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The Heresy of Thieves
From debut novelist Mia V. Moss comes a dark epic fantasy of shattered magic, female rage, and ancient family intrigues, perfect for fans of M.A. Carrick and Hannah Kaner.
Vael stole magic from the gods for Her people and put an end to centuries of unrest. Now magic is gone, and the battle for the Witchlands's soul begins
After a millennium of prosperity and magic, one catastrophic night undoes the realm of Yvaelen. Magic has fallen, and prayers to Vael the Giver go unanswered.
Jal Riago knows when it's time to move on from a con. She can't maintain her false refugee heiress story forever, and her benefactors grow weary of playing host. Just when she's about to confess and cut ties, a deadly raid sets Jal's life on a collision course with a powerful entity reckoning with its own madness.
The young, steadfast King Thealys Vorrine inherited the throne of Dynestra after her parents' deaths at Spellfall. But sparks of unrest flare all too quickly into the unpredictable wildfire of rebellion, and King Vorrine must forge headlong into unknown territory.
Royal knight and notorious rake Ember Carrado is trying his best to get fired. Instead, when he's paired with a judgmental paladin and sent on a mission to hunt down a rampaging mythical beast, he finds himself face-to-face with the past he's been running from since Spellfall.
Beacon Wylda Lorcanthas wields a sharp tongue and the second-highest office in the Church of Vael. When the head of the Faith dies, Wylda must seek out a biddable successor. Unfortunately, the clergy's clear favorite is a charismatic priest who promises the restoration of magic-for those willing to partake of a bloody cost.
The dark betrayal behind Spellfall, and the very fabric of Yvaelen's faith, will be hidden no longer. What began with a thief's touch will end with a reckoning. And salvation for some may be a waking nightmare for others.
Vael stole magic from the gods for Her people and put an end to centuries of unrest. Now magic is gone, and the battle for the Witchlands's soul begins
After a millennium of prosperity and magic, one catastrophic night undoes the realm of Yvaelen. Magic has fallen, and prayers to Vael the Giver go unanswered.
Jal Riago knows when it's time to move on from a con. She can't maintain her false refugee heiress story forever, and her benefactors grow weary of playing host. Just when she's about to confess and cut ties, a deadly raid sets Jal's life on a collision course with a powerful entity reckoning with its own madness.
The young, steadfast King Thealys Vorrine inherited the throne of Dynestra after her parents' deaths at Spellfall. But sparks of unrest flare all too quickly into the unpredictable wildfire of rebellion, and King Vorrine must forge headlong into unknown territory.
Royal knight and notorious rake Ember Carrado is trying his best to get fired. Instead, when he's paired with a judgmental paladin and sent on a mission to hunt down a rampaging mythical beast, he finds himself face-to-face with the past he's been running from since Spellfall.
Beacon Wylda Lorcanthas wields a sharp tongue and the second-highest office in the Church of Vael. When the head of the Faith dies, Wylda must seek out a biddable successor. Unfortunately, the clergy's clear favorite is a charismatic priest who promises the restoration of magic-for those willing to partake of a bloody cost.
The dark betrayal behind Spellfall, and the very fabric of Yvaelen's faith, will be hidden no longer. What began with a thief's touch will end with a reckoning. And salvation for some may be a waking nightmare for others.
394 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2026
About the author
Mia V. Moss
5 books48 followersMia V. Moss (they/them) is a science fiction and fantasy author from the Pacific Northwest, now living in the SF Bay area. When they’re not writing, they enjoy running around feral outdoors, rewilding gardens, building big art, DMing tabletop campaigns, mixing cocktails for friends, and admiring their enormous TBR pile.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I believe fantasy is at its best when it convinces you that history existed long before page one, and that life will continue long after the final chapter.
I think The Heresy of Thieves understands that better than most debut fantasies I’ve read. Going into this, I was honestly a little intimidated. Epic fantasy with multiple POVs? A sprawling cast? Intricate politics? Religion? A post-magic world (ish)? Those are usually books where I would need to do some note-taking and a prayer. I fully expected to spend the first hundred pages hopelessly lost. Thankfully, that fear ended up being completely unfounded.
Yes, the opening is strange. Yes, it asks you to trust it before it explains itself. There were definitely moments where I caught myself thinking, am I smart enough for this? But I genuinely believe this is one of those books that rewards your patience tenfold. The further I read, the more everything settled into place. The world stopped feeling overwhelming and started feeling lived in. Every kingdom, institution and relationship gradually gained shape, and every POV brought another piece of the larger picture into focus. What initially felt intimidating eventually became the very thing that made the experience so immersive. Before I knew it, I wasn’t trying to understand the world anymore, but was simply living in it alongside the characters.
This book had me eating so well.
Political intrigue? Religion that feels like an actual institution instead of decorative worldbuilding? Found family? Morally gray people making spectacularly terrible decisions? Characters you would gladly die for standing right beside characters you’d happily throw into the nearest volcano? Mythical creatures? Queer characters whose identities are simply woven into the world? A lesbian king in a society where women ruling is entirely normalized?
Say. Less.
One of my absolute favorite aspects of this novel is its premise. Fantasy so often revolves around discovering magic, protecting magic, or stopping someone from destroying it. The Heresy of Thieves, however, begins after the unimaginable has already happened. Magic, something that has shaped civilization for a thousand years, is suddenly gone. What happens to governments whose authority depended on it? To monarchies? Economies? Trade? Warfare? Religion? To ordinary people who wake up one morning and discover that something as fundamental as breathing has simply... ceased to exist? Those questions ripple through every corner of the story and I loved how seriously the novel explores them. Spellfall isn’t simply an exciting fantasy catastrophe meant to kick off an adventure, but a civilizational rupture. Every institution built upon magic has to confront what remains when the foundation beneath it disappears and every character is forced to navigate the cracks left behind (and a looming threat from honestly, God knows where). Watching an entire world attempt to redefine itself after such an unimaginable loss was endlessly fascinating.
