Thieves at Heart (The Valley of Ten Crescents #1) [Kindle Edition]

Can you believe a book with such a well done cover is from an indie author? And wait to have it at your hands! It's definitely one of the best books in a matter of a creation i had in hands. It's so well done and i just had to mention it. I know we should not judge a book by its cover, but for first impression i was just so extremely excited to read it because i felt like the inside will be the same as good.

And to talk about the inside, yes it was as good. Simple and light writing which keep you in with the right amount of details a story need so you can have a good image in your head. My favorite part were the description of the characters, which made them really real. On the story side, it's captivating. It's interesting and gets you in from the first moment. Instead of following a high class person or a prophecy girl, you get to follow an outcast in a fantasy world. And not only outcast because Tavera is a thief but also because she is also half-elf, a race which you don't really call a favorite in this world. The story contains action, relationship matters, mystery, mission, killing and it keeps you interested at the whole part.

Laslty, we have Tavera and Derk. Tavera is our main character. A half-elf thief and Derk is her mentor and an elite thief. Now, Tavera is an unique girl. For her age (because she is young) is quite clever. Later she becomes a very nice thief too. I could sympathize with her most of the time. The only negative i have to say about (and in general for the book) is how sometimes she was thinking so much about boys, kissing and at some point sex that she was becoming annoying. It's not weird to thing about those things, not only because she starts to becomes a woman but also because of her back story...but sometimes it was so concentrated on that matter and i just wanted to go on with the story, that it got impatient in a bad way. But except that, i can't say something else bothered me.
And Derk....well he is my favorite character. Mentor, mysterious, nice guy,protective etc...you can't really say no to him :P He was by far the most interesting person of all and i loved each one of his scenes no matter how small they were! I want a mentor like him too!

Thieves at Heart was a great start of a series! It was fast and different and i totally enjoyed it. Tavera might annoyed me at some points, but heck! The concept is original and i liked it! It was a good break from the romance of YA.

Once again previous reviewers have given good synopsis of the story. This is another new author for me, the story line kept my interest until the end but I felt that the end of this particular story ended rather abruptly and just needed another chapter to finish this book off. There are elves, thieves,the haves and have nots and perhaps this is for the more young adult market so for me another one time read only.

Some people are just named to write books aren't they. What else was Isaac Asimov going to do, or J.R.R. Tolkien? It was as inevitable as a girl called Crystal Chandelier becoming a....dancer (ahem).

So when I reviewed the book from a writer called Tristan J. Tarwater I was expecting great things and for the most part I wasn't disappointed.

We follow Tavera, a half-elf, as she is kidnapped from her prostitute ma by Derk, a member of the secretive group of thieves calling themselves The Cup of Cream, and trained to be an elite thief. The book focuses on Tavera as she grows up surrounded by these scoundrels and assorted others and guided by Derk.

It's basically a coming of age story as there is no continuous plot other than Tavera getting older so I surprised by the fact I enjoyed this book. It focuses on a young girl and some of the more feminine problems that girls suffer through adolescence and not a book I would usually read but it is well written, well paced with a superbly described world to inhabit.

I've mentioned this in another review but if these fantasy worlds are going to feel real, they must be well thought out and include those little details that transport you into the story. Thieves at Heart has that in spades; the characters have their own slang language based on their religion, which itself has its own stories that run throughout.

I've spoken to them about this but I'd put this book in the young adult range, not necessarily strictly for girls but probably aimed more towards them. The story is not so intricate as to lose them and it's just edgy enough to keep them interested. I would say that parents read it first just in case though.

A surprising joy, a strong 3/5 from me.

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