Thursday, April 2, 2015

Charlatan's Magic by Patrick Bran

Ben's a pickpocket.  A very good one, too.  When the Chinaman catches him, he expects to get thrown in jail.  Instead, he gets thrown into some real trouble.  The man from the East has an even bigger con in mind.

Goddess Fish Blog Tours and the author allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  You can purchase a copy on Amazon or other ebook retailers now.

Ben steals to keep himself alive.  He's done it for so long that it's become a way of life.  He understands that Ming only wants to use him but he's offering him some big money for doing so.  All he has to do is lose his money to a certain gambler.  It's harder than you think to lose it without looking like you've done it on purpose.

This is a really good adventure.  You have Ben (the thief), Nikki (the bar man), Athena (the bar owner and sister of Nikki), Ahmed (who loves Athena), and two really bad men.  Ming doesn't care who dies on his quest to get the money from the bar.  He and his accomplice have killed before, a few more won't matter.

Ben had a crush on Athena so by befriending Nikki and letting him win all his money, he gets to meet her and hang out in the bar.  Ming isn't satisfied with that, though.  He has plans to take it all.  And he doesn't care if Ben gets executed for the murder he did.

You can actually see Ben grow up in this story.  He starts out meek and mild but the fights he gets involved in and the things he sees make him mature and become more aggressive.  By the end of the story, he's able to defend himself and others.

This was an exciting story that kept my attention.  I was afraid of how it was all going to turn out but the author did a nice job with it.  He grabs you in the first few sentences and pulls you along through the story.  When I got to the end, I gave a big sigh.  It's like it took a bit to get my breath back.  Why don't you give it a try and see what you think?

Patrick Bran will be awarding a randomly drawn commenter a $15 Amazon/BN GC.  Enter HERE.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chance of winning. The tour dates and hosts can be found HERE.  

Happy reading!

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