I borrowed a copy of Michael J. Sullivan‘s The Rose and Thorn from my local library.

Description:

TWO THIEVES WANT ANSWERS. RIYRIA IS BORN.

For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception — Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn’t realize is what the two are capable of — but she’s about to find out.

Review:

I didn’t love it quite as much as The Crown Tower, which I gave a full 5 stars. But it is still a truly enjoyable book. We didn’t see as much of Royce and Hadrian as I’d have liked (and expected), and I felt like some important events were skipped between the end of book one and beginning of book two. (I wanted to see those relationships develop, damn it!) But I enjoyed the characters we did spend time with and I liked the foreshadowing for the future plot. I can’t wait to read more of it.