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Thief of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves – 2) by Andy Peloquin

“I am Ilanna, Journeyman of House Hawk. I do the impossible.”

A cunning thief of unrivaled ingenuity, Ilanna is determined to secure her freedom. Nothing will prevent her escape from the Night Guild’s callous cruelty, not even the most powerful man in Praamis, Duke Phonnis.

Commanding a crew of pickpockets, bounty hunters, poisoners, and assassins, Ilanna schemes to disgrace the Duke. She must survive blackmail, a bloodthirsty rival syndicate, and enemies within her own House to claim her spoils: vengeance for the deaths of her friends and gold to buy independence.

But all Ilanna’s skill may not suffice to protect the one person who matters most: her son.

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Author’s Bio

I am, first and foremost, a storyteller and an artist–words are my palette. Fantasy is my genre of choice, and I love to explore the darker side of human nature through the filter of fantasy heroes, villains, and everything in between. I’m also a freelance writer, a book lover, and a guy who just loves to meet new people and spend hours talking about my fascination for the worlds I encounter in the pages of fantasy novels.

Fantasy provides us with an escape, a way to forget about our mundane problems and step into worlds where anything is possible. It transcends age, gender, religion,race, or lifestyle–it is our way of believing what cannot be, delving into the unknowable, and discovering hidden truths about ourselves and our world in a brand new way. Fiction at its very best!

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My Review

5 stars

Ilanna is a skilled thief of the Night Guild but she wants out. But freedom does not come easily. She is going to have to plan and prepare if she is going to be stealing the golden sarcophagus out of the most heavily guarded mansions. But the heist is not the only thing keeping Ilanna on her toes. Those in her own house would gladly throw her to the wolves if it would mean they gain. But Ilanna is not just fighting for her own freedom, there is more at stake than just her life.

Ilanna is one tough woman. She has gone through hell to come out as part of the House Hawk. But now the stakes are higher and she is bound and determined to get out of the Night Guild. She is quick on her feet, great at strategy and planning, and is tough as nails. She gets in over her head and takes her licks but she is still fighting in the end. She is an amazing character.

This books has action and thrills. There were times I was holding my breath and others where I was cheering for Ilanna. If you want an amazing read you need to check this series out. Andy Peloquin is an awesome author and is one of my favorites when it comes to dark fantasies.

I received Thief of the Night Guild from the author for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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Lake of Sins: Escape (Lake of Sins – 1) by L.S. O’Dea

Only the best are chosen to breed.

The rest are loaded onto carts and taken away from the encampment.  Never to be seen again.

Trinity has one week to escape into the forest and discover the fate of her kind.

Dive into the Lake of Sins and discover a world filled with human-animal hybrids where predators are friends and monsters aren’t nearly as scary as those who create them.

The YA, dark fantasy series people are calling dark, gritty and too disturbing to put down.

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Excerpt

TRINITY WAS UNABLE TO TEAR HER EYES away from Mirra as the Tracker struggled in the Handler’s grasp.  Mirra was taller and faster, but the Handler was built like a rock, squat and solid.  He was about her height but quadruple her width with long arms that almost scraped the floor.  What initially looked like hair on his body were clothes made out of fur.  His face was mostly concealed by a long, gray beard and mustache and his wiry, gray hair hung past his shoulders.  She glanced down the passageway.  Should she run or try to help Mirra?  She didn’t know how to fight.  How much help would she be?  She took a hesitant step sideways toward the exit.

The Handler gave Mirra one last squeeze and then let go, his hand gliding down her back.  “Sweet, sweet, Mirra.  Where have you been?” he murmured as he buried his head in the Tracker’s furry neck.

She halted.  They weren’t fighting.  They hadn’t been fighting.

“Mirra home.  Mirra miss you.”  The Tracker continued to wiggle and squirm as he petted her.  “Look.  Mirra find”—the Tracker turned toward her—“Little One.”

The Handler stilled, leaving his hand on Mirra’s back.  He turned his head and his black eyes bored into her.  “You’ve brought me dinner.”  He drew a large double-bladed knife from a sheath on his hip and stepped toward her.

