#violet blaze

Stepbrother Thief is my first full Violet Blaze or C.M. Stunich novel (I did read See No Devils) I was not disappointed. The mix of stereotypes, predictability with a few twists was brilliant, easy to forget some of the iffy aspects. The two main characters Regina Corbair and Gilleon Marchal were so compelling, I wanted their happiness. Knowing they were going to have to fight for it made it a wonderful and rewarding read, there are some emotional sections that are devastating and ending felt right it suited them and their personalities. Gill is also insanely attractive in both the physical and emotional sense. The support cast while quite small, is well written, well-meaning and diverse. They feel like the sort of support system a broken woman would have around herself.

The way it was written made it so readable, jumping through time posing questions, answering them in due time but giving you enough detail to figure out some of what was going on. While the current day sections are set in Seattle, the past sections are set in Paris and there is a reasonable amount of French used. Certainly given that one of the support characters primary language is French and the Regi and Gill's relationship history is heavily influenced by their time in France. It's quite a quotable book too not in the quip kind of why but in the this-is-a- relatable-passage way, there are whole passages I highlighted because they were fantastic and intelligent perspectives on love, life and loss.