#thesmokethieves

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Burning Kingdoms (The Smoke Thieves #3) by Sally Green

I received a free ARC of the book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity.

The Smoke Thieves is a fantasy trilogy and you will need to read the first two books to make sense of this, the final book. Written from the perspectives of five characters whose lives intertwine, the point of view rotates from chapter to chapter.

Tash is a thirteen year old and has been raised as a hunter of illegal demon smoke, which can only be obtained by killing a demon. After finding her way into the demon world she feels sympathy for the demons and regrets her actions. Edyon is the illegitimate son of Prince Thelonius, ruler of Calidor. He has been on a journey to meet his father and become a legitimised heir. Edyon has a nasty habit of stealing things that gets him into trouble. March is one of the last surviving Abask people. He blames Edyon’s father for the Abask people being wiped out. He was part of a plot to kidnap Edyon and hand him over to King Aloysius, Edyon’s uncle and cruel ruler of the neighbouring country Brigant, but after developing feelings for the gentle Edyon, he changed course. Catherine is King Aloysius’ daughter, cousin to Edyon. She was sent to another neighbouring country, Pitoria, for an arranged marriage to Prince Tzsayn. This turned out to be a distraction so her father could invade part of the Pitoria that had access to the demon world. Catherine stood with Tzsayn against the Brigantines. Ambrose was Catherine’s personal guard in Brigant, now in exile in Pitoria, he is still deeply in love with Catherine.

It has been discovered that purple demon smoke harvested by killing young demons can, when inhaled, give excessive strength and stamina to young people. King Aloysius has an unit of soldiers in the demon world killing demons to farm the smoke which he plans to use to power an army of boys, in a plot to seize Calidor from his brother, Prince Thelonius.

As you might expect with five strong characters, I found some more likeable than others. Tash is the first character we meet in the first book and remained my firm favourite throughout. She is blunt to the point of obnoxious, and quite foul-mouthed, but her character development through the books is at times painful and emotional. In contrast Catherine, moved from being an oppressed if quietly rebellious young woman, to being a take-charge, do what has to be done character, but never really engendered much affection in me. Ambrose always seemed quite a weak character, but in this final book, his strength finally shone out. March and Edyon had a beautiful love story which won my heart.

In books with multiple points of view, it can sometimes be a problem for me distinguishing the voice of one character from another, but this was never an issue here as each character has very distinct narrative voice. I worried early on that one or more of the characters would become redundant as time went on which would have been frustrating as we get to know them so well. However, the actions of all five are essential to the plot so no character fades out before the end.

I felt by the end of the book that this world still had more tales to tell. I still had questions about the Edyon/March relationship and the minor character Prince Tzsayn remained a favourite of mine who deserved a story of his own.

It seemed to me, quite ambitious at the start to have five full points of view but Green has achieved it admirably. I was invested in the story from first to last and would happily welcome more from this world. The audible versions are also excellent with full cast performance.

If you haven’t read the early books you should grab them now. If you have read them, the final book will keep you on edge almost to the final page.

The Burning Kingdoms is due out 27th August 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[booksiseeloveandread]

A Recommendation #BookSquare . How is everyone coping with social distancing? I’ve been doing well so far (though considering DIY dip dyeing my hair, so decide for yourself😅) . I know many of us already have a huge TBR to choose our next read from, but I decided to highlight some of my favourite reads, in case you are unsure what to read next. All of these are fantasy reads, with stories to make you forget everything that’s going on in the world for a while!🌈 . A little warning: all of these books are the first in a series, except Sky in the Deep, which is a standalone. The series that are already published in full are: Onyx & Ivory, Rebel of the Sands, These Rebel Waves, Shadow and Bone, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Circle of Shadows.📚 . In addition, if one of these books catches your eye and you’d like to order it, there are a lot of independent bookstores that are fulfilling online orders. I’m also doing a round-up of independent stores with an online store, which you can find under the highlight #ShopLocal. I’ll be adding a new one later this afternoon!📖 . . . #onyxandivory #rebelofthesands #theserebelwaves #shadowandbone #grishaverse #skyinthedeep #theboneseason #acourtofthornsandroses #acotar #circleofshadows #enchantée #aqueeninhiding #kingdomofsouls #thesmokethieves #yafantasy #fantasybooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #tbr #tbrlist #booklove #yabooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B-CuRitgcEr/?igshid=xp5z01aj9wqk

