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A review by restless
Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn
2.0
This book didn't work for me.
There's something here that reminds me of [b:The Girls I've Been|49471138|The Girls I've Been|Tess Sharpe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599852132l/49471138._SY75_.jpg|71881363], except the numerous POV switches don't add up to a coherent whole. Looking at the world through Tristan's eyes doesn't teach us anything new about the world around him. It doesn't enrich the reader with new insights about Ryia or the rest of the cast. It doesn't, for example, show us something new about Ryia and her behaviour that she doesn't realise about herself. This made it hard to connect with the characters.
Then there's the MC, who is very OP and not all that interesting. Her central romance is barely-there, and I had a hard time seeing what drew the characters together.
Finally, there's the issue of slavery.
This book treats slavery like a plot device, rather than as a real and meaningful experience.
2-stars from me.
There's something here that reminds me of [b:The Girls I've Been|49471138|The Girls I've Been|Tess Sharpe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599852132l/49471138._SY75_.jpg|71881363], except the numerous POV switches don't add up to a coherent whole. Looking at the world through Tristan's eyes doesn't teach us anything new about the world around him. It doesn't enrich the reader with new insights about Ryia or the rest of the cast. It doesn't, for example, show us something new about Ryia and her behaviour that she doesn't realise about herself. This made it hard to connect with the characters.
Then there's the MC, who is very OP and not all that interesting. Her central romance is barely-there, and I had a hard time seeing what drew the characters together.
Spoiler
IMHO it felt a bit tacked-on. Like the author and the publisher sat down in the final 5 minutes of the book and said, "do you know what would sell more copies of this story?! Let's make the MC queer!" Yay.Finally, there's the issue of slavery.
This book treats slavery like a plot device, rather than as a real and meaningful experience.
Spoiler
Most of the characters in this book regard these slaves as little or less than human. We've got the MC who decides to "save" the slaves, but there is little to no agency amongst the slaves themselves. The issue of how and why these people are enslaved is treated with the kind of attention that one might give a murder victim in a detective novel. True, without the murder victim there's no story, but in the end the focus is on the case, not on the person that was killed.Spoiler
Perhaps this is a function of the MCs, who are mostly afraid of the slaves and give little thought to the human behind the mask. Or perhaps it's the function of something else. It's hard to say. Either way, I felt that the author missed an opportunity to make a more meaningful contribution to this topic.2-stars from me.