Blog Tour and Review: Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake

I reviewed this as part Thief of Lies Blog Tour. Below, you can enter a giveaway and read the top ten reasons why Arik is swoon-worthy.



Title: Thief of Lies
Author: Brenda Drake
My rating: 5 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publication date: January 5th 2016
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Synopsis: Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/library-jumpers-brenda-drake/1121817874
iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/thief-of-lies/id1000566034
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/thief-of-lies
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
Powell’s: http://www.powells.com/book/thief-of-lies-9781633752214/72-1
Books-a-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Thief-Lies/Brenda-Drake/9781633752214
The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Thief-Lies-Brenda-Drake/9781633752214
Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/46127498
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669243-library-jumpers?ac=1

My thoughts: I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book, since I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I thought it sounded interesting and original. The idea behind the book was great; the execution was as good, if not better.

   The book starts with Gia and her friends Nick and Afton going to the library. Sounds like a boring start, I know (although I love libraries), but it wasn’t. See, Gia sees a guy disappear through a book. She goes to check the book, and find a piece of paper, read something aloud in Italian, and suddenly, they’re transported to a library in Paris. And after that, it pretty much doesn’t get any slower, and it keeps the same fast pace throughout the book. Because of that, I couldn’t put the book away.

   I think my favorite thing about the book was the main character, Gia. Her life changes a lot, she finds out shocking things about herself and her family, she has to learn magic and to fight. Despite the fact that things never go her way, she stays strong and fights. People keep telling her to stay behind, for her own safety, but she refuses. She never lets anyone tell her what to do; in fact, she hates when someone tells her what to do. I’m going to use a quote from the book here, because it is a perfect description of Gia.

   “Friends don’t think of each other the way I think of you. The danger you face. I feel driven to protect you. Maybe it’s because I admire you so much. Facing a world you know nothing about and not cowering in a corner. You fought me—hard—to save someone you’d just met who wanted to kill you. And pushed me away when you were wounded so I could guard your friends. But that makes me worry about you more, because you’re not being careful.”

   Arik says this to her, and it really explains her perfectly. She’s brave, caring and selfless. But when it comes to her own safety, she can be a little reckless. If she can help someone, she doesn’t care if it’s dangerous for herself.

   Another thing is that she also has weaknesses. She’s great at staying strong in a world she doesn’t know with people she doesn’t know, but she still has moments of weakness, when she just wishes for everything to get back to normal. This makes her a lot more “human” in my eyes, because, facing what she has to face, no one would be totally, completely fine. Most people would probably be rocking in a corner somewhere when she was learning magic and how to fight.

   Enough about Gia. Let’s talk about the main male interest, Arik. *swooning and fangirling like crazy*

   I can’t exactly put my finger on what I love so much about him. Maybe it’s that he’s a great fighter, or because he’s hot, or because he obviously is trying to stay away from Gia because of the rules, but totally unable to, or maybe it’s because he can be so sweet towards Gia, but he can also be protective and fight with her about her safety. Either way, he was the perfect book male, and I totally fell for his charms.

   The plot was great and original, and filled with several shocking plot twists that even I didn’t see coming. The ending was totally unpredicted. And I loved the world-building. It was different, and I loved finding out about all the new creatures Gia encountered, like the Laniars, that are kind of like a mix between werewolf and vampire, Writhes, and a bunch other creatures. I really liked how Drake didn’t just make it easy for herself by using vampires, werewolves and things all fantasy-fans have probably read tons of books about. It made it more interesting and original.

   Also, the way she uses the libraries as magical places is so awesome! I’ve always felt libraries are magical places that can take you to different places, different worlds, even, and she just took that feeling one step further. How could that idea possibly fail?

   I’m trying to find out something bad to say about this book, because I feel like it can’t be that perfect, but I really can’t figure anything out. The writing was good and entertaining, the characters were awesome, the plot was interesting and unpredictable. It was so much better than I could’ve ever imagined. So if you haven’t read it yet, do, because I loved every minute of reading it!

Arik Baine - Sentinel

Age:

17

Battle Globe:

Red (Fire)

Description:

Leader, strong silent type, and fiercely loyal.

"Friends don't think of each other the way I think of you. As it is, I can't sleep at night worrying about you being here. The danger you face.”

~ Arik Baine, Thief of Lies

Who doesn’t love a swoon-worthy hero? We stay up late at night reading about their deliciousness, talking about them with our reader friends, and they keep us going back to our favorite stories. Today, I’m here to give you the top ten reasons I think Arik Baine from Thief of Lies is swoon-worthy. I hope you agree!

1. He’s easy on the eyes ... The first thing we notice about someone is their looks. Arik has dark hair and deep brown eyes. He’s athletic. He has to be since he’s a Sentinel and fights unfathomable creatures.

2. His accent ... I don’t know about you, but for some reason when I guy speaks in a sexy accent, his hotness goes up several notches for me. Per Gia, He’d quoted a verse from The Secret Garden with a sexy accent that tickled my ears.

3.Humor ... I love me some humor in the guys I’m attracted to. Arik is all business most times, but every so often, he lets down his guard and we get a glimpse of his hidden playfulness. Here’s a hint of it when he says after they fell in the mud

‘You need to get dry’, he said, a hint of amusement lingering in his voice. ‘Moreover, your entire backside is caked in mud.’

4. Good kisser ... Um, yeah. What can I say? He has a gentle, passionate kiss.

5. Strength ... He doesn’t hesitate, rushing into battle with fierce determination.

6. Leader ... Seriously? Who doesn’t lovean authoritative, take-charge guy? He’s all that and he cares about those under his watch.

7. Protective ... He would do anything to protect those who can’t defend themselves. He immediately takes charge of making sure Gia is safe.

8. Badass ... He can manipulate his globe like no other Sentinel and he’s a fierce fighter with amazing sword handling skills.

9. Gentle ... I mentioned this in the way he kisses, but it goes deeper than that. He’s sincere and kind to everyone.

10. Loyal ... He’s trustworthy and always there for those he cares about. He will never waver when someone needs him.

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