Title: The Thief Queen’s Daughter

Author: Elizabeth Haydon

Series: Lost Journals of Ven Polyphene

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: On his first day on the job as Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, King Vandemere sends young Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme–known as Ven–on a secret mission within the walls of the Gated City. His quest? To discover the origin of a mysterious artifact given to the king’s father. The king warns Ven to take care–because once you enter the Gated City, you might never be allowed to leave. Within its walls, all sorts of exotic merchandise not found anywhere else in the world can be bought or sold. But not only merchandise. Dreams, wishes, memories…even childhood…can be sold–or stolen. The Gated City is ruled by the powerful Raven’s Guild, and the guild is ruled by the Queen of Thieves. Ven and his friends enter the Gated City ready for adventure. But when one friend is kidnapped and it is revealed that they are traveling in the company of the runaway daughter of the Queen of Thieves herself, their adventure turns deadly. For the ruthless Thief Queen will stop at nothing to get her daughter back! -Goodreads

The Review:

I love when robust fantasy authors tackle Middle Grade and YA.

Responsible for one of the most poignant fantasy series I’ve ever read – Symphony of Ages, Haydon continues to dazzle me with with her rich world-building, magical adventure, and interesting characters in this MG series set in the same world.

The first book, The Floating Island, was an experience. Easily one of the strongest books I’ve read in the MG market. And what made it fun was the traveling/adventure, fun companions, all the riddles and puzzles, and the unique composition of the book itself. Told as a reconstruction of recovered journals, it is a mix of journal entries, illustrations, and fill-in text to complete the story between the first-hand accounts. I loved every moment, and was especially eager to dive into this second book.

I didn’t find The Thief Queen’s Daughter quite as strong as the first book. It had a really interesting setting – a thief market, where the bulk of the story took place. While this cool new place was explored to my satisfaction, I missed the expansive settings from the first book a bit. The novelty of the place was awesome – so many cool magical shops and items. I think my younger self would be marveled at all the discoveries.

I’m kind of weird (as we’ve no doubt established) in that if I know anything about a story from diving in, I’m less likely to feel invested. The process of discovery is my main draw to reading, so if I come across any spoilers, it can completely wreck the experience for me. This is the reason why I don’t read book overviews. And why I’m no fun to buddy read things with. But no matter how careful I am, I can’t avoid seeing the freaking title of the book. So it’s exciting main reveal? Oooooohhhh, yeah I knew that already. This is a case where someone should’ve thought it through more. Rant over.

Recommendations: this is such a magical MG series that would be my pick to hand-sell to families looking for great, accessible stories to read together. It has something for everyone, and as an adult I’m enjoying every moment.

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