The Dragon's Thief

The Magic of Delphire, Book 1

By: Ava Richardson

Narrated by: Isabella Tugman

The only way to free her sister is to make a deal with a dragon…

In a city where brutal elves reign, with powerful dragon shifters as their henchmen, street thief Saskia’s only hope to rescue her sister lies with the gruff dragon shifter, Castor. He needs someone to pull off a heist of mysterious item, and she’s the only one desperate enough to do it. With Castor’s help, she’s able to save her sister—but now she owes him a dangerous debt.

To pay him back, Saskia embarks on a perilous mission to infiltrate the palace as a lady's maid. As she navigates the treacherous world of elf nobility, Saskia becomes entangled in palace politics and finds herself drawn to an elvish scholar, despite the dragon's warning. But now, Saskia’s bargain has put her in the sights of the sinister elven Empress Eirana.

In order to survive—and to protect the brusque dragon shifter who means more to her than she’s ready to admit—Saskia must face off against a centuries-old empress, whose dark powers can destroy an entire kingdom.

In a world teeming with magic and political intrigue, Saskia must find the strength within herself to navigate false alliances, uncover the truth, and forge her own destiny.

©2023 Relay Publishing (P)2024 Relay Publishing

So good

Holy cow this book was phenomenal! This book kept my attention the entire time. Filled with so much fantasy, adventure, thrilling, well told goodness. I look forward to more books by Ava.

Great book

This is a very different why of how we imagine dragons. This is a fascinating story once you start you can’t stop listening to it. Looking forward to the next book.

A Must

this author is a true master when writing books about dragons and magical worlds that will draw in all ages. This is a must listen and/or read.

Great writing

I normally am a little worried about the narration of stories, but this was done very well. Add in the great writing and it is a winner!

What a great start to the series! Castor and Saskia, the two main characters work well together. Each has a backstory, keeping up the intrigue. The story line is well written. I read the book and listened to the audiobook. Although I prefer to read books rather than listen to an audiobook, this was well done!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Enjoyable

I found this book very enjoyable to listen to. It did not capture my attention as some of Ava’s other series but I enjoyed it non the less. This book is in a land where the elves rule. Dragons work for the Elves and humans are dispensable. The writing is very good as Ava’s always is but it was a little slow to get into the action for me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Elf World

I had read this book back in January. What would you do to protect your sister? Follow Saskia as she makes deals and goes undercover to get her sister. What will happen when she needs to pay her debt to the dragon Castor? What feelings will she get for him? Will it be to protect him too? Follow the magic you will not be disappointed.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Action packed (with dragons!)

Finally, a book with dragons, elves, and humans and a lot of their intertwined history and lore discussed. I liked the various scrapes the main characters found themselves in and the storyline was active enough to keep me listening. New to me author but I'll definitely be looking for more of her work. I'll also be watching for the next installment of this series. Very obviously this is book 1 in a series, but thankfully there's no huge cliffhanger, just a tease about what's going on come.

Narrator did a good job expressing emotion and changing voices for different characters.

Well-written Dragon Shifter Fantasy

I’ve reviewed many audiobooks by this talented fantasy writer. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into as the initial chapters revealed the heroine to be a rather clever thief who survives the mean streets of her realm by taking enough to survive while also training a band of young children to become thieves. In general, I'm not a fan of books with thieves as the main protagonist, but I have enjoyed every other story I've listened to by this author, so I thought I would give the story a chance. I'm glad I did. The heroine-thief transforms throughout this 22-hour audiobook with some bobbles and slip-ups along the way. She might need to be a thief to survive, but she cares very much for the young children in her care as well as her younger sister. The first part of the book is about how she goes to great lengths to rescue her younger sister, who has unwittingly become involved in a secretive plot by the realm’s evil queen.

She partners with a dragon shifter, a guard at the royal palace who has an agenda of his own. Essentially, they decide to help each other on their respective quests. In the other books I've read by this author, the dragons are just dragons, not shifters. The shifter aspect certainly adds a lot of interest, including a hint of romantic interest as the dragon shifter and thief share a mutual attraction. The hero spends most of his time in human form. Several times throughout the book, when he shifts into dragon form, he remarks how much he enjoys being in that form and how freeing it is.

The author has created a complex, well-developed fantasy world, with more aspects being revealed as needed as the story moves along. It has three main races: humans, dragon shifters, and elves. The humans are the lowest in the pecking order. The dragon shifters and the elves battled long ago, and the elves were victorious. They've gone on to suppress dragon magic, keeping some dragons as servants, like the imperial dragon guards, and otherwise keeping them in their clanlands. Both dragon and elf magic are complex, with interesting magical objects that act in unsuspected ways. As the book is so long, much happens! But I'll let you discover that for yourself. This is the first time I haven't listened to a complete series by this author in one audiobook, and I'll admit I'm looking forward to the next book because I'm very curious about what will happen next!

wonderful

I love the enthusiasm you bring to your review—it really captures how invested you are in the series! You’ve done a great job expressing both your excitement and your frustration in a way that makes readers curious. One thing you might consider is breaking it up a bit to make your thoughts flow even more smoothly. Here's a slight rewording:

"I absolutely loved the start of this series! There were moments where I wanted to scream at the two main characters, but I realized it was all part of the build-up. The supporting characters are fantastic, and I can tell they have stories of their own—I’m eager to dive into those as well. I just hope the next installment doesn’t take too long, but I understand that writing requires not just the desire but the right story to tell."

This way, you keep the energy and excitement while making it even clearer to readers. What do you think?

Great book - 4.5

This is a great book. The story is gripping and ensnares you from the beginning. The narrator did a good job with voices and adding little touches. It was fun to listen to. Can't wait for book two!