Book Review: The Orphan and the Thief

Book: The Orphan and the Thief  by M. L. LeGette

Source: Borrowed from publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Rating: 5 stars

I thought this was such an amazing story that I actually went to Twitter and sent the author a tweet to say how much I adore this book. And sending any type of comment to authors is something I never do (because I figure they're probably so inundated with comments from so many readers why bother sending mine).

Anyway, on to my review. This was such a compulsive and exciting read, I enjoyed every minute of it. The story is about a young thief name Toad who got himself into a bit of trouble after trying to steal from Mr. Owl. To save his life, Toad convinced Mr. Owl that he was the best thief and if there was anything he wanted, he could get it for him. This worked but Toad was now given the task of trying to find some ingredients for Mr. Owl and with a deadline looming he had to get started.

Toad thinking finding those ingredients would be no big deal decided to go to a local apothecary, Bell's Brews to find them. However, what he found was a rather unhappy girl Melena who despite being adopted by the Bells was treated as nothing more than a servant. She had been in the process of secretly brewing a potion down in the basement when she heard a noise in the shop and went to investigate it.

After finding out that the ingredients he needed were extremely rare and that they were not going to be found at any of the apothecaries, Toad was able to persuade Melena to be his guide to finding the ingredients with a very convincing lie that Mr. Owl was going to pay him. And since, Melena was in need of money she agreed to help him. She needed the money so she could hire a private detective to help her find her missing brother, Milo.

The two (along with Melena's pet spit-fire dragon Hazel) immediately set off on this quest to find the ingredients. Along the way they meet a lot of interesting (and sometimes dangerous) characters including a talking beer mug Joe, and according to legend, whoever possesses the mug is considered the Thief Lord.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was well written, funny and exciting. The author did a very good job of weaving this magical adventure and creating these wonderful characters. Toad, who was a bit ignorant (and at time disillusioned) never tired of the adventure and he had a very good sense of loyalty and even to those who didn't deserved to have his. Melena was smart and at times reminded me of one of my other favorite fictional bookworms Hermione Granger with her ability to be both stubborn and an insufferable know-it-all. Both of the characters personalities countered each other perfectly. I also thought Hazel the dragon was adorable and fierce when it came to trying protect them. And once Joe was added to the trio, he brought even more humor to the story.

This is one of those stories where you can't help rooting for the characters because you want to see how everything is going to turn out.

After reading this, I would be interested in reading more from this author.