{"id":11618,"date":"2019-02-07T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T20:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11618"},"modified":"2022-10-30T19:56:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T23:56:01","slug":"a-gift-for-guile-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11618","title":{"rendered":"A Gift for Guile"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Gift for Guile<\/a><\/em> (2016) Alissa Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1872<\/p>\n

Esther Walker is the daughter of a famous thief and con artist. Although none of her family knows, she also helped her father, acting as his tiny thug, threatening people with the knives she was taught to throw. But the man everyone thinks was her father wasn’t really, so she wants to discover who that man really was.<\/p>\n

Samuel Brass was called the Thief-Taker Almighty, after it was learned he’d been shot several times and survived. (Remember: Germ theory is unknown). When he discovers that Esther Walker is in London (despite the danger her recognition would cause to her sister and herself) he finds her and tries to send her back to the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you come to London?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already answered that.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you refused to answer.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, my answer did not meet with your satisfaction, but that is your misfortune, not mine.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really really like Esther.<\/p>\n

Esther did not appear to appreciate his oratory efforts. <\/p>\n

\u201cHeavens, I\u2019d quite forgotten,\u201d she drawled in a voice that could only be described as sweetly caustic. \u201cThank goodness you are here to remind me of all the little details of my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

God, she was infuriating. \u201cEsther\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re rather like my very own talking diary.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll not take orders from you.\u201d She didn\u2019t take orders from anyone. \u201cYou may give orders, if you like, but I\u2019ll not promise to follow them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOrders that don\u2019t have to be followed are called suggestions,\u201d he replied in a bland tone. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen I shall agree to take your suggestions under advisement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As with the previous book, Esther and Samuel labor under misapprehensions, but they are also somewhat broken people, which is how they were able to continue to misunderstand each others intentions.<\/p>\n

But mostly I adore Esther.<\/p>\n

She ignored the voice, long since accustomed to the fear that she wasn\u2019t really wanted, wasn\u2019t quite good enough for anyone. That fear had been at the heart of her determination to work with her father and her terrible need to seek out the approval of others. She\u2019d been so desperate to prove the nasty little voice wrong. <\/p>\n

Those days were past. She might not be able to rid herself of the old insecurity entirely, but she could choose how to respond to it, and she chose to acknowledge it and set it aside.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No one person\u2019s good opinion should mean so much that another person should feel compelled to change who they are to obtain it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Esther Walker is the daughter of a famous thief and con artist. Although none of her family knows, she also helped her father, acting as his tiny thug, threatening people with the knives she was taught to throw. But the man everyone thinks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191,30,33,8,41,26,56],"tags":[156,50,557],"class_list":["post-11618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-alissa-johnson","tag-boinking","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-31o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20115,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20115","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":0},"title":"A Gift for Guile","author":"Michelle","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson (The Thief Takers) Set in England in 1872. Esther has finally admitted that she was involved in her father's schemes--as his teenage henchman. And no one blames Esther for that--except Esther herself. Though he suspected she\u2019d be surprised to hear it, Samuel didn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Gift-for-Guile","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/A-Gift-for-Guile.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5965,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5965","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":1},"title":"A Gift for Guile","author":"Michelle","date":"July 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in London in 1872 This is the second book in the Thief-Takers series, and follows the second sister, Esther, and the private investigator, Samuel Brass. Esther has sneaked into London, and is caught at underground by the Samuel Brass, who ruins the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Gift-for-Guile","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/A-Gift-for-Guile.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9213,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9213","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":2},"title":"A Gift for Guile","author":"Michelle","date":"August 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 The second book in the Gentleman Thief-takers series tells Esther's story--that of a girl who was used by her scoundrel father as dainty and surprising henchman, and who kept her secrets from everyone--including her sister. Now she is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/A-Gift-for-Guile.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13383,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13383","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":3},"title":"A Gift for Guile","author":"Michelle","date":"August 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson (The Thief Takers) Set in England in 1872 This series is just SO delightful. As soon as the door shut on the last giggle, she darted out from behind the screen and pulled the lid off one of the platters. Oh, asparagus. She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Gift-for-Guile","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/A-Gift-for-Guile.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20113,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20113","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":4},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell, the first Viscount Renderwell and Gentleman Thief-Taker needs to solve a series of crimes. And to do so, he needs the help of a woman he hasn't spoken to in eight years. A woman\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Talent for Trickery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery-e1511012717126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13369,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13369","url_meta":{"origin":11618,"position":5},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"August 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) Set in England in 1872. It's still the time for falling back on old favorites. This book was my introduction to Alissa Johnson, and I immediately snatched up everything by her I could find. Charlotte Walker (now Bales) was the daughter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Talent for Trickery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery-e1511012717126.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}