[ventureswithbooks]

“as always, the story was the compelling thing, worth all of its suffering to find out the ending” - The Fate of the Tearling . . 🌟QOTD: What is a fun fact about yourself? . . Happy Saturday friends!! And oh what a gloriously sunny and BEAUTIFUL day it is!! It is rare we get a warm day (70’s F) in Chicago before June so I am taking full advantage of it!! I’ve been out walking and enjoying the sunshine all day!! And I’m going to be making tote bags shortly with my book bestie for our units nurses week!! I’m sure I’ll post lots in my stories!! I would love to get to know you all more so tell me a fun fact or something you love about yourself!! For me I have dual citizenship between the US and Australia. My dad was born and still lives there as well as my Grandma! I am super fortunate that I can go once or twice a year to visit and I LOVE it there!! I cannot wait to hear about everyone else’s fun fact!! . . #BookishFlowersMay20 - Day 2: Sunflower - Golden Books . . #goldenbooks #bookstack #stacksaturday #kingdomofash #sarahjmaas #circe #kingofscars #thefateofthetearling #thecityofbrass #thesmokethieves #shadowandbone #leighbardugo #bookstagram #ventureswithbooks #instareads #booknerd #booksofinstagram #booklife #bookworm #yafiction #yabooks #bookishfeatures #rainbowbookshelf #rainbowbooks #bookstagramer #bookstagramit #bookaesthetic #rainbowshelf https://www.instagram.com/p/B_sv06PA8wY/?igshid=1w47g197i0mx1

[enlilwind]

Hoții de fum de Sally Green 🌫 . . . Pe parcursul romanului am urmărit cu interes ce se întâmplă cu fiecare personaj în parte, modul în care acestea încep să se întâlnească și să colaboreze sau să devină pe loc dușmani. Sally Green construiește niște regate bine conturate, cu o politică bine stabilită, cu legi clare. Tiranii pe care-i creează autoarea sunt veridici și mi-a plăcut portretizarea acestora, a modului în care operează și a motivelor care-i motivează să facă anumite lucruri. Personajele nobile și corecte sunt și ele bine construite și din poveste nu lipsesc personajele amuzante sau misterioase. Recenzia completă o găsiți pe canal, #linkinbio . . . #hotiidefum #sallygreen #thesmokethieves #elenasbookshelf #booklover #bookshelf #book #bookgram #bookstagram #bookalicious #cartestagram #cartegram #eucitesc #citestecumine #cititulnuingrasa #cititoridinromania #cititoripasionati #booktubers #booktuberomania #readstagram #instaread #bookworm #reading #bookaholic #instabook #booksofinstagram #ilovebooks #bibliophile (at Constanta, Romania) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChCAoR0LT6L/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[herbookishthings]

QOTD - What book are you planning to read next ? . Book haul from this past month - though I’m missing Grace & Fury and Vicious - I’ll be photographing those soon! . . . #bookhaul #bookmail #smokeinthesun #reneeahdieh #royals #wednesdaybooks #furyborn #clairelegrand #thesmokethieves #wickedsaints #emilyaduncan #spaceopera #yalit #yareads #booksta #bookstack #alexandeliza #loveandwar

[asmalljob]

March: I will destroy everything and everyone for the revenge of my country!

Edyon: *exists*

Holywell: March don’t even try it.

March: Well this is going to be an obstacle

Edyon: *falls or does something embarrassing as per*

[writerangela]

I haven’t even read this book, but I am completely obsessed with it. Look how pretty!!! Those purple pages make me so happy💜💜💜 I couldn’t *not* post this picture showing off the purple pages. It had to be done. Pairing purple pages with purple flowers also makes me smile. 💜 What is the prettiest book you own? 💜 #bookstagram #talkingawalkwithabook #sallygreen #thesmokethieves #illumicrate #bookbox #purple

[jasminereadsbooks]