The discussions surrounding religion especially fascinated me because they never reduce faith into something simplistic. This isn’t just religion as belief. It’s religion as institution. As history. As community. As identity. As political power. As comfort. As propaganda. As something capable of inspiring incredible compassion while also justifying unimaginable cruelty. There are conversations throughout the novel about belief, authority, revisionist history, collective memory and who gets to decide which version of history survives. They’re thoughtful, nuanced, and unwilling to offer easy answers. Instead, the story presents people trying to navigate institutions far larger than themselves, each carrying their own fears, ambitions, biases, and convictions.
I think that’s one of the novel’s greatest strengths. It trusts its audience. It doesn’t rush to explain every mystery or immediately untangle every political relationship. It allows uncertainty to exist and in doing so, invites the reader to participate rather than simply observe. If you’re someone who needs immediate answers, I completely understand why the opening might feel overwhelming. But if you’re willing to surrender to the experience for a while and trust that the story knows exactly where it’s taking you, I genuinely believe the payoff is worth it.
Something else I absolutely adored were the excerpts tucked between chapters.
I am such a sucker for books that remind you the world doesn’t revolve around the protagonists, and these interludes accomplish exactly that. Historical documents. Personal journals. Religious writings. Political speeches. Newspaper clippings. Fragments of letters. Gossip. Offhand observations. Even a recipe. A RECIPE. They’re such small additions, yet they make the world feel immeasurably larger. Every excerpt suggests another story unfolding somewhere beyond the page, another voice, another perspective, another piece of history quietly existing outside the central narrative. They reinforce the feeling that this world had a past before our protagonists entered it and will continue evolving long after their story ends.
To me, that’s what separates good worldbuilding from truly unforgettable worldbuilding.
Also... this book is way funnier than I expected???
For a story tackling political instability, religious upheaval, societal collapse, and existential questions about faith, it somehow finds room for genuinely hilarious moments that never feel forced or tonally out of place. The humor slips naturally into conversations, documents, and character interactions, giving everyone so much personality while preventing the story from becoming emotionally exhausting. It reminded me that even when history feels like it’s falling apart, people still joke and still tease each other, and still laugh. That humanity is part of what made this world feel so alive.
I also really appreciated how naturally queerness exists within this setting. As a queer reader, that always brings me so much joy. It’s never treated as something extraordinary or constantly explained. It simply exists, allowing queer characters to be remembered for who they are rather than solely for whom they love.
By the end, I realized this story somehow feels both comfortingly familiar and strikingly original. You can sense echoes of classic epic fantasy in its sprawling scope, political maneuvering, layered mythology, and expansive ensemble cast. Yet it never feels content to simply imitate what came before. Instead, it reshapes those familiar foundations into something distinctly its own, creating a world that simultaneously feels timeless and entirely new. It’s the kind of fantasy that reminds you why these stories endure while still convincing you there’s plenty left for the genre to explore.
And then...That ending.
No spoilers, obviously. But if you’ve ever finished the setup arc of a long-running fantasy or anime series and immediately felt that electric excitement because you know every storyline is about to collide... that’s exactly how I felt closing this book. It lays such a strong foundation that I already find myself impatient for the next installment. I genuinely cannot wait to return to this world.
So if you’re reading reviews because you’re still deciding whether to pick this one up, here’s my advice: Stick with it. Trust it. Allow yourself to be confused for a little while. Don’t worry if every political faction, religious title, or historical event doesn’t immediately click into place. This world teaches you how to read it and once it does, everything becomes so much richer. I honestly hope people give this book the chance it deserves because I believe fantasy readers who love expansive worlds, layered political intrigue, thoughtful explorations of faith and power, morally complicated characters and immersive worldbuilding are going to have such a wonderful time here.
This is ambitious. This is intelligent. This is funny. This is unapologetically queer.
And more than anything, this is the kind of fantasy that reminded me exactly why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. ♡
I think The Heresy of Thieves understands that better than most debut fantasies I’ve read. Going into this, I was honestly a little intimidated. Epic fantasy with multiple POVs? A sprawling cast? Intricate politics? Religion? A post-magic world (ish)? Those are usually books where I would need to do some note-taking and a prayer. I fully expected to spend the first hundred pages hopelessly lost. Thankfully, that fear ended up being completely unfounded.
Yes, the opening is strange. Yes, it asks you to trust it before it explains itself. There were definitely moments where I caught myself thinking, am I smart enough for this? But I genuinely believe this is one of those books that rewards your patience tenfold. The further I read, the more everything settled into place. The world stopped feeling overwhelming and started feeling lived in. Every kingdom, institution and relationship gradually gained shape, and every POV brought another piece of the larger picture into focus. What initially felt intimidating eventually became the very thing that made the experience so immersive. Before I knew it, I wasn’t trying to understand the world anymore, but was simply living in it alongside the characters.
This book had me eating so well.
Political intrigue? Religion that feels like an actual institution instead of decorative worldbuilding? Found family? Morally gray people making spectacularly terrible decisions? Characters you would gladly die for standing right beside characters you’d happily throw into the nearest volcano? Mythical creatures? Queer characters whose identities are simply woven into the world? A lesbian king in a society where women ruling is entirely normalized?
Say. Less.
