Name: Sophia 's review of Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn
Item: Among Thieves
Rating: 4
Author: Sophia

M. J. Kuhn

A thrilling fantasy debut—a high-stakes heist novel set in a gritty world of magic and malice, and perfect for fans of Six of Crows! In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down...but even the most powerful men can be defeated. Ryia’s path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster’s stronghold, and against every instinct she has, it’s not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers, and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves very carefully. If she succeeds, her freedom is won once and for all…but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own.

Among Thieves

Caroline Boone

This was a fun read! A group of thieves in a fantasy world set out to rob the most powerful man in the world. Lesbian mercenary with axes!! The dark humor with magic, and the way Ryia speaks to her weapons reminded me of Seven Blades in Black. And the Saints reminded me of the Assassin’s Guild of Adarlan. This was no epic fantasy novel to be sure, but it was well-written enough to be entertaining. 

Sophia 

Badass Lesbian Axe Wielder. All you need to know.

Wyatt Brown

Whenever I hear a fantasy has a heist element, I immediately want to read it. Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a letdown. There wasn't enough backstory to the characters or world-building, so it was confusing trying to piece together what was happening. It was as if the author was lobbing names and places at you expecting you to understand what she meant. I did enjoy the core group of characters we follow and getting perspectives from all of them. They're all morally gray and mostly out for their own gain, but the dynamic between them all was fun. I did like Ryia the most, even though she could be a little too cocky for my tastes. She had these interesting powers, but I wish they were explained/explored more. I didn't realize that this was the first of a series, so I'm hoping it'll be the main focus of the next book if I decide to pick it up. I've seen many people describe this as the adult Six of Crows, and while I get it, I don't think this was executed well enough to even begin to compare the two.

Heather Harrington

Laura Kehoe

It's been a bit since I gave a book five stars. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed a lot of books I've read recently, but there has to be something special for me to give a book five stars. And I'm thrilled to say Among Thieves had that special something!

The plot was fast-paced, but didn't feel rushed. I loved that Kuhn got right into the action, but also did a good job explaining why the action mattered. Sometimes when a book dives straight into action, it can feel a little jarring and lead me to have a hard time figuring out exactly what's going on. But Kuhn did a great job balancing the excitement and explanations. 

I also adored these characters. I have a soft spot for amoral characters, particularly thieves and crooks. But I loved that these criminals in particular all had different motivations and felt like real people. It was easy to feel connected to each of them.

If you enjoy a good heist, fantasy book with entertaining characters and plenty of banter, I would highly recommend picking this book up! Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

M.J. Kuhn

'Fantasy fans won't want to miss this' Publishers Weekly A high-stakes heist novel set in a gritty world of magic and malice. WHO NEEDS FRIENDS WHEN YOU HAVE AXES? Ryia 'the Butcher' Cautella has earned her reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the city - not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. A deadly secret has kept Ryia in hiding, running from city to city, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster - sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms. But even the most powerful men can be defeated. One last impossible job is all that stands between Ryia and her freedom - but even the Butcher can't do it alone. She teams up with the Saints, a crew of uniquely skilled miscreants, smugglers and thieves, to carry off a death-defying heist into the most tightly guarded island in the kingdoms - the Guildmaster's stronghold. Unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own . . .

Katie Skilbeck

Pretty predictable 'secrets'. But the characters were well developed and all conversations seemed natural, plot was maybe a bit rushed but overall it was pretty enjoyable

Becca

Loved this! And the audiobook was 🔥
Looking forward to the sequel!

Elodia

** spoiler alert **
           Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/ Saga Press for an early copy of this book!

Among Thieves is fast-paced with a lot of twists and an exciting magic system. It blurs the lines between good and bad, and you end up rooting for every single character.

Among Thieves follows a team of criminals- Ryia, Tristan, Nash, and Ivan- plus a disgraced Captain of the Guard- Evelyn. The group belongs to the Saints syndicate, where they are given the task of stealing the Quill, a powerful relic.

Each character is distinct, and they all have their own secrets, which leads them to betray one another. Though they’re all callous and indifferent to one another, they manage to bond during their journey, even if they don’t want to admit it. They start as mere acquaintances working for the same crime lord, but they do eventually bond. 

Each character has ulterior motives for finding this Quill, and we find out the reasons throughout the book. We see hints on characters' backstories during the P.O.V.'s of other characters, making it more interesting than if the characters themselves revealed it.

The relationships were developed great, and though there is no romance, there’s some tension between some of the characters- Ryia/Evelyn and Nash/Ivan.

The writing skips many unnecessary scenes, making the plot move forward faster than it would otherwise, and even then, there is a lot of setup for the heist. The plot itself starts picking up around the 50% mark. 

The thing I did not like was how the author handled the slaves, the Adept. They were called "it" at many points, and we did not see much empathy for them. The main characters kind of realize that their treatment is bad, but nothing much is done about it.

Among Thieves ends in some big cliffhangers, and as this is advertised as a stand-alone, I hope that there are plans to write more books in the future. I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I’d love it if there were a sequel!

If you love heist stories set in fantasy worlds, check this book out!

Karli P

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I had so much fun reading this book. After I read six of crows I started looking for more heist novels to read because of how exciting it is when everything does not go according to plan, and this book did not disappoint at all in that aspect. Everything was exciting and I was wondering what was going to happen next the whole way through. 

I also prefer books with multiple POVs because I like to be able to see what's going on in everyone's heads and what they think about the other people around them. I thought that these characters were well fleshed out and believable in terms of their own personalities, and I enjoyed reading every single POV. 

The magic system was super interesting and I really appreciated the the extra darkness it brought to the setting with how this magic is treating and interacted with in the world. I really want to know more about the history of it. 

One criticism of this book is because the book skips a lot of the more "boring" scenes to get to all the exciting parts, we do not really see a lot of the character development that happens "off-screen". I know this is very much a matter of opinion as a lot of people are not reading heist novels for character development, but I just felt that some interactions between the crew and how they felt about each other didn't feel completely natural because I didn't really get to read about those kinds of feelings developing. 

I do like where the book ended things off, I've seen in other reviews that I think this book is supposed to be a standalone, but I would not complain if there were more books in the future, or even just books set in the same world.

R. T. Jenkins

Stephanie

Abi Baker

Chafik Badache

M.J. KUHN

A group of uniquely skilled criminals team up for an impossible job . . . while plotting to betray one another Ryia Cautella is a callous and brazen mercenary working for a criminal syndicate in the slums of the dockside city of Carrowwick. In just over a year's time she's already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the city - not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. For the past six years a deadly secret has kept Ryia in hiding, running from city to city, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster - sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she runs, his servants never fail to track her down... But even the most powerful men can be defeated. Her path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster's stronghold, and against every instinct she has, she knows it's not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves carefully. If she succeeds she wins her freedom once and for all, but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is... And they all have plans of their own.

Caroline Boone &
Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

Reviews

Join the club

Caroline Boone &Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

Reviews

Join the club

Caroline Boone &
Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn