Thief of Lies is the first in Brenda Drake’s Library Jumpers series. While at the library with her friends, Gia Kearns meets a mysterious guy who disappears. While looking at the book he had been using, she finds a scrap of paper with a single phrase in Italian. When she reads it, she and her friends get a most unexpected surprise. In the blink of an eye, they find themselves halfway across the world, in a Parisian library, with a beastie defying imagination running loose. Gia’s mystery man, along with several others, arrives to save the trio.
Gia Kearns she is a child if the world of Mystik, a Sentinel to be exact. A guardian of the library gateways like Arik and his team. But Gia was never meant to know the world. She was meant to remain hidden and live her life never knowing. Now that she’s stumbled onto the Mystik world, events have been escalated. The wizard Conemar desires the Chiavi that will unlock the Tetrad, a terrible creature that can control the elements. Now Gua, and companions new and old, must race to find the Chiavi first.
Drake has woven a mesmerising world, rich in detail. Here, the human and Mystik worlds are separated, accessible only through gateways found in libraries. These gateways are guarded by Sentinels, a group descended from knights granted magic abilities. There are many different Mystik races, from Laniars to Writhes. I was quite pleased that they were unique beings, rather than being the default werewolves and vampires. No, son. Done with that nonsense. There are also fey beings, but they are pretty cool. No cutsie faeries a lá Disney here.
Gia was a likeable protagonist. While capable of fighting, she doesn’t usually prefer it and she is reluctant to kill or maim. She was also a very phobic person, yet handled most phobias well when necessary. That shows a well of stubbornness and grit. Despite the phobias, she does seem a highly adaptable person, which is good in her position.
Magic manifests in the form of energy globes that have differing effects. All can summon a light globe. Most Sentinels can call only one type of battle globe, though. These can be any of the elements- fire, wind, water, earth- or a number of other things like healing or stunning. Gia has two, both incredibly rare.
I really like Gia’s friends, Afton and Nick. They get pulled into the conflict too, and end up guests of the Mystik world. That Afton love architecture is awesome. There turns out to be more to Nick than meets the eye. I really hope it doesn’t change him too much. Arik and the rest of the Sentinels are pretty cool too. They kinda remind me of magitek knights, or other Final Fantasy characters. Arik was my favourite. Haha, I immediately pictured him as a younger James Purefoy. I think it was the description of his crooked smile. It brought to mind Coleville from A Knight’s Tale actually. Still, it fits…
Overall, a great read. I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the series! Perfect for fans of the Shadowhunters series, urban fantasy in general, or the film Jumper.
***Many thanks to Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours and the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