One of my absolute favorite aspects of this novel is its premise. Fantasy so often revolves around discovering magic, protecting magic, or stopping someone from destroying it. The Heresy of Thieves, however, begins after the unimaginable has already happened. Magic, something that has shaped civilization for a thousand years, is suddenly gone. What happens to governments whose authority depended on it? To monarchies? Economies? Trade? Warfare? Religion? To ordinary people who wake up one morning and discover that something as fundamental as breathing has simply... ceased to exist? Those questions ripple through every corner of the story and I loved how seriously the novel explores them. Spellfall isn’t simply an exciting fantasy catastrophe meant to kick off an adventure, but a civilizational rupture. Every institution built upon magic has to confront what remains when the foundation beneath it disappears and every character is forced to navigate the cracks left behind (and a looming threat from honestly, God knows where). Watching an entire world attempt to redefine itself after such an unimaginable loss was endlessly fascinating.
The discussions surrounding religion especially fascinated me because they never reduce faith into something simplistic. This isn’t just religion as belief. It’s religion as institution. As history. As community. As identity. As political power. As comfort. As propaganda. As something capable of inspiring incredible compassion while also justifying unimaginable cruelty. There are conversations throughout the novel about belief, authority, revisionist history, collective memory and who gets to decide which version of history survives. They’re thoughtful, nuanced, and unwilling to offer easy answers. Instead, the story presents people trying to navigate institutions far larger than themselves, each carrying their own fears, ambitions, biases, and convictions.
I think that’s one of the novel’s greatest strengths. It trusts its audience. It doesn’t rush to explain every mystery or immediately untangle every political relationship. It allows uncertainty to exist and in doing so, invites the reader to participate rather than simply observe. If you’re someone who needs immediate answers, I completely understand why the opening might feel overwhelming. But if you’re willing to surrender to the experience for a while and trust that the story knows exactly where it’s taking you, I genuinely believe the payoff is worth it.
Something else I absolutely adored were the excerpts tucked between chapters.
I am such a sucker for books that remind you the world doesn’t revolve around the protagonists, and these interludes accomplish exactly that. Historical documents. Personal journals. Religious writings. Political speeches. Newspaper clippings. Fragments of letters. Gossip. Offhand observations. Even a recipe. A RECIPE. They’re such small additions, yet they make the world feel immeasurably larger. Every excerpt suggests another story unfolding somewhere beyond the page, another voice, another perspective, another piece of history quietly existing outside the central narrative. They reinforce the feeling that this world had a past before our protagonists entered it and will continue evolving long after their story ends.
To me, that’s what separates good worldbuilding from truly unforgettable worldbuilding.
Also... this book is way funnier than I expected???
For a story tackling political instability, religious upheaval, societal collapse, and existential questions about faith, it somehow finds room for genuinely hilarious moments that never feel forced or tonally out of place. The humor slips naturally into conversations, documents, and character interactions, giving everyone so much personality while preventing the story from becoming emotionally exhausting. It reminded me that even when history feels like it’s falling apart, people still joke and still tease each other, and still laugh. That humanity is part of what made this world feel so alive.
I also really appreciated how naturally queerness exists within this setting. As a queer reader, that always brings me so much joy. It’s never treated as something extraordinary or constantly explained. It simply exists, allowing queer characters to be remembered for who they are rather than solely for whom they love.
By the end, I realized this story somehow feels both comfortingly familiar and strikingly original. You can sense echoes of classic epic fantasy in its sprawling scope, political maneuvering, layered mythology, and expansive ensemble cast. Yet it never feels content to simply imitate what came before. Instead, it reshapes those familiar foundations into something distinctly its own, creating a world that simultaneously feels timeless and entirely new. It’s the kind of fantasy that reminds you why these stories endure while still convincing you there’s plenty left for the genre to explore.
And then...That ending.
No spoilers, obviously. But if you’ve ever finished the setup arc of a long-running fantasy or anime series and immediately felt that electric excitement because you know every storyline is about to collide... that’s exactly how I felt closing this book. It lays such a strong foundation that I already find myself impatient for the next installment. I genuinely cannot wait to return to this world.
So if you’re reading reviews because you’re still deciding whether to pick this one up, here’s my advice: Stick with it. Trust it. Allow yourself to be confused for a little while. Don’t worry if every political faction, religious title, or historical event doesn’t immediately click into place. This world teaches you how to read it and once it does, everything becomes so much richer. I honestly hope people give this book the chance it deserves because I believe fantasy readers who love expansive worlds, layered political intrigue, thoughtful explorations of faith and power, morally complicated characters and immersive worldbuilding are going to have such a wonderful time here.
This is ambitious. This is intelligent. This is funny. This is unapologetically queer.
And more than anything, this is the kind of fantasy that reminded me exactly why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. ♡
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5 stars, rounded up for Goodreads.
This was one of my most-anticipated books of the year, but every time I pick it up, it gives me brainfog. I read to 30%, and I was so, so bored. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, because plenty was happening – the opening chapter is thrilling, and immediately afterwards there’s a bandit attack. Elsewhere, the church of this setting is working on choosing its next pope. One character gets tossed, very drunk, into a desert to track down a monster. Stuff is happening with every PoV character! And yet, it felt like everything was being dragged out and taking forever.
A few things contributed to this. Firstly, the dialogue is appallingly bad. No one sounds natural, everyone comes across as though they’re reading from a (poor) script. There’s a lot of telling-the-reader-stuff-via-dialogue, which is something I can’t stand.
Secondly, while the not-dialogue prose is not bad, and sometimes borderline lovely, it’s often over-written – the sentences are too long, or there’s too many adjectives or details in a single sentence, or the sentence structure is over-complicated. The phrasing can be wonky, subtly ‘off’ in a way that makes me twitch.
Examples from my advanced reader copy; bear in mind that all of these could be polished or removed completely from the final version of the book!
This is a great image! But the wording is imperfect. ‘Quick as a rockslide’ just doesn’t sound correct to my inner ear. Should it be quickly? Or some other word entirely, ‘abruptly as a rockslide’, or something?
