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An adventure that will keep you and your kids spellbound.
Toad thought it’d be easy to steal from Mr. Edward P. Owl. Unfortunately for Toad, he isn’t the best of thieves. Caught in the act, he’s in more trouble than ever before. Now to save his hide, Toad must track down five rare potion ingredients for Mr. Owl. Or else. All Melena Snead wants is her family back, but after the Miggens Street Fire, that isn’t very likely. Orphaned and miserable, forced to work in an apothecary, she’s determined to find Milo, her missing brother. No matter what.
When Melena finds Toad ransacking her apothecary, Toad gets a nasty shock: apothecaries don’t carry Mr. Owl’s ingredients. Luckily, Melena’s willing to help, for a price.
With Melena’s pet Spit-Fire dragon and Toad’s enchanted talking beer mug, they embark on a fantastical journey, traveling the country in search of the potion ingredients. But can they gather all of them in time, what with monsters, pirates, and axe-wielding thieves? And if they do, is there an even greater danger waiting for them at the end?
I read The Tale of Mally Biddle by M.L. Legette last year and loved it so I was excited to see that she had a new book out!
This is another hit for me! Toad is tough and says whatever he needs to in any given situation, which gets him in trouble sometimes. He's devastated when he gets tossed out of the Ramblers, his band of thieves, and wants to prove he belongs with them. He only knows the life of a thief so has no problem lying to Melena to get her to help him. The ingredients they need to find for Mr. Owl are all rare so they have some crazy adventures on the way to collect everything. Melena searches for her brother, Milo, the entire time. She was separated from him after a fire and just wants him back in her life.
Toad comes in possession of Joe, the enchanted beer mug (excerpt below), and Melena thinks he's creepy and wants nothing to do with him. Over time, as she realizes what Joe can do, she softens towards him. Hazel, Melena's miniature Spit-Fire pet dragon and Agatha, the spider, were also great characters and added fun elements to the story.
There's plenty of action and they get in a lot of tight spots. The solutions were creative and I was interested to see what would happen next. M.L. does a great job of moving the plot forward so it's never stagnant and there were parts I couldn't read fast enough. I didn't have time to read it with my kids before my review but it's a great middle-grade read and one we will add to our stack!
My Rating=4 Stars
*I received a copy from the tour host for review. My opinion is 100% my own.*
Excerpt:
It was a beer mug. The ugliest, foulest beer mug in Calendula, and yet Melena couldn’t stop staring at it. It had been fashioned to look like a human face. The color of its ‘skin’ was a sickly tan with a splattering of pale spots all over, like the skin of someone who had baked in the sun one time too many. It had tiny, striped, glass blue marbles for eyes that spun about in a frenzy, making Melena’s stomach twist sickly at the sight. A beaked nose sat above an enormous mouth and that mouth was what she couldn’t stop staring at, even more so than the spinning eyes, for it took up half its face.
With its spotted skin, frightful eyes, and long white teeth that jutted out and curved like the bars of a birdcage, it looked like something that belonged to a freak show. Or something that danced about in nightmares. And even worse: it was talking.
"Ahhh, sunlight,” it commented with a sigh.
Melena stared at Toad.
“What?” he asked.
“What is it?”
“Such an enchanting day,” the beer mug mused through its frightful grin.
“He’s Joe,” said Toad. “Ol’ Joe. The Bewitched Beer Mug of Thieves. I saw him in that crazy lady’s wagon.”
"So of course, you decided to steal him!”
“He doesn’t belong t’her,” replied Toad, hotly. “His rightful place is among thieves. Anyone who has Joe is the Thief Lord. Everybody knows that. I couldn’t let him stay with that—woman.”
“Wait, slow down. You’re a Thief Lord now?” asked Melena, incredulously.
Toad’s grin mirrored the beer mug’s.
“Sure am!”
"But—but how?”
“What d’ya mean how?” Toad snapped, glaring at her. “I just am.”
“But,” Melena pressed, utterly confused, “how can a beer mug make you a Lord?”
“That doesn’t matter! It’s just the way it is. It’s been this way forever. Everybody knows the rules.”
The hideous beer mug started humming his stupid song again and then expelled a loud belch. How something like that made you a Thief Lord, Melena could not fathom.
Praise:
[LeGette is] able to twist her unique fairy-tales to fit the imagination of children and the attention of adults. Five stars … The Orphan and the Thief is definitely worth reading! – Abigail / Goodreads Review
M.L. Legette conjures up a captivating magical tale in The Orphan and the Thief. I loved this story and I could not put my Kindle down until I finished the last page. This charming story is so good that it may very well become a classic. – Karen Dowdall, Author of Delphi Altair: Strange Beginnings
Melissa Lee LeGette has been writing seriously since she was a teen. She loves an old world vibe with a magical twist, and she puts her full focus on creating believable characters–even if they happen to be a talking beer mug. Her books are targeted for children and teens, but have been enjoyed by adults of all ages.
She lives in Georgia where she helps run a family farm, so her nails are a fright.
Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 3/27/14
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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