THIEF'S GIFT Book 2

Thief's Gift Book 2 by James Haddock
Book 2 in the A Thief's Gift series
Genre: psuedo-victorian fantasy
Format: ebook

About Thief's Gift Book 2:

Jamethon Trent’s retirement is not going as planned, and working for King Arcus and General Mallet is not as easy as he had hoped. Jamethon tries to keep his family safe by changing his guise, name, and occupation. But the harder he tries, the more he is pulled into situations that put him and his family in danger. Jamethon and his family become targets when he stumbles into plans involving the royals, less-than-honest businessmen, and an organization that wants to take over countries by any means necessary. Trying to maintain his anonymity is proving to be a challenge, as those who seek him are willing to kill, steal, and destroy to find him. His enemy sends entire armies and powerful mages against him. They destroy his businesses and kill those around him to draw him into the open so they can end his interference in their plans once and for all. Jamethon must adapt to fight an evolving enemy that uses magic and military technology against anyone who opposes them or their agenda. Unfortunately for them, their attempts to stop Jamethon only strengthen his resolve to find out why they want him dead so badly and who is behind it.

Source: Info in the "About Thief's Gift Book 2" was taken from amazon on 21/07/2025.

Buy Link(s):

Alan Niles' brand

My Thoughts:

I've been a fan of this author for a bit now and I know that he is fond of starting serieses without following up on them. Imagine my surprise when I saw that A Thief's Gift has a book 2! Which lead me to a hard thought. I've wondered how Jamethon would end up in the end seeing that all the holders of the "gift" ended up alone and poor... And now here is book 2 which would probably tell me that Jamethon did ended up alone and poor! That made me not want to read this book. That compulsion was strong enough that I dragged my feet about reading this book... As it is, I should have re-read the first book before reading this one.

Perhaps now we will finally get to know Ani's history...

What does the "T" mean in Alan Niles' brand?

It took me a while to remember things from the first book that this second book is talking about and taking it for granted that the readers already knows what it is talking about. I therefore do not recommend reading this book before reading the first book, A Thief's Gift, because you will get royally confused. Like the manor's caretaker's first appearance in this book in chapter 3. I know who he is from book 1. Although it took me a while to recall who he is. But to somebody who hasn't read book 1, that will be very confusing!

Again there are clerical errors or typos which are irritating! James Haddock needs a better proofreader.

As all James Haddock books, same powers. Same theme. Same ideas and same elements to the story, pinched from this author's previous works. But different place and different names. Same old tune, different day. But you know what? I still enjoyed every minute of it!!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 5
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

 

Books In The A Thief's Gift Series:

 

The Author

About James Haddock:

My first career was as a Warrant Officer in the US Army, I am now retired with 22 years of service under my belt. Moving into the next phase of my life, I am a full-time author and RV'er. After seeing everyone else's Country during my first career, we decided to see our own. My wife and I enjoy traveling to see the wonders of America.

I love reading and watching Sci-Fi books, television shows, and movies. To think, "what if" and "why not." I am a pantser writer, I'll get an idea, or see a photo and think, "that would make a great story!". Writing as a pantser, to me, is like reading a new story. I have no idea where the story is going to end up. Writing the way gets me excited to pick up a pen; I look forward to writing each time, and can't wait to write many more.

www.jameshaddock.us | facebook | instagram | audible | amazon | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

A THIEF'S GIFT

A Thief's Gift by James Haddock
Genre: psuedo-victorian fantasy
Format: ebook & paperback

About A Thief's Gift:

Jamethon Trent, the second son of a low-ranking baron, once again finds himself in the city jail. This is nothing new for Jamethon; after being driven from home by an overbearing father and a bully older brother, he became a thief to survive. Thief he may be, but he only steals from thieves — which, it turns out, is a dangerous profession, as robbed thieves hold a grudge. Jamethon’s life is never the same after a dying cell mate, a thief mage, gifts him a pair of enchanted gloves. The gloves are keys to what the mage calls the “side realm,” a dimension that exists alongside the real world. The gloves allow the wearer to reach into the side realm and steal whatever they can reach. However, the gloves turn out to be more of a curse than a gift, as fate takes particular delight in making Jamethon’s life . . . exciting at every turn. Kings, generals, assassins, mages, spies, and thugs — he meets them all, and all seem to want to kill him. On the upside, the gloves does give him an advantage, but before he can use the advantage, he has to learn to use his ghost hands, to enter the side realm to become a ghost walker. Once he achieves that, he’ll be unstoppable.

Source: Info in the "About A Thief's Gift" was taken from amazon on 11/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

The book started with the thief in the medieval prison. It wasn't the most riveting of introductions! I had a hard time getting into the story, at all! But, this being a James Haddock work, I know that this is going to be an enjoyable read. And it is!! And I plodded on...

The thing is, Ani's history was never told, was it? Where did she came from? Where is her family? And I want to see Michael and Tilly get married!!

All the other holders of the "gift" died alone and poor. Would the same happen to Jamethon?

So, same powers. Same theme. Same ideas and same elements to the story, pinched from James Haddock's previous works. But different place and different names. Same old tune, different day. But you know what? I still enjoyed every minute of it!!

After all that moaning, this book still gets a 5 out of 5 with me.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 5
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

 

The Author

About James Haddock:

My first career was as a Warrant Officer in the US Army, I am now retired with 22 years of service under my belt. Moving into the next phase of my life, I am a full-time author and RV'er. After seeing everyone else's Country during my first career, we decided to see our own. My wife and I enjoy traveling to see the wonders of America.

I love reading and watching Sci-Fi books, television shows, and movies. To think, "what if" and "why not." I am a pantser writer, I'll get an idea, or see a photo and think, "that would make a great story!". Writing as a pantser, to me, is like reading a new story. I have no idea where the story is going to end up. Writing the way gets me excited to pick up a pen; I look forward to writing each time, and can't wait to write many more.

www.jameshaddock.us | facebook | instagram | audible | amazon | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.