For context, this character has found what looks like a city underground, all carved out of stone. But ‘a mimicry of a city’ sounds terrible to me.
The lightness of the metal???
…reunited with who/what, though?
Way too long a stretch without a comma, and just – awkward phrasing.Too many details in one sentence, it makes for a really clunky writing rhythm.
Do you see? None of the quotes are terrible writing; if they don’t bother you, then good! You shouldn’t have a problem with the prose! But it continually sounds ‘off’ to me, in a way that had me grinding my teeth.
But the biggest issue, I think, is the characters. They are all stupid, and they are all very dull. I don’t even mean just the protagonists: I mean every character that comes on-page drove me to tears with how dumb they were. Carrado is an alcoholic knight who goes into a desert ignoring every single bit of advice he gets from the people who live there – he spends a day drinking more alcohol! While travelling through the desert! He smooths back his hair, gets pomade and grease all over his hand, and…wipes it on his face. Who the hell reflexively wipes their icky hands on their FACE? Jal goes travelling with her bestie, with the letter she wrote him about how their whole life together has been a lie still in her jacket pocket. Wyrda is supposedly a very politically sneaky bishop, but she insults the king’s consort to the king’s face, sets the Meeting To Choose The Pope in a tiny church that can’t handle the number of guests, the three maybe-Popes she picked are all appalling, and she’s outmanoeuvred in three seconds flat by one of them.
OKAY.
The minor characters are all like this too. There’s the pair of noble aunts who pick a guide for their nephew and Jal who turns out to be a slaver; the nephew, Jal’s bestie, got Jal a boat covered in hentai carvings for her birthday, despite Jal having no prior interest in boats (which, presumably he had to have it custom-made? Which must be a much bigger deal post-Spellfall when no one can do the carvings etc with magic?); the king (who is a woman, but still called a king, a detail which I adored) is blind to her cousin Carrado’s MANY faults AND thinks it’s a great idea to shove her industrialist consort in to the Choosing The Pope thing.
????????????????
The worldbuilding…didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I loved the premise – a civilisation that wove magic into everything lost their magic! All at once! But I was left with a very unclear idea of what magic was used for pre-Spellfall, and therefore what exactly was so dire 10 years after Spellfall. The roads are in very poor repair – that makes perfect sense, magic was used for their upkeep and now there’s no magic. But…? Were there magic hospitals? Was magic used in farming, in crop production? Because one-third into the book, all I know is that there used to be magical fashion houses, which is admittedly an incredibly cool concept, but not something that would be a disaster if society suddenly lost them, you know? We’re told that all sorts of inventors have been building machines to replace magic (and naturally they are all noisy and smelly and polluting machines), but…what functions have they taken over, exactly? The capital city is covered in ash and smoke from all the machines, but I have no idea what any of them are DOING. The aunts mourn that their nephew won’t be able to choose his own hair colour, as was the norm pre-Spellfall (their hair is green, I love it) but…is that it? Is that the big thing you regret your nephew will never experience? The greatest magical loss was FUN HAIR COLOURS?
Civilisation seems to be fine, is what I’m saying. It doesn’t feel post-apocalyptic – or even ten-years-post-apocalyptic. It feels like a generic fantasy setting that has been invaded by noisy machinery for no apparent reason.
Also, 10 years after losing magic, everyone still accepts that not-magical clothing never fits right. Excuse me? It’s been a DECADE and your fashion houses have not discovered tailoring yet??? Or gotten good at it, with ten years of practice? That’s ridiculous.
This just. Did not work for me.
This was one of my most-anticipated books of the year, but every time I pick it up, it gives me brainfog. I read to 30%, and I was so, so bored. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, because plenty was happening – the opening chapter is thrilling, and immediately afterwards there’s a bandit attack. Elsewhere, the church of this setting is working on choosing its next pope. One character gets tossed, very drunk, into a desert to track down a monster. Stuff is happening with every PoV character! And yet, it felt like everything was being dragged out and taking forever.
A few things contributed to this. Firstly, the dialogue is appallingly bad. No one sounds natural, everyone comes across as though they’re reading from a (poor) script. There’s a lot of telling-the-reader-stuff-via-dialogue, which is something I can’t stand.
Secondly, while the not-dialogue prose is not bad, and sometimes borderline lovely, it’s often over-written – the sentences are too long, or there’s too many adjectives or details in a single sentence, or the sentence structure is over-complicated. The phrasing can be wonky, subtly ‘off’ in a way that makes me twitch.
Examples from my advanced reader copy; bear in mind that all of these could be polished or removed completely from the final version of the book!
Quick as a rockslide, her plans changed.
This is a great image! But the wording is imperfect. ‘Quick as a rockslide’ just doesn’t sound correct to my inner ear. Should it be quickly? Or some other word entirely, ‘abruptly as a rockslide’, or something?
A mimicry of a city, maybe.
For context, this character has found what looks like a city underground, all carved out of stone. But ‘a mimicry of a city’ sounds terrible to me.
Kait impulsively put the helm on her head, letting the lightness of its cold metal settle snugly over her hair and around her ears.
The lightness of the metal???
The voice was soft, the relieved sigh of a lover reunited.
…reunited with who/what, though?
The paladin was already waiting for him, no doubt having conducted his own search in some far more efficient and methodical manner they taught at paladin school or wherever he’d learned to be such an insufferable pedant.
Way too long a stretch without a comma, and just – awkward phrasing.Too many details in one sentence, it makes for a really clunky writing rhythm.
Do you see? None of the quotes are terrible writing; if they don’t bother you, then good! You shouldn’t have a problem with the prose! But it continually sounds ‘off’ to me, in a way that had me grinding my teeth.
