Wraithful Reads

Suri is right about one thing; women’s clothing never has enough pockets.

I recently saw Sandpiper, an indie author, announce on her TikTok that she’d be taking applications for ARCs of her new book, A Claiming of Souls releasing on 10th May 2025. This is the third book in her Amefyre series and I was intrigued. One of the few conditions were that you had to have read the first two books in the series first; A Pocket of Lies and A Promise of Blood. So, thanks to them being handily available on Kindle Unlimited, I dove right in.

“The priesthood and prostitution. Two very different places with a near identical offering. A roof, a bed, some food, a few bits to spend. In exchange for worshiping some trumped up male a few nights a week.”

– R. A. Sandpiper, A Pocket of Lies

A Pocket of Lies is a very past-faced romantic fantasy. It follows the misadventures of Suri, a thief, barely surviving in the North. She suffers a vicious assault, scams her way into a ball as a means to repay a debt, and ends up fighting for her life in The Parched Lands as a result.

Suri’s adventure rapidly goes from bad to worse with brief breathers in-between. There’s so many incredible twists in this book and they had me absolutely hooked. Sandpiper establishes her world without overwhelming amounts of lore, and gives away just enough details that your curiosity is always piqued. I have so many questions about this world that have not yet been answered, which has left me so eager to read the next book in the series: A Promise of Blood. I feel like it’s a true skill to dance the line of sharing enough details that the reader isn’t confused, while still not giving everything away. It’s a skill Sandpiper has as a writer, for sure.

I also really enjoyed the fact that Suri was almost exasperated with the turns her life was taking. She’s a thief just trying to get by, and improve her life for the sake of herself and her brother, who she hopes to be returning soon. I feel like it’s quite rare to see a morally-grey female main character, and really enjoyed the way she was written. Suri has no interest in being nice. She’s out for her own survival. And has no interest in being anyone’s spy, priestess, or hero. She wants her freedom and a comfortable life. Honestly, relatable and refreshing to read!

There’s a good amount of humour that comes across in A Pocket of Lies too. The quote above about priesthood and prostitution was one of my favourites. Suri also has a spectacular rant towards the end of the book when she finds out just who the voice in her head has been all along. It gave me a good laugh, and was a pretty realistic reaction for such a regular person.

Some tropes and common themes I enjoyed in this book:

• There’s never enough damn pockets
• Morally grey characters
• A morally grey Female Main Character
• Critical of religion
• Personifications of Life and Death
• Pagans!
• “Who did this to you?”
• Female main character is scrappy and does not give up easily
• It’s gritty and does not shy away from the reality of violence and poverty
• Learning to trust
• Great plot twists
• Old Gods vs New Gods

There were no trigger warnings listed, however, from reading I came across the following:

• Violence
• Extreme poverty
• Religious trauma
• Death
• Graphic injuries and fights
• Mentions of sex and brief scenes

The slow burn is excruciatingly slow too, as promised! You definitely see it start to flicker, and there’s other relationships and moments that come tantalizingly close. Though to be honest that has only fueled my need to read more. Overall a highly recommended read, and I’ll see you in the next review when I’ve finished the second book!

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