To Steal from Thieves (Thieves & Kings Book 1)
To Steal from Thieves immerses readers in the dark and gritty world of 1851 London. This fast-paced novel takes place in Devil’s Acre, the city’s most notorious slum. Readers follow Zaria Mendoza, an orphan forced to continue her father’s dark market business after his death. Living amidst crime and desperate poverty, Zaria must navigate a life marked by bad choices and terrible choices. Those choices only get worse when Kane Durante forces his way into her life. Young, handsome, and ruthless, he is the adopted son of the slum’s kingpin. When Kane coerces Zaria to help him steal a priceless necklace, she has little choice but to use her alchemist skills to help him pull off an impossible heist. Her ability to craft magical objects might be the only way to save her best friend.
This novel offers a thrilling heist story with all the surprises of an Ocean’s Eleven film, but the themes of friendship and class inequality are just as satisfying as the plot. Through Zaria’s eyes, the reader sees the stark contrast between the opulence of the era’s elite and the desperate poverty of those trapped in places like Devil’s Acre. After all, Kane Durante is one of those people, and as they struggle to do the impossible, Zaria finds empathy for someone she had thought a monster. I highly recommend this book for teens aged fourteen and up who love adventure, danger, and a little romance.