But the biggest issue, I think, is the characters. They are all stupid, and they are all very dull. I don’t even mean just the protagonists: I mean every character that comes on-page drove me to tears with how dumb they were. Carrado is an alcoholic knight who goes into a desert ignoring every single bit of advice he gets from the people who live there – he spends a day drinking more alcohol! While travelling through the desert! He smooths back his hair, gets pomade and grease all over his hand, and…wipes it on his face. Who the hell reflexively wipes their icky hands on their FACE? Jal goes travelling with her bestie, with the letter she wrote him about how their whole life together has been a lie still in her jacket pocket. Wyrda is supposedly a very politically sneaky bishop, but she insults the king’s consort to the king’s face, sets the Meeting To Choose The Pope in a tiny church that can’t handle the number of guests, the three maybe-Popes she picked are all appalling, and she’s outmanoeuvred in three seconds flat by one of them.
OKAY.
The minor characters are all like this too. There’s the pair of noble aunts who pick a guide for their nephew and Jal who turns out to be a slaver; the nephew, Jal’s bestie, got Jal a boat covered in hentai carvings for her birthday, despite Jal having no prior interest in boats (which, presumably he had to have it custom-made? Which must be a much bigger deal post-Spellfall when no one can do the carvings etc with magic?); the king (who is a woman, but still called a king, a detail which I adored) is blind to her cousin Carrado’s MANY faults AND thinks it’s a great idea to shove her industrialist consort in to the Choosing The Pope thing.
????????????????
The worldbuilding…didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I loved the premise – a civilisation that wove magic into everything lost their magic! All at once! But I was left with a very unclear idea of what magic was used for pre-Spellfall, and therefore what exactly was so dire 10 years after Spellfall. The roads are in very poor repair – that makes perfect sense, magic was used for their upkeep and now there’s no magic. But…? Were there magic hospitals? Was magic used in farming, in crop production? Because one-third into the book, all I know is that there used to be magical fashion houses, which is admittedly an incredibly cool concept, but not something that would be a disaster if society suddenly lost them, you know? We’re told that all sorts of inventors have been building machines to replace magic (and naturally they are all noisy and smelly and polluting machines), but…what functions have they taken over, exactly? The capital city is covered in ash and smoke from all the machines, but I have no idea what any of them are DOING. The aunts mourn that their nephew won’t be able to choose his own hair colour, as was the norm pre-Spellfall (their hair is green, I love it) but…is that it? Is that the big thing you regret your nephew will never experience? The greatest magical loss was FUN HAIR COLOURS?
Civilisation seems to be fine, is what I’m saying. It doesn’t feel post-apocalyptic – or even ten-years-post-apocalyptic. It feels like a generic fantasy setting that has been invaded by noisy machinery for no apparent reason.
Also, 10 years after losing magic, everyone still accepts that not-magical clothing never fits right. Excuse me? It’s been a DECADE and your fashion houses have not discovered tailoring yet??? Or gotten good at it, with ten years of practice? That’s ridiculous.
This just. Did not work for me.
October 24, 2026
This was a very world-building heavy fantasy, which isn't a bad thing, in fact, i'm often a fan. However, in this instance I could have done with a little more action. The plot was very slow and there were simultaneously so many points that I couldn't keep up and also so many scenes that dragged on a little longer than they needed to. Also, some plots kinda felt like they dropped off, but that could be because there was just so much to try to follow.
I think this also suffered from the fantasy cure where there are too many people introduced at once with too many perspectives that are jumped between. It's just way to many people to keep track of with all of their plots and individual importances. There were also so many names that sounded like each other or that were very "fantasy-esque" so it became hard to differentiate.
However, jumping btwn does give an interesting perspective of dramatic irony and gradual understanding of information.
Even though there were a lot of characters, I do feel that this did character individuality quite well. All of the characters felt like their own fleshed-out individuals. The author was also able to give each of them some pretty effective character development, which can be really hard to do.
I also wish more got properly wrapped up in this book. Even though I can only assume there will be more to the series, there was just so much happening and they didn't really get wrapped up then the ending goes on and introduces even more? I just don't know how all this will fit into one series, I think it's honestly too much. All of the ideas individually are so interesting and intriguing, but I can't commit really heavily into that because of just him much there is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter Ink publishers for the review copy!
I think this also suffered from the fantasy cure where there are too many people introduced at once with too many perspectives that are jumped between. It's just way to many people to keep track of with all of their plots and individual importances. There were also so many names that sounded like each other or that were very "fantasy-esque" so it became hard to differentiate.
However, jumping btwn does give an interesting perspective of dramatic irony and gradual understanding of information.
Even though there were a lot of characters, I do feel that this did character individuality quite well. All of the characters felt like their own fleshed-out individuals. The author was also able to give each of them some pretty effective character development, which can be really hard to do.
I also wish more got properly wrapped up in this book. Even though I can only assume there will be more to the series, there was just so much happening and they didn't really get wrapped up then the ending goes on and introduces even more? I just don't know how all this will fit into one series, I think it's honestly too much. All of the ideas individually are so interesting and intriguing, but I can't commit really heavily into that because of just him much there is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter Ink publishers for the review copy!
October 18, 2026
This epic fantasy a quarter-century in the making has the contemporary vitality of a story conceived just this week.
It's set in a queer-normative world not post-apocalypse but post-convenience, where a continent-spanning society built with divinely-given magic has had its magic suddenly vanish. Religious zealotry and scheming nobility threatens the march of egalitarian social recovery and mundane technological progress as the protagonists deal with intensely personal fallout from the day that magic disappeared.
Across multiple points of focus from the heights of aristocracy to the meanest streets, the author sets a broad stage and turns the spotlight on one character at a time as they weave through personal and societal disasters. The plot threads intersect here and there, all weaving together at the end and stitching toward the next book.
