I really tried to get into this one, but after about 15% I knew that it had to be a DNF. I just did not get on with the dialogue at all. This book was confusing and weird, and not in the enjoyable way. I really wanted to enjoy this one, but unfortunately I couldn't even get through it.

DNFed

I couldn’t get into the story and I wasn’t invested in the characters. I couldn’t really place what was going on.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for allowing me early access to this book via NetGalley. Unfortunately, this is just not the book for me. However, I do want to preface this by saying take this review as you will considering I had to DNF this book.

 I was really excited for aspects of Greek and Norse mythology as those are two topics I think are incredibly fascinating but that fascination did not carry over. I found this book to be extremely hard to get into and to even understand. I had a hard time telling who was the main character or knowing what was going on at all.. The world building is complex but way too complex for my tastes as I would rather not refer back to the index at every page trying to figure out what the characters were talking about.

I think a certain kind of reader could really enjoy this but at the end of the day it just wasn't something I could get into and I found it to draining to continue reading.

Unfortunately this didn't really work for me...

I think for me personally it was the way the information was just dumped on us and I really struggled in getting into it. The convoluted plot didn't help either which was sad because the synopsis sounded so interesting! I would feel myself reading entire chapters again and that took me out of the book.

Maybe others will have a better shot though! The writing wasn't necessarily bad it was just a lot to take in and nothing else really to work with. 

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review!

“We’re at the mercy of a fleet of strangers from a world which walls us in.”

This was a very hard read. The dialogue is a mixture of “languages” and “slang” that slow down the reading pace. It made connecting with the characters and understanding their persona difficult at best. There is an intricate thought process behind the world-building I found intriguing. A world of teen runners basically ziplining from errand to errand across vast abyss-like distances to meet quotas. I was drawn in by the idea of a quarantined city cut off from everything. I imagined this closed off world getting near the rationing stage of existence while raiders outside the massive walls caused chaos. But it wasn’t really that. I can’t exactly pinpoint what way the plot truly wanted to go. It veers in different directions pulling in ideas that didn’t always fit. I liked the tidbits pulled from old mythologies and the odd bits of humor splashed here and there throughout the read. There are some great quotable moments as well.

I appreciate the unique atmosphere the author was going for overall. This isn’t a novel I was able to connect with and enjoy a much as I would’ve liked to. I think a specific type of reader will be drawn to the story in these pages and embrace the dialogue and plot.  I thank Penguin Teen for the opportunity to read this gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I love high fantasy and City of the Uncommon Thief has a great premise; I loved the idea of a walled off city with a group of teens living among the rooftops, toiling towards their apprenticeship to the Guilds. Once I started the book, though, I found that this world I was so excited to delve in to was really confusing and despite the excitement I felt at the premise, it fell extremely flat and became so convoluted that it became unenjoyable. I’m not sure if there’s some obscure meaning that I missed or if there just wasn’t enough explanation of the world in which Errol and Odd were inhabiting that I just couldn’t fully see the plot? So much of it just didn’t make sense to me and I felt like I was always looking for some hidden meaning in the words and actions of the characters to try and suss out some understanding of the plot. 

Despite my feelings on this book, I’m quite sure there are many who would enjoy it. 

My thanks to Penguin Teen for gifting me this DRC in exchange for my honest review.

thank you to penguinteen and netgallery for the arc! 

DNF... yeah... this one isn’t going to work out. i’m suffocated by the info-dumping and wildly confused...

This unique fantasy read super raw, and the world building was really out of this world. As I read, I pictured a lot of what The Matrix is like, and imagined a dark, unknown world, where there was life, and some hope. And let’s be honest, how many times did we have to watch The Matrix before we really understood it? Well I felt like that’s the case for this novel, It’s very intricate, lots happening.. BUT there’s something special there. The characters were unique, interesting, and complicated *for sure. I totally recommend this novel, to anyone who loves fantasy, and ready to read something different. Already looking forward to my reread of this novel. Pick it up today!

