Magierre and Leesil are asked to take care of a vampire in a bigger city. Turns out to be just a setup by Westiel to train her. Find out more about Leesil's past.

Very clean for a vamp novel. No graphic sex or even gore. ( )

tl;dr version: Better than book 1, fast easy read, still comes in a bit long, but good enough to keep me reading the series.

An improvement over the first book, certainly. I agree with the other reviewers, it dragged a little and could have been rather shorter, but it's a fast and lightweight read already. As per the first book, Leesil is much more appealing than Magiere, who comes across as angsty and self-absorbed.

There's something odd when many of the things supposed to be causing mystery and tension (ie, Welstiel) are blindingly obvious from the get go though. The elf background story is much more engaging and interesting than the dhampir one, but I do feel like this book added a great deal to the world building of the first one, it feels like a proper world now, with distinct countries and cultures - and I can see myself reading a couple more books yet to see if that worldbuilding is put to good use.
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Better than the first book. Definitely hooked now. ( )

Thief of lives continues where Dhampir left off, Magiere, Leesil and Chap are now living in Miishka and running their own Tavern/Inn when a letter comes for Magiere. Seems the folks of Bela have been plagued with some undeads themselves, and some people have been getting killed. Bela needs help and has called upon Magiere and Leesil to eradicate the Noble Dead.

The writing style is the same, some good, witty quips some nice fighting scenes and plot twists. There was no downtime or lag that I came across, the story is engaging and characters intriguing. The new noble dead they face each have their own story and personalities (except for Sapphire who was just a major pain in the butt) we learn more about Leesils past, as well as some interesting tidbits about Chap.

How’s the romance? Well, nonexistent, and that is okay! I don’t like it when sappy romance or needless romance gums up my action. However, the end did make me smile and I am actually looking forward to the next book.

I've spent so much time reading modern urban fantasy lately that I had forgotten how much I enjoy a more traditional, dark fantasy novel. I can't believe that I reviewed the first book in this series, Dhampir, last December!

Magiere and Leesil are both very complex characters. Both of them are heavily influenced by their pasts which they have chosen to conceal from each other. This information comes out a little bit at a time and significantly impacts their relationship. While it is obvious that they would both like to get closer to each other, many events cause Magiere to pull away. Even their dog, Chap, has secrets which are revealed in this book.

It is clear from the beginning that someone is setting up Magiere and Leesil to test and train them. Although I suspected who it might be based on the first book, there were enough clues leading in other directions that I wasn't completely sure of what was going on until Magiere and Leesil were facing it. The overall agenda is still unknown but clearly there is a hand guiding Magiere and Leesil along their journey.

Thief of Lives is full of action and emotion. The characters want to complete their task quickly and return home but false clues and uncooperative citizens lead them down a complicated path. I am really enjoying this traditional fantasy series and will be reading the next book, Sister of the Dead, soon. ( )