Have you ever read a book in which you were so intrigued that it felt like you were in the book? I certainly felt that way as I was reading “Story Thieves” by James Riley. But I think in part was because of the simple fact that the main character, Owen, was able to live out the final book in his favorite book series Kiel Gnomenfoot. That almost sounds crazy (XD), but it was all because of a mysterious girl named Bethany, who claims to be half-fictional, as her mother is human and her father is a fictional character.

I do not want to say too much about the plot, but I will say that it is definitely an adventure as later, the two main characters in Owen’s favorite book series, Kiel and the Magister, get to live in the real world. But disaster occurs when the Magister becomes…evil. And amid everything, Bethany is still on the hunt to find her father.

First off, I must compliment how much I enjoyed the plot itself. It was an intriguing, adventurous fantasy with a mystery aspect. What a neat combo! As the story progressed, the plot literally thickened. With that, I enjoyed how two storylines were co-occurring, which made each chapter alternate in POV between Owen and Bethany. Yet, it was terrific how James tied them in together!

I appreciated how, although there was magic involved, it was not crazy. You are probably wondering, what does she mean by “crazy?” Although certain characters would cast spells, which involved magic, it was not very involved. Something on the lines of this occurred, “Kiel mumbled a few words.” I was very grateful because otherwise, I would have taken my purchased copy back to Barnes & Noble.

I must also compliment the humor. Oh, there were so many funny moments, in which they all involved Owen. I just loved how his personality clashed with Bethany and Charm (a character in the book series), in which they were both very annoyed with him. It was also quite humorous how he kept thinking about how cute Charm was; that reminds me of my oldest brother. :D

Something else I noticed, which I thought seemed kind of creative, was how Bethany and Kiel tried to stop the Magister and get the two of them back into their book; it was like Charm and Owen, personality-wise. Bethany was annoyed with Kiel, as in her mind, he talked too much. I enjoyed how James created a balance in personalities.

All in all, I would rate this novel with 4 and a half stars. Why? Well, I would say that it did take a while for the adventure to fully kick in. I mean, Owen did not begin to play Kiel's role in the final book until 100 or so pages later. I wish it did not take that long; however, when it did occur, Riley was fantastic at quickly getting the reader intrigued about what would happen next. I cannot wait to jump into another novel in the next installment!

This book was incredible. I read another book in the series before and didn't understand it so I stopped reading the series. then I found this book. I finally understood the other book that I didn't even finish. now that I've read it, this author is a genius! he's so funny, and words his books soooo well! James Riley is an amazing author, I definitely recommend this book to any young adventure seekers! I'd give this book a five star rating if I knew how XD!

Owen is just a normal boy living a normal life. But everything changes the day Owen catches one of his classmates, Bethany, jumping out of a book. Bethany is half-fictional and can “jump” in and out of books, but she doesn’t want anyone else to know this. Owen agrees to keep her secret, and in return, she’ll take him into his favorite book series.

When Bethany goes into books, she never interferes with the main characters because it might change the story. She has no idea what it could unleash, so when Owen interferes with the plot of the story, something goes terribly wrong.

Although this book is slightly confusing at first, the mind-blowing conclusion will definitely be worth it.

The book series, Story Thieves, starts with a young boy named Owen Conners. Owen is a normal boy with a normal life. He loves reading and loves his life, but every day, he daydreams and wishes of having a special destiny, of being the hero of his own story. And his wish is granted in the form of his classmate Bethany: a half fictional girl who can jump into books. Her power is granted to her, because her father was fictional. When Owen catches her in the act, Bethany has no choice but to let him in on her biggest secret. Owen is shocked, dazed, and thrilled, and he knows that this is his chance to be the “hero”, and to have a great adventure. He decides to help Bethany find her father, and also have some fun, in some of his most favorite books. But in the first book, things go horribly wrong. Owen breaks the most important rule of story book jumping: never interfere with the plot. With villains on the loose, story book characters self aware, and the barriers between the nonfictional world and fictional world broken, the world faces impending doom, and only Owen, Bethany, and a few other fictional friends they find along the way can save it. This book is great for people who love action, mystery, and suspense. If you don’t read every single detail, some parts of the book may not make sense. This book has many great qualities, like how things are very detailed, and how the story flows really well.

This is the first book I read written by James Riley and I really like it! I think it is cool that Bethany can jump into books and (I have always wanted to do that!) I think it is so cool how the characters meet each other and jump into books!!!! I loved this book so much!!!

Bethany can jump into books--when Owen finds out, he decides he has to save his favorite character, Kiel Gnomenfoot. Chaos ensues! This is a fun, adventurous read full of magic and bookish humor. Fantastic for kids looking for another fantasy series to get into.

I loved this book series! I thought Riley did a good job with it, and if you are looking for more of his books than I suggest that you read the Half upon a time series. I especially liked the unique way Riley formatted his acknowledgments page(s). All in all I thought he did a pretty good job.

The winding, intricate plot provides for an excellently structured, well-paced and kid-friendly story that will leave any reader spellbound. Nice job, Riley!

Bethany and Owen are interesting characters. The book makes it so every chapter is different.
I LOVED IT!!!!!!!😻😻

This book is very good, and I like all of the twists. I am already in love with Kiel, and I haven't finished reading the book...
I started this book a few days ago and I'm almost done. I like Keeper of the Lost Cities also, so if you like this book, you might also like that. The author is my favorite author, Shannon Messenger.