A fun, action-filled novel about a crew of thieves on a hopeless heist to steal a priceless artifact. The Six of Crows comparisons are inevitable (and warranted), but this book has its own flavor -- for one thing, far from being a "found family," every member of this gang has their own agenda to rip off their compatriots.

In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name.

For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down...but even the most powerful men can be defeated.

I am absolutely in love with this book. Each character has a complex past that you learn more and more about as each chapter passes. I love a good heist story and this one takes it to a new level by not having a plan maker in the group. Each character was developed extremely well and that plot holds lots of twists you can get into! This is in the top 3 of the books I've read this year and I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this arc. Among Thieves was filled with adventure and made me nostalgic for some other fantasy YA tales. Despite the similarities, this had many unique elements and was still refreshing. It stands out among the handful of common tropes in YA novels in recent years. & I always love the idea of outsiders coming together, but who doesn't? What I do wish there was more of? More fantasy, more world-building! That might just be a personal preference though. To the point, it had great characters, dialogue, plot, twists, and was engaging until the very end. A marvelous debut novel from Kuhn. I would love to buy my own, finished copy come September.

This book was so good! I flew through and I really love the danger and adventure that this book gave me. The main character was super relatable and I was sad when the book was over.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I thought it was another thief and heist book with multiple POVs. I’m really not a fan of more than 2/3 POVs. However, the story was delivered flawlessly. I found myself enjoying every character and really looking forward to their chapters. It held the perfect amount of sass and snark. The heist was so cool. The magic was intriguing and different. I loved it all. Start to finish. I’m really hoping there’s another book.

If you love action, adventure, plot twists, ulterior motives, heists, magic, superb characters, etc, go preorder this book.! It’s 100% worth it.

Among Thieves is a fun-filled magical heist tale that is highly reminiscent of Six of Crows; yet it is different enough not to seem like a carbon copy. The plot and characters are engaging and well presented, with all the key players coming across as individuals. I might have liked a little more background information on a couple of them, but since the ending is open enough for a sequel, perhaps we will get to know them better in book two. The world building is nicely handled: enough to satisfy me, but without info dumping. Overall, it was an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages. I would definitely pick up the sequel (if there is one) and/or other works by this author in the future. It's a solid 4-star rating from me.

Rating: 7.5/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of Among Thieves for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

Among Thieves is an engaging, suspense-filled heist novel with blistering pace, an intriguing cast of characters, and plenty of machinations to keep you guessing until the very end. Kuhn shows a ton of promise with this fantasy debut and is going to be a name to keep an eye on.

Yeah… so I haven’t read Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo *anticipates being shouted at and/or thrown items hurtling toward noggin* so I can’t just jump on the hype train that comes with the blurb. Having said that, the cover is what stood out to me, along with a very interesting premise and me being a sucker for trad published debut fantasy novels.

The author takes a very interesting approach with the storyline as she weaves the plot through multiple POVs, each taking on their own chapters and giving you their perspectives of the happenings throughout all of the trials. It is refreshing to get various accounts rather than all characters being mashed into the “mercenary band / band of thieves” grouping and getting a one liner here and there from each. You are able to explore the world through different eyes, emotions, motivations, etc.

Having said that, the characters and the world did feel like they could’ve been fleshed out a little more. Ryia is probably going to be the character that most sticks with me because: A. She is introduced first, and B. She has the most interesting storyline. I mean, who is she really? What motivates her? How in the world did she become the “Butcher of Carrowwick”? All of these questions deserve answers, and while we don’t get the full story we are looking for, there is enough there to keep you wanting more.

In regard to the world-building, it tended to take a backseat to the characters. What I mean is, while this is a VERY character-driven novel in a “gritty world full of magic and malice”, the world is really just there to give these characters somewhere to go. Does that make sense? I couldn’t get a great feel for the streets, the catacombs, the castles, the Auction, the Lottery, etc. They were all very surface but serviceable for the storyline. Thing is, I could look past all this because sometimes the world doesn’t TRULY matter if the characters grab you enough.

The magic system is pretty straight forward but offered some very intense and enjoyable moments. I’d love to know more of its history and maybe forthcoming novels can expand on it a little bit. But what really shines are the machinations. While this is a “found family” type novel, you will soon find out that while people seem to have your back, they are just as likely to stab you in it. Kuhn excels at consistently flipping the tables end over end, smattering them with axes, and then hurling expletives at them until they finally give up the ghost. Even then, she still isn’t done. Freaking brilliant.