The settings are replete with texture. The setting *of* the settings -- the moment-by-moment examination of the lived space of and around the characters -- is wonderful. Time is taken with the most care at the beginning to make the main protagonists feel familiar before the narrative carries them on.
I don't make a habit of pursuing new map-in-the-front epic fantasy books, but I'm glad I made an exception here. The protagonists have quite a few problems to solve over the next two books, and I'm fascinated to learn how.
Also, dog-sized jumping spiders are kept as pets in this story. That alone is worth the price of entry.
It's set in a queer-normative world not post-apocalypse but post-convenience, where a continent-spanning society built with divinely-given magic has had its magic suddenly vanish. Religious zealotry and scheming nobility threatens the march of egalitarian social recovery and mundane technological progress as the protagonists deal with intensely personal fallout from the day that magic disappeared.
Across multiple points of focus from the heights of aristocracy to the meanest streets, the author sets a broad stage and turns the spotlight on one character at a time as they weave through personal and societal disasters. The plot threads intersect here and there, all weaving together at the end and stitching toward the next book.
The settings are replete with texture. The setting *of* the settings -- the moment-by-moment examination of the lived space of and around the characters -- is wonderful. Time is taken with the most care at the beginning to make the main protagonists feel familiar before the narrative carries them on.
I don't make a habit of pursuing new map-in-the-front epic fantasy books, but I'm glad I made an exception here. The protagonists have quite a few problems to solve over the next two books, and I'm fascinated to learn how.
Also, dog-sized jumping spiders are kept as pets in this story. That alone is worth the price of entry.
Read
July 5, 2026⚔️🖤 The Heresy of Thieves 🖤⚔️
📖 Bookish Thoughts
My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.
✨ What to Expect
• Epic Fantasy
• Multiple POVs
• Lost Magic
• Political Intrigue
• Mythical Beasts
• LGBTQ+ Cast
• Gods and Faith
_ _ __
📅 Pub Date: October 6, 2026
Thank you to Dark Matter Ink and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
📖 Bookish Thoughts
My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.
✨ What to Expect
• Epic Fantasy
• Multiple POVs
• Lost Magic
• Political Intrigue
• Mythical Beasts
• LGBTQ+ Cast
• Gods and Faith
_ _ __
📅 Pub Date: October 6, 2026
Thank you to Dark Matter Ink and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
October 16, 2026
I received a digital ADR of The Heresy of Thieves from Dark Matter Ink and NetGalley for review. It's been a long time since I've read a really, REALLY good Fantasy book that wasn't part of a series that I'd already started. The Heresy of Thieves is that book. To attempt to give you a feel for the vibes of the story, it's part Throne of Glass, part Six of Crows with a strong dose of Fellowship of the Ring, but also way more feminist and definitely completely it's own thing.
The first little bit of it is just like any other rich and complex world building in a story-you've got to stick with it until you've got enough of a feel for the new world the author is building so you can fully understand the story. It starts out with a bang-then, you think it's going in one direction, but it then it zags in another and another and then you realize that this story has many POV. The story is like a boulder rolling down a hill. It's took a bit to get it going, because of the time needed to introduce the entire cast of characters, but then I was rolling right along with it. I devoured The Heresy of Thieves. When I realized I was about 80% done, I stopped and looked the book up on Amazon to see the dreaded "Book 1" and I was SOOO angry that I had fallen hard for not just the first book in a series, but a book that was literally just published! Waiting for the next book to be released in a series that you've just fallen in love with is SO HARD.
So who would I recommend this to? Anyone who loves Fantasy. This book is not a Romantasy, and it is not Spicy. It has relationships and love in it, of. course, but you can tell from the beginning that the books goal isn't to pair off all the characters while maintaining a plot around it. The story is the main event. There is Religion, political intrigue, adventure, betrayal, magic, and so much more. I LOVED this book. Just read it, already! Five Stars!
The first little bit of it is just like any other rich and complex world building in a story-you've got to stick with it until you've got enough of a feel for the new world the author is building so you can fully understand the story. It starts out with a bang-then, you think it's going in one direction, but it then it zags in another and another and then you realize that this story has many POV. The story is like a boulder rolling down a hill. It's took a bit to get it going, because of the time needed to introduce the entire cast of characters, but then I was rolling right along with it. I devoured The Heresy of Thieves. When I realized I was about 80% done, I stopped and looked the book up on Amazon to see the dreaded "Book 1" and I was SOOO angry that I had fallen hard for not just the first book in a series, but a book that was literally just published! Waiting for the next book to be released in a series that you've just fallen in love with is SO HARD.
So who would I recommend this to? Anyone who loves Fantasy. This book is not a Romantasy, and it is not Spicy. It has relationships and love in it, of. course, but you can tell from the beginning that the books goal isn't to pair off all the characters while maintaining a plot around it. The story is the main event. There is Religion, political intrigue, adventure, betrayal, magic, and so much more. I LOVED this book. Just read it, already! Five Stars!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It's been a decade since Spellfall, when all magic ceased to function in the land of Dynestra, and it ruined everything. Since Spellfall, Jalara's entire life has been a lie. In the moment of Spellfall, young Thealys Vorrine lost her parents and suddenly became king. Ser Ember Carrado, the king's cousin, became a mage knight-protector who can't work the magic he was trained in. Wylda Lorcananthas, a Beacon of the Church, was forced to contend with the wavering of the faithful as their God-given magics failed. Yet now, a mysterious magic that only a few seem to be able to wield has appeared, and new events are drawing these (and more!) characters into an ever-tightening net of intrigue and deadly danger.
