Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

SYNOPSIS

A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

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.

Synopsis from ​Goodreads

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PERSONAL REVIEW

I’m a huge fan of Mary E Pearson and loved the Remnant Chronicles...so I was beyond happy when I received an ARC from FierceReads for Dance of Thieves. I feel like I’ve been waiting FOREVER to jump back into the Remnants world and find out what’s been happening since the original series ended. And wow, does Pearson bring us on a new epic adventure (just check out the size of the book!).

Love the Dual POVs of Kazi and Jase
I love that Pearson wrote this book from different perspectives; I’m finding that more and more I prefer when we get multiple perspectives as narrators in novels because it gives us a more organic and whole view of what’s happening. In this case, both Kazi and Jase are actually so full of lies, usually lying to each other which in turn makes them sometimes lie to themselves, so we as readers are never really sure of what’s true and what’s not, which is rather brilliant. I really liked that we got the chance to know both characters, especially because Jase has such a huge family and their family history is so epic, that simply learning it from Kazi's perspective wouldn’t have been enough. We are definitely given more of the Remnant world because were given both of their perspectives, Venden and Ballenger.

So Many Lies to Weave Through
Having Kazi and Jase as narrators means that readers are often trying to untangle the lies these two are weaving as they speak with each other. Jase is definitely the more honest of the two, but even he often has to fudge the truth when talking with Kazi to make sure that he’s protecting his family. The writing was really well done in this case because it encourages the reader to follow this journey as we find out what happens when Kazi and Jase’s lies catch up with them. It’s a pretty epic moment when truths are finally revealed, but I don’t feel like I ever took sides. I understood both of them and why they were doing what they were doing.

Cameo From Lia (but it took forever to get too!)
I was desperately waiting for the moment when we finally see Lia and Rafe again, if not everybody from the original trilogy! I adored Lia, I loved Rafe, and I was really hoping we would see a lot of these characters. When this novel was announced, I actually thought it was going to be from Natiya or Eben’s perspective, so I was interested to see how Kazi and Jase’s story lines would be interwoven with the Venda we had left behind at the end of the original trilogy. I do think we had to wait a very long time before we met up with Lia again, but I understand why Pearson took so long to bring us there. There is a lot of ground to cover and more world-building to do. I felt like I had hearts in my eyes when Lia was finally introduced and I thought the meeting was well worth the wait.

Overall, I was incredibly happy with this book. I actually couldn’t believe how big it was and when I finally received it, but it’s never a complaint of mine because I love the way Pearson tells her story and introduces these new characters in this changed world of the Remnant Chronicles. I am honestly completely thrown by the cliffhanger if she gives us at the end and I’m a little bit terrified of what’s going to happen in the next book. So, while it sucks that it’s so far away for the next book in the series to come out, I hope you enjoy Dance of Thieves as much as I did!!

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FINAL RATING: 4.5/5