Elisa A. Bonnin

Tension is guaranteed in this fast-paced tale about a heist, unjust rule, and magic.

Arian and Liam are twins and one of the most talented pair of thieves in the resistance. By stealing magical artifacts, they hope to someday end Imperial rule, but they also are more than happy to take up jobs, when a little money is involved. When they are approached by Cavar, a once royal guard gone traitor, to steal a certain artifact, things shift into high-gear.

This is a fun read with quite a few surprises and exciting moments. The world building is very well done as Leithon becomes a rich city, which pops from the page. Even the political background, culture, and life is described enough to make the surroundings understandable and vibrant. This created a wonderful backdrop for the magic, fight scenes, and chases, which kept the plot moving and the read entertaining. Plus, a heist with all of its difficulties and tension is always a treat.

The four main characters each share their own points of view as the chapters switch between each one. The name is presented at the beginning to help keep confusion at a minimum, but it still took a bit to get into the flow of all four of them. Arian and Cavar both held quite a bit of personality, making them easy to connect with right away, while the other two, although also fun to root for, just never hooked me quite as much. Each of them had their own problems to overcome, though, and added richness to the tale. It will be fun to see where the next book in the series goes from here.… (mer)

Great great story, with a timeline that keeps you reading.
I really have to say, I didn't know how good this story was going to be by just the title. From the moment I started reading it though, I was hooked.
Elisa Bonnin is apparently adept at many things, and from what I have read, she is pretty darn good at writing a story that keeps you involved, from whooping for the heroine, enjoying the other characters and still guessing at what is going to happen next.
Rae Miller the lead character starts out as an emotionally closed off, depressed, scared and yet spit fire determined college student. When her tormentor throws down a gauntlet of challenge, she accepts because of who she is at her core, what she believes in, and even though it seems to go against her other beliefs, her want of revenge. From this challenge, she enters into a different realm; one she had never heard of before, let alone seen, and she has seen things that most others can't see, let alone even imagine.
What Rae finds there is not only surprising and in some cases daunting, it also changes her character in ways she had never thought could happen. She develops not only new skills, but the emotional barriers she had drawn around her start to crumble. Her need to save someone, and revenge for another propelled her here, but now she isn't even sure she can complete the task the challenge requires. Her will, determination and new skills just don't seem strong enough to win. Finding the strength within is a fight she has everyday as she encounters more challenges, obstacles, and skills on her journey to complete the task.
Being in a different realm where things are not what they seem, and things that may look the same really aren't, I expected Rae to be more surprised/scared for herself. Instead, I got the feeling that she just accepted it as no big deal, I'm assuming because she had to accept her ability to see things others couldn't in her own realm. That helps her in the story short term, but I felt it would have been more intrinsic to the character development had she reacted a little more real to what someone in our realm would have.
This is still a really great story, well written, and I would really enjoy reading the sequel(s). The lead character is memorable, but the others don't have all the writing on the wall yet, so you have to keep reading to find out all about them too. Well done Elisa, please let me know when the sequel is out.… (mer)