Re-read Review: Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Re-read Review: Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake

* RE-READ REVIEW *

See my original review here.

Title: Thief of Lies

Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

MY REVIEW

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I originally received this book for free from Entangled Teen via YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

I am really glad that I reread this a second time before moving on to the second book of the series. While I remembered the gist of things, I had forgotten many of the details throughout the book.

What I loved most about the book the first time around holds true rereading it two years later, and that is the world that the author has created for this story. It truly is one of the most unique worlds that I have read. There are so many layers and so many different elements. Being a fantasy lover, I appreciate all the different things that make up the world as a whole. Some books can fall kind of flat in the overall world department, but this one is a gem. While I loved the world itself, I felt that the world building could have had a better execution. Things became confusing all too often with all of the information being hauled at us. If the book could use any improvement, it would lie here.

I felt like the writing could have been more fluid. At times the dialogue felt a little too literary, and other times it felt too casual and almost forced. The flow of the writing could have been touched upon a little more.

The characters are very likable. Not only the main characters but the side characters as well. I felt like a little more background or history could have been included for the main characters. While I enjoyed reading about them, I didn't feel connected to them. That personal connection to them just wasn't there. This is one of those things can either make a book merely good, or absolutely great.

The plot of the book is strong. I enjoyed finding out what was going to happen at each turn. I really loved the surprises sprinkled throughout the book as well. There were some things that I didn't see coming, and I love that about a book. If a book can keep me guessing and isn't predictable then I'm game, and this book was a worthy opponent in this area. Even though, as I stated above, I didn't feel fully invested in the characters, I still raced through this book to find out what happens next because the plot was so well written.

Overall, I enjoyed rereading this book and I am glad that I did. I remember being excited for the second book after putting this one down, and that remains true after my reread. Even though I had some minor issues with the book, I highly recommend reading this. The author has created an amazing world that any fantasy lover would enjoy.