Dance of Thieves

June 15, 2018
An elite soldier and the head of an unacknowledged dynasty fall in love while telling each other lie after lie.Six years after the war described in The Beauty of Darkness (2016), the queen of Venda sends three top soldiers to hunt down a war criminal. One soldier is 17-year-old Kazi, formerly "an invisible street rat" of Venda, who honed her consummate thieving skills after her mother was kidnapped into (probable) sex slavery. The war criminal may be hiding at Tor's Watch, where the ancient Ballenger Dynasty is newly led by 19-year-old Jase Ballenger. Tor's Watch is politically unrecognized by the other kingdoms, and although the Ballengers refuse to demarcate their borders, they're fiercely territorial. There are ongoing, possibly rogue, threats to their home, city, and trade arena. Kazi and Jase's meet-cute is a meet-slam (her knife at his throat), and, of course, while chained together by kidnappers and deceiving each other incessantly, they fall in love. The action and reveals have strong content but little punch, and the romance is overwritten ("I was dancing with fire and hoping not to get burned"). However, Pearson's plotting is solid, and the last section picks up steam, ending on a cryptic cliffhanger that begs the sequel to hurry. Kazi and Jase seem white by default; a few characters are noted as brown-skinned.Questions of trust, trauma, loyalty, and territory, for readers who enjoy lie-infused romance. (Fantasy/romance. 14-17)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 9, 2018
Set in the same fantasy world as her acclaimed Remnant Chronicles series (and featuring guest appearances and politics from those books), Pearson takes up the story of Kazi, a fierce Rahtan warrior and talented thief, and Jase, the head of a ruling family in the kingdom’s outer regions. The two, thrown together in dire circumstances, find themselves in a star-crossed romance. Kazi and Jase’s relationship is layered, with intriguing and difficult pasts that provide necessary character-building and enough momentum to compel readers forward. Told in alternating chapters by Kazi and Jase, the lovers’ tale is set amid a larger political story about competing kingdoms, warring territories, and changing loyalties, the threads of which can become difficult to follow. Nevertheless, Pearson is a gifted storyteller and spinner of eminently satisfying romances and fantasy. Fans will thrill at these newest protagonists, especially the women warriors, who are equal partners in the play for power. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.