Review & Giveaway: Poison Dance by Livia Blackburne

Poison Dance
Livia Blackburne
Publisher: Lion's Quill Press
Release Date: September 12, 2013

James is skilled, efficient, and deadly, a hired blade navigating the shifting alliances of a deteriorating Assassin’s Guild. Then he meets Thalia, an alluring but troubled dancing girl who offers him a way out—if he’ll help her kill a powerful nobleman. With the Guild falling apart, it just might be worth the risk. But when you live, breathe, and love in a world that’s forever flirting with death, the slightest misstep can be poison. Poison dance is approximately 14,000 words, or 54 printed pages.

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Review

A few weeks ago I featured Midnight Thief as my Waiting on Wednesday. At that time I had no idea Midnight Thief had a prequel I just knew it sounded amazing and that I wanted to read it. After tweeting Livia Blackburn my WOW post she offered to send me Poison Dance and I am so happy she did.

Going into this I was a bit worried. I have never started a series with a prequel novella before. I wondered if I wouldn’t connect with the characters in this short amount of pages, or if I would feel like the story was cut off abruptly. I didn’t feel that way on either account. I was sucked into this fantasy world of dangerous assassins that can trust almost no one not even their own guild.

Thalia is a girl who not many take notice in when she is not dancing on stage, being just a pretty face helps her get a slew of information from men who forget she has ears. This would work out fine for Thalia if she where just an information trader, but no she is out for vengeance and her target is just out of reach. I ended up with so much compassion for Thalia. She does not enjoy the life she is living, but she is driven to serve justice to a man that killed someone Thalia loved.

As he turned away she called after him. “Wait!” For the first time, a hint of desperation crept in her voice. “If you wont kill him for me, at least help me.”

So the girl wasn’t quite as cool and calm as she’d appeared. “How?” He asked.

Thalia swallowed. She was trying to compose herself again, with only partial success. “Sho me how to kill him myself.”    

James has worked as an assassin from a young age and is good at what he does. He is strong quiet and deadly. James doesn't care to be involved in stupid politics or dramas that go on around him in the Assassin’s Guild at the moment. He and his friends just want to live. Of course Thalia messes all of that up for him. The romance between these two characters is not typical due to the dangerous circumstances James and Thalia are surrounded by but I rooted for them from the first time they spoke together.

If you are on the fence about this novella jump off right now to the reading side. Reading Poison Dance was a fast paced ride with amazing characters and wonderful world building. Reading this short assassin filled fantasy just made me that much more hungry to read Midnight Thief. I want to know so much more about these characters and can't wait to read them again!

Happy Reading,

4 Moons: I am impatiently waiting for more from Livia Blackburne

Bonus: Poison Dance is $0.99! Right now!!!

Giveaway

Buy Poison Dance at: Ebook: Kindle (US) | Nook | Kobo | iBooks Paperback: Amazon Check out eleven other fantasy romance books also on sale for .99 cents here. And enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

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