City of Uncommon Thief is not my typical go-to-read or genre preference. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are several made up words that match the created world in this tale, which can make the reading challenging in the beginning. As you continue reading these words seem less and less important to directly translate to English. 
In this book, readers meet Odd and Errol Thebes two cousins who are "runners" in an unnamed guild city. They seem content to race across the flies, tell stories, and play games that is until the iron spikes are discovered. Errol confesses to stealing the spikes which leads to secrets, love, courage, and fear being discovered. 
Bertrand does an excellent job with character development and world creation. Although many things seem similar to ours in this world, they are also vastly different. This books has similar vibes to The Giver and Hunger Games, but it is also uniquely its own story. It may be a benefit to the reader to know some epic poems like Beowulf and Odyssey. 
I would highly recommend this book and hope Lynne Bertrand will continue her tale of Odd, Errol, Jamila, and Leah.

The novel is about a quarantined city with different groups of people and the tension between them. There is the narrator, Odd, who is a runner on the roofs, but is also considered a bard who tells stories. When his cousin, Errol, is dropped to the ground, this unleashed certain events that will change the city!
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While I liked the characters of Odd and Errol, I thought the world that was created was quite complex and tough to follow. I did like the concept of life on the roof, and the love Odd had for classic stories, but I found it difficult to follow the story fully. Felt like a lot was happening and it was tough to stay immersed. I did like the parts where Errol was on the ground!
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CW: violence

The story was really intriguing if confusing due to really elaborate world building aspects. The plot was immaculate and the writing style was TO DIE FOR! I wasn't as invested in the characters as I usually like to be and found myself confusing who was who despite their names being pretty clear.

While I did find myself enjoying a lot about this book, ultimately I felt pretty confused throughout and still have some trouble describing what the book is actually about even after I’ve finished it. The style of the book was fun with Odd as “the bard” and telling both his story as well as his cousin’s, but I think a lot of the book just went over my head. Seeing as how this is aimed at teenagers, I’m not sure that the world was explained well enough for it to make much sense outside of the action portions of the book. It could be because I don’t have a lot of experience with the stories and myths this book takes inspiration from, but overall I felt frustrated throughout a lot of the book. It was definitely an entertaining read however, so I’m sure if you had that additional context it would be more enjoyable! Unfortunately I just don’t think this was the book for me. 

Thank you to @NetGalley and @PenguinTeen for the #gifted eARC!

Overall:  This book came down to a confusing tale that felt, well, half-baked.

Pros:
Cast of characters. This is more of a survival story than one following a particular protagonist so there is a cast of characters at center stage.

Cons:
The mythology related aspects. It keeps you at a distance as it references Greece, but without context clues for the unfamiliar to this world it feels half-baked.
World building. There are things within it the world-building did not make sense when combined within the world it overall become unclear in the story.
Unclear story-line. Yes, the primary aspect of this story is survival, but there continued to be a sense of confusion throughout it as to why the reader should feel feel anything or what was going on in the story itself.

1.5 stars

This book was so confusing. I simply could not follow what was going on in this book. The synopsis above is pretty unclear, and that's all I had to go into the book with - and that pretty much set the tone for the book.

One of the issues was the fact that the focus was on Errol, but he was not the narrator. Instead the narrator was a character called Odd, who was a cousin, I think? Not sure what Odd looked like, whether they were a boy or girl - or anything. Odd was just... there, narrating the story of his cousin, somehow getting all this info despite not being there.

With so little info on Odd, they were not an interesting character. What was their driving goal? Why were they invested in all this? What were they *doing* for most of it? It was so hard to be interested in a character I knew little about and only seemed there to narrate someone else's story.

Errol was also very confusing. I thought he vanished in the first few chapters, but then he just seemed to be there in and out with little explanation for the first 20%, and no one reacted other than "where have you been?" Eventually he was tossed off, and then there was a very confusing back and forth in third person and first person of Odd telling tales.

