I loved this fantasy! Amra is kickass; a thief who has a small amount friends and vows revenge when one of them is killed. She is also mysterious, as her background is hinted at, but no explaination of her scars is forthcoming. The pace is fast and the world she lives in is revealed as if on a need to know basis, which is amazingly not frustrating or hindering at all. It just leaves you wanting more, and I can't wait to read more of the series! For fans of Scott Lynch, Auston Habershaw.

Wow! That was a wide ride, and I can't wait to rejoin Amra and her friends soon! (As soon as I can get my hands on the next book, might as well make that the next two! XD) An action packed thrill right from cover to cover. Filled with mystery, magic, and madness! I loved it! From the first page I fell in love with the writing style and characters! A must read!

I love the dark and snarky humor, especially the histories at the end! Wonderful Heroine! However one of the most interesting characters dies in the first few pages :(. While I think it needs a bit more world building , i'm excited to see where this series goes. Amara really drags the whole book and the reader along, willing or no. I'll certainly be getting the next book.

This is a great start to a new sword and sorcery series with sassy, take-no-prisoners thief Amra Thetys, who has a knife for every occasion. When her friend and fellow thief Corbin ends up dead after asking her to look after a strange artifact while he goes to do business with a difficult client, Amra vows to find his killer. This leads her into all sorts of trouble with a bad bunch who will stop at nothing, including sorcery and black magic, to get hold of the artifact.

This short novel (or long novella) is full of fun and fantasy as Amra tries to avenge the death of her friend Corbin. There is enough world building to give a strong sense of Amra's town and life and there are some great characters. Amra herself, a thief with a conscience who will always help those in need, her friend Holgren the mage who comes to her aid, Kluge the Detective who can also wield a little magic and Bosch a very evil, immortal villain. So good to know there are more books in this series waiting to be read!

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids (Amra Thetys #1) by Michael McClung is the first book in the Amra Thetys series (4 books at this moment) and was the winner of the first Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. This taut sword and sorcery revenge story is both well written and deeply engaging. While overall it would have benefited from a more in depth world, and perhaps a tad bit more exposition for some of its multifarious elements, the character development and witty dialogue more than make up for anything else it might lack. Significantly better than many mainstream novels, its also significantly shorter (around 200 pages). This is an excellent example of the truth in Shakespeare's sarcastically delivered “brevity is the soul of wit”. The main character in particular is something of a thief with a heart of gold, but this thief is dirty, gritty and feels resigned to following her conscience rather than extolling the virtues of... virtue. A very enjoyable book that has hooked me into seeking out the remaining novels in the series. 8.5/10

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids is the first in the Amra Thetys series by Michael McClung. Thetys is a competent thief, who uses her wits and the occasional application of force to stay one step ahead of the law. All she wants is to have a quiet life, and a decently sized retirement fund. Unfortunately for her, she’s going to have an adventure instead.

Amra’s world is one of active magic, one where a cataclysm wiped out a major civilisation, and left survivors scrabbling to rebuild. There’s a fair amount of social construction under the surface – allusions to mass migration of refuges after a total disaster, for example. There’s also a fair amount of history, which is quietly laced through dialogue and world description – the odd mysterious ruin, references to long-ago conflicts, and so on. I wanted to hear more about Amra’s wider universe, but what there is provides valuable context, and acts as the bedrock for the more immediate descriptions. There we’re on safer ground – though the city in which Amra makes her home feels familiar, filled with arrogant nobles, snotty policemen and slithery criminals, it’s still sufficiently well drawn to make the environment seem alive. There’s a vibrancy and energy coming off the page from the environs – they’re plausible, detailed, complex, and suggest a living, breathing world around the protagonist.

Amra, as a protagonist, is rather a lot of fun. She’s smart, quick, and interesting. Not a moral character, per se, but one with deep loyalties to friends. She’s a charming, pragmatic rogue, with a penchant for one-liners, and the ability to fight her way out of at least some of the sticky situations she ends up in. Over the course of the text, her loyalties are tested a little, and the reader gets to see her expand outside of her behavioural comfort zone – taking on a wider view, perhaps. In any event, she’s a lot of fun to read. There’s moments of icy calm, the kind of analytical thinking that keeps someone alive after a heist has gone dreadfully wrong. Then there’s the cheerful banter she shares with colleagues, and the more formal, focused approach she uses for clients and allies. Amra Thetys is a woman of many faces, but comes off as genuine beneath them all, a woman trying to make her way in a city that isn’t just full of bad people – but also rogue magic, daemonists, and other magical oddities.

