The Spirit Thief was another random pick from the TBR. And it was a nice surprise.

The magic systems is an interplay between the magicians and the spirits they bond with and obey them. It was quite original. The ploys were not overly intricate, but that can be nice for a change.

It was a very easy read, a bit like a YA but without the seemingly mandatory romance (another plus). I am very curious to see where this series is going next.

This go around I read the second half, having read the first half another time.

We find out about Eli's relationship with the Shepherdess and what she has planned, things change between all the characters and they change the world.

I like this series, like the characters and like the setting. Interesting and entertaining.

This one has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while because I didn't want the series to be over. Kinda sad now that it is.

The Spirit Thief suffers a bit from first book in a series syndrome.  While I enjoyed the characters, I didn't learn much about them. While I thought the magic system and world building was original and interesting, we never delve deep enough into it's history and origins.  I ended up feeling like I read 'fantasy lite' and not the richly engaging story it had the potential to be.  I hope that as I move deeper into the series this feeling resolves itself, but at the moment I'm not hooked enough to move directly on to book 2.

Like many of the reviews for this book have already stated, this book is an improvement over the last two in the series. We have more characterization, more details about the world Eli lives in, and a deeper, darker plot. Eli stepped out of the spotlight for a bit, and we got to learn a little more about Nico and Josef, demons, the League of Storms, and Benehime. I can't wait to see how this all comes together in the next installment.

Hopefully more interaction between Miranda and Eli. I love those two together.

Anyway, on to [b:The Spirit War|10834868|The Spirit War (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #4)|Rachel Aaron|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1330089634s/10834868.jpg|15748974].

I have to admit that the very first line made me laugh. "In the prison under the castle Allaze, in the dark mouldy cells where the greatest criminals in Mellinor spent the remainder of their lives counting rocks to stave off madness, Eli Monpress was trying to wake up a door." The author had my attention with that. The idea that things are imbued with spirits that certain people can hear and with training can get them to do things. Eli is a charmer, what would happen if a con man could use his voice to not only charm people but also spirits to do what he wants. He doesn't just talk to them but befriends them. Miranda Lyonette also works with spirits but she's more assertive with them, the schools of magic in this world suggest that this is the way to deal with spirits and Eli is making her ask questions about this. The fact that she's chasing him to stop him is slightly twarted when a man who doesn't coherce but enslaves spirits and causes them pain, gets involved in Eli's plan to kidnap and ransom a king (in a further complicated plan to make himself the most valuable wanted man in the world). I really enjoyed this, I chuckled my way through the ways in which Eli kept tripping people up with their own thoughts. He also has two companions that left me wondering about them and their plans and their future, the swordsman Josef (who has a sword he's reluctant to use) and Nico, who is harbouring a demon-seed, that Josef and his sword seems to be able to control. It's not without it's flaws and Eli could get annoying but it was a fun read, he appears to have depths that have only been glanced at and a background that I want to know more about. I liked it enough that when I realised that book 2 was in the library above where I worked I rushed up to nab it and pressed a copy into the hands of a person working in that branch that I know likes fantasy.