Just Released! Holy Crap! Heart still hammering as I write this review–finished the read two nights ago. CHILD OF THE NIGHT GUILD by Andy Peloquin

Title: Child of the Night Guild Queen of Thieves Series, Book 1
Author: Andy Peloquin
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Story Setting: A world of darkness, a voice of hope
Pages: 374
Published by: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc., 1 edition
Published Date: January 17, 2017
ASIN: B01N1TC3VW

 

Publisher’s Summary:

“They killed my parents. They took my name. They imprisoned me in darkness. I would not be broken.”

Viola, a child sold to pay her father’s debts, has lost everything: her mother, her home, and her identity. Thrown into a life among criminals, she has no time for grief as she endures the brutal training of an apprentice thief. The Night Guild molds an innocent waif into a cunning, agile outlaw skilled in the thieves’ trade. She has only one choice: steal enough to pay her debts.

The cutthroat streets of Praamis will test her mettle, and she must learn to dodge the City Guards or swing from a hangman’s rope. But a more dangerous foe lurks within the guild walls. A sadistic rival apprentice, threatened by her strength, is out for blood.

What hope does one girl have in a world of ruthless men?

My Thoughts:  Okay.  This read is not for the weak of heart.  I’ve got to tell you, it was time I retired for the evening and the last hour of the read is upon me. I lay in bed for one hour, trying to figure out how this story would end.  I really tried to sleep, but crawled out of bed at 12:45 a.m., wrapped myself in a blanket and finished the book!  I just had to do it.  I couldn’t sleep otherwise, and then I still had a time of it, since this book does not have a happy ever after ending—propelling me to the sequel. 

You are forewarned.  If you like this kind of read, then it is right up your alley. Scared shitless, I was.  The whole setting is so fantastic, the characters so mesmerizing, that is, those left living, I cannot walk away.

Viola was her name.  She then became number Seven.  That is, seven of twelve total.  And finally, she became Ilanna.  Her life is hell from the beginning to the end.  In the beginning, she is the innocent, the one whose life is determined by her parents.  Circumstances find her without mother. Her father, a drunken man who has no questions and wants no answers, gave her to The Guild—The Night Guild.  He was free of her, but not free of his guilt, his pain, his anguish, and…, but I get ahead of myself.

The Guild took Viola in – no longer owning a name, she became number Seven.  Through psychological and body deprivation, she no longer remembers who she is.  Her friends were few.  Her best friend and kindest peer is number Three. After many months of existing, the group are picked through by the Guild Masters.  Three became a member of the Serpent Guild and Seven became a member of the Hawk Guild.  Depending on their qualifications through a testing by the Guild, they are chosen.

The little girl, Viola, never forgot, although she didn’t remember her family, that she needed to stand tall, with chin up.  Her determination to succeed did her in good stead.  Through the years until her seventeenth birthday, she learned much.  She learned to depend on herself. By the very cruelty she experienced, she is honed into a weapon, highly prized by the Head Master of the entire Guild. 

I don’t normally read such a fantasy as this.  Mine are usually the lighter version, the ones which make me smile.  This one did not.  It is well written, grips my emotions, scaring the bejeebers out of me! I secretly cheer Illana to succeed in her challenges, her quest.  The author, Andy Peloquin, accomplished what he set out to do.  I must be careful.  There are forces around, even darker than the ones I’ve experienced with Illana by my side. Tread lightly, reader. Don’t be trapped—don’t be taken.

If you like to lose sleep, cringe when you hear a soft voice behind you, yet fly soaring over the streets of a city, feeling the freedom which will somehow later elude you, begin this series and may the gods protect your heart!

Book is provided to me by the publisher and in no way influences my feelings about the book, nor the contents of my review.

Note:  This whole scenario by the author is very similar to what presently happens in parts of the world today.  Children are brain-washed to be the fingers of those who want a deed done.