Tuesday, March 15, 2016

#Review | HERE THERE BE DRAGONS | Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake

Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake
Goodreads | Amazon
Published: January 5, 2016
Review Copy via Andye @ ReadingTeen.net

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.


HERE THERE BE DRAGONS. 

I’ve always wanted to use that in a review, and I don’t exactly have a reason to in this one, but this is the total vibe of the book. Daring sword fights, love with a sort-of-prince, magic (and I’m talking the magic that takes you to any library in the world—Paris, anyone?), and changelings. Sorry, there’s no actual dragons. But there are quite a few things that have the HERE THERE BE DRAGONS aura about them.

THE MAPS (for which the adventure is traveled by)

It began with a book and a hot guy named Arik in a leather jacket with a crooked smile who gave her that look that totally told her that he was, in fact, a dragon slayer. Other-wise known as a knight. And the dragons are actually hellhounds.

He’s the leader of the knights and he is head over amour with Gia. And he an I have a love / get out of my face relationship. I understand there are laws and such, and that he has a reputation to uphold and all that jazz (seriously, I do) but he just kind of got on my nerves. I feel like maybe the love interest shouldn’t get on my nerves for as small of reasons as Arik did much of the time? Maybe I’m totally off base here? While his character isn’t completely loveable, it is fleshed out. And he is relatable. And I do actually like the guy.

I also want his leather jacket.

He’s need to protect Gia paired with his backing her up when she needed to go do her- whether that was being a novice or slaying- was nice. He was the leader on this journey of self discovery.

THE PLOT 

This book did read very much like a book one, and I wasn’t particularly in love with that either. I found the book to move at a good pace. I wasn’t ever especially bored with the book but I did like the second half much more than the first. Once all the character development and plot devices were engraved in stone things began to really move along, Gia’s voice became more mature (something I appreciated), and more lovely characters were introduced.

There were twists and turns in the plot, but nothing too shocking.

The lack of shock factor contributed to the rating, but the end (and one character in particular) shoved that final half point onto the rating. The book itself was okay, just okay. But the characters gave it the extra oomph that it so desperately needed. It was fine, but I’m not eager to read for the plot. I want the next book because I need to know more about the characters. And magic.

FINAL WORDS

This book was okay, the cover is fantastically purple and gorgeous. I love the magic and heroics and the girl power. I really like the mystery character who you’ll juts have to read to find out more about.



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