I really loved this book. I feel like I rushed through it too much on my first read so I came back to it later and reread it with more patience. I don't regret taking the time to reread it at all. I think that what the author does the best with this book is fleshing out the characters. I love the realism and I love that it's not a Tolkienesque type fantasy where everything is black and white, or good and evil. However, you can also see that, in their own way, the main protaganists are well-meaning people with complex personalities even if I, as the reader, don't fully agree with their views from time to time. THAT is what I look for most in a good book. I like realistic (even if they are unlikable) characters whose character development is well-written. If that's what you look for in a good fantasy book, then I would highly recommend reading An Illusion of Thieves. It's unique, it's intruiging, you'll get the feeling that these characters could actually have existed, and you'll root for them on every second of their adventure. I will definitely be continuing this series.

I loved this book! By far the most stand-out quality was the characters. Everyone is wonderfully balanced as people - no one is pure good or pure evil, they're just real people making the best choices they can while navigating complicated situations. All of the relationships, but particularly Romy and Neri's, are believable. The realism gives them so much more emotional weight. Each setback is keenly felt; each little bit of progress is worth a celebration. The plot is well paced, the world is realistic and intriguing, and the story feels nicely completed while also providing a nice hook to the next book in the series (which I already can't wait for!).

Magical outlaws, and impossible quest, political intrigue, adult themes, a "ragtag crew" having to work together- basically, An Illusion of Thieves, had me at hello. From the very start, Cate Glass weaves her world and characters with such rich layers, her words absolutely came alive for me.

The relationship between Romy and Neri are central to the book, with its' varied twists and turns, their sibling bond was the lodestone through which their endeavor succeeded or failed. So it was wonderful to see their once estranged and strained relationship grow.

This first book absolutely left me wanting more!

From time to time we do stumble upon a book that shakes us like a magnitude 10 earthquake. A book that requires a 6 star rating. Books that are as beautiful, as they are haunting happen once in a while to remind me that reading is much more than entertainment or a pleasant pastime; reading is necessity. An Illusion of Thieves is one of these books.

Packed with magical heists and politics, the story mostly follows a young girl named Romy who becomes the mistress of the Shadow Lord. A young mysterious man holding immense power and authority within his city. We also get to follow the story of her younger brother Neri who is a little bit of a dennis the menace as he's spontaneous and hasty and eventually does something very stupid which puts his entire family in jeopardy. Romy is kicked out of her home and has to find a way to survive.

How to explain pure genius condensed in the usual triangle of narrative-characters-worldbuilding? Glass begins: Her mesmerising storytelling, teetering on the edge of poetry. There is nothing ordinary in the Illusion of Thieves, neither the way it is told, nor the story it treasures. Delving into this novel layer after layer is like diving deep into the Earth itself. Initially, we are captivated by the beauty of the outer layer, the "mountains and kingdoms", only to discover the diamonds of the main characters, the silver dialogue lines, the riches of civilisations. Then, when you think you have probed far enough, the book takes you straight into the hot magma of what is yet to come, the fiery lifeblood of a greater story than you could ever hoped for.

Without a doubt an extraordinary start to the Chimera series, which I hope will shine even more brightly as I continue my journey.

I definitely enjoyed this book more than I expected to, and my hopes were already high. The beginning is fairly slow, mostly focusing on Romy and her brother Neri’s life after being banished from nobility.
At first, Neri’s hotheaded and reckless attitude was grating, but he grows out of it fairly quickly and the building relationship between Romy and Neri is really sweet. I really liked watching the siblings make the most of the life they were given, and Romy is such a resourceful and intelligent character that doesn’t fall into the archetypical “physically strong female lead”. However, the other characters fell a little flatter since they were given less time to develop, though this didn’t detract from my experience.

The heist only really begins around mid-way through the book, but once it does the pace picks up significantly and I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed watching the crew create and improvise on a plan, as well as finally executing it. Magic doesn’t appear often in this book, but when it did I found it quite unique. The worldbuilding felt a clunky at times as exposition would suddenly appear in a scene. I did like the political scheming but found that I had a hard time remembering names.

The style of prose is a bit old fashioned, though I quickly got used to it and genuinely loved some of the descriptions. It was a short and sweet read with a super satisfying ending while still leaving some stones unturned.

Personally, I’d recommend this book for anyone who likes a good heist and slice of life story that has some politicking sprinkled throughout.

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass. A very enjoyable read. In a world where being a sorcerer is forbidden and punishable by death, comes a tale of magic, intrigue and swords. Romy is cast out of favor with the criminal underworlds boss after an effort to save her family, now all she has left is her brother and her magic, but when a threat and an opportunity come knocking she does what she can to save her land. This book can be a little slow in places but it is also the beginning of what I hope is a long series and as such is laying the groundwork into the future.

Great first book with lots of action. Fantasy, magic, and intrigue throughout but their unexpected twists in the plot. I am looking forward to book 2

This was so different than what I was expecting! I was afraid it would be an insta-love story (it was the farthest thing from it). Early on in the book, I thought I would have to give up on it because I could not tolerate Neri's dangerous immaturity. But his growth - and the growth of his relationship with Romy - was lovely.

It is so refreshing to see a fantasy that focuses on the bond between siblings rather than starcrossed love.

I also really liked Romy's character: she was practical, strong, and intelligent. I had gone into it hoping for a bit more of a seductive, empowered courtesan but Romy isn't about that; that life wasn't hers by choice and it's interesting to see her build herself back up from the bottom.

There was a lot of political intrigue and backstories I could do without and I found myself having to re-read several paragraphs just to understand who had forfeited to who or offended what ruler and ultimately this was frustrating as it didn't play into the bigger story overall and began to feel tedious.

Also, the magic element doesn't seem to fit naturally in the story just yet. I am intrigued by their abilities, but so much of the story was spent focusing elsewhere that when magic did get mentioned, it was kind of like, 'oh yeah, I forgot that existed.'

Also, the way the author approaches alcoholism frustrated me immensely. I respected that she had Romy touching with alcoholism for a brief moment, and then she somehow magically got better with sword lessons (that were promptly never mentioned again, aside from a brief mention of a haircut and some exercise). While Placidio did exhibit a bit more realistic portrayal of the struggle of addiction, he also quite easily shed it off when necessary, staying sober when needed and going back to drinking periodically. This is...typically not how addiction works, and it frustrated me.

I want more of the Shadow Lord! I would have loved a bit more from his character within the middle of the book, as I think it would have given a stronger impact on his arrival at the end (it was soo good but could have been SOOOO GOOD). As it were, he was intriguing, but fell rather flat, his character almost completely built upon small snippets of recollection from Romy.

It's a fascinating world and I love how the story wrapped up - it's like Ocean's 11 meets Game of Thrones, and I'm so down for their next escapade.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This was an entertaining read, but I felt the pacing was a little slow for a book marketed as fast-paced, swashbuckling styled adventure. I found myself wanting to know more about everything -- the setting, the characters, the history of magic in their universe -- but the focus meandered in the first half of the book and the action took quite a while to build. I think this was intentional in what is clearly the first book in the series, so hopefully the questions left unanswered will be resolved in future installments.

I would recommend this to fans of fantasy and court intrigues. The pseudo-Italian backdrop made for an interesting and immersive experience that felt almost like it could be historical fiction with just a hint of believable magic.

Full review to come nearer to release date but a mission undertaken by a band of unlikely misfits employing forbidden magic is totally my brand. I enjoyed every minute of this.