I snagged a copy of Michael McClung‘s book, The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids, from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
“They butchered Corbin right out in the street. That’s how it really started. He was a rogue and a thief, of course. But then, so am I. So when he got himself hacked up in front of his house off Silk Street, I decided somebody had to be made to pay. They thought that they could just sweep him away like rubbish. They were wrong.”

Amra Thetys is a thief with morals: She won’t steal from anybody poorer than she is. Fortunately, anybody that poor generally doesn’t have much worth stealing! But when a fellow thief and good friend is killed in a deal gone wrong, Amra turns her back on burglary and goes after something far more precious: Revenge.

Review:
I’m feeling blessed; I’ve had such good luck in the book department lately! The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids is a fun Sword & Sorcery book with a kick-butt heroine, a cool mage sidekick (maybe hero), and an interesting fantasy world. I enjoyed the read immensely. It was well-written, sarcastic, funny, and wrapped up nicely in the end. A+, in my opinion.

I was a bit confused about why Amra took it upon herself to avenge Corbin’s death. They were friends, not lovers, so it seems a bit extreme. The reasoning that she’s doing it because she has so few friends proved unsupported by the book. Her endeavor was successful solely because she seemed to have so many loyal, generous friends. So, I was left scratching my head about the very foundation of the book’s plot but decided to just roll with it.

I also thought that the ‘oops, sorry, I was wrong’ was glossed over. Several people died as a result of this particular mistake, those who lived would have a terrible memory, and it brought everyone to the attention of some really dangerous people. But no one seemed to mind, nor was anyone less inclined to take her word at face value when next she said, ‘Oh, I know who did it.’ It all felt a little too easy.

Easy is my last comment. For all the drama, running around, and highly dangerous enemies Amra battles, each was defeated with startling ease at the end. It left the encounters feeling rushed and abortive.

Having said all that, I really did enjoy it, and I hope to read the sequels soon.