Master of None (Gavyn Donatti, #1)Master of None by Sonya Bateman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m way late on this, but really wanted to write something about it, and yet I’m really lazy. So, this isn’t going to be as good as it should be…let me start by quoting from the back of the book (or the amazon/goodreads description anyway, think it’s what the book had on it):

ONE UNLUCKY THIEF. ONE UNLIKELY GENIE. ONE VERY ODD COUPLE. Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—-well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.Unfortunately, this genie—-who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—-is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.

If that description doesn’t pique your interest, you’d better skip this novel. If it does, on the other hand, grab the book–it delivers on the promise in spades. I mean, come on! A grumpy djinn “serving” a barely competent thief.

It’s a good read, with a heckuva cast of characters, gritty but not grim–ensured by an overly generous supply of wisecracks, and a magic system/overall mythology that’s intriguing and rich enough to mine for a long time.

Master of None is enjoyable enough on its own, but now that the initial bout of setup and world-building is done, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Bateman has in store for this series.