Twin thieves attempt to pull off a daring heist in Stolen City, the sophomore fantasy novel from Dauntless author Elisa A. Bonnin.
The city of Leithon is under Imperial occupation and Arian Athensor has made it her playground.
In stealing magical artifacts for the Resistance, bounding over rooftops to evade Imperial soldiers, and establishing herself as the darling thief of the underground, Arian lives a life wrapped in danger and trained towards survival. She’ll steal anything for the right price, and if she runs fast enough, she can almost escape the fact that her mother is dead, her father is missing, and her brother, Liam, is tamping down a wealth of power in a city that has outlawed magic.
But then the mysterious Cavar comes to town with a job for the twins: to steal an artifact capable of ripping the souls from the living–the same artifact that used to hang around the neck of Arian’s mother. Suddenly, her past is no longer buried under adrenaline but intimately tied to the mission at hand, and Arian must face her guilt and pain head-on in order to pull off the heist.
As Arian and Cavar infiltrate the strongest fortress in Leithon and Liam joins the Resistance as their resident mage, the twins find themselves embroiled in court politics and family secrets, and the mission becomes more than just another artifact theft. The target is now the Imperial rule, and Arian will go to any length necessary to steal her city back.
- Title: Stolen City
- Author: Elisa A. Bonnin
- Publisher: Swoon Reads
- Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
- Genre: Fantasy
- Targeted Age Range: YA
- Content Warnings: Colonization, military occupation, police, fire, death of a parent, blood, murder, grief, parental abandonment, sexism, brief mention of human trafficking (not detailed) (chapter 13), death, brief description of an execution (not graphic) (chapter 16), prison, battle typical violence, minor character death, mentions of mass death, alcohol, mind control, trauma, mentions of police brutality, implied sexual harassment
- Rating: ★★★★★
After reading and loving Elisa A. Bonnin’s debut novel Dauntless, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her sophomore novel, Stolen City. Although it’s a different story, with new characters, the same honest and captivating storytelling that made me love Dauntless shines through in Stolen City.
Something that I particularly love about Bonnin’s books is that she is so detailed in her world building. She doesn’t cut corners —- there is purpose and specificity behind everything that she puts into her books. This does mean that sometimes the stories can have a bit of a slow build, but truthfully, I don’t mind that when it leads to rich worlds, characters, and storytelling.
I just really love Bonnin’s writing! There’s a clarity to her writing that makes it easy to follow, but there’s a depth and poetic nature to it as well. There were certain lines and passages that simply took my breath away and made me pause because I could feel exactly what the characters were going through. In fact, the majority of my notes are just quotes that particularly stuck with me and didn’t want to forget. Additionally, there was so much drama and intrigue, as well as twists and turns! I found myself audibly reacting multiple times throughout the story and even when I thought I had it all figured out there was a new reveal that shocked me.
Stolen City is told from four different points of view —- Cavar, the Weaver. Arian, the thief. Liam, the magician. Zephyr, the lieutenant. Each point of view has a clear and distinct voice, and offers readers a different perspective to Leithon and the revolution brewing beneath the city. There’s such depth to this story — of culture and history, family and duty, goals and ambitions — and that depth is shown throughout the multiple points of view. Just when you think you understand something about the history of Lethion or a character, you get to read from a new perspective and you learn more.
While Stolen City is marketed as a heist novel, it is so much more than that. This is a story about family and legacy — how to preserve your family’s legacy, while finding your place in the world and learning to stand on your own two feet. It’s about claiming your power and standing up for what you believe in, even when it’s hard.
“The Empire would continue to swallow up small nations while everyone else, those nations that were older and more established, looked the other way and hoped the Empire would never come for them.”
I loved the political aspect and how the political climate in Lethion is really the driving force for the action of the book. A city once filled to the brim with magic and mages at every turn, is now forbidden to use that magic under Imperial occupation, forcing an entire group of people to hide their abilities at the risk of being captured or worse, executed. This aspect of the Empire’s rule adds to the unrest throughout the city. Stories that have revolutionary tones have always appealed to me, and that aspect of Stolen City was one of my favorite parts of the book.
I absolutely loved everything about this book, and would love to read another book set in this universe, especially since the ending left many possibilities for follow up novels. If you’re looking for a fast paced and high action novel with political intrigue, magical elements, and rich characters, this is the book for you!
Links for Stolen City: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Elisa A. Bonnin was born and raised in the Philippines, after which she moved to the United States to study chemistry and later oceanography. After completing her doctorate, she moved to Germany to work as a postdoctoral scientist. A lifelong learner, Elisa is always convinced that she should “maybe take a class in something” and as a result, has amassed an eclectic collection of hobbies. But writing will always be her true love. Publishing a book has been her dream since she was eight years old, and she is thrilled to finally be able to share her stories. Dauntless is her first novel.
