I really wanted to like this one. I had been looking forward to reading it for some time. The premise of the story was so intriguing and thought it was going to be good. But unfortunately I didn't Love the execution. The characters, story line just seemed to fall flat for me and I could not Bring myself to enjoy this I am extremely sad because this was extremely underwhelming to me. I love Karina Halle and will continue to read her stories. I just don't think that this one was for me.

You had me the moment I learned this was a dragon egg black market plot. The action lined up perfectly with the romance, the mystery elements left you always wanting more and the side-kicks are chefs kiss. This was all around addicting and refreshing!

Romantasy has been a hit or miss with me lately, but Realm of Thieves sits firmly in the middle. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. Many parts felt very well done, but the parts that fell short ended up dragging down my enjoyment level. In all honesty, I did consider changing my rating to a two, but I'm going to leave it as is because I did finish and do want to see where the series is going.

If you've read literally any of my other reviews, I am a sucker for world-building. Please give me all of it. I want. And I loved the world-building in Realm of Thieves. This world is beautifully realized. Truly. Though we only got to see three of the five known kingdoms (and only parts of them, at that), what we did see was wonderfully detailed. Cut out all the other parts, and I would reread this book so many times just for the world-building. I have no idea what kind of cheese (cheese is life) Karina Halle was cooking with while she wrote the world-building sections, but I need more of it in my life. Share your cheesy secrets with the world. Each kingdom had its unique climate, stories, people, history, and everything else. It was like a perfectly homemade, gooey mac-and-cheese that you should probably stop eating before your stomach gets even more upset with you, but your taste buds are screaming for more. It was so good. 10/10 would recommend for the world-building alone.

However, the rest of the story fell a bit flat. The plot, while interesting, started dragging the moment Andor kidnapped Brynla, which is unfortunate, because that was quite early on. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen. Then, suddenly, we would hit a really exciting part, only for it to be over within a couple of pages, and I was left feeling like all of the long, boring parts weren't having enough of a payoff. Don't get me wrong, I kept reading because I was extremely curious as to what the story was leading up to, since the summary makes it seem like we're going to constantly be at each other's throats while vying for dragon eggs, but that was most assuredly not the case. So, aside from the misleading summary and boring bits, I was genuinely interested in where the plot was taking me. And there were definitely some fun parts, enough to keep me reading and curious, so that's a win.

The characters were somewhat unengaging, which in turn made the romance lackluster. Truly, once Brynla got kidnapped, it was like a switch flipped, and now it's all about romance, romance, romance. Of course, seeing as this is a romantasy, I'm not at all surprised and was expecting that to happen. Still, this single-minded focus on it turned the characters into caricatures of themselves, leaving all the interesting parts of them behind. This ultimately made the romance bland because the characters were also bland. Where did your personality go? It's in the wind. Quick, catch it before it gets away.

While not my favorite read, Realm of Thieves had enough pieces for me to be invested in the outcome of the story. I am curious about the books' future, having discovered they're a series, so I will likely continue, but I doubt I'll return for a reread.

I received an advanced copy of Realm of Thieves from NetGalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Raise your hand if you're still in your dragon era?? This needs to be your next read- full of heists, theives, murder, mysterious pasts, magical dragons, and an adorable fluffy sidekick.

I'm super intrigued on where this series goes... are we getting new POVs based on the epilogue??

Realm of Thieves is a mix of dragons, danger, and enemies to lovers tension. The magic system and world-building are inventive and compelling. Dragon egg thieves? So unique!

I love Karina Halle and I loved this Romantasy! I read it with a few book buddies and we all had the same opinion. We want more!

I am a huge fan of Karina Halle’s storytelling and writing, but if I’m being honest, this book wasn’t my favorite. While I enjoyed the ending, it seemed like much of the actual implementation of fantasy elements didn't come into play before then, except with the dragons existing overall or very fleeting moments. I also wanted more from Brynla - she was such a good character but it felt like something was being held back with her - the emotions didn’t seems as strong or raw.

The dragons and how their suen gave those who ingested it powers was an interesting concept - overall, the dragons were very cool! Learning about each species was a fun component of the story. I think book two will take up deeper into the story and hopefully with more drama and action.

Karina is such a diverse author that delves into different genres and romantasy really showcases her talents. I loved the world building and the characters throughout this one and pulled me in from the beginning. I am excited to see where she takes the next one!

A mafia romantasy with rivalry families? YES PLEASE!
This was so much fun, especially listening on audio hearing the narrations of dual POV.
I'm so excited to see where this series goes and the new POV we'll soon be getting!

Book: Realm of Thieves
Author: Karina Halle
Length:432 Pages
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

This riveting book hooked me in right from the start with so many twists and turn that absolutely swept me in. Another book that kept me turnings the pages with fascination. Furthermore the entire premise of intrigue and suspense kept me fascinated! A book of high adventure, dragons and love. Another book I highly recommend.


Dragons✔️
Fantasy ✔️
Cult✔️
Ememie to Lovers✔️
World Building✔️
Magic System✔️
Romance✔️
Mafias✔️

Thank you so much to Berkley for an advance copy of Realm of Thieves!

Brynla has found a way to survive her entire life. After fleeing the dragon worshipping cult where she was born, she finds work for a crime family stealing dragon eggs that contain magic. This is extremely dangerous and also extremely illegal, but Brynla does whatever it takes to stay alive.

Along with her dog, she sets out for another mission and just before she succeeds, she is kidnapped while facing a fierce dragon. Her captor is Lord Andor of House Kolbeck, a rival crime family. When faced with an offer she can’t refuse, she goes from thief for the crime families to thrust into the middle of the politics of the world.

