The Color Thief – Book Review

Book Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5 stars)

Princess Helena thinks she understands her destiny: marry a prince, become queen of Teqell, and lead. She’s been studying for years, basking in the colors of the castle gardens. That is…until her parents, the King and Queen, fall ill. So, Princess Helena, and her guard – and friend – Dresden plan to find the one stealing the King and Queen’s colors.

The titular character: The Color Thief.

With magic based around colors themselves, Emily Poirer paints a wonderful picture of a unique fantasy world, that ropes you in and keeps you wanting more. As you read the story of Helen and Dresden’s travels, you fall in love with them almost at the same pace in which they fall in love with each other.

For about eighty-percent of the book, the story sat a solid 4-stars for me. Helena was a beautiful and kind character, complemented by Dresden more intense and rough nature. You can feel their relationship blossom, like colors on the page.

But, the last twenty-percent let me down. The central conflict regarding The Color Thief did not result in some grand altercation or negotiation; the resolution was, for the most part, anti-climatic, taking the back seat to the love story that wove its way through the tale. While I’m all for happy endings, everything wrapped up a little too nicely and too quickly after voyaging battles, adventure, and emotional hardships.

That being said, the ending is what you want in a story like this, and I have full intentions to read the sequel and learn more about the notorious Color Thief.

If you want a story with W|W romance, accepted polyamory, and two strong female leads, I recommend The Color Thief. It’s a great adventure and you’ll be smiling by the end of it.

What’s it about?

The King and Queen of Teqell have kept a terrible secret for twenty-seven years. Now, it’s killing them. Magic is draining them of their color, and they are dying. Princess Helena is obligated to marry and ascend to the throne, told to ignore what she has learned and accept their fate, but she cannot.

Instead, she hatches a flimsy plan with the Dresden, one of her Royal Guards, to right this wrong. They must help each other travel across the kingdom that she helps rule but has largely never seen while evading other Guards who would bring them back to the castle and stop short their quest. On the way, Helena must also struggle with her changing and complicated feelings about her own family, keep her first and only friend, and reevaluate magic’s role in her kingdom.