𝑆𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠, 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. ⁣ So we are in January 2021, now is the time we make a list of books we want to read this month and these four books are on that list: ⁣ 🌻The Burning Kingdom 🌻The Amber Spyglass 🌻Loveless 🌻A Deal with the Elf King ⁣ Reading two of these mean I finish two trilogies I want to complete this year. I am hoping to start the year of right but who knows, I rarely stick to a tbr I am more of a mood reader. ⁣ Are you a mood reader or do you create tbr’s you can stick too? ⁣ #bookstagram #becauseofreading #bibliophile #bookaddict #booklover #booknerd #booksbooksbooks #bookworm #epicreads #goodreads #igreads #prettybooks #readersofinstagram #readingismagic #theburningkingdom #thesmokethieves #theamberspyglass #hisdarkmaterials #loveless #adealwiththeelfking https://www.instagram.com/p/CJioTEmA_wr/?igshid=1u2du2nqznr49

[tinuwel]

Hoy vengo más temprano a ver si me organizo mejor a esta hora… 😂 Es que últimamente estoy que no tengo tiempo para nada y llego tarde a todas partes…. 🙄 Los reinos en ruinas es el final de la trilogía Los ladrones de humo donde hemos seguido las aventuras de cinco adolescentes y cinco países a punto de entrar en guerra. Es una historia muy coral en la que vamos cambiando de perspectiva según el personaje que esté narrando y en el que se entrecruzarán temas como la magia, el deber, el amor y la traición. Y me hace mucha ilusión terminar una trilogía más este año. 🤗 ¿Conocíais esta saga? ¿Y a la autora? #booksarelife #bookcommunity #booknerdigan #bookpassion #bookrecommendation #bookreview #greatreads #bookquotes #bookobsessed #totalbooknerd #bookgram #readmorebooks #alwaysreading #bookphoto #booksofinsta #bookart #TW #lecturadirecta #booknookstagram #bookcollection #bookoftheday #thesmokethieves #losladronesdehumo #losreinosenllamas #theburningkingdoms https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYowy7l1Bd/?utm_medium=tumblr

[sallygreenhalfbad]

At Home With Sally Green (Series 2, Episode 1): The Demon Hole (part 1)

Gabriel: *sips his glass of red wine, and makes a look of disgust* This wine is almost undrinkable.

Nathan: Here we go again.

Gabriel: We’re going here again because the wine isn’t at it’s best. It’s too warm.  AGAIN.

SG: Drink the white, it’s at the perfect temperature. *raises her own glass in cheers to Gab, takes a sip, makes a face of ecstasy* Delicious!

Nathan: Or drink the water *runs kitchen tap at full blast and sticks head under to drink, getting water everywhere, coming back to standing with water running down his face, his hair wet*.

SG: *looks at the water everywhere and mutters to herself*Just drink the wine, Sally. Just drink the wine.

Gabriel: *tears his eyes from the dripping Nathan and looks at SG* I’m just saying that if we kept the red wine in the cellar, it wouldn’t be ruined all the time.

SG: We’ve been through this a thousand times. We don’t go in the cellar.

Nathan: *sweeps his hair back, sending water across the room* And even I get that. I’m going for a run. *leaves the house*

SG: *picks up her book, opens it, sips her wine* *mutters quietly but just loud enough for Gab to hear* Even Nathan gets it.

Gabriel: * sips his wine again, pulls face again*

Gabriel: I just think that if you are lucky enough to have a cellar, the perfect place to keep wine at the perfect temperature . . . why not . . .

SG: *closes book down and looks at Gab* I don’t put anything in the cellar. I don’t go in the cellar. I don’t open the door to the cellar. The cellar is a no go area. I thought I made that totally clear on day one, Gab. If Nathan can understand that then surely so can you!

Gabriel: Fine. Fine. I won’t ever mention it again. *goes to counter and takes the white wine from the cooler and pours himself a large glass*

Much later, Sally is in bed. Nathan is still not back from his run.Gabriel is a little tipsy as he heads upstairs passing the cellar door which has a round wooden door knob. 

Gabriel: *reaches out his hand to the door knob but then shakes his head* No. I mustn’t. *imitating Sally’s northern accent* The cellar is a no go area.

Gabriel: *goes upstairs and switches the light off on the landing, heads to his bedroom and glances downstairs. He frowns and stops. He slowly retraces his steps, looking down towards the cellar door. He goes down a few stairs, then down a few more*

Coming from the gap below the cellar door is faint red glow.

Gabriel: *imitating Sally’s accent again* The cellar is a no go area. 