Then there’s Holgren, her on-again-off-again colleague, a man who qualifies as a magical oddity all on his own. Somewhat acerbic, with his own focus, which may or may not merge with Amra’s, Holgren is just as entertaining. He has a tendency to mix wry observations and grumpiness with the ability to make people explode from the inside, so clearly not a man to be trifled with. Whilst we’re seeing Amra grow here, as she tried to work out who wants to kill her this week and why, Holgren is a rock of certainty, a man settled into well maintained habits – and in embodying those habits, he feels entirely plausible, and, oddly, rather likable.

There’s an assortment of other rapscallions here as well. I rather liked the competent, smooth, and somewhat dangerous feeling police inspector, and there’s a nobleman or two on the page who manage not to be total idiots in some fashion or other, which is rather nice. The feel from the villains is, in a lot of ways, more absolute – trying to get into their morals and motives is left secondary to watching them scheme, rampage, and generally slither in and cause havoc. Still, there are some careful nods in the direction of, if not grey areas of morality, at least a recognition that the villains of the piece also have their own points of view, that they may be the heroes in their own story.

The plot – ah, I did love this. It feels like someone took a dram of Chandler and a soupcon of Hammett, and blended them into this fantasy world. The noir themes are strong, and there’s a delightful string of byzantine crosses, double crosses and triple crosses. Motivations are obscured, trust is hard to come by, and everyone seems to be looking out for number one. Then there’s some brilliant chase scenes, a sense of high stakes wrapped within an intriguing mystery – and a feeling that no-one and nothing is quite what it seems.

Is it worth reading? Emphatically yes. It’s a clever, high energy book, with an absolutely top flight protagonist, and a plot which kicks off from the first page, and didn’t let me put it down thereafter. It’s a fantasy, a mystery, a character piece with an excellent plot – and really rather enjoyable. Give it a try.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to my fantasy; I need a good story with strong characters and no-nonsense plot. I don't want the world to be too fantastical and confusing. I want to understand right away without endless exposition.

"Trouble's Braids" was exactly that. A thrilling fast-paced story about a gritty heroine and her attempts to avenge a friends death. She's skilled, smart, and quick, but that might not be enough to get her out of the demonic situation she's found herself in. I love that while Amra is fierce and strong, she still ends up in situations she can't get herself out of, not without help. The mystery of who the true villain is ends up both satisfying and surprising, and the ending itself begs for more books to follow.

This story was a fluid mix of in-action fighting and mental clarity. I loved her inner battle with knowing what she should do to avenge Corbin, and what was best for her. Amra is so confused by Alain and Myra's easy kindness, and can't understand why Holgren would want to help her when he owes her nothing. Amra gives off this vibe that she doesn't understand true kindness and friendship, yet her immediate reaction to Corbin's death is to dive right in to a wild trap she isn't quite prepared for.

A calm intricate mix of story verses growing, of character vs characterization, and filled with strong writing and plotting. I'm already itching for a second book.

I love Amra. She is a hard-edged woman who answers the door with a blade in her hand and will steal you blind. But she also enjoys fine, delicate things like silk and blown glass and paintings and fine wine. Not your average lower-rung thief! When a friend and fellow thief asks her to hold onto an ugly art piece for him, it could have been an easy 100 gold marks, but it wasn't. When he said something about caring for his dog if he didn't return to collect the ugly thing, it might have been a clue that Amra was in trouble.

The characters in McClung's book are well-rounded and feel like people you could know. Also, the relationships between characters don't feel fake or forced to fit the story line. His dialogue is witty but not overly so. And did I mention that I love the title?! I highly recommend The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids.

When I saw the title of this book I knew that I HAD to check it out- it’s so immediately appealing and practically promises adventure. Well, I wasn’t disappointed in that respect! The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids was filled with action, intrigue, and fancy knife work. I was also surprised to see that it’s June 14, 2016 release date is actually a RE-RELEASE date and there are other books out in the series already, which is perfect for binge reading if I do say so myself.

