5 Fantasy Books About Thieves You’ve Never Heard Of

If you’re on the hunt for fantasy books about thieves and rogues, you’ve probably heard of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Six of Crows and Mistborn: The Final Empire. What other stories are out there?

If you’re curious to find out, this post has a story for you!

Here are 5 fantasy books about thieves you’ve never heard of:

Mistress of Thieves by Carrie Summers
A Storm of Silver and Ash by Marion Blackwood
The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh
Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The Legend of Eli Monpress: The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron

I’ve included book descriptions, readers’ ratings and summaries of positive and negative comments for each one of these fantasy novels.

On the other hand, here’s a comparison chart if you’d prefer a quick summary.

Mistress of Thieves by Carrie Summers

Description

Thieves. Scoundrels. An underworld romance.

Myrrh is an up-and-coming freelance thief who’s lost the only true friend she’s ever known. The city guards finally captured her mentor, an aging rogue and the closest thing she had to a family. He’s dead now. She’ll be next if she doesn’t figure out who betrayed him.

As she begins her search, she’s double-crossed by a fellow freelancer and sold out to a shadowy new crime syndicate. With a sack over her head and wrists tightly bound, she’s delivered to the lair of the syndicate’s boss, a man named Glint. Certain he intends to kill her, Myrrh is surprised to learn that he has other plans.

An unrepentant scoundrel, Glint is as charismatic as he is complex. And he has information about her mentor’s disappearance that will upend everything she thought she knew about the city’s underworld.

What Do Readers Say?

Goodreads Rating: 3.86

Most Common Rating: 4

Positive Comments

First on our list of fantasy books about thieves is Mistress of Thieves. Described by fans as a suspenseful adventure, this novel kept readers rushing through its pages with its daring heists and plot twists.

Aside from that, fans praised Myrrh, the protagonist, as an anti-hero who was both savvy and tough, but also kind. As such, many found her endearing and were riveted by her inner conflicts throughout the book.

Negative Comments

As for critics, these readers tended to focus on some aspect of the story that they found unconvincing. Most commonly, some mentioned that Myrrh’s reluctance to kill seemed unlikely given her background living in such a crime-riddled area.

A Storm of Silver and Ash by Marion Blackwood

Description

What would you sacrifice to save your friend?

Your soul? Your humanity? Your life?

The Oncoming Storm is a name whispered in awe throughout the Underworld. She’s known as a master thief and a lethal knife-wielder – some even say she has the skills of an assassin. All of it is true. She’s also a sarcastic smartmouth with the social graces of a bull.

You will find her running across rooftops, sneaking in the shadows, and breaking into houses. That is, if she’s not busy getting ambushed and blackmailed into a seemingly impossible mission.

Grudgingly caught in a dangerous power struggle, the Oncoming Storm must leave behind the world she knows and maneuver through scheming assassins, calculating elves, and desperate royals.

Before her adventure is over, she will have loved, saved, killed, and double-crossed those around her. The only question is, who? The clock is ticking, and before time runs out, the Oncoming Storm must decide who to trust and who to betray…

What Do Readers Say?

Goodreads Rating: 4.32

Most Common Rating: 5

Positive Comments

Another story on our list of fantasy books about thieves is A Storm of Silver and Ash. Several fans mentioned that the story mixed all the tropes they loved about fantasy together, while adding a refreshing modern tone.

Overall, this novel grabbed readers with its fast-pace and engaging main character, Storm. Fans tended to describe her as witty, cheerful and brave. Her personality, background and motives came across clearly to them, and these readers found her easy to bond with.

Negative Comments

What did critics say about A Storm of Silver and Ash?

Overall, these readers said that the book’s tendency to break the fourth wall made it difficult to immerse themselves in the story. Other than that, several didn’t connect with Storm, saying she came across as harsh.

The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

Description

How can she protect her kingdom, if she can’t protect herself?

Princess Arie never expected to manifest a Jinni’s Gift. When she begins to hear the thoughts of those around her, she hides it to the best of her ability. But to her dismay, the forbidden Gift is growing out of control.

When a neighboring king tries to force her hand in marriage and steal her kingdom, discovery becomes imminent. Just one slip could cost her throne. And her life.

A lamp, a heist, and a Jinni hunter’s crew of thieves are her only hope for removing this Gift–and she must remove it before she’s exposed. Or die trying.

The Stolen Kingdom is a loose Aladdin retelling. Set in a world that humans share with Mermaids, Dragons, and the elusive Jinni, this isn’t the fairy tale you remember…

What Do Readers Say?

Goodreads Rating: 4.02

Most Common Rating: 5

Positive Comments

Next on our list of fantasy books about thieves is The Stolen Kingdom. Inspired by Aladdin, this novel dazzled fans with its magical adventure tale and easy-to-love main characters.

Readers often described the story as fun and exciting. Each event in the novel built on the preceding one, creating a rapid-paced plot that kept readers turning the pages.

Moreover, fans found themselves rooting for Arie and Kadin as individual characters, but also in their romance together. In particular, readers mentioned that Arie’s determination, courage and care for her kingdom made her a joy to read about.

Negative Comments

No book is universally loved. When critics reviewed The Stolen Kingdom, they generally said that the plot featured several coincidences favorable to the protagonists’. Because they were noticeable to them, these readers were jarred out of the story.

Other critics, however, said that the characters’ relationships grew quickly, to the point where they seemed rushed.

Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods — magic some Romans would kill for.

Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within.

Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic’s newfound powers for their own dark purposes.

In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire’s most powerful and savage leaders.

What Do Readers Say?

Goodreads Rating: 3.93

Most Common Rating: 4

Positive Comments

What about Mark of the Thief, which is next on our list of fantasy books about thieves?

Full of twists and turns, this novel excited readers with a plot full of trails, secrets and breakneck pacing.

Moreover, fans mentioned that the characters in the story were fun to follow. For instance, they sympathized with Nic and enjoyed his humor, but also found the more no-nonsense Aurelia engaging as well.

Overall, readers described Mistress of Thieves as an entertaining romp through an ancient Rome-inspired fantasy.

Negative Comments

What did critics say? Overall, these readers tended to focus on the characters.

Some said they seemed like recognizable character types, while others said they didn’t have much depth to them. As such, it was difficult for critics to bond with the characters and get invested in their stories.

The Legend of Eli Monpress: The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron

Description

Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief.

But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.

Like a king.

What Do Readers Say?

Goodreads Rating: 3.88

Most Common Rating: 5

Positive Comments

The Legend of Eli Monpress: The Spirit Thief is another story on our list of fantasy books about thieves. Why did fans enjoy about this novel?

Well, they praised its tone as just what they were looking for: lighthearted, fun and fast-paced. Several remarked that, when considering the more common gritty takes on thief characters, this book was refreshing.

In addition, other readers said that The Spirit Thief’s world-building and magic system were intriguing and well-fleshed out. Not only did both strike fans as unique, but they said the magic system had the added bonus of staying consistent throughout, never bending its rules to favor Eli.

Negative Comments

We’ve heard the praise, so what’s the criticism? In general, critics tended to have two reasons they might not have enjoyed the book.

First, they cited the characters, saying that they seemed flat and interchangeable. The second reason they gave was that overall, the story struck them as geared toward younger readers, with characters that had simplistic motivations.