Lhind the Thief
by Sherwood Smith
Lhind the Thief takes us back to the fantasy world from Wren to the Rescue with the politics of royals and many countries throw in the mix. Lhind is a thief who hides many secrets behind her filth, she is kidnapped by a well meaning scribe-mage, Hlanan (love that name!), Rajanas the noble, and Thianra the bard/minstrel. After her treatment by them she starts to make decisions differently, even saving them. After her disguise is gone she continues to grow as a person. She helps Hlanan and Thianra save Rajanas’ city, angers a corrupt Duchess with mercenaries at her beck, and deals with a dark wizard. I enjoyed the more adult action, the trade mark name calling, and the vibrant world.
I thought Lhind was a bit over-powered, and she reminded me of Wren at times; Hlanan also reminded me of Tyron and Connor at times, but they were ultimately different. I think the wizard Dhes-Andis was the most similar to Andreus of Senna Lirwan, with the border spells and mental communications.
I really enjoy Sherwood Smith’s “lighter” fantasy novels, such as this one. While I like her heavier tomes, such as the Inda series, I have to have a greater chunk of time to devote to it as well as reading only that book exclusively.