review: the glamour thieves (blue unicorn #1) by don allmon

Book one in the Blue Unicorn series

JT is an orc on the way up. He’s got his own boutique robotics shop, high-end clientele, and deep-pocketed investors. He’s even mentoring an orc teen who reminds him a bit too much of himself back in the day.

Then Austin shows up, and the elf’s got the same hard body and silver tongue as he did two years ago when they used to be friends and might have been more. He’s also got a stolen car to bribe JT to saying yes to one last scheme: stealing the virtual intelligence called Blue Unicorn.

Soon JT’s up to his tusks in trouble, and it ain’t just zombies and Chinese triads threatening to tear his new life apart. Austin wants a second chance with JT — this time as more than just a friend—and even the Blue Unicorn is trying to play matchmaker. ~  Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Recommended by: Kristen – Metaphors and Moonlight

Review: The Glamour Thieves was a pretty wild ride of a book. It was all sex and adrenaline/testosterone fueled adventures with orcs, elves, necromancers, wizards, virtual reality, unicorns and a fennec fox thrown in for good measure.

I struggled to get into it at first. The characters – JT, an orc trying to leave his life of crime behind, and Austin, an elf, that just can’t let go of his sister's death or his memories of JT, are flawed and just come barreling right at you – no apologies. Then throw in the sci-fi/cyber punk/fantasy elements and it was a touch difficult to get a handle on everything but once I made it through the first few chapters and settled in, I enjoyed the ride.

This book is weird. Like I said, it throws a lot of elements at you all at once.

JT and Austin have a complicated past but are forced to work together to save a mutual friend, Buzz, from really bad dudes who want something he stole from them.  JT and Buzz get a little closer than Austin can handle and it’s just a hot mess of angst, jealousy and longing while trying to survive constantly getting shot at, betrayed or chased by zombies.

There's a love triangle-ish vibe but it’s not one IMO. JT and Austin aren’t together (even if that's what Austin wants) but their bittersweet interactions had my heart melting because - despite letting themselves be controlled by their fears – there’s a lot of love there. It’s just going to take time. Buzz is sweet guy and a nice distraction for JT for now. 

Having just explained all that, this isn’t really a romance book at all (honestly, it’s more raunchy than romantic). This story is more about cool tech, virtual reality, revenge and magic leading to an off the wall adventure with a rag tag group of anti-heroes.

There was some awkward phrasing that had me re-reading certain passages but it's hard to say if it was a question of editing or that's just the authors voice. Either way, it's something that grew on me.

If you can handle a not quite romantic romance, world building that’s more of a tease than fully formed - but quite cool! and rough around the edges dialogue then give The Glamour Thieves a try. It’s fun and inventive and the guys really struck an emotional chord with me.