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A review by z_bookfluencer
The Devil's Thief by Lisa Maxwell
5.0
The Devil's Thief took way longer than anticipated to read due to various life reasons causing me to be very busy. Moving on to the actual review...
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Short Review (concise and straight to the point):
The Devil's Thief is an elaborate and compelling story set in a historically based setting(s), containing morally grey and complex characters, fantasy elements, political intrigue, and a bit of romance.
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Long Review (detailed):
There is a lot of information to digest and pick apart. The Devil's Thief is one of the books I felt I needed to write down my thoughts while I was reading it instead of writing down my thoughts after completing it. I will not be covering everything that I feel could be discussed but giving an overall basis of my thoughts for my review; there are things I would like to touch on, but won't so my review is spoiler free.
Like The Last Magician (I do have a review up for The Last Magician), the writing style is very straight forward but also is very dense. I can see how the dense writing could turn some people away from reading The Devil's Thief when accompanied with its massive size. I will say the intricacies woven in this novel are so intriguing and alluring, that I wanted to know where the story would go. There is so much that happens within The Devil's Thief, I do not think it could be told in any other way than how the author did so.
The Devil's Thief is told in multiple perspectives. I do enjoy reading stories when told from multiple perspectives. My complaint is that I wanted more time with the characters. I just felt like the time given with each character wasn't enough. Typically, but not always, the perspective would switch in a high stakes moment. While I understand this is a way to keep the reader engaged, I just also felt a slight annoyance. Not saying that not spending enough time with each individual character is a bad thing though, for you do get more of each of the character's stories as you read the entirety of the book.
There are so many characters to touch on and discuss, so I will not do so individually or have honorable mentions. A lot of the characters would be considered morally grey and a lot of them are very complicated and dimensional. Some of the villains are quite clear while others are more understated, the same statement equally affects what would be considered the 'good' characters. I did find myself rooting for a majority of the characters. I enjoyed seeing the character development in each of their perspectives of the story. I enjoyed how each character had their own journey and how all of their lives affected one another, knowing and unknowingly. I felt The Devil's Thief was very intriguing; I wanted to know who would do what and how would that affect someone else and the world that they live in.
Not only is The Devil's Thief told in multiple perspectives, but also in a fractured timeline. If you read The Last Magician, and I would hope so if you are checking out The Devil's Thief, you know the general idea of how this story is told.
There are a couple of scenes I could have done without, due to slight awkwardness of the scene and personal preferences. I did skip those particular scenes ('steamy/smutty/detailed' romantic scenes).
The settings felt very atmospheric and easily pictured.
There is an overall plot and several subplots, but it is slow moving. Page 433 (estimated), Esta and Harte finally do what they set out to do at the beginning of the book. The Devil's Thief is more character driven than plot driven.
I do feel like The Devil's Thief is on the older side of YA because there is a lot of information from multiple perspectives set in different timelines, all coming together to create one big elaborate story.
There are many discussions starters for events that happen within The Devil's Thief (like in The Last Magician) such as but not excluded to; racism, bigotism, fighting for equal rights, corrupt governing bodies, people being physically beaten, ect. There are some scenes involving those things listed that could be triggering for some people.
The Devil's Thief did take a direction I didn't expect, and that direction fit the story so well.
Overall, I did enjoy reading The Devil's Thief and could possibly see myself rereading it in the future. I felt the writing was very well thought out and creative. I would like to continue reading this trilogy with the next book, The Serpent's Curse.
My review is my own thoughts and opinion; my personal experience in reading this story. Everyone should read the books they enjoy!
-----
Short Review (concise and straight to the point):
The Devil's Thief is an elaborate and compelling story set in a historically based setting(s), containing morally grey and complex characters, fantasy elements, political intrigue, and a bit of romance.
-----
Long Review (detailed):
There is a lot of information to digest and pick apart. The Devil's Thief is one of the books I felt I needed to write down my thoughts while I was reading it instead of writing down my thoughts after completing it. I will not be covering everything that I feel could be discussed but giving an overall basis of my thoughts for my review; there are things I would like to touch on, but won't so my review is spoiler free.
Like The Last Magician (I do have a review up for The Last Magician), the writing style is very straight forward but also is very dense. I can see how the dense writing could turn some people away from reading The Devil's Thief when accompanied with its massive size. I will say the intricacies woven in this novel are so intriguing and alluring, that I wanted to know where the story would go. There is so much that happens within The Devil's Thief, I do not think it could be told in any other way than how the author did so.
The Devil's Thief is told in multiple perspectives. I do enjoy reading stories when told from multiple perspectives. My complaint is that I wanted more time with the characters. I just felt like the time given with each character wasn't enough. Typically, but not always, the perspective would switch in a high stakes moment. While I understand this is a way to keep the reader engaged, I just also felt a slight annoyance. Not saying that not spending enough time with each individual character is a bad thing though, for you do get more of each of the character's stories as you read the entirety of the book.
There are so many characters to touch on and discuss, so I will not do so individually or have honorable mentions. A lot of the characters would be considered morally grey and a lot of them are very complicated and dimensional. Some of the villains are quite clear while others are more understated, the same statement equally affects what would be considered the 'good' characters. I did find myself rooting for a majority of the characters. I enjoyed seeing the character development in each of their perspectives of the story. I enjoyed how each character had their own journey and how all of their lives affected one another, knowing and unknowingly. I felt The Devil's Thief was very intriguing; I wanted to know who would do what and how would that affect someone else and the world that they live in.
Not only is The Devil's Thief told in multiple perspectives, but also in a fractured timeline. If you read The Last Magician, and I would hope so if you are checking out The Devil's Thief, you know the general idea of how this story is told.
There are a couple of scenes I could have done without, due to slight awkwardness of the scene and personal preferences. I did skip those particular scenes ('steamy/smutty/detailed' romantic scenes).
The settings felt very atmospheric and easily pictured.
There is an overall plot and several subplots, but it is slow moving. Page 433 (estimated), Esta and Harte finally do what they set out to do at the beginning of the book. The Devil's Thief is more character driven than plot driven.
I do feel like The Devil's Thief is on the older side of YA because there is a lot of information from multiple perspectives set in different timelines, all coming together to create one big elaborate story.
There are many discussions starters for events that happen within The Devil's Thief (like in The Last Magician) such as but not excluded to; racism, bigotism, fighting for equal rights, corrupt governing bodies, people being physically beaten, ect. There are some scenes involving those things listed that could be triggering for some people.
The Devil's Thief did take a direction I didn't expect, and that direction fit the story so well.
Overall, I did enjoy reading The Devil's Thief and could possibly see myself rereading it in the future. I felt the writing was very well thought out and creative. I would like to continue reading this trilogy with the next book, The Serpent's Curse.
My review is my own thoughts and opinion; my personal experience in reading this story. Everyone should read the books they enjoy!