Our main character, Amra Thetys, is a thief of no small skill and what seems to be a penchant for getting herself into troublesome situations. This time the trouble arrives in the form of a golden toad figurine that gives off curiously bad vibes and a friend that’s obviously gotten himself into a curious situation that quickly turns southward. This leads to a series of events including but not limited to imprisonment, demon attacks, breaking and entering, and even a case of lice. Honestly, doesn’t that sound appealing? Not to experience firsthand of course- that would just be awful. I’ll be honest, what I mentioned isn’t even the half of what was happening in this book and it’s only a quarter of the excitement.

I felt Michael McClung has begun building a very exciting world and I already love the characters. The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids is a shorter story and as such lacks some of the finer detail that many other fantasy tomes have. And yes, many of them should really be classified as tomes because they’re simply enormous. There’s not a lot of time spent on building up and describing the world in great detail. At this point I can’t even remember what country they were supposed to be in and I literally just finished the book a matter of hours ago. At this point, it’s almost 100% plot driven and the authors certainly doesn’t waste words building up politics or culture, though there is a heavier does of religion because that’s a large part of the story.

All in all, I thought this was a very enjoyable book and I’m partial to heist stories and thieves as main characters, so all the better. I love finding these books that I’ve hardly heard anything about- it’s a complete mystery when you start reading! I look forward to reading more of Amra Thetys’s adventures (or bad luck) in the next novel The Thief Who Spat in Luck’s Good Eye.

Wow. My biggest regret is that this sat for way to long on my "to be read' shelf. This was a fast paced adventure with a strong female lead and it reminded me a lot of books by Brent Weeks and Brandon Sanderson. The world building is strong, and I like the dynamic between the different magic wielders, gods and warriors. It adds an interesting dynamic. I'm looking forward to the next two books!

This book was an interesting mix of detective meets fantasy, and surprisingly, it works. The tone of the book is a lot darker and more, shall we say, brutal than the types of books I generally read but it gives a great depth to the story.

McClung has taken something common and made it addictive. Dark, magical, and overflowing with adventure, The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids is a must read for all fantasy fans.

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids (Amra Thetys, #1) by Michael McClung is a refreshing and strong entry to the fantasy/magic genre. This is no cookie cutter story of the strong feminine character out to right all the wrongs and throw over an oppressive regime. No, in Amra Thetys, McClung has created something quite different.

"...I'm not terribly feminine. I've a scarred face, a figure like a boy, and a mouth like a twenty-year sailor. In the circles that count, I'm recognized as good at what I do, and what I do is not traditionally a woman's profession..."

Amra Thetys is a thief and a very good one. She has few friends and likes to keep it that way, it is a necessity in her chosen profession. But one of those friends is the fellow thief Corbin and when he shows up at her home one night, asking a favor, she feels she cannot turn him down. He wants her to hold onto an item for her. A little thing, but the man who hired him to steal it isn't trustworthy and Corbin intends to take him for more money now. Amra agrees, only Corbin never comes back for it and when she goes looking for her friend, what she finds instead is the tortured ad brutalized body of her friend.

"...They butchered Corbin right out in the street. That’s how it really started. He was a rogue and a thief, of course. But then, so am I. So when he got himself hacked up in front of his house off Silk Street, I decided somebody had to be made to pay. They thought that they could just sweep him away like rubbish. They were wrong..."

Amra is on a mission to find and kill the people who killed her friend. What she didn't plan on was that they would come looking for her. Amra and the little item Corbin left behind. Now she finds herself hunted by the police, by the rich, by magicians and by dark Gods once forgotten. Amra is smart but she is only one girl against them all. She is going to need help and she is going to need to find a way to make some of her enemies her friends.

