understand where they're both coming from, their feelings for each other, intentions, and the reasoning behind their actions. I loved getting to know Jase and Kazi.The rest of the characters in this book are great. Having the dual povs of views also allow readers to really get to know these other characters more. From those in Jase's family, to those with Kazi, these characters all added a lot to the story. The world building is just what I'd except from Mary's books. It's richly detailed, easy to visualize, and adds an new element to a world that I already had fallen in love with. The overlapping of the previous history in this book was perfectly done. I loved the way Mary included that in the story.If you read The Remnant Chronicles prior to reading this book, the characters, and events mentioned from that series will make more sense, but this book is definitely it's own storyline, and one you may be fine with reading on it's own. While Dance of Thieves is a continuation of the series, I love that it's a new storyline, and series set after those events. This book is everything I knew it would be, and much more. That ending! I can hardly wait to dive into the next book in this series.

"This was more than an unexpected turn. It was an unchecked slide into hell."When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty's resentment and anger.At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions."Some said it began with the stars."One does not need to read the Remnant Chronicles to understand and enjoy this book. I can safely say that as I'm probably one of the few who haven't read the related series before I bought this. I was suckered in by a gorgeous cover, a good synopsis, and a fabulous ebook deal. (Beautiful covers are important, ok? As are deals. Shoot me.)"I was halfway between worlds, trying to find a story that fit neatly into both."The three major things I loved about this book were Kazi, Jase, and the rich Ballenger history. I'm a little torn on how to rate this, though.While I feel the enemies-to-lovers trope transitioned a bit too quickly, I totally get that Jase's pride in his Ballenger history, the closeness of his family that is missing from Kazi's own life, and his considerate nature won her over. (But seriously, I'm a grump when I don't get good sleep and being chained around the ankle for days on end? Not likely to make my disposition any sunnier, thanks. You'd be lucky if I didn't stab you with a stick.) I just wish it would have lasted a bit longer because it didn't feel completely believable at first."Then hold on to me. Let me show you the stars."Jase has a hot temper and pride the size of Olympus. While you think this would make him egotistical, it's only in direct relation to challenges against his family and their history. (A history which runs in their blood, is schooled into them from youth, and is present from the moment they're born because they still have access to their ancestor's stories.) In actuality, he's confident, considerate, and protective. Basically, 10/10 would marry. Boy howdy was I shipping them so hard at the end."We ate. We smiled. We improvised. We were Rahtan, and we could chisel what made us uncomfortable and awkward into an ice sculpture in hell if we had to."On the flip side, Kazi has had nothing since she was six. From the moment her mother was stolen by labor hunters, she's been on the streets and fending for herself. Her attention to detail, strong personality, and unflinching backbone earned her the street name Ten (because she still has all of her fingers, having never been caught by the Komizar for her thievery) and eventually an opportunity to become part of the queen's elite Rahtan. The events that shaped her childhood have molded who she is today and I really liked how it played out between her budding feelings for Jase, her loyalty to her queen, and her decisions regarding her secret mission.Keeping in mind that this is a 500 page book that I devoured in TWO days, I feel like my little nitpicks probably don't matter in the grand scheme of things. Overall, the first two thirds of the book were romance driven. While I didn't mind, there was a teeny space in time where I felt it dragged just slightly. Once we hit the last third, though, the plot picked back up and sped to the end."Choose your words carefully, even the words you think, because they become seeds, and seeds become history."But do yourself a favor: don't read the epilogue until you're ready to read the second book because joke's on you! You'll want to punt the book across the room. What was that, Mary???Recommended for romantic fantasy lovers. This one's for you!