Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson - ESSENTIAL

Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves, #1) by Mary E. Pearson, 489 pages. Henry Holt and Company, 2018. $19.  

Language: PG-13 (35 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY:  MS, HS - ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

Kazi is a Rahtan, which is a special guard to the queen.  When she is sent to Tor’s Watch to retrieve a fugitive for the queen, she is quickly drawn into the political intrigue and family life of the leader, Jase Ballenger.  As Kazi tries to find the fugitive and establish the queen’s treaties among Jase’s people, she starts to care for the Ballenger family and their kingdom, but her loyalties are with the queen.  Kazi has to fight against her past, be loyal to her people and her goal, but she wants to be able to trust Jase too.  

I love the way Pearson develops her characters and the chemistry between Kazi and Jase was well done.  Although this series is a spin-off from the Remnant chronicles, the reader wouldn’t have to read the first series to understand this one.  The content is make-out sessions and some torture.  The story is well paced and action packed with a satisfying ending, but I can’t wait to read the next book because there is a small part of the story that is unresolved.   I loved it!  

C. Peterson