Review of The Thief by Sylvia Mercedes

 

A Clever Thief. A Disfigured Mage. A Kiss of Poison.

Nelle longs for nothing more than to leave behind her thieving ways and pursue a life of honest work. But when her father lands himself neck-deep in debt, she must take on a dangerous job if she hopes to save his life . . . a job that brings her to the shores of Roseward Isle.

For fifteen years, Soran Silveri has fought to suppress the nightmarish monster stalking Roseward. His weapons are few and running low, and the curse placed upon him cripples his once unmatched power. Isolation has driven him to the brink of madness, and he knows he won’t be able to hold on much longer.

When a sharp-tongued, uncouth, and undeniably beautiful young woman shows up on his shore, Soran resolves to drive her away. He won’t be responsible for another death.

But Nelle is equally determined not to be frightened off by the hideously scarred mage. Not until she gets what she came for . . . .

Can two outcasts thrown together in a tangle of lies discover they are each other’s only hope? Or will the haunted darkness of Roseward tear them apart?

The Scarred Mage of Roseward is a COMPLETE romantic fantasy trilogy, inspired by “Beauty and the Beast.” Read now for swoon-worthy romance, breathtaking adventure, spooky thrills, and a sigh-inducing happily ever after.

"The Scarred Mage of Roseward will enchant you from the very first word. Sylvia Mercedes has created a lush fantasy world with the perfect amount of fairytale lore sprinkled in. If you love Beauty and the Beast, taciturn swoon-worthy heroes, and daring heroines, you need to pick up this book now! You won't regret it!" — Frost Kay, USA Today Bestselling Author of Young Adult Fantasy.

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My review:

This book has everything you could ever want from a Beauty and the Beast retelling (except for her other five siblings that wouldn't fit in this retelling sadly). We have a resourceful heroine, a haunted hero, a creepy setting, mystery galore, and best of all- little animal friends in the form of wyverns. Also, the sorceress character is by far the creepiest of all Beauty and the Beast retellings (and definitely in the top three of creepiest villains of all fantasy retellings ever). 

The setting itself was its own character and just so creepy and romantic at the same time. Another unlikely character was the chemistry between the scarred and hardened hero trying to sleep through life and the young, bright heroine who is too full of life to let that happen. I especially loved our title character, as our scrappy young thief was a character who knew she was beautiful and knew others knew it, but was also decidedly innocent and I really appreciate that she is both. The wyvern is my favorite character, though. Sorry, Nelle.

As a note to more sensitive readers, this story had a few bad words mixed in with fantasy words, fantasy violence, and strong romantic elements that puts in in the NA category rather than YA.

I look forward to reading the next two books- but I just got the rest of the Venatrix series, so I'm going to be wrapped up for at least a day...