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A review by kayhush
Thief of Silver and Souls by Eva Chase
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was unexpected. A new-to-me author, a book I haven't seen anyone else talking about, and also an ARC. This book will be in my favorites of the year, and I've also started acquiring the author's backlog.
Take a moment to follow me on this metaphor to describe the pacing of this book. You get to the beach. You step onto the sand and find it the perfect temperature (the writing style). You can see the water ahead and you never lose sight of it (the long-game plot). First, you are walking slowly (pacing) to take in the sights and the sounds (world-building), and really letting your toes sink into that perfect sand. And then you feel that urge to get into the water. So you start walking faster (the story pacing), and faster... and faster.... and now you're sprinting. That water is RIGHT THERE. One last leap into the water and.... boom, the book ends.
That is the book.
All silliness aside, I found it to be perfectly paced. And as much as the cliffhanger hurt it was at the perfect time in the story to occur. Granted, it was 1:30AM when I finished the book so I stared at my ceiling for another hour.
The romance in the book is a slow burn. Personally, I love my why-choose to be slow-burn because I want to see that full character and relationship development to get to the point where the full relationship dynamics are at play. I need to see all the steps of growth to be fully invested and understand the full why-choose dynamics.
The magic system was excellent, and one I haven't seen in a fantasy romance before. The plot was unique as well. The world-building was absolutely excellent. I always find it interesting to read how an author chooses to integrate world-building into their story without info dumping. The world-building was so integrated that I barely even noticed it was there. Also, one of my pet peeves is when a fantasy book has real-world references, slang, or technology that makes ZERO sense in the book's world. In this book, I found the author actually added mundane aspects that were completely different from real-world and really helped solidify the feeling of this being completely separate from our reality. One example of this is that the professors go by "Ster. <last name>". The "Ster." professorial title is explained as "a shorter form of Estera, the godlen of learning and knowledge". THIS is the stuff that sets a standard fantasy apart from an excellent fantasy.
This review has gone on quite long enough. Suffice it to say, I highly enjoyed the book and would (and will) fully recommend it to anyone who enjoys the fantasy romance genre. Now I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on Book 2!
A huge thank you to BookSirens and Eva Chase for the free digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am providing this review voluntarily.
Take a moment to follow me on this metaphor to describe the pacing of this book. You get to the beach. You step onto the sand and find it the perfect temperature (the writing style). You can see the water ahead and you never lose sight of it (the long-game plot). First, you are walking slowly (pacing) to take in the sights and the sounds (world-building), and really letting your toes sink into that perfect sand. And then you feel that urge to get into the water. So you start walking faster (the story pacing), and faster... and faster.... and now you're sprinting. That water is RIGHT THERE. One last leap into the water and.... boom, the book ends.
That is the book.
All silliness aside, I found it to be perfectly paced. And as much as the cliffhanger hurt it was at the perfect time in the story to occur. Granted, it was 1:30AM when I finished the book so I stared at my ceiling for another hour.
The romance in the book is a slow burn. Personally, I love my why-choose to be slow-burn because I want to see that full character and relationship development to get to the point where the full relationship dynamics are at play. I need to see all the steps of growth to be fully invested and understand the full why-choose dynamics.
The magic system was excellent, and one I haven't seen in a fantasy romance before. The plot was unique as well. The world-building was absolutely excellent. I always find it interesting to read how an author chooses to integrate world-building into their story without info dumping. The world-building was so integrated that I barely even noticed it was there. Also, one of my pet peeves is when a fantasy book has real-world references, slang, or technology that makes ZERO sense in the book's world. In this book, I found the author actually added mundane aspects that were completely different from real-world and really helped solidify the feeling of this being completely separate from our reality. One example of this is that the professors go by "Ster. <last name>". The "Ster." professorial title is explained as "a shorter form of Estera, the godlen of learning and knowledge". THIS is the stuff that sets a standard fantasy apart from an excellent fantasy.
This review has gone on quite long enough. Suffice it to say, I highly enjoyed the book and would (and will) fully recommend it to anyone who enjoys the fantasy romance genre. Now I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on Book 2!
A huge thank you to BookSirens and Eva Chase for the free digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am providing this review voluntarily.