The Heresy of Thieves, by Mia V. Moss, includes everything I love as a fantasy book reader: a fascinating secondary world, multiple POVs, magic, gods, religion, thieves, knights, soldiers, deceptions upon deceptions, politics, journeys, characters to love as well as those you'll love to hate, humor, honor, redemption, and an ending revelation that left me shocked, yet felt so, so true that I now can't wait for the second book in the duology to drop! I also love the quotes and excerpts from in-world books that end the chapters, and which shed progressively greater light upon events in the chapters themselves as the book proceeds.
All told, this book is a winner. The plot gets increasingly complex in the best way, yet never loses focus or gets confusing. The author manages to hold the wide array of POV characters firmly in hand, giving each a unique voice and a reason for holding POV chapters. This is a great choice for those who liked The Game of Thrones, or who crave more like the works of Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb, or David Eddings.
The Heresy of Thieves, by Mia V. Moss, includes everything I love as a fantasy book reader: a fascinating secondary world, multiple POVs, magic, gods, religion, thieves, knights, soldiers, deceptions upon deceptions, politics, journeys, characters to love as well as those you'll love to hate, humor, honor, redemption, and an ending revelation that left me shocked, yet felt so, so true that I now can't wait for the second book in the duology to drop! I also love the quotes and excerpts from in-world books that end the chapters, and which shed progressively greater light upon events in the chapters themselves as the book proceeds.
All told, this book is a winner. The plot gets increasingly complex in the best way, yet never loses focus or gets confusing. The author manages to hold the wide array of POV characters firmly in hand, giving each a unique voice and a reason for holding POV chapters. This is a great choice for those who liked The Game of Thrones, or who crave more like the works of Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb, or David Eddings.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I adore this book. I absolutely loved every minute of reading The Heresy of Thieves and my biggest complaint is that I read early and now have to wait for Spellfall #2.
I had the honor of receiving an early copy in order to blurb, and this is my official blurb:
Mia V. Moss is a rare talent in storycraft. The Heresy of Thieves stands easily among the towering giants of fantasy with stunningly real worldbuilding, phenomenally flawed and dimensional characters, and writing so wonderful it even made me like fuzzy spiders for 500 pages. This book will be on my mind for ages and I cannot wait for more of the Spellfall series to fall!
That said, I have more room in review spaces to gush. This book is complex in the best ways. Its worldbuilding is so deeply woven that it feels real. There's something so special about "made in the old ways" meaning with magic; it turns a lot of conventions of magic in fantasy on their head. Some of the Big Reveals came earlier in the book than I'd expect, but those Big Reveals were then used in their best ways. This author understands Chekhov's gun principles, and essentially every plot point I was waiting for (the letter) paid off in time. I am livid that this author made me care about a fuzzy spider, but have to say that they're that good.
As a fantasy author debuting in the same year as Mia V. Moss, I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be in this company. Their tackling of some big issues are handled deftly with great nuance and open up real-world discussions I can't get out of my mind after finishing the book.
This is exactly the book I wanted to read and didn't know. I cannot recommend this read highly enough.
I had the honor of receiving an early copy in order to blurb, and this is my official blurb:
Mia V. Moss is a rare talent in storycraft. The Heresy of Thieves stands easily among the towering giants of fantasy with stunningly real worldbuilding, phenomenally flawed and dimensional characters, and writing so wonderful it even made me like fuzzy spiders for 500 pages. This book will be on my mind for ages and I cannot wait for more of the Spellfall series to fall!
That said, I have more room in review spaces to gush. This book is complex in the best ways. Its worldbuilding is so deeply woven that it feels real. There's something so special about "made in the old ways" meaning with magic; it turns a lot of conventions of magic in fantasy on their head. Some of the Big Reveals came earlier in the book than I'd expect, but those Big Reveals were then used in their best ways. This author understands Chekhov's gun principles, and essentially every plot point I was waiting for (the letter) paid off in time. I am livid that this author made me care about a fuzzy spider, but have to say that they're that good.
As a fantasy author debuting in the same year as Mia V. Moss, I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be in this company. Their tackling of some big issues are handled deftly with great nuance and open up real-world discussions I can't get out of my mind after finishing the book.
This is exactly the book I wanted to read and didn't know. I cannot recommend this read highly enough.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Finally got some time to read this ARC copy! What's the disclaimer? I recieved the ARC copy for my honest review and no other compensation.
And because of that I get to gush about it a bit.
What's most remarkable here is the balance the author has struck between a focus on a fast moving plot, worldbulding at multiple levels and designations of society, and good, ole fashioned human characters you want to root for.
At times reminiscent of Hobb's _Liveship Traders_ in the epic scope of the cast still working in concert for one meta plot, Lynch's rambunctious heist novels, and Maas's deft way with chemistry (Althought not as often in service of romance here), Moss manages to spin her tale to a satisfying cliffhanger.
Keep an eye on the map and where people are so you're not caught as unaware as I was, but do let yourself be swept up in the not quite steampunk, not quite sword and sorcery of it all.
At the end of this review that might be Moss's most welcome intervention. This feels both familiar and fresh because of its fearless remixing and its dedication to truthfulness of human experience. Straight, queer, somewhere in between or those bonds between family - chosen or not.
11/10
Hungry for more.
#Fantasy #Books #NewAuthor
And because of that I get to gush about it a bit.
What's most remarkable here is the balance the author has struck between a focus on a fast moving plot, worldbulding at multiple levels and designations of society, and good, ole fashioned human characters you want to root for.
At times reminiscent of Hobb's _Liveship Traders_ in the epic scope of the cast still working in concert for one meta plot, Lynch's rambunctious heist novels, and Maas's deft way with chemistry (Althought not as often in service of romance here), Moss manages to spin her tale to a satisfying cliffhanger.
