Book Review: Thief of Sorrows by Kristen M. Long

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 445 pages
Author: Kristen M. Long
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What if Robin Hood was a female assassin, with deadly powers, who not only steals from the rich and corrupt…she kills them too. Isolde Cotheran is anything but a damsel in need of saving. By day, she is the heir to Thornwood manor and all its lands. By night, she masquerades as the Hood, a brutal outlaw who leads a cadre of thieves and assassins whose mission is simple, fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. When Isolde brutally kills a lord, it forces two men back into her life. Liam, the handsome Captain of the Guard, who was shunned from Thornwood for joining the evil king’s army. And Gage, the Right Hand of the king and murderer of Isolde’s first love. After a successful heist leaves Gage humiliated and in danger of the king’s wrath for failure to capture the Hood, Isolde’s world is thrown into chaos. Struggling to protect those she loves not only from the dangers of the kingdom but from her own deadly power, Isolde is forced to take action when one of her own is caught in the crosshairs. Choices are made and blood is spilled, forcing the Hood to face her past. A past that is far more dangerous than even she realizes.

Thank you to the author for a gifted audiobook.

I’LL READ THE SECOND.

Audio notes: I loved the audio! The narrator was great. And I think that really helped my overall enjoyment of the book.

I was very intrigued by the gender bend on Robin Hood and liked how it played out. There’s some great action, lots of politicking and some dark evil. Isolde was a FMC you wanted to root for and I liked seeing her strength and determination to right wrongs.

The romance didn’t really set me swooning. It was a relationship already formed and that left me in the dust for catching up on the chemistry. I am genuinely curious where it’ll go in book two now that events have occurred. There’s room for a solid build.

I felt like the plot meandered and in the middle especially. I kept waiting for different aspects of the story to move, or for even sub-plots to get a little more shine. I still have plans to read book two and see the progression. I do think the writing was wonderful and the potential is here.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: some strong
Romance: 2-3 open; low-moderate explicit
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of sexual assault and rape, kidnapping children, assault, murder, near death experiences, weapons violence