Her heart stopped and then pounded madly.  That’s why Mirra didn’t kill her.  She was a gift.  As she turned to run, she stumbled and hit the wall, falling to the floor.  She struggled to stand, her nerves making her legs clumsy.  He continued to approach, the knife gleaming in the firelight.

“No.  No dinner.”  Mirra placed her paw on his arm.

He halted, but continued to stare at her.  “If she’s not to eat then why have you brought this”—he looked her up and down—“Producer here?”

Mirra kept her hand on his arm.  “Mirra like Little One.”  She stomped her foot.  “No eat.  She mine.”

He licked his lower lip and then pulled it into his mouth with his upper teeth.  He bit down for a second, shaking his head.  He sighed as he sat on a chair near the fire.  “Mirra, we’ve been over this.  You can’t adopt stray creatures.”  He stared directly at her.  “It doesn’t work out well for them and then you’re sad.”

She really did not want to know what had happened to the others.

“This one different,” said Mirra, a pout in her tone.

“Mirra, you promised to stop doing this,” he said.

Mirra sat down on the ground next to his feet, leaning her head against his leg.  “Mirra no mean catch her.  Mirra follow.  Mirra watch.  Guards come.  Mirra hide her.  Now, Little One here.”  She smiled, showing her mouthful of sharp teeth.  “Guards no happy.”

“You didn’t touch the Guards, did you?”

“No.  Mirra wanted kill but Mirra no kill.”  Mirra frowned.

“Good girl.”  He stroked the fur on her head.

She’d been right.  Something had been stalking her.  All that time, the Tracker had been following her.  She could have been killed at any moment and she’d had no idea.

“Why did you watch her?  Why not just eat her?”  He grabbed a nearby stick and began whittling.

She tensed.  That was a very good question.

“Don’t know.”  Mirra shrugged.

The Tracker expanded and contracted her claws rhythmically as she spoke.  The claws were long, a lot longer than hers.  She tightened her hands into fists at her sides.

He looked back at her.  “She is a cute little thing.  So tiny.”  He glanced quickly at Mirra.

Mirra looked at her and nodded.  “Tiny.  Helpless.  Nice.  Save River-Man.  Save Mirra.”

“Really?  How did she save Mirra?”  He cocked his eyebrow.

“Mirra slip on rock.  Little One pull Mirra back.”

“I didn’t know a Producer had it in ‘em.”  He continued to look closely at her.  “May not be all Producer.  Too small.  Looks smart, too.”  He waved for her to come forward.  “Sit.  Since we aren’t going to eat you, we might as well get acquainted.”

Author’s Bio

S. O’Dea grew up the youngest of seven in a family that uses teasing and tricks as an indication of love (or at least that’s what she tells herself).  Being five years younger than her closest sibling often made her the unwilling entertainment for her brothers and sisters.

Before she started kindergarten her brothers taught her how to spell her first and middle name—Linda Sue.  She was so proud she ran into the kitchen to tell her mother.  She stood tall and recited the letters of her name:  L-E-M-O-N   H-E-A-D.

Perhaps, she has her siblings to thank for the demons that whisper through her mind and help to create these dark and demented stories.

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My Review

5 stars

An event happened that killed all animals over 20 pounds and most humans. The world is now filled with human like creatures that are split into groups ruled by the Almighties. Trinity has hidden her claws and fangs from the Producers for years but it is time for the Harvest List and she knows that she won’t be on it, only those that look perfect get chosen. The rest get carted into the forest never to return. But she wants to know what happens to those that get taken away so she sneaks into the forest and makes a horrible discovery.

This is an amazing world filled with fresh new creatures. This world has human like creatures and those that look like a human get selected to breed. Those that don’t disappear. Trinity knows that she will never be selected to be a Producer and she wants to know what happens to those not chosen. And what she learns with shake her to the core.

I loved this book. It’s a fresh new world filled with its own personal hell. It’s easy to get sucked into the story when you feel for Trinity and hope for the best yet face fresh horrors with her. I couldn’t put this book down and now I want to read Secrets in Blood to see what happens next.

This is a great dystopian story that you don’t want to miss.

I received Escape from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

Giveaway

Choice of an electronic copy of any of L.S. O’Dea’s books

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