The Orphan and the Thief. An adventure that will keep you and your kids spellbound.
Toad thought it’d be easy to steal from Mr. Edward P. Owl. Unfortunately for Toad, he isn’t the best of thieves. Caught in the act, he’s in more trouble than ever before. Now to save his hide, Toad must track down five rare potion ingredients for Mr. Owl. Or else. All Melena Snead wants is her family back, but after the Miggens Street Fire, that isn’t very likely. Orphaned and miserable, forced to work in an apothecary, she’s determined to find Milo, her missing brother. No matter what.
When Melena finds Toad ransacking her apothecary, Toad gets a nasty shock: apothecaries don’t carry Mr. Owl’s ingredients. Luckily, Melena’s willing to help, for a price.
With Melena’s pet Spit-Fire dragon and Toad’s enchanted talking beer mug, they embark on a fantastical journey, traveling the country in search of the potion ingredients. But can they gather all of them in time, what with monsters, pirates, and axe-wielding thieves? And if they do, is there an even greater danger waiting for them at the end?
Review:
This is a fast-paced, well-written adventure that I had trouble engaging with (until the last few chapters, when things began moving very fast). I enjoyed it; I just found it too easy to put down. As I can't find any good reason I wasn't caught in the book, I am going to put that down to personal taste and let it go. By the second half the story had largely picked up and I did better, but I was not grabbed from the beginning and that is a count against it.
Toad and Melena are well-drawn characters, though they could, perhaps, have a little more depth to them. But despite their limitations, they have a good story to tell, even though I wasn't drawn to race through the book with them. Each has a mission that matters the world to them, and when they band together they leap from adventure to adventure. In fact, I would say that one criticism I had while reading the book was that too many of their adventures went by too fast--and with too little development (not to say real sense of peril). They did tend to escape things too easily, even the final tight spot which ties everything up. But in the end, The Orphan and the Thief is a rollicking adventure with a touch of magic and a nice twist to the end (one I probably should have seen coming, but I'm not very good at seeing those things).
Recommended for kids who like fantasy and adventure (this is are sort of 18th-century setting for fantasy and adventure with a touch of magic).
Full Disclosure: I received an ebook of The Orphan and the Thief from the author in exchange for not a positive review but my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and
those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the
Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use
of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
M.L LeGette:
Melissa Lee LeGette has been writing seriously since she was a teen. She loves an old world vibe with a magical twist, and she puts her full focus on creating believable characters--even if they happen to be a talking beer mug. Her books are targeted for children and teens, but have been enjoyed by adults of all ages.
She lives in Georgia where she helps run a family farm, so her nails are a fright.
Praise:
[LeGette is] able to twist her unique fairy-tales to fit the imagination of children and the attention of adults. Five stars ... The Orphan and the Thief is definitely worth reading! -- Abigail / Goodreads Review
M.L. Legette conjures up a captivating magical tale in The Orphan and the Thief. I loved this story and I could not put my Kindle down until I finished the last page. This charming story is so good that it may very well become a classic. -- Karen Dowdall, Author of Delphi Altair: Strange Beginnings
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Interesting that you felt much the same as me - but you probably put your finger on it better: the episodic nature of the first half. Do you think that's the writer's eye? Would the target audience notice?
ReplyDeleteI'm still not 100% sure figured out why it didn't grab me. And if I did peg it right, I think it might be more of an adult issue--I suspect kids will race right through those tiny adventures, and be happy enough.
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