Thief in the Castle

Morning guys,
I hope you’re all keeping safe and well.

Today, I’m reviewing Thief in the Castle, a fantasy novel by B. B. Morgan.

About

Juniper Thimble is a notorious thief, after the king’s golden crown. When she’s caught during her daring attempt, she is presented with a choice: die, or help to protect the king’s only son by pretending to be his lover. With dark forces at work, aiming to attack the prince, it seems Juniper has little choice but to accept the king’s gracious offer.

Characters

Juniper is a notorious thief, having been brought up by a local thieves guild. She’s a fast learner with an iron will and a cheeky side that made her easy to like.

Reid (otherwise known by his surname Sandpiper) is a practiced squire, hoping to one day join the king’s knights. He is an aloof and private man, slowly opening up over the course of the story as he works alongside Juniper to keep Prince Adrian safe.

Prince Adrian was a pleasant surprise. I always expect Princely characters to be arrogant and pompous, but Adrian was kind and compassionate, with a lovable and flirtatious nature I found endlessly amusing.

As much as I want to say Juniper was my favourite character, its difficult not to simply let these three main characters tie for favourite.

Likes

I really liked how Juniper’s cheeky nature immediately came into conflict with Reid’s character. Watching their initial dislike of each-other was fun yet intriguing, paving the way for their relationship to bloom.

The careful crafting of relationships between characters (especially Reid and Juniper) was part of what made this book so wonderful. Their conflict arose organically and had me hooked from page one.

Dislikes?

The only minor issue I had was that there was no explanation of the new status quo once the main conflict was resolved. It felt like torture to read all the way through, only to not know what came next. I guess I’ll just have to anticipate book two. 😊

Overview

Overall, I think Thief in the Castle was a brilliant read. I enjoyed the writer’s style, the characters and their quirks, and the way conflict seemed effortlessly created.

I would definitely recommend it to lovers of smaller scale fantasy books.

My rating: 5 stars.

An immersive fantasy read, focusing on close relationships and reputations.

Thank you for joining me for today’s review.

If you’d like to learn more about author B. B. Morgan, please visit her website here.
To learn more about Thief in the Castle, please visit its Goodreads page.

As always, if you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it or leave a comment below.
I hope you’re well and that you’re staying safe.

Ellie. xoxo