Great story, but it was not without some flaws.

Foundryside tells the story of Sancia, a thief with some special abilities. The story takes place in the city of Tevanne, which consists of 4 merchant houses in their sealed off compounds and endless slums. Sancia takes on a high-stakes job of stealing an item from within one of the guarded compounds. She knows she should have said no, but she needs the money to make her normal again.

This world employs magic on an industrial scale. The lore behind the magic is interesting, but it requires a lot of explanation on how it works–or does not work if that's the case. This sometimes interrupts the flow of the story. There is quite an extensive action scene in the first half of the book, where people employ magic that shouldn't be possible. This prompts an elaborate explanation on the origins and evolution of this particular type of magic. Interesting, I'll admit, but I could have done with less. As the book progresses, this becomes less of an issue, though.

The second thing I had issues with, is the dialogue. Most, if not all, characters do not talk their age. One character in particular, who by all accounts is ancient, talks like a 12-year old street kid. The dialogue in general is not very 'adult', while all characters are above 20.

Third, I have to mention the romance, what there is of a romance. The plotting of the book sadly leaves no room to explore the feelings between Sancia and Berenice. There are blushes, surreptitious glances, the tiniest hint of flirting, and yes, a kiss, but I doubt the author dedicated more than 20 sentences to the romance. I do hope the next book has some more of Sancia and Berenice.

That said, the story is interesting with some twists and turns, and I really enjoyed it.