All in all, if you enjoy heist stories with plenty of intrigue and are ok with not diving too deep into characters or world-building, Among Thieves is a worthwhile read. I liken it to a favorite of mine, Fool’s Gold (The Dragon Lords #1) by Jon Hollins except with all “mostly” human characters and not soo many dragons.

3.5 stars

What could go wrong if a reckless mercenary, an expert card cheater, a master of disguise, a disgraced ex-captain of the royal guard, and a loudmouth smuggler were forced to work together and to rely on each other in order to survive?

The setting of this story reminds me of Six of Crows or The Lies of Locke Lamora. Criminal gangs are fighting for territory and power in the city, and no one is trustworthy. Gangs and individuals are attacking, and double-crossing each other in their fight for power. The three main gangs are The Saints, The Harpies, and The Crowns.

Ryia (aka The Butcher) works for Cal, the head of the Saints, as a mercenary, but what she really wants is to be free of the Guildmaster who has been trying to capture her for years. Tristan is hiding his real identity and is being blackmailed by The Harpies because they somehow learned his secret, and he now has to betray The Saints if he wants his secret to remain a secret. Ivan is secretly trying to get enough money to go back home and save his brother from prison. Evelyn is only helping because Cal promised her that she could bring Riya to justice once their theft is done so she could regain her position as captain of the guard. And Nash is there because she has sweet feelings for Ivan, but she still thinks about herself first.

The author managed to create a band of misfit criminals that must work together to stay alive but are all really working for their personal gain, and are all planning to betray the others once the mission is completed.

The world-building is basic, we know that there a a few neighboring countries all rules by kings and queens, that there are tensions between some of those countries, but that’s about it. I would have like to have a little more detail. The magic-system is quite simple to grasp, some people are born with magical abilities, they are either Sensers, people that can smell people and their intents, or Kinetics, people that can make things move with their minds.

The plot is well done, the writing is compelling, and the dialogues are funny, still, I had a little trouble connecting with the characters. We don’t know much about their back-stories, except for Ryia, we only know their motivations and the reason why they plan on betraying the others. They are good characters, not too simple or too cliché, but there was something missing.

Overall, Among Thieves is a very good story with a fast pace, and just enough complexity, betrayals, and unexpected twists to keep you engaged in the reading and guessing about everyone's plans and motives until the very end. I think it would be even better if it were longer, just so we could have more background information on the characters, and more insight into their dynamics.

I couldn’t get into this book. It seemed like it was trying very hard to be a combination of Six of Crows and Throne of Glass. Those are two of my favorite series, but Among Thieves missed the mark.
It was almost impossible for me to distinguish between the voices of Ryia and Nash, and it was even hard for me to distinguish between them and Tristan. I didn’t like that Ryia and Nash especially had basically the same internal monologue and similar personalities as far as I could tell.
My other problem with this book was that I felt like I was suddenly thrown into this complicated world with gangs, royalty, multiple kingdoms, and a really unique magic system, and I didn’t feel like any explanation was given as to who people were. I think I needed some more background and explanation, because I had no idea what was going on for the first part of the book.

this was a real blast from start to finish - the characters were neatly fleshed-out and easy to get invested in, and the found family and heist squad dynamics really drew me into their bantering shenanigans. the world-building was well-crafted and the twists and turns top-rate, with it all tied up nicely with the fleet-footed pace and wonderfully timed perspective-switching. i am very emotionally attached to ryia and all her bs, and really keen to read more of it!

M.J. Kuhn is definitely an author to watch. With this hell of a debut novel, Kuhn sets the stage for what I hope will be a series full of anti-heroes, powers, and crime. The characters are the "hate to love them" type, but you really do root for them despite the fact that they are smugglers, thieves, and cons. They also have good reasons for doing what they are doing, which really helps.
There were a few things here and there that I wished lasted longer in some places and shorter in others, but overall it was incredibly enjoyable. They pulled me in by saying it was like Six of Crows, but I also wish they didn't, as I had to stop myself from comparing the two all the time, which is unfair: they are two different books that just happen to both be based on heists. But I also see why they would market it that way, so fair play.