This most recent installment of the THIEVES & KINGS series picks up right where THE WINTER BOOK left off. We get a few good scenes with Heath and Rubel, but this book is mostly about Soracia, Kim and Leahanna.

We already know a fair bit about Soracia, of course, but I loved the opportunity to get to know both Kim and Leahanna a bit better. And you can bet I was pleased with the backstory. Oakley's been hinting at this stuff for years now, and with this volume we finally get some answers! He cuts back and forth between the present day and ten thousand years ago, when Kim and Leahanna first aligned themselves with Soracia. It's very well done; the shifts help add tension to both sides of the story.

The book isn't quite perfect, though. There are a number of errors corrected right in the finished volume; things like words crossed out, new phrases penciled in, etc. Small things though they might be, they cropped up often enough to take me out of the story. The story itself is also slow to get going; it wasn't until the very end that I realized how much I'd enjoyed the whole thing.

But those quibbles aside, I really recommend that you give THIEVES & KINGS a try if you have any interest in graphic storytelling, YA fantasy, and stories with a lot of heart. This one's got heart to spare, my dears, and it is a wonderful read.

This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog, Stella Matutina. ( )