"...Whatever is inside, it's ancient. Definitely pre-Diaspora. And it's powerful, Amra. The most powerful artefact I've ever personally run across.'
Pre-Diaspora meant that whatever it was, it was more than a thousand years old. Possibly much, much more. From the Age of Gods. From humanity's first cultures, before the Cataclysm that killed millions and saw the survivors fleeing for their lives. The time of the Diaspora, when the gods went mad and the race of man ran screaming in every direction, abandoning an entire continent. An age of myth and legend. And powerful and deadly artefacts.
'How powerful are we talking, Holgren?'
'I believe the thing inside the statuette is, in some way, self-aware. Probably intelligent, possibly even alive.'
'Magical, then.'
'Yes. But not human magic. I suspect that whatever it is, it was god-forged.'
'And you want to let it out of the toad? Doesn't that strike you as a tad dangerous? I seem to recall you saying something like it being 'dangerous and distasteful.'
He shrugged. 'What can I say? I've always been the curious sort.'
'You mages are all mad..."

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids is the beginning of a series but don't let the title fool you. This is high, dark fantasy of the like you will not have run across for sometime. In a market deluged with re-telling of childhood fairy tales and girl power novels for the sake of girl power...this is a story. A damn good story.

Amra Thetys is a character you have not read in today's young adult series at all lately. There is no love interest, no teenage angst, no cutie pie moments. This is a woman making it on her own in the world she has chosen. Not because there is no one around to help but she knows that knowing her puts others in danger.

This is a true anti-hero and she kicks ass!

A damn good read!

I am still very busy reading self published fantasy for SPFBO but decided to have a read of last year's winner Michael McClung's The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids which won the first SPFBO and is now published by Ragnarok Publications. I really enjoyed the story of Amra Thetys, the thief with a heart. When Amra's friend and fellow thief Corbin leaves her with an ugly toad-like statue right before being brutally murdered. Amra decides to get revenge for her friend. This isn't an easy task especially when she discovers what and who she is up against. Sorcery, magic and a great murder mystery all rolled up into this first instalment of the Amra Thetys series.

It was a relief to read an originally self-published book that I actually enjoyed since I have not had much luck with the ones I have read for SPFBO2016. Amra is a great character and despite the fact that she is part of the criminal element she does live by a strong moral code and dedicated to her friends. There are a number of great characters in this story and McClung has created an interesting world/society for Amra to live in. In fact, I am hard pressed to say anything negative about this book. It was only a few minutes after finishing instalment one that I had instalment two downloaded

For this book, the synopsis tells everything you need to know.

My thoughts about the book: it struck a very nice blend between fantasy and steampunk. High fantasy.

Thieves in fantasy settings are a particular draw for me and this book did not disappoint.

What annoys me... is where is the next book?? They were originally self-published but now Ragnarok is releasing them under their shingle.

Strongly recommended to any fan of fantasy and or steampunk. Neither element dominates.

This is a series but this book works by itself. A new author to watch.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a must read author and I'll definitely keep him on my radar!
Amra's story is delightfully enjoyable and full of twist and it will undoubtedly charm the readers, especially all the fans of Scott Lynch's "Locke Lamora series".

I really love discovering hidden gems in the literary world, and The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids is just that.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this book is the world building. I loved the characters, don't get me wrong, but the world of this book is so rich and so colorful. In a way, it almost felt like reading a post-apocalyptic book. It didn't feel dystopian, but it was certainly a book set sometime in the future, after the fall of mankind as we know it. I like how there really isn't a great detail of what happened in the past, and I have a feeling that that's actually the entire mystery of the series.

Amra is a great heroine. She's daring, she keeps her promises, she's much more honorable than many of the people she encounters that should be honest, and she isn't one to shy away from violence. The book starts off with her receiving a visit from a friend of hers, also a thief. And even from the very beginning you can tell that if Amra says she'll do something, she will do it. I liked that about her. I also liked the fact that she wasn't one to use pretty, "ladylike" language. If she needed to curse, then she did that, and I loved her for it.

The plot was pretty well paced. I did have a few moments where I felt as if maybe the plot was too fast. My only issue was with the way the book ended. The entire mystery of who killed Corbin, and why, is solved in a totally unexpected way, maybe because I wasn't expecting it. At the very end of the book we get kind of a history lesson about how the world in this series came to be, without actually answering the question of what happened before. It kind of stays somewhere above the real story, giving you a glimpse of what's to come, but also sharing bits and pieces of information that might or might not be revealing.

The book ended in a very interesting way, with Amra facing more problems than she imagines. I'm definitely curious about what will happen next and I cannot wait to read the next books in the series. I'm really glad I stumbled across this book on Netgalley.