Currently Reading│Book Beginning : Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Currently Reading #34

Name: Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief #1)
Author: Livia Blackburne
Number of Pages: 376 pages in Hardcover
Published: July 8th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs. But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull. Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

This is my feature for my December Random Reads and I’m quite proud of myself for consistently keeping up with the meme. It’s hard to squeeze books when you had them scheduled, but I’m so keeping up with this. I can’t remember when I’ve received this book so I’m excited. Here’s a five star, three star and one star review respectively. Got them from book lovers on Goodreads.

There are several reasons why I am in such a tizzy over this book and why others should be too. I rarely encounter two strong main characters, a fleshed-out world, a true threat, and a surprising plot in one book. Yet Blackburne managed all of them, and from the semi-cliff-hanger ending, I predict at least two more books. Now that she’s put all that good foundation work in, the rest of her series is her playground. And if Amazon’s labeling of Midnight Thief as “Grades 7 and up” gives you doubts about its maturity, ignore it. Pierce’s books are also tagged as “Grades 7 and up,” and I just reread it last week.
— Andrea of The Jukebox Muse

I was super excited when I started this book, and for the first half it was great. The first 150 to 200 pages were good! I was happy.
Granted there were some problems with the story. Like the main character, Kyra, she seemed like a cautious individual, so why the hell did she just jump headfirst into the assassins guild without giving it some real thought? I could get past that though, she’s young. The world building needed more to it, or at least some explanations.
— Allyse of Read the Books

It’s really bad when you can figure out the majority of the plot so quickly. Add in lame characters and it’s a recipe for Wish I Had Not Wasted the Time. SPOILERS I’m sorry but how stupid was Kyra? She is supposed to be a smart tough thief and she not only is conned into a bad job that her friends can tell is bad from a mile away, but then she is swept off her feet by the bad guy who is clearly just manipulating her. SPOILER END None of the scenes actually support her supposed skills, she is constantly being rescued or saved by the bell. The romance is forced and the world building is nonexistent. And I just can’t find anything to recommend this book.
— Michelle of Adventures in Ink

As you can see, the readers are quite torn with their feelings about the book. Actually, 34% of Goodreads readers rated four star and only 25% rated it as a five. I still have high expectations though since the premise is promising. Well then, let’s see. I’m juggling this with The Young Elites since I’m currently on a snail pace reading. Too bad.

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader, where we share the first sentence (or so) of the books we are reading, along with initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Here’s the book’s beginning:

“This job could kill her. Kyra peered off the ledge, squinting at the cobblestone four stories below. A false step in the darkness would be deadly, and even if she survived the fall, Red Shields would finish her off.”

The book started on an intense note as soon as I’ve read the book’s first paragraph and immediately felt acrophobic. Imagining plummeting to your death at four stories high is so frightening. Don’t you think? I also wonder what her job is. That required her being there. It must be paying a lot right? 😀

What do you think of the book’s beginning? You could share book beginnings on your current read too. Comment the link of your own Book Beginnings on Fridays so I can check it out and have an idea of amazing books that I would want to read. Come on! Join us! 😀