⭒November 2023 BotM - The Thief [General Discussion]⭒

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Let us know your thoughts before, during, and after you read!

Are you excited about this one?? (I am! XD I've been pulling for this one since I joined F&F.😅 This is the book that got me into fantasy, afterall.)

Are you enjoying the story? Finding it well-paced or slow? (Some people find it slow at first--it's ok ;-) )

What do you think of the characters?

Are you confused about anything?

Please remember to use spoiler tags liberally! This series needs to be discovered individually and is much easier to talk about with people who have already read it.

(Is everyone good with how to hide spoilers? Let us know if you need help with that!)

[Mary Emma]

Trying to decide if I want to join in for this one. Years ago I read it and thought it was just okay...

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

@Mary Emma, yeah, maybe you need a reread.😌 I have actually found that my enjoyment of this series increased in my rereads!

[Hannah]

Someday I'm going to join in on a botm discussion 😫 I don't know what happened to October lol, but maybe November is my month. This one sounds really interesting to me, and so many people I trust liked it! Fingers crossed!

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Oh, I hope you do, Hannah! Both join in -and- enjoy the book!

[Kacie]

HECK YEAH!!!! I will 100% be joining (even though I just reread this...um...last month? *ahem*....that doesn't matter). haha. I can't even express how much I love this book!!

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Whoo hoo!! Kacie’s here!🤩🙌🤩🙌🤩

[Shekinah]

I don't know if I would want to join because I generally don't like high fiction and because the cover looked very scary. I don't like scary books. But I'm still undecided.

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Are you referring to The Thief? It’s not scary. There are a few intense parts towards the end, but I wouldn’t call them scary. The main character is cocky, vain, and derisive, but it’s a character-driven series, and he has a lot of time to grow.😊 Let me (or Kacie) know if you have any specific concerns. We just about have these books memorized.😅

[Shekinah]

Okay, thanks.

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

Lol Kacie

[EllieJellyBean :D, ⭒assistant mod⭒]

Well….I was hoping for Mark of the Raven. But oh well!
Now I have to decide if i’m gonna read this.

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Ellie ~ The Elliephant ~ :D wrote: "Well….I was hoping for Mark of the Raven. But oh well!
Now I have to decide if i’m gonna read this."

Mark of the Raven and The Thief were tied for a long part of the poll! It's sure to win next time!

Right?? (One never can tell with these things!😉)

(Oh, I already told you about the tie.🙂)

[Kacie]

so I started The Thief last night but I only made it a couple pages in before I passed out face first on the floor XD I'll probably have to do audiobook

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Kacie!😂😂😂

I think you just want an excuse to make sure you keep hearing the character’s with West’s rendition.

I, on the other hand, will be reading it traditionally so that I am sure to hear the characters my way.😜

[Kacie]

hah! maybe, maybe not ;)

well Steve's voice practically lived in my head so reading traditionally wouldn't do anything

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Kacie wrote: "hah! maybe, maybe not ;)

well Steve's voice practically lived in my head so reading traditionally wouldn't do anything"

Right--you'd still hear his voice.😉

(Whereas if I listen to him, I no longer hear the characters my way. 😥)

[Kacie]

tragic

[Kacie]

well here's the kicker....I don't create voices or faces in my mind when I'm reading. idk why. I try so hard but it doesn't work. it's just me up thereb

[✨Marisol✨]

I’m so excited to reread this book!!!

[Pony]

I've read The Thief before, and enjoyed it 🙂 I'm currently on the fourth book in the series. I'm not ready to reread Book 1 just yet, until I finish the series all the way through the first time, but I'll be curious to hear everyone's thoughts on it.

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Great, @Marisol! Would this be your second time reading or have you read it more than that? It will be good to hear your thoughts on reread, especially if it’s only your second time through. 😊

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

@Pony—I love the fourth book because of who the MC is. He is my favorite character of the series.🥰

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Kacie wrote: "well here's the kicker....I don't create voices or faces in my mind when I'm reading. idk why. I try so hard but it doesn't work. it's just me up thereb"

Kacie, I don't usually have clear images of faces or sounds of voices either. Faces are usually just a blur in my mind. For some reason, though, with these books, my brain sees and hears them better. Maybe it's all the rereads? Or MWT's characterization? I don't know.🤷‍♀️

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

As I am reading, I am find myself wondering if anyone has any content concerns. While this story is extremely mild compared to the rest of the YA category, it is not *squeaky* clean. In the comment section of my review, Lily asked about content, so my reply there might be helpful for some. It is linked in the Activities thread, but I will link it here to make it easier for those who want to take a look.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[✨Marisol✨]

Yes it’s my second time I read it for school a three years ago and was slowly trying to make my way through the series before I reread it! I’m so excited to read it again!