Gabriel: *smiles and reaches out his hand to the door knob and turns it.

#HalfBad #TheSmokeThieves #Nabriel #TheDemonWorld #Nathan #Gabriel #AtHomeWithSallyGreen

[booksiseeloveandread]

It’s been a while since I’ve done a coloured book stack! Now that all my books are in the same bookcase it’s so much easier to do these, and a lot less work to put them away again! I used to be surrounded by piles of books while I was taking book pictures, but I work a lot neater now! Do you make a mess when you take book pictures? . . . #bookstack #purplebooks #purplebookstack #bookspines #thesmokethieves #harrypotter #harrypotterandtheprisonerofazkaban #hanschristianandersen #bookhoarder #bookaholic #bookphotographer #bookphoto #bookphotography #library #bookshelves https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_b3s2npMF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1eb7ytawl7y3a

[ventureswithbooks]

“When I represent my country I am not a woman: I am a land and a people and a queen” - The Smoke Thieves . . 🌟QOTD: Yay or nay for multiple POVs? . . Happy Friday!! I hope everyone is excited for the weekend! Sadly I will be working but at least I have today to spend out in the sunshine! I am all for multiple points of view but I do think there is a limit! This book has FIVE points of view and it definitely got confusing at some points and there were characters chapters I wish I could skip. I’m not sure if I’ll read book 2 but I did hear the audiobook was well done so maybe I’ll check it out that way! But the cover of this book was just too beautiful to resist!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #sallygreen #thesmokethieves #flatlaystyle #booknerd #instareads #bookaesthetic #ventureswithbooks #booklife #booksofinstagram #bookworm #yafiction #yabooks #bookishfeatures #bookstagramer #bookstagramit #flowerlove https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rNYnrgPOc/?igshid=v10s89aqn0bw

[kittyprydeisshadowcat]

Super behind on the #fairyphoto18 prompts for the September box, but the last one was Book of the month, Mirage and purple things. I realised I had quite a lot of purple books, so I decided to keep it fairly simple for this photo. #bookstagram #instabook #thepufflehufflekittehreads #paperback #hardback #bookdragon #bookworm #bookhoarder #bookwitch #bookcollector #collector #lovebooks #fairyloot #mirage #somaiyadaud #thesmokethieves #sallygreen #geekerella #ashleyposton #shadowsong #sjaejones #shadowandbone #leighbardugo #traitortothethrone #alwynhamilton #poisonstudy #mariavsnyder https://www.instagram.com/p/BoztdJLH2Ja/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wwx9gjo3kwfe

[enlilwind]

Hoții de fum de Sally Green este un roman alert, unde evenimentele se desfășoară cu rapiditate și unde autoarea oferă voci distincte personajelor ei. Locuitorii fiecărei țări au propria modă, propriile idei despre lume, organizare a societății și mentalitate, astfel încât este ușor să observi care dintre personaje e străin, incapabil să se dizolve în peisaj. Romanul se împarte în trei fire narative principale, iar autoarea construiește povestea în așa fel încât nu se simte trecerea de la un fir narativ la altul și de fiecare dată când te întorci la un personaj ții minte foarte bine unde l-ai lasăt. Recenzia completă o găsiți pe canal, #linkinbio . . . #hotiidefum #sallygreen #thesmokethieves #elenasbookshelf #booklover #bookshelf #book #bookgram #bookstagram #bookalicious #cartestagram #cartegram #eucitesc #citestecumine #cititulnuingrasa #cititoridinromania #cititoripasionati #booktubers #booktuberomania #readstagram #instaread #bookworm #reading #bookaholic #instabook #booksofinstagram #ilovebooks #bibliophile (at Constanta, Romania) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg99XL0r7S5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[herbookishthings]

What books are you excited for this summer?! . A huge thanks to @penguinteen for the awesome book haul! I’m so so excited to read!! . #aprilbookstagram18 anticipated reads - I’m so excited for these - especially Smoke in the Sun!!! . . . #reneeahdieh #smokeinthesun #theroyals #thesmokethieves #bookhaul #tbr #amreading #reading #yalit #penguinteen

[asmalljob]

Tash: So new boots yes?

Gravel: Sure missy. Right after I sell your head on a stick.

Tash: ...

Tash: So new boots?