A city of intrigue. An irresistible con. A mysterious enemy.Quin poses as an aristocrat to rob from the rich and give to the poor. Her goal: to save the city’s slums. Her method: swindle and move on, because rich men are for conning, not for falling in love with, however tempting this one may be.Artistic, observant, and charismatic, Atesh is second in line for the throne. Marrying for love is a … throne. Marrying for love is a foolish dream. Or perhaps not. When he meets Quin, he begins to wonder. Little does he know, he’s her next mark. And someone else’s.
Someone who wants more than just his fortune.
The clock ticks. The gallows looms. And Quin must save Atesh from its shadow or lose him forever.
If you enjoy the intrigue of Sarah J Maas and Tamora Pierce’s rebel heroines, you’ll love this page-turning new fantasy adventure series.
Buy A Thief & a Gentlewoman today to immerse yourself in a gripping story of sword fights, sabrecats, and slow-burn romance.
Part of the Counterfeit Contessa quartet:
Book 1 – A Thief & a Gentlewoman
Book 2 – A Sleuth & a Charlatan – Coming August 2019
Book 3 – TBC – Coming 2020
Book 4 – TBC – Coming 2021
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You know those books that get praised with “I couldn’t put it down”? A Thief & A Gentlewoman is one of those. I had to put it down, but dang, I didn’t want to.
How do I describe it? It’s like some kind of Lady Locke Lamora tossed up with the world building and romance skills of Trudi Canavan, only less magic-orientated. It is the “I never meant to actually love you” trope done in such a way it’s fun and exciting despite it’s epic length – 600 pages is a daunting prospect but the pacing means everything is so well timed that not one moment of it drags. There’s murder, there’s mystery, there’s action, secrets, mayhem, a love that’s not over the top and all-consuming even if it does drive the story. It’s also a first in series AND a self-contained story. No cliff-hangers here, but plenty of room for follow up. All in all, one epic read worthy of the time you’ll put into reading it.
It’s the story of Quinta, a well-trained thief playing the role of a gentlewoman to get close to her marks. She’s returned to her home city, Arianople, which is a beautiful mess of Mediterranean cultures laced with the softest undertone of magic. Her next target isn’t just some lordling, oh no, it’s the cousin of the Sultana herself. Snaring the fortune of Atesh, the Pasha with green eyes and an artistic flare, will be her crowning achievement. She’ll take his marriage proposal much as she’s done with others, take the ring and vanish into the night… But not before giving a little back to those who come from the same lowly background as her. She never planned to actually fall in love. She has her friend Derry and mentor Ariston to care for amoungst other things… But it turns out forbidden, impossible love isn’t the only thing she needs to worry about. The City of Cities has a long and grim history, and now the tangles of the past are coming back to ensnare everyone be they royal or not.
Quin isn’t just one of those “strong female characters” – she’s complex, compelling, cunning, clever, not to mention as quick with a rapier as she is with her wit. Far from being a swooning maiden even when romance does come into play, her softer side is still tempered with steely resolve. Atesh gets his own chapters as well, giving us an insight into his situation without giving too much away. Side characters such as Derry and Ariston have their own dramas and secrets that make them so much more than just convenient extras. Even the villains are far more interesting than they deserve to be (boo, hiss!)
There’s the tiniest hint of naive awkwardness about the language used early on in the “does she/does he..?” romance sections, but it’s not one of those indie books that promises a grown up relationship but ends up with characters in the twenties acting like lovesick tweens. The writing gets more confident as it goes along (not that, for the most part, it needed to).
The setting is gorgeous. It’s very obviously inspired by Turkey and Greece with a heavy Renaissance flavour. A tiny gripe would be not explaining some things quite quick enough, like what a sabrecat was until Quin was actually riding one (aha, they’re horse-substitutes!) or why Quin mentioned Cards (the world’s inventive Tarotish magic system is beautifully light-touch – it exists but isn’t the be-all and end-all of the world’s charm). Descriptions of the costumes and setting are just as much as they need to be to evoke the feel of a world not quite our own but still familiar. Those little touches, like the smell and texture of various foodstuffs, are enough to spark the imagination.
