Zoey and crew travel to Dev's home in Faery, but the tension between the Seelie and Unseelie is brought to a head when attacks are made on Zoey that have consequences Dev cannot let slide. Unfortunately tensions also rise between Zoey, Dev, and Daniel, and Dev prepares for war while Zoey and Daniel go searching for the magical object Marini has asked for, encountering more problems of their own along the way.

Review:
My review of Book 1 is basically a series review, so instead of repeating everything, I’m going to focus more on the things I liked about this particular book.
This book is a little more serious than the previous books in the series as the overall plot thickens, the characters suffer through some loss and relationship struggles (among lovers, friends, and family), and Zoey and crew find themselves in the middle of a longstanding feud between Seelie and Unseelie.
The first book is full of tension and longing. The second book is full of heartbreak over having to choose between two loves. The third book is full of intensity. This one is full of loyalty and touching moments and all of the characters fighting for what they believe in, including each other.
Some of the things I loved most about this book in particular were getting to see the relationship between Daniel and Dev progress even further into new territory, getting to know Zack and Lee better, getting to have Neil back but seeing him in a kind of different way since his loyalty was to Zoey instead of Daniel now, and getting to see a different side of Declan.
“I told my brother I would care for you in his absence,” Declan explained. “I did that even after he punched me in the face for absolutely no reason.”
Oh, Declan, there is always a reason to punch you in the face.
He is most definitely a jerk, but this book showed me that he’s not all bad. He has to think of his kingdom and put the good of the many before the good of the few, and that’s a heavy burden he carries. He also misses Dev and is struggling with the fact that Dev is now older and different, that the twin Declan had by his side for 20 or so years of his life is no longer close to him. He even showed a vulnerable and compassionate side to Zoey. And when it came down to it at one point, he did the right thing because apparently he did have one moral that trumped all his prejudices and the opinions of his people. But once again, that’s the beauty of these books, the imperfect, three-dimensional characters and the way the author is able to make you care about all of them.
Another thing I love is how convoluted (in a great way) all the relationships are. *SPOILER (for the previous books)* Zoey’s got two husbands. Dev’s mother hits on both her son’s partners. Declan is constantly hitting on Zoey or announcing his sexual endeavors to everyone because he knows everyone is going to find out anyway (and he’s right). Half the time Zoey’s bed has four people in it because Neil likes to curl up in it, too. The threesome between Zoey, Daniel, and Dev is actually a strange kind of foursome because Dev has a god sharing his body with him. *END SPOILER* But I crack up so much at all the little moments here and there that really show how unusual everything is. I also love the way the main relationship evolves in this one. Everything about their lives is unusual, so they embrace it, and I like that.
There was one thing in this book that bothered me though. (Well, I mentioned a few things about the series in my first review, but this one applies to this book specifically.) Whenever a man touches or tries to make a move on Zoey, the men in her life want to maim or kill him. But when a woman molested Zoey, they didn’t necessarily like it, but they pretty much just brushed it off and thought it was hot. They shouldn’t be ok with anyone touching Zoey without her consent, regardless of gender.
One last thing, I’ve noticed throughout this whole series that Lexi Blake manages to find and write about the beauty in things that are generally not considered beautiful. For example, the way Zoey sees Daniel’s killing is magnificent, like it really is a sight to behold. It shows Zoey’s love for him, but it’s also a talent of the author. And I just adore this quote:
I watched intently because Daniel was a vision of violent power and grace when he worked. The crowd fell like dominoes as he twisted and whirled that sword in an arc that left not one of the men untouched. Blood began to splatter in a neat circle, saturating the ground around him. Half the men had already fallen.
Daniel stopped, his head down, sword held low, and he looked over at me and winked.
All in all, another fantastic book in this fun yet emotional urban fantasy series!
*I’ve read this book multiple times. This review was written after my 3rd read.*
Reread Ratings:
4 Stars (1st Read – 2015)
4 Stars (2nd Read – 2016)
4.5 Stars (3rd Read – 2017)
4.5 Stars (4th Read – 2018)
4.5 Stars (5th Read – 2019)
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1, 2, and 3 in Lexi Blake's Thieves Series. Anyone who likes laugh-out-loud hilarity, heart-wrenching emotion, complex and flawed but still lovable characters, action, heists, sex, supernatural creatures (especially vampires), and lots of adorable relationships of all kinds.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: Steal the Light (Thieves Book 1) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Steal the Day (Thieves Book 2) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Steal the Moon (Thieves Book 3) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Steal the Sun (Thieves Book 4) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Steal the Night (Thieves Book 5) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Ripper (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 1) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Addict (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 2) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Sleeper (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 3) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Outcast (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 4) by Lexi Blake
Book Review: Stealing Summer (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 5) by Lexi Blake
This does not seem like something that would I usually enjoy reading. Despite that fact, I found myself intrigued by your detailed post and jumped to your older review about the book. I loved it so much as well. I will definitely look out for this one locally.
Honestly it doesn’t really seem like something I’d enjoy nowadays either, haha, and yet I adore it! I hope you end up loving it too if you’re able to give it a try 🙂
Fantastic review! I have read some of her books and really enjoyed them. Now the cover is just gorgeous!
Thanks! I haven’t read her other books, but I think if you like those, you’d probably like these too!
I feel that with a lot of series if the tone changes it’s that it becomes more serious or dark as the story progresses. Which often fits the story as it often happens you get deeper into the plot when the series progresses. This one does sound intense and that sounds great to see that loyalty the characters have for each other.
The characters sound great with how they’re imperfect and three dimensional. And the relationships sounds pretty interesting too.
I can see why that part bothered you when Zoey’s men didn’t get offended when another female touched her. I agree that it shouldn’t be okay to have anyone touch her without her consent regardless of their gender.
I’ve noticed that too, that some series will start out lighter and get more intense as they go on, which does make sense when there’s a bigger plot building. These characters are so great though! And they really help each other through everything.
But yeah, that part seems problematic.
Dang, Kristen! You just put this series back into a read asap queue. I’m on book 3 and I want to get to it so I can get to book 4! LOL I can’t thank you enough for recommending this series. I only wish I had more time to read. 😉 (don’t we all?!?) I’m happy you enjoyed your re-read of this one. That’s a good sign. 😀
Lol I’ve actually read the series four times now, so that’s definitely a good sign 😛 You have to keep going! Read the next book already!
This author and series are new to me. It sounds like a great read. Glad you’re enjoying it so much 🙂
It’s one of my absolute favorite series! Thanks!