Story Thieves

Story Thieves, Book 1

By: James Riley

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

This "clever opener likely to leave readers breathless both with laughter and anticipation" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) is the first in the New York Times best-selling series from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.

Life is boring when you live in the real world instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world's homework and chores.

But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen - his classmate Bethany climbs out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany's half fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character.

Bethany can't let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen's favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he'll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father....

...Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany's secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot's final (very final) adventure.

©2016 James Riley (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

Big surprise

I was expecting an average story, but this was surprisingly good. I got emotionally attached to each character. I love how imperfect the main characters are, as well as how the author puts two adventures into one book. Very satisfying ending as well. Left me both wanting more, but okay if this is the end. I will recommend this book an audiobook to my friends.

Great fun!

I've seen this book in the stores many times. I've considered buying it, but thought it might be aimed at a younger audience. On a whim, I decided to listen to the excerpt and found it rather enjoyable. I chose to use my credit on this book, and boy am I glad I did. This book was fun from beginning to end. The narrator did an excellent job, and his performance made the story even more enjoyable.

I am recommending this book to anyone who enjoys young adult/ children's fantasy and science fiction!

A fun fantasy for the whole family.

What made the experience of listening to Story Thieves the most enjoyable?

My kids love fantasy and action stories like Harry Potter and Fable Haven so we tried this series and it did not disappoint us. It starts out a little slow like most first books in a series (stage setting) but it quickly picks up pace and then leaves you wanting the next in the series. We all feel a little sucked into books at times so this was fun listening to the characters jumping in and out of books and watching the story unfold.

What other book might you compare Story Thieves to and why?

Closely similar to Storybound and Land of Stories. Both of these books involve interaction with the fairy tale world.

Which character – as performed by Kirby Heyborne – was your favorite?

Kiel is a lot of fun... As the fictional hero who is thrown into the real world, he definitely lightens up the mood and makes you smile and shake your head.

Any additional comments?

We love listening to Kirby Heyborne, he really does a fantastic job with the story.

Love the Book.

BUT, way to much yelling... Every few moments there is someone fake yelling..., super annoying.

Not just for kids

This was a gift to me on a rainy day. I’m in my 40s and I just wanted an escape, some adventure, and as a girl who loves to slip into books the premise seemed intriguing. The story was fantastic and the reader is epically gifted. His drama made me laugh out loud and be so enthralled with the book I listened to it all day. Thank you author. Thank you Narrator!

amazing

When I first got the book I believe it was going to be long and boring but you be surprised it wasn't. I enjoyed every character in the book there were a lot of twists and turns but after finishing the book I was very happy and could not wait to get the second one and start reading it.

Absolutely Amazing!!!

This book I couldn’t seem to stop listening to it was so amazing! I completely fell in love with the awesome plot and characters!

wonderful!

a fun & adventurous story. full of imagination and twists. Kids loved it! and so did I.

A Fantastic Listen!

I loved this premise of having a girl that is half fiction! This story had so many twists and turns that I often wondered how Owen or Bethany would get out of the "new" sticky situation they were in. And I loved how other books were woven into the story to create a plot for this book. Genius!

Wow, unexpectedly impressed!

I bought this book just to know more about the YA genre (I'm 40+) and it was on sale. However, I was quickly hooked. The book is actually two different stories woven together and I found them both compelling. I hadn't expected to have time to complete the book but ended up focusing on it and completing it in two days. I enjoyed it as much as the Harry Potter series at it's height, but even moreso and found myself laughing at the characters' reactions to unexpected situations, etc. The narrator is great and really puts a lot into the character reactions (he's actually too loud in places but I admit that adds to the emphasis).

I had not been planning to get other books in the series and had intended this month's credit to go to "The Teaching Company: A History of India" but forget that, I'm getting the second book right now! :-)