I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did, given it’s so long and billed as a romance. But by the time the mystery aspect came into play, I could barely put the Kindle down. I had to know the who, the how, the why… And that’s the mark of a really epic story teller. I cared so much for the characters and how they were going to resolve everything (because come on, you knew they would). I am so pleased to find a book that told such a great story with closure and yet promises that there’s so much more to discover about the world and the characters…
Very much looking forward to answering a few more of those hows and whys with this series. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
I have to admit that this was a complete cover pick, I just totally fell in love when I saw it and it was a stand out in a room full of books that I was considering at the time. What was inside was all that the cover promised it would be!
Quin is a fantastic character, smart, sassy, totally kick ass but a little morally grey too. She is a Robin Hood for the residents of the stories Arinapole, which has a sumptuous Constantinople feel to it. A product of the Gutter Streets, she has risen above to fleece the hoi Polloi under the expert tutalage of an ex hareem darling who is also handily, her mother. She is one of several amazing female characters in this story, Derry, her friend and trainee apothacary holds her own wonderfully and can I just say that I am desperate for more Tacita! I actually think that Tacita is my favourite side character, she’s the antithesis of Quin in that she appears to be at the other end of the social spectrum but with a similar outlook for adventure. For anyone familiar with the new She-Ra, she is giving me total Scorpia vibes and I really hope she appears in future books in the series! The guys don’t hold up too badly either, the stalwart Ariston is a delight and although it took me a while, I did warm to Atesh as Quin melted through his initially aloof exterior. They’re not quite the full rag tag team that is becoming a YA staple (which I personally love) but there are enough for some fledgling #squadgoals to surface.
I absolutely adored the magic system, contained within tarot style cards each deck is unique to its creator and grows slowly over time, each card created and mastered to either disguise, distract, locate and seemingly get up to no good with, for the most part. I really liked how it wasn’t overly relied on as a means to an end though, there is a tithe to pay for it’s use and did give more scope for genuine skill and cunning to be used, which we had in a glorious abundance. I have to say I wasn’t clear on whether everyone could have a deck or whether it was a select few who could use these magics, but they did seem to be popping up more and more as the story progressed although more at the higher end of the social spectrum. I’m a total world building girl with books and the amount of care and attention to detail in creating such a gorgeous world is outstanding. A true picture was painted and I rarely felt that I didn’t have a clear vision of where the characters were or the situations they were in, which totally pulled me into the story and wrapped me in a big world building sized blanket of goodness.
Whilst it is a long read, there is really so much packed into its pages with a little something to please everyone, as it encompassed murder mystery, courtroom drama, romance, action and giant sabrecats all wrapped up in a glorious fantasy bow. Honestly Sabrecats are my new favourite animal sidekick and the author gives a totally plausible and astute reasoning as to why they are vastly superior to horses in this context! A Thief and a Gentlewoman rose to meet all my expectations, I loved it. From its languid opening to it fast paced ending, it had me guessing and hoping all the way to the end. Its also a story that brings closure on itself but open ended enough to have me excited for what comes next without relying on a gimicky cliffhanger to drawn me back in. I’m just glad the next book in the series is already out!
This book reminded me of what I think Robin Hood would be like if Tamora Pierce had written it. Except, if I’m honest, I think I liked the writing style of this story even better than Pierce (am I allowed to say that???).
The romance is strong in this tale, but it’s all beautifully balanced with action, magic, and an ever-unfolding mystery. No spoilers here, but every scene was ultimately a page-turner, and I blazed through the story much faster than I would have thought possible.
I straight-up loved this book. The lush fantasy worldbuilding that isn’t even vaguely reminiscent of Tolkien, deep characters you alternately want to yell at or hug, a really interesting and subtle magic system unlike any I’ve seen before, gorgeous, clean prose. And of course, a really killer cover certainly helps.