Initial Impressions 9/23/15: This was really cute! A bit more cutesy than I expected, I think, but a fun read overall! I think it read a bit younger than adult so I was a bit thrown by that but the characters were SO enjoyable, I loved learning about this world, and I kind of just want to binge the rest of the series now... 
 I think it could have had a bit more world building but I suspect that's something that we'll delve into quite a bit more in subsequent books. I'm definitely curious to know more! 
 I loved Eli, naturally, and also loved Josef (he felt like a mix of Jean from Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series and Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride). I really can't wait to learn more about Nico too... 
 Very fun read but didn't quite wow me... I'm hoping book two really pulls me in even futher! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 11/13/15: I was really excited to start THE SPIRIT THIEF with my On the Same Page gals considering how much I've been getting into adult fantasy lately! It was an interesting read but not too far in, I started to question whether it really was adult fantasy and turns out more people have shelved it under young adult than adult. I guess it shouldn't really matter one way or the other since I tend to read a lot of YA fiction that appeals to ages of all sorts but THE SPIRIT THIEF really was just a tad disappointing in the sense that it did feel significantly younger than what I had hoped. 
 I really did enjoy the book from start to finish and THE SPIRIT THIEF was a fun and fairly quick read but I did wish that it had a lot more depth. The book did feel a bit young and being a reader of young adult books, I actually think it felt more on the MG/YA border than it did sitting totally in YA. Needless to say, it didn't even come close to the adult feel that I was hoping for and anticipating. The overall tone and lack of details in the magic system, world-building, and character depth really brought the reading level down for me. Again, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it did change my outlook of the book. I was really hoping for a whole lot more to wow me and pull me in but it was more of just a face-value "good" read. I like my fantasy (both YA and adult) to really pull me in, keep me hooked, and have me theorizing long after I'm done reading. Although it did do a nice job of keeping the door open for future books and leaving some things to be explained later, I just can't escape the desire to explore just a bit more in this book. When it comes down to it, I think disappointment wins out because this is published under a sci-fi and fantasy imprint which houses adult authors so I have to go with the fact that it just didn't live up the content that I felt it should have. 
 The overall story was interesting. I always enjoy stories about thieves, especially rascally ones and Eli Monpress didn't disappoint there! I rather enjoyed Eli's quest to add more money to his bounty (he claims that any thief would be proud of) and there seemed to be hints that there was more to this story but that wasn't really explored in this book. I really enjoyed the concept of spirits and how the spirits and wizards (or "Spiritualists") interacted! The idea felt really unique and it's not something that I've really read before. The interactions did seem a bit juvenile, once again, and I think that gave the book a really middle grade feel for me. It could just be my interpretation of the book but spirits being stubborn, refusing to cooperate... Just something about it had a very young tone. 
 I really wished I had gotten to know each character more as well. I loved Eli and Josef (he reminded me a lot of Jean from Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series and Inigo from The Princess Bride) and I really wanted to learn so much more about Nico! I was glad that I got to find out some small pieces here and there as the action progressed but I did think there would be a bit more character development there. They were a crew and I really loved how they worked together but I also didn't feel that pull to keep them together and I didn't feel the tug on my emotions as much as I had hoped when things went wrong. 
 THE SPIRIT THIEF was a fun, easy read. I'm not sure if I want to continue with the series since I'm just left with the feeling that it has so much more potential and just didn't quite live up to it. I'm definitely curious about what else goes on and I'd love to get to know the characters more so I may continue the series someday but as of right now, it's not too high on my immediate list.