[Dawna]

I just finished reading The Thief. Wow!

[Kacie]

!! What did you think??

[Mary-Therese]

Yesss! I just read this, so I doubt think I'll be rereading it, but I am so excited to discuss it!!!

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Yes! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!🤩

[Lilly]

I’ve barely heard of this book.
But it’s in my library system so I’ve ordered it and it’s on its way. I tend to love high fantasy so I hope I’m not disappointed. I’m trusting it’s going to be clean since it’s recommended by you guys…
I rarely will read a book if a don’t have assurance it’s clean beforehand. But I also hate spoilers sooooo I also don’t want to skim reviews…

[Mary-Therese]

Don't worry. it's squeaky clean other than a few cases of pretty mild swearing. you're good to go!

[Lilly]

Okay thank you.

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

@Lilly

I’m like 100 pages in but from what I can tell you, there’s just been some infrequent swearing, mentions of gods/goddesses (and their origin stories and tales and stuff), and… yeahh, that’s about it

[₊‧ ୨୧mollie_]

not me thinking this was the book thief for a second ._.

[Kacie]

lol

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Lilly, you can safely read my review, which was carefully written to avoid all spoilers. The comments section includes a question and answer regarding content. I hope you enjoy it!

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Mollie wrote: "not me thinking this was the book thief for a second ._."

Loll

[❀ Joyce Caldas ❀]

Hey, everyone! I just reached 39%. So far the pace is nice... I'm cleaning and listening to the audiobook, so the story is flowing. But I think that if I was reading I would say that the pace is a bit slow. Lots of story telling and walking and eating and sleeping... and nothing else... But like I said, since I'm listening, the pace is fine!

[Kacie]

i love the audiobook!!! glad you're liking it

[❀ Joyce Caldas ❀]

And you were talking about putting faces to characters... I normally go to Pinterest and search for the book I'm CR and I created a board with all the fan art I can find.

[Stanley]

best
book
ever!!!

[Kacie]

HECK YEAH!

[Sharon, ⭒botm leader⭒]

Stanley wrote: "best
book
ever!!!"

🤩🤩🤩

Did you just read it, or did you read it prior to the BotM?

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

8 pages lefttttt

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

Big Plot twist ahhhhh

[❀ Joyce Caldas ❀]

Today's update:
- I'm pausing at 68%.
- The narrator is *chef's kiss*. I can identify who is speaking by the voice he gave to the character. For an audiobook listener, that's the goal, so I'm happy!
- I have so many theories. Some are crazy, some might be right, but @Sharon is refusing to give me hints hehehehe.
- Something exciting happened in the story, the pace picked up a bit, but I still think the book is chill and cozy (if sleeping on the floor and eating stale bread is cozy... but I'm not the one in those conditions, that's a Gen problem hehe)
- Hopefully I'll be closer to the end tomorrow and I'll come back with a "OH MY, WHAT A TWIST" update.
- PS: GR is not accepting any of my emojis. I need emojis!

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

Ahhh
Yeah super big plot twist 😳

[✨ tazannah - not accepting friend requests ✨, ⭒spiritual leader⭒]

DANG THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IVE READ THIS WHOLE YEAR

[Kacie]

The main complaint I hear about The Thief is that it's too slow paced. I'm gonna get on my little soap box here and tell y'all why I think it's the perfect pace. Yes, there's a lot of riding horses and walking and eating (delicious) food (ngl I always start craving cheese, olives, yogurt, and jerky when I read this book). Anyways! I think it's the perfect pace because there's a lot of world-building that needs to happen for the other books to be even more amazing. In the Little Peninsula, it's important to know about the rulers, the politics, the characteristics, even the economics. Also the stories about the gods are important to know as another world-building aspect...they are very present in the other books. The more you know, the better! Also, this book is crucial for character development. The slower pace really helps you get to know their personality, their drive, etc. Overall, I love just soaking in the rich world-building, spending time with the characters, and hearing the Magus tell stories.

So what do you guys think? How is the pacing for you? And please, don't be discouraged if it's a little slow. It IS worth finishing!! Just hang in there! Also, to reiterate what Joyce said, the audiobook makes it go by quicker. And Steve West is an amazing narrator :D