“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 … 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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Ilanna needs to be free , and to do so has to prove she is the best.
This follow on to child of the night guild is an absolutely brilliant read , great storyline and as with book 1 well written characters.
This review can’t do the book the justice it deserves to do so would have to include spoilers .
I can truthfully say it is a very compelling read and I completely recommended it.
Overall rating: 4.8
Book 2 truly flew by. After the darkest of life’s and trials, Ilanna is even more driven and determined to have her freedom, and this storyline brought the immensity of the undertaking to fruition. Heart pounding action and gut wrenching tragedy pour from these pages! Be prepared and be wary. This tale is not for the weak or easily offended! For me, book three is already locked and loaded. All my reviews are always voluntarily written.
This book continues Ilanna’s journey to legend in the face of more loss and heart break. She does avenge her friends and takes on an impossible job, to catapult her into legend.
Excellent second installment…
The young girl we knew as Viola in the first book of this series has survived her training and become a young woman now called Ilana. In this story, Ilana is planning to buy her freedom from the Night Guild by pulling off a daring and highly dangerous heist that will earn enough money to secure her freedom (and that of her son). The author deftly draws you into the story and commands your full attention through all the twists, turns, and daring exploits of this amazing woman. Follow this series and treat yourself to an amazing fantasy adventure.
I was provided with an audio copy of this book by the author and I am voluntarily offering my honest and unbiased review.
THIEF OF THE NIGHT GUILD is the sequel to CHILD OF THE NIGHT GUILD and probably one of my all-time favorite indie fantasy series. Andy Peloquin did something I was very annoyed by as for years I had the idea for doing a story about a young woman in a classic Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Thieves’ Guild. Unfortunately, I can’t write that book now as Andy did a much better job than I ever could.
Illana is a woman sold by her parents to the mysterious Night Guild and suffered tremendously in the previous book. She lost the man she loved, gave birth to his child in secret, and also was traumatized by an assault that even vengeance can’t remove the scars of. She has come to hate the Night’s Guild and seeks some way to leave it without fearing its vengeance.
After the death of her two remaining friends, Illana decides to make one enormous heist that will be able to buy her freedom and allow her to make a new life for herself, her son, and her son’s nursemaid. It will require massive preparations, expensive equipment, and pin point timing. Unfortunately, it is happening right as the Night’s Guild is fighting a takeover an even more dangerous and powerful gang.
I love Illana’s characterization as she’s not entirely likable. It’s a bold choice by Andy Peloquin that she is willing to torture and murder an innocent man in order to accomplish her big heist. She’s also someone who is fully capable of manipulating someone who genuinely loves her while feeling nothing but disgust for him. It makes the book more interesting that she’s probably every bit as bad as a “typical” Night’s Guild member and doesn’t care anymore.
I liked the supporting cast of the book as well with the majority of the thieves being lovable rogues but all of them having dark sides as well. Illana struggles with her own feelings of camaraderie and the deep burning hatred she feels for the betrayal she feels. The Night Guild didn’t help her with her friend’s murder or her assault, so it will never be forgiven by her even as that causes her significant distress whenever someone tries to befriend her.
The book is full of action, twists, and turns with the final heist being done amazingly well. I was a big fan of the Thieves Guild quests in both Oblivion as well as Skyrim. This game certainly feels like it manages to capture the fun of both, only exceeding them with excellent characterization. I also appreciate the fact Andy is willing to make Illana bisexual as just another character element, which is not something you see often in fantasy.
In conclusion, amazingly fun book and some of the best “thief” related fantasy you’re going to find out there. I’m already reading the third book in the series and hope this continues for some time more. The book is dark, gritty, sexy, and cynical but never passes into the realm of the vulgar. I think this is definitely the book for someone who loves fantasy thieves.
Rarely have I come across a book, a series, written so eloquently, full of passion, joy, trauma, adventure, determination, and a will to succeed above anything else. What does one write after reading such perfection? Thief of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves #2) is a perfect rendition of the exact manner in which one should write a fantasy novel.
