No Rest for Wicked Thieves

Tales of Bleakwater #1

by Jonathan Pembroke

For Kayla Tanglebrush--the fabled thief known as the Nightcat--life just doesn't get any easier.

After botching a high-profile job and seeing other opportunities dry up, Kayla is forced to take on the most dangerous task of her career: infiltrate the remote fortress known as the Ice God's Retreat and steal the Rime Diamond from under the nose of the Lord of Frost and his worshipers. Except ... she has no idea how she's going to do it.

With few options, Kayla is forced to accept the help of a naive but powerful priestess and a dashing rogue. Kayla's past and present collide as she and her companions rush towards a perilous confrontation.

And all the while, greater forces stir and awaken. Pieces are moved on the cosmic chess board as the Gods watch ... and wait ...

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2022

About the author

Just a run-of-the-mill guy who occasionally writes some crazy things. Never met an aardvark he didn't like.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
Reddit Handle: JSPembroke

Reviews

[R Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

My gratitude and thanks to Jonathan Pembroke and Quick Bird Press for the Advanced Reader Edition of No Rest for Wicked Thieves - I was really looking forward to reading this and it did not disappoint!

I read the short story "Between a Box and a Hard Place," which is a lead-in for the Tales of Bleakwater, first, so I was familiar with the characters (and I recommend doing so -- free download from Bookfunnel is available here ---> https://dl.bookfunnel.com/2j35fv9oik

Fabled thief, Nightcat, AKA Kayla Tanglebrush embarks on a journey with her sister, Mara, who is a powerful yet naïve magician, and fellow thief Jack Mercury to steal the sacred Rime Diamond from the fortress temple it cannot be stolen from, the Ice God’s Retreat.

In typical Pembroke fashion, I was transported into the adventure and felt their emotions and was along for the entire ride without any hang ups or hurdles in my mind. It was down right exciting and enthralling -- as was the pacing and action.

Sister rivalry and deceit mixed with Jack Mercury's rogue yet gallant demeanor, God's and Goddesses, magic harmonica and the Obsidian Fang's (weapon) powers and interactions flawlessly written into the story opens a world that is irresistible. Throwing in an unseen and awesome twist made it hard to put down.

I would recommend to anyone, regardless of the genre you enjoy. Anyone who loves a good story, well developed characters and dynamic interaction between Gods, weapons and thieves will not be disappointed!

Just can't wait to see where all these character's go! I think it was overall excellent and I'm invested -- to me that's a great book.

According to Pembrook (https://flinthatchet.wordpress.com/) This is just the beginning of an open-ended series of short novels. Looking forward to The Burnt Ends of Bad Ideas -- the next in the series!!!

[Ray Curto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be a review of No Rest for Wicked Thieves (Tales of Bleakwater #1) is a novella written by Jonathan Pembroke.

This review will contain no spoilers.

I would describe No Rest for Wicked Thieves as sword and sorcery story.

The plot of the novella is the main character, who is a very competent thief, has been hired to steal a diamond from an ice fortress/temple. She is accompanied by her younger sister who is something akin to a cleric or some other non-mage spell caster and a fellow thief.

The world building is similar to what I have seen in other sword and sorcery stories.

The magic system is straight forward. The sister is able to cast spells due to her praying to her goddess and the main character has a powerful magical weapon. Hope the connection between the main character and the powerful magical weapon is explored in future novellas in this series.

The primary reason I enjoyed No Rest for Wicked Thieves as much as I did is due to the characters. The main character is flawed, engaging, and three-dimensional. I really enjoyed the relationship between her and her younger sister and hope their relationship is explored further and developed more in future novellas. Even though their mother is briefly featured in this story, Mr. Pembroke did a commendable job in creating a very interesting character and would like to read more about her and her backstory.

The quibble I have with this story is that I would have like to have seen the robbery plot line developed a bit more including the leader of the ice fortress/temple.

Really looking forward to reading the next novella in the Tales of Bleakwater.

I rate No Rest for Wicked Thieves 4 stars.

[Nils Ödlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite what the cover might hint at, this is not a book about werewolves. Rather, it's about a thief doing a heist together with her ex and her estranged sister, at least on the surface. Underneath, it's a story about wanting to be someone you're not, while being blind to all that you are.
The setting feels like a fairly standard fantasy setting, with gods, guilds, and the nobility as the main players. We don't see much of that though, and story focuses on Kayla, the main character and her personal struggles while trying to pull off the heist without getting killed. There's definitely hints of more, though, and I'd be curious to see what comes next.
What I'll whine about
Too short. This is a novella, but I feel like the story would have benefited from being longer. Both Kayla and her sister struggle with some pretty serious issues, and within this shorter format, I felt like we really only scratched the surface of something that could have been a lot deeper.
What I'll gush about
The above issues aside, this is pretty much a good ol' heist adventure. There's a bit of action and stabbing, a bit of magic, treacherous villagers, and guardsman bullies. There are gods and monsters, an annoying mother, and some silly gags. In other words, it's good fun.
Final Words
A short fantasy novella, that has me curious for more.

[Marie Mullany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this novella as part of the r/fantasy Resident Author Book club. The story is essentially a burglary with a mingling of family drama. I enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters who form the core characters of the story. Jack (the male character rounding out our trio) left me rather cold, but since the story focuses on the girls, he wasn't annoying enough to spoil the story.

Jack comes across as an unrepentant misogynist and nothing in the story ever goes wrong for him. He seems to be rather a Gary Stu.

I do think the story could have done with the full breathing room of a novel since much of the word count had to be taken up with backstory that could have been shown to the reader, rather than told to the reader.
Specifically there is a chapter while they're travelling where it's almost entirely Kayla flashing back on her relationship with her sister and the events leading up to the start of the book. I would have liked to see that incident and experience Kayla's reactions in that moment.

There are some interesting world building threads, specifically around the religion and the gods that left me with questions that I hope will be explored in future books.