It didn't get any easier to follow after that, as I didn't understand why Errol was gone, what Odd's stake in it all was, to the point that I ended up skim reading the book in case it made more sense once it was all resolved. It didn't.

The only redeeming thing about this book, for me, was the world. The lines strung between the mile-high towers, and how that got them between was interesting. The food supply chain was also intriguing, however I couldn't work out the power structure in the city, which didn't make the plot any easier to follow.

This concept was such an interesting one that called to me but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. 

Unfortunately, I found myself confused in several parts and had a little bit of a difficult time keeping up with what was happening. I thought the world-building was a bit complicated but overall pretty good. I could place myself in the world but, again, I think if I was in the world I would be completely lost as to what was going on and why I should care.

I didn't really connect with any of the characters that well either. I wanted to, as I always do when I read something, but it was just difficult.

Overall I think this had such a cool premise but the execution wasn't quite there. There are a lot of references to various greek myths, which I am very familiar with, so that helped a bit but someone not familiar might be even more confused.

E-arc was received by Penguin Teen in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Penguin Teen!

I think my rating for this book is an unfortunate matter of my taste not lining up with what the book has to offer. While the writing was beautiful in many places, I unfortunately found it hard to tell what was going on, and I didn't connect to the characters much. The world and atmosphere felt cool -- however, I'm not the kind of reader who can enjoy worldbuilding if I'm not vibing with the characters who live in the world.

My preference is usually for high-concept, fast-paced fantasy that favors direct writing over lyrical prose, so I think I struck out by taking a chance on a more experimental YA fantasy that unfortunately wasn't for me. People who prefer digesting prose and classic-style references will probably enjoy this story.

2/5 stars! 

I was really intrigued by this book's synopsis, however, I just could not get into the story and I didn't like the writing that much. I didn't feel connected with the characters enough, and I just don't see myself finishing this book.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you to Penguins for the advanced copy for my honest review*

Well this was definitely an interesting read. A fantasy inspired by Ancient Greece steeped in myths and legends. My only complaint is that it’s extremely tedious. From the get-go I have no clue who’s talking. Then context was a bit muddled. I get it’s an advanced copy so there’s going to be imperfections, but some sentence ended in weird spots or with a letter and I was like wait what does it say. There’s also, what I’m assuming, Latin words and I have no clue what they mean. So in a while it was a hard book to grasp. The world building was nice and the adventure was there for the fantasy aspect, but honestly it felt rushed and randomly thrown together.

DNF at 10%

Unfortunately the writing style of this book was really not working for me. It seems confusing and needlessly complicated, at least in the first part of the book. It's unclear what is happening, who exactly this main character is, or why we should care about any of it, although the writing does become more understandable a chapter or so in. There are frequent references to Greek mythology, but without much context or established world-building which feels a bit pedantic. I like Greek mythology, but the way this is being done I find off-putting. I also wasn't loving the crudeness of the character dialogue. I can deal with some of that if I'm invested in who the characters are, but it's never my favorite thing and this didn't hit well for me. I think if you can get on with the writing style and are really into stories about rough and tumble thieves, you might get on better with this than I did.

I received an advance copy of this book for review via netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Take this review as you will considered I decided *NOT* to finish the book. But after getting to around the 40% mark, I realized I can't continue with a book when I have no idea what's going on, who's actually telling the story, or what even the main plot of the story is. I am generally as confused as all get out and do not want to continue to waste my time reading this.

I had generally hoped if I continued to stick with it I would at least comprehend the basic plot. So there's some "uncommon" (i.e. very special??) knotting spikes, but... Why? The world-building is actually really good, but it's also complex and thank God for that index in the beginning because... Wow. But I think it's this very complex world-building that makes this book difficult to comprehend and follow. In this book, the characters live together in "guilds" and on extremely tall towers--we're talking hundreds of floors, or "stratas" as the characters say. There are no animals whatsoever and the people survive by storing the food and supplies that arrive once a year on multiple massive ships. But... why? Why is it this way? We've got a dialect with words and terms that I continue to struggle to understand, making this an overall unpleasant read.