In book one, Child of the Night Guild, I was so traumatized by the happenings of a little girl known as “7” who is later named Ilanna. Ilanna was determined to prove herself worthy of being one of the apprentices of House Hawk. After reading book one, I was convinced it was the best novel I’d ever read. Until I read book two, Thief of the Night Guild.
Ilanna wants to buy her freedom from the Guild, but can she survive a monumental task she sets for herself? One that no one before her has ever accomplished? Read on to be led on the adventures of a lifetime.
My fingers could not turn the pages fast enough while reading Thief of the Night Guild. Seriously, I WATCHED this book play out before me .. like reading a movie. Speaking of movies, both books thus far in this series should be movies. Imagine a series with similarities to The Divergent Series, or The Hunger Games Series. To me, better than Game of Thrones, and comparable to Lord of The Rings. I highly recommend this phenomenal series by Andy Peloquin. If you’re looking for romance or erotica, move on, but if you want that something DIFFERENT, exciting, heart wrenching, and full of speed, look no further. This book is for you.
~Have You Heard? Book Blog
Love it!
Author Andy Peloquin does an amazing job in just a couple of chapters, bringing his readers up-to-date if they haven’t read book one for a while. With vivid, realistic scenes of human cruelty countered by the buoyant human spirit, the story unfolds and, as in book one scares the bejeebers out of me.
This book is much more than about the cruelty and greed of power. It’s about children surviving abusive lives, left with nothing, and beaten out of them anything they previously were. They became one of the hundreds of children taught to be thieves using whatever potential they have. They belong to the Night Guild. From this dark beginning the human spirit re-emerges. We are privy to its growth and its hope.
Ilanna is a complex, damaged girl, who has made the best of her circumstances. Even with her ability to destroy people in her path to succeed in her thievery, I like her character. She is not all hard, her heart isn’t completely dead. There is something alluring about the person she is and who she is becoming.
Her fifteen years enslaved in the Night Guild have not all been entirely bad. She has met kind, caring, intelligent people who have suffered much as she has. However, she values above all her freedom, and so has wrangled her price for freedom from Master Gold –one million imperials. A huge amount to obtain, but Ilanna is anything but resourceful, particularly in a tight spot.
She has revenge on her mind. Her few Guild friends have been made examples of by the governing powers. She comes up with a plan, one accepted by the Masters of all the Houses and the Gold Master himself. She is planning on taking down their kingpin and gain her freedom. She stages the biggest heist the Guild has ever tried.
Ilanna is brazen, bold, and determined with every fiber of her being to pull herself from the death trap she is now in. Her quick mind and persistence to not give up, saves her time after time. The overall arc of the story is superb. I begin on edge, the reins would slacken and then the author was back tightening the rope, adding more pitfalls and escapes until I was a mess. My gut coiled. My heart pumped. It’s a thriller, readers.
Ilanna is so good at what she does, she is admired by those of her House, the Hawks. They are the unfortunates who were trained to thieve by moving from rooftop to rooftop, fly with hanging invisible rope where needed. Ilanna is very clever. Cleverer than most. She’s been pirating away small amounts of her thievery through the years she’s been in service/slavery. If caught, it would be her death. This is a girl with grit!
She wants to have a life. Her son, product of a rape, is the only person she loves and she doesn’t want him to have the ending she has—to be in servitude to the Guild. She trusts Ria, a woman she took away from a life battering experience. She relies on her to care for Kodyn, but in so doing has helped Ria heal from her trauma. There is a budding friendship between the two, a special bond by those who have suffered greatly.
Kodyn had given her something to fight for, but Ria gave her something to hope for.
The story highlights the power of greed, the lure of gold, whether you hold a legitimate respected position within the government or provide some service to protect the hoard you now possess. Who will hold the best hand and win this game of thrones?
Just when you think the plot is straight forward, you once again are confronted with more challenges, more decisions. It is glorious!
When evil exists, is one evil less so than the other? Ratcheting up the alternatives only creates more drama and tension. Will one part of the city ruled by Bloody Hand get their way with the Guild? Does the means justify the ends? How many people must one climb over to reach one’s goal?
Hope and a new life touches Ilanna. We almost have our happily ever after. This story ends on a cliffhanger of such huge proportions, I must continue the sequel!
I was provided an advanced review copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.