The Rules for Thieves

Ott, Alexandra. The Rules for Thieves
June 6th 2017 by Aladdin
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Allie Roscoe is in an Azeland orphanage, but isn't excited about Adoption Day. She's been adopted before, and things didn't work out, so she is surly to prospective parents, and then decides to run away, not thinking about what she would do afterwards. Hungry, she tries to steal something and is almost caught. Luckily, she meets Beck, who helps her and tells her about the Thieves Guild, and offers to take her there to come under their protection. Unluckily, she has been cursed with Xeroth's Blood by one of the city's Protectors, and will die in nine days unless she can get to the far off Healing Springs and pay ten thousand majas to enter. She and Beck go to the king of the Thieves Guild, and he agrees to help them... after they complete the task of stealing Lady Atherton's necklace. This is a complicated matter, and takes a lot of preparation and cunning. The two manage to steal the necklace, but the theft does not go smoothly, and there is a death. Will Allie manage to get to the Healing Springs in time? Will she and Beck be accepted into the Guild?
Strengths: Hard core fantasy readers who like books like Nielsen's The False Prince and Turner's The Thief will enjoy this quasi-medieval tale of magic and suspense. It moves quickly and has all the facets of a standard fantasy adventure. A sequel is in the works.
Weaknesses: Allie was not a very pleasant character, the world building fell flat for me, and there were a lot of improbable moments.
What I really think: My library already has a TON of this type of fantasy (and few readers for it), so this type of book has to really have an unusual hook for me to buy it. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart had a similar premise, but intrigued me more.