Ahhh I’m about to go on this whole long, rambly review because I was so happy with this book.

Let me start off by saying my FAVORITE thing about Lexi Blake’s Thieves series has always been the brilliance and perfection and hilariousness of the dialogue and interplay between characters. So often her books have me literally laughing out loud. And I think that was what was lacking for me in Ripper. But luckily it was not lacking in this one. The humor was back, blended seamlessly with the more serious moments of plot and emotion, as usual.

I sorta stared at my feet and tried to come up with something he could understand. I was betting that in the entire time he was the Nex Apparatus, Donovan never found himself in a thong. “I was undercover.”

“On a street corner?” Donovan asked in a low voice.

What I really noticed though was just how comfortable this book made me feel. There are some books that you race through as fast as possible because there’s so much action that you just have to know what’s going to happen, then there are books you take your time with because they’re like a delicious, home-cooked meal that you want to savor. This book was the latter to me. I slipped so easily back into the Thieves world, and the book was full of character depth and little nuances and subtle humor that made me feel like I had inside jokes with and was actually part of this crazy, convoluted Donovan-Quinn-Owens family.

I also finally got my dream come true since there was more Marcus in this one! The dominant, possessive side of him seemed a little out of character, but it wasn’t too extreme, and I was still highlighting every little tidbit because I didn’t want to forget any of the new things I was learning about him.

Technically the series is about Kelsey though, and I didn’t love her in the beginning, but I’m happy to say she became SO much more likeable and had a lot more substance, and now I love her! Also, I was soooo glad Daniel stopped disappointing me and went back to being the Daniel I know and love. Dev also got more likeable. Heck, even Grayson somehow managed to end up on my good side.

All that being said, at 2% into the book, I was about to have a conniption. I literally kept flailing my arms around and having verbal outbursts.

I just kept thinking: Kelsey. What. Are. You. Doing. You have Marcus. Marcus! MARCUS! One of the greatest characters ever! Yet you keep thinking about Grayson.

She literally described her relationship with Marcus as, “It wasn’t a grand love. It was more an infinitely warm and comfortable friendship.” It felt like Kelsey was just using him to quell her anxiety and give her strength, but Marcus deserved better than that. And it was driving me crazy. But I was glad she at least had enough integrity to stay faithful. And, to be fair, I felt like Kelsey deserved better, too, in the sense that everyone deserves that grand love, and it’s clear that Grayson is the better match for her. *SPOILER* I mean, come on, “‘Love you,’ he said through his fangs. ‘Take you back to Marcus now,’ ” nearly broke my damn heart! *END SPOILER* Buuut (I know, I say that a lot) all of this is basically touched upon, which makes me think maybe I’m supposed to feel this way? Regardless, I feel good about how things will pan out.

Another one of the best things about these books though is that Lexi Blake does have a skill for creating wonderfully three-dimensional, gray, truly flawed characters. Sometimes I couldn’t be happier with them. Sometimes I couldn’t be more disappointed. Sometimes I don’t know whether to trust them or not. Oftentimes I’m conflicted because I do love them, but I don’t love some of their decisions or actions. But in the end, I feel very strongly about them because I’m invested in them. So even if I don’t agree with what they’re doing, I still love that she’s managed to create characters that have made me care this much.

So, to summarize this review that nobody is still reading because it got way out of hand, Kelsey was a lot more three-dimensional, there was lots of Marcus, the humor was back, and all these things just made me a very happy reader 🙂

*This is a spin-off series, and I highly HIGHLY recommend starting with Steal the Light. The original characters have a heavy presence, and I don’t think this spin-off series will be as enjoyable if you haven’t read the original one.*