Thieves of Joy

by Jen Guberman

It wasn’t until Tallis tried REM for the first time that he realized he wasn’t happy.

    The average person might stop sometimes to smell the flowers, but Tallis was the kind of person who would even admire the weeds. To him, life itself was beautiful. While anyone else would see the city of Neuvale as dirty and chaotic, Tallis adored the buzz of life and the stunning sights around every corner. He was content, even though his love life was complicated, his professional life had plateaued, and his personal life would put just about anyone to sleep.
    Desperate to make something of his life, he goes chasing love, success, and excitement. Along the way, he meets a mysterious and electrifying woman by the name of O. When she introduces him to REM, a drug that lets you customize your hallucinations, he finds himself unable to resist the temptation. REM seems to give him the excitement missing from his life, but it comes at a cost, and Tallis has to decide if it’s worth losing himself.

Paperback

About the author

Jen Guberman is the author of Deathriser of Darkwood, Thieves of Joy, and the Eos Dawn Trilogy. She's not a New York Times Bestseller and she has no critical acclaims, but her mom thinks her books are pretty good.

She graduated from Gardner-Webb University in December 2017 with her BA in Communications and with membership in Alpha Chi, Lambda Pi Eta, and Pi Delta Phi honor societies.

She loves watching psychological thrillers, playing video games, making jewelry, and playing with design ideas on Photoshop.

Jen lives in Huntersville, North Carolina, with her husband and their two cats.

Reviews

[Becca Mionis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! This cyberpunk thriller set in a not-so-distant (and in many ways, quite familiar) future is a fascinating character study of what happens when we blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Lots of things to make you think, with characters that feel very three-dimensional. I think I went through a whole roller coaster of opinions about our main character, Tallis, which goes to show how complex he is (even if he himself wouldn’t think so.) Ultimately, you root for him, even when he makes less-than-wise decisions. As Guberman makes very clear, this is a tragedy, not a romance, so tread lightly! But it’s a carefully crafted, well-written one and while things do get sad at the end, they never get hopeless. I was devastated but also satisfied, which is a difficult thing to pull off in a tragic tale! Brava!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! I haven't read a book in only 3 days in years, but I couldn't put this down. It wasn't what I was expecting it to be, but that intrigued me even more.
Tallis leads a super boring life. But somehow, the author made his story interesting! The monotony of Tallis' days made me even more curious with what was going to happen with his introduction to a world of drugs via his new stripper girlfriend. Again, the story went in directions I wasn't expecting but it only drew me in more.
This book deals with mental health, addiction, social class structure, and more. The last line brings Tallis' journey full circle.
Highly recommended. One of my fave reads of 2021!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the writing style present in this book. The world-building felt close enough to relate to but also definitely resembled a more futuristic, sectioned-off life. I also really enjoyed the cohesiveness of how the beginning quote paired with the message of the book. I often try to look for hidden meanings or a deeper reasoning to phrases or events in books, and I was pleasantly surprised to experience some of that in Thieves of Joy.

The only reason this isn’t a five star, although I enjoyed it and read through it quite quickly, is that there are certain parts in it that I don’t necessarily gravitate towards. Everyone has their tastes, so that is totally fine. This may very easily be a five star for so many, I just get off-put easily by word-choices and certain nsfw material.

My reading experience was definitely enhanced by getting to meet, talk with, and have my book signed by Jen Guberman at GA’s Renaissance Fair. She is so kind and I can’t wait to read her upcoming fantasy release! I have a feeling that will be more my speed and anticipate it as my next five-star read!🫶

On a side note, the ending scene with Lolli broke my heart. Me as I was reading: 😧(idk if that’s a spoiler but just in case I hit the spoilers option on this lol)

Overall, I will definitely be on the look out for more works by Jen Guberman! ❤️

[Sarah Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted exploration of a not-so-distance future in which artificial joy is only a few drops away--but at what cost? While this character-driven story takes place in a world that's a little different from our own, its reflection on how modern technology (and toxic relationships) can strip away our happiness and appreciation of authentic beauty is incredibly timely. This story is both heart-felt and heart-wrenching. You'll love Tallis, even when you want to shake some sense in to him!

[Alyssa Withey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie. I struggle with what I call indie books at times and when I first picked it up the plot sounded interesting but I was hesitant. This book is truly amazing. It flows really well, characters are like someone you know in life and the story is I believe an original idea. I really thoroughly enjoyed this book and I encourage others to give this one a read too. I got so invested I put my other books aside to devour this one in three days. Thank you for sharing Tallis and Lolli with us . My only negative is that I wish there was more :)

[Caitlin Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a minute to get sucked into the story and I was expecting more at the ending but I enjoyed the different kind of storyline. I randomly got this book at a convention from a local author and I’ll see what else she has written.