Keep an eye on the map and where people are so you're not caught as unaware as I was, but do let yourself be swept up in the not quite steampunk, not quite sword and sorcery of it all.
At the end of this review that might be Moss's most welcome intervention. This feels both familiar and fresh because of its fearless remixing and its dedication to truthfulness of human experience. Straight, queer, somewhere in between or those bonds between family - chosen or not.
11/10
Hungry for more.
#Fantasy #Books #NewAuthor
Review of advance copy received from Author
Oh, man, I loved this book. What really stands out to me is its sheer scope. This is not a particularly long book, especially by epic fantasy standards, but it contains more or less everything that modern epic fantasy is interested in. It’s got political machinations, monster-hunting adventure, fascinating magic, a touch of romance, and a diverse roster of compelling characters. Early on, I was curious how it all could possibly tie together, but suffice it to say, I was not disappointed. The prose itself is deft and clever without ever being ostentatious. The world feels immersive and lived-in—I got the sense that the worldbuilding that made it onto the page was just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the settings—and the way the magic is woven through them—feel unique and new, even to someone who’s read a lot of fantasy. And, to put my action/adventure junkie hat on for a second, while the fight scenes aren’t the focus of the story, this author sure knows how to write them. All in all, I think every fantasy reader will find something to love in this book, and Spellfall Book 2 can’t get here fast enough.
October 31, 2026
Epic fantasy isn’t usually my thing, nor are frequent five-page chapters, and certainly not both together. This book changed my mind. Despite the epic stakes, the characters remained surprisingly grounded, with their own biases and personal drama. And each chapter was exactly the length it needed to be.
Most importantly (for me) the excerpts between chapters were surprising! And funny! (And twistedly insightful.)
While the deft worldbuilding in the main chapters delivered plenty of strong women in positions of power and easy acceptance of queer relationships, the half page excerpts between chapters shared enthusiastic advice from “The Gentleman Witch’s Society Handbook” and occasional recipes. Truly, the author had me at “A Recipe for Llorynese Honey Cake.” Read and enjoy!
Most importantly (for me) the excerpts between chapters were surprising! And funny! (And twistedly insightful.)
While the deft worldbuilding in the main chapters delivered plenty of strong women in positions of power and easy acceptance of queer relationships, the half page excerpts between chapters shared enthusiastic advice from “The Gentleman Witch’s Society Handbook” and occasional recipes. Truly, the author had me at “A Recipe for Llorynese Honey Cake.” Read and enjoy!
September 28, 2026
Epic fantasy with multiple POVs that end up converging in the most satisfying way. There are clear villains but no clear hero, which I liked: everybody has some shades of grey going on about them, however virtuous or principled they pretend to be. This is a first book in a series, so obviously not everything is resolved by the end of book 1, but I still found the ending satisfying rather than frustrating. Plot-wise we’re given enough hints from the different POVs to put it together before the revelation comes to the characters, which was also enjoyable in my opinion but did make a few of the plot twists not as climactic.
Did Not Finish
July 22, 2026nah the writing style is not for me. it errs on the simplistic side, and to a fault. it tells, doesn’t show. and the sentences are choppy, descriptions are surface level, i can’t get a bearing on where i am or what the characters are doing. it’s hard to visualize with how bare bones the writing is.
thank you netgalley for the arc!!
thank you netgalley for the arc!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really enjoyed the world building of this book and the opening absolutely gripped me. However, it dropped off from there for me. The Faiths chapters bored me so much I struggled to continue at some points. It did get more interesting and Carrado's character and story line was my favourite part of the book
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am thankful to have received a complimentary eARC from Dark Matter Ink via NetGalley, which gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts ahead of publication.
This is the type of book for people who love multiple povs with interconnecting storylines. We primarily follow four very different people - Jal Riago, a former street urchin, now pretend heiress, Thealys Vorrine, the King of Dynestra, Wylda Lorcanthas, a high ranking religious official, and Ember Carrado, cousin of the king and unwilling military man eager to be fired - who are all navigating a world in which magic was suddenly lost.
The first chapter was an amazing start as magic unexpectedly vanishes. I was hooked but the story then slows down while all of the povs are established. This meant that the first 1/3 of the book was pretty slow after that first chapter. However once you get through this section the pace of the story did pick up and the real plot started progressing. Overall I enjoyed this book. There is political intrigue, quests to find mythical creatures, and the overarching mystery to solve of why magic failed and how to get it back. Female rulers are common in the universe, with both genders being referred to by the masculine titles, eg king and duke.
This is not the book for people who want romance-centric fantasy. The book does have some established relationships, all lgbtqia+ , and there are hints that future relationships may develop as the series progresses, but the book is much more for the pure fantasy lovers out there.
This is the type of book for people who love multiple povs with interconnecting storylines. We primarily follow four very different people - Jal Riago, a former street urchin, now pretend heiress, Thealys Vorrine, the King of Dynestra, Wylda Lorcanthas, a high ranking religious official, and Ember Carrado, cousin of the king and unwilling military man eager to be fired - who are all navigating a world in which magic was suddenly lost.
The first chapter was an amazing start as magic unexpectedly vanishes. I was hooked but the story then slows down while all of the povs are established. This meant that the first 1/3 of the book was pretty slow after that first chapter. However once you get through this section the pace of the story did pick up and the real plot started progressing. Overall I enjoyed this book. There is political intrigue, quests to find mythical creatures, and the overarching mystery to solve of why magic failed and how to get it back. Female rulers are common in the universe, with both genders being referred to by the masculine titles, eg king and duke.
This is not the book for people who want romance-centric fantasy. The book does have some established relationships, all lgbtqia+ , and there are hints that future relationships may develop as the series progresses, but the book is much more for the pure fantasy lovers out there.
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