ARC Review--Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty's resentment and anger.

At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions.

I received this ARC in a contest that I won from Fierce Reads. This review is my honest opinions and completely voluntary. I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was most ecstatic to read Mary E. Pearson’s Dance of Thieves that is set in the world of The Remnant Chronicles. It’s been many reads since I read that series, so I couldn’t quite remember everything about it, but in a way, that works best, for this new series isn’t about Lia and Rafe, it’s about Kazi and Jase. If you’ve read The Remnant Chronicles than you can pretty much expect the same greatness that series held in this first installment of the new series, Dance of Thieves.

The beginning of this one was a touch confusing for me, perhaps because I was looking for familiar names and faces, struggling to remember what had happened in the first series. I do this to myself a lot and really need to find a way to get over that. Lol. But within just a few chapters I was finally able to see where Kazi’s story began, as there was a bit of a recap of sorts of what her past was like and it was necessary to help set the story, I see that now. Kazi is being sent by the queen to go to Tor’s Watch to search for a criminal who escaped long ago. Her friends will be joining her as well. Kazi and her friends were once thieves, and maybe still are, but they have also been trained by the queen herself to become the perfect solider, the ones that no one would ever suspect.

Jase has just become Patrei after his father passed away, he’s basically king of his country. He knows that many of his father’s enemies won’t be too happy that he’s in charge now and when he sees Kazi causing a bit of mischief in his town, he gets curious. Though, it’s his curiosity that will be his doom for it’s not long after they meet that both Kazi and Jase are kidnapped by slave laborers to be taken to who-knows-where to be forced to work in harsh conditions until the keel over. Naturally, this idea doesn’t make either of them happy and Kazi manages to free herself, Jase, and the other prisoners…only they didn’t get themselves unchained before losing the keys.

Kazi and Jase will have to work together if they want to stay clear from the slave laborers and get to the next town which is some hundreds of miles away. So they walk barefoot and chained a great distance.

Naturally, you can pretty much guess that these two who hate each other are going to end up falling for one another. They are chained together after all. Oddly enough, this journey of theirs is only the beginning of the story. Much more will happen to them afterwards and it will be nearly impossible to guess the future outcomes. Kazi has her mission. Jase has his kingdom to protect. They are at odds with each other and yet, neither one can forget the events they went through while chained together.

I wouldn’t exactly call the relationship that developed insta-love. True, it happens quick and is foreseeable, or perhaps I’ve just read too much, but yet I have to say, it was rather sweet, and incredibly swoony! Though just because they fell into these feelings rather quickly, doesn’t mean things will continue to go well for them. There will be many more trials and tribulations that will affect their growing relationship.

We get both Kazi and Jase’s points of view in this one, there’s no guessing games this time around, sadly. Lol. I really enjoyed getting both their views for you saw how they truly cared for one another despite what they might actually say to each other and you were better able to understand what was driving them to complete their goals.

Except for my initial hiccup in the beginning, I have to say that this novel was incredibly well-paced! I don’t want to get into the details explaining why, but I never felt like the story dragged. Not one bit. It was purely page-turning (as I am one who could never grip the book to damage the spine and say “spine-gripping”, lol!).

The characters were lovable in their own ways, I especially enjoyed Kazi’s friends, Synove and Wren. They had their quirks but were hysterical as well! Jase’s many siblings were also a riot! I truly loved his family. Needless to say the characters were all winners for me!

The ending though was quite the puzzle! There’s some different going on after a nice steady stream of a pattern, you could say. I’m not sure what to make of it and I think that was Mary’s point. She led me into this false sense of security where I felt like I knew what was going on and what might happen and then POW! I see what you did there Mary, and I applaud you for it! ;)

Dance of Thieves may be a new story with new characters, but it’s set in the familiar world we already know from The Remnant Chronicles. It’s a story that you will be quick to fall in love with as you did its predecessor. Dance of Thieves was a truly marvelous piece of artwork from its cover to the very last word on the page. There is no doubt about it that I will be very much looking forward to its sequel!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Dance of Thieves releases August 7, 2018