Michelle Leah Olson's Reviews > The Art of Stealing Time

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

I was completely geared up for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Time Thief, thought it was genius and fresh, and then after Time Crossed I was salivating because let's be honest, that was just a dirty tease. I'll be honest though, I got a good 30% into The Art of Stealing Time and was a bit worried. It just wasn't moving as fast as I had anticipated and I was waiting for something big to happen to kick things into gear. And then they entered Anwyn...

From that point on, it was the fantastic laugh-out-loud paranormal romance that I've come to know and love from the lovely Ms. MacAlister and I couldn't get enough!

The TIME THIEF universe is incredibly unique to begin with, it's fresh, and multidimensional with subtle and overt nuances that make it decidedly its own. But in The Art of Stealing Time, Katie introduces another layer, the Welsh underworld, Anwyn and it's Alice-in-Wonderlandesque cast of characters.

Our heroine, Gwen, is an Alchemist with two trouble prone Wiccan mothers. While trying to clean up yet another of their messes, she finds herself a person of interest and target for several groups and her life becomes infinitely more complicated.

Our hunky hero, Gregory, is the cousin of Peter Faa (the hero of book #1). He has just taken a probationary job with the Watch (sort of the supernatural police) when they're tipped off to some illicit activity that needs investigation. While doing so, Gregory crosses paths with Gwen and their lives and fates become inexplicably tangled.

MacAlister's books always make me laugh and this one is no exception. I enjoyed visiting the Welsh afterlife and can't wait to see where the next book in the Time Thief series will take me!

Anwyn was a trip! The place is crazy, the people even more so, and the magic and history that make up the very fabric of what Gwen and Gregory are thrown into is utterly fascinating. It was also so vividly written, and so perfectly entwined with the characters' stories, that I felt like I could literally see things as they happened and feel what went on as it did. I loved it!

The tension between Gregory and Gwen was stellar, and I think I enjoyed their tale so much because it was hard earned. There was no simply falling into bed for these two. There were trials, tribulations, bonds to break, trust to earn and so much more before they even gave it a go, and even then, things weren't completely balanced. It was anxiety riddled and fantastic to read.

Take that, add in some truly off the wall and loveable supporting characters, some epic one-liners and snark for the ages, heart pumping action, and PLENTY of surprise and you get The Art of Stealing Time.

I most definitely recommend this book, but I strongly suggest reading the series in order - Time Thief, Time Crossed and then The Art of Stealing Time - to get the most out of this novel. I also recommend that you stick it out through the slower set up pieces at the beginning of the book because once they hit Anwyn, it's non-stop goodness.

I can't wait to see what Katie has in store in Traveller-verse next...