I’ve read a handful of Karina’s books so I was stoked to get the go-ahead to read this one early. It seemed so different from her normal vibes. Much more politically driven fantasy/romantasy and less dark paranormal romance. I have to say, this was my favorite of hers thus far. It wasn’t as dark as her other books, but it did toe the line.

Brynla is a trainwreck in the best way possible. Obstinate to a fault, but hilarious while being so. I felt like we got to really go on a journey of self-discovery and growth with her. Andor was a good character as well. I didn’t feel like he was too overbearing or too closed off. He had his secrets, but he was otherwise very open to Brynla. I would say it was slightly insta-love on his part…but it didn’t bother me in the silghtest. More like instant attraction or that he felt some sort of pull towards her that he couldn’t ignore. I want to stress repeatedly that it wasn’t overbearing or annoying, because I do NOT like instalove at all.

Sometimes romantasy can feel very recycled, as much as I love the genre it can be repetitive. And while this had some of the same elements, I thought the idea of the crime families and the dragon eggs on the black market, and the whole backstory was so interesting and I can’t recall ever reading something like it.

The last 25% or so totally flipped the script also, we got an entire storyline that will take us into book two with a whole new outlook on the world and I can’t wait to see what happens!!

𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤.

This book was so, so interesting! The competing mafias, the dragons, the magic system – all of it was so unique and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed how it all wove together. As an endometriosis girlie, a lot of how Brynla’s chronic pain was treated was very healing for me.

“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚. 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙗𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡. 𝙉𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙.”

Realm of Thieves was such an interesting take on the dragon books taking over the romantasy space. I loved the switch to have Brynla be a thief stealing dragon eggs as opposed to having some sort of bond or partnership with them. There was also a lot to love in general from this book as it had some of my must haves in a romantasy — political intrigue, magic, heists, enemies to lovers, and of course dragons. I really appreciated how Halle used the foreword to get readers comfortable with the Dragemor history. The world building in general was really well done as well especially since it was such a large component to the overall story. I enjoyed the relationship building and dynamic between Brynla and Andor. I especially loved that it was told through both of their POVs. The main area I struggled with this was in the pacing. There were many times where it felt the story stalled out before picking up again.
✨
✨
Overall Rating: 3.5⭐️

A thrilling and unique romatasy with great world-building and twists and turns that leave you hooked and wanting more. If you like romance, fantasy, mystery, intrigue, and passion, this book is for you!

Having read Halle’s previous books I was excited for this one but unfortunately it was mostly a miss for me. While I liked that it was a complete story in one book, because of that everything felt rushed. It had so much potential, I wanted to know more about the world and dragon but it was all glossed over for the romance that was very bland. It all just lacked depth and I was hoping for more.

What a fun and new fantasy world from Karina. Enemies to lovers, with the perfect amount of tension. I'll be forever thinking about them. And dragons! I don't think I've ever read a book like this one. Don't miss out!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. Dragons are popular in fantasy and Karina was able to bring something new that I hadn't seen before. The worldbuilding was wonderful. What I think needed a bit of improving was the pacing. At the beginning of the book, it was great then towards the middle it somewhat stagnated. I did enjoy the main characters and side characters. I will be continuing with the series.

Realm of Thieves is a swift and fun romatnasy with touches of mafia and religious cult motifs. Brynla Aihr is a criminal for hire who steals dragon eggs for the highest black market bidder. It’s a dangerous lifestyle, made even more harrowing after Brynla is captured and blackmailed by Andor of House Kolbeck and tasked with assisting them in their political pursuits. The pacing of the novel was well executed and the sexy tension between Brynla and Andor kept me highly entertained.

While Realm of Thieves doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it excels at keeping readers engaged with its rapidly moving storyline, easy to conceptualize magic system, and witty banter. There were a few plot points that started to go off the rails but I simply didn’t care because I was having too much fun inside this world. One of my absolute favorite aspects was Lemi, Brynla’s loyal teleporting canine companion! Lemi’s involvement in Brynla’s thieving schemes was essential to her success and I adored how much page time he got. This is my official petition to put more magical pets at the forefront of every fantasy novel!

I loved seeing chronic pain and female reproductive health represented in this romantasy as well! The way these topics were woven into the narrative felt realistic and necessary to Brynla’s character development. If I had a man who could heal debilitating monthly cramps with his magical powers, you bet I’d risk it all for him! So many fantasy books gloss over these issues but I was struck by how normal their inclusion was in this universe.

As with any romance, if I don’t buy into the main couple’s connection then there isn’t much of a chance I’m going to vibe with the overall story. In this case, Brynla and Andor’s chemistry was sizzling and even though there were moments I felt like they were moving confusingly quick, I allowed myself to sit back and enjoy the scorching ride. Their back and forth dynamic really helped amp things up and allowed me to look past some of their questionable decision making in favor of their undeniable attraction.

I’m looking forward to continuing the series when the next book comes out and can’t wait to see what is in store for these characters!

Thank you Berkley/Ace and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The first book in Thieves of Dragemor follows Brynla on her journey through ancient wards were the dragons have been contained for a long, long time. In the midst of her thievery, she encounters Andor, who sort of, but not really, gives her a deal she can’t refuse. This book is full of adventure and mystery. Dragons, mafia, and magic with a splash of romance.

Overall this book was okay. My interest was on and off. The beginning was good but the story started to fall off a little. The connection between Andor and Brynla felt a little flat. It is a good book, it just felt a little too slow for my taste.

Started with a bang and had a lot of potential, but the pacing was a little too up and down for me. The world was very intriguing. The romance part of the romantasy suffered from an emotional connection. All of this is just my take- I generally love Karina’s stories- but this just fell a little short of my expectations I guess. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book early.