Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst is a fun, adventurous story with a unique twist—were-dragons and heists! It follows Sky, a teenage were-dragon, as she embarks on a daring mission to reclaim her family's honor and uncover secrets. With humor, action, and a bit of romance, it’s perfect for fans of lighthearted fantasy with a twist of adventure.

3.5★

I accepted an ARC of this book way back in 2018 and never seemed to gravitate towards it. The cover is decidedly not that attractive and while we all know the rule about books and their covers one cannot help but be swayed one way or the other by the chosen cover art. Luckily, a prompt came up in the monthly reading challenge I run that ended up dropping this book in my lap which is how I’m here finally reviewing this book 6 years late. That’s… embarrassing.

I’m honestly surprised that this title has such a low rating on Goodreads. I’ve got a collection of YA books on my shelves that I purchased a long, long time ago that I’m slowly working my way through so I can finally unhaul most of them and I’ve read a lot worse stories in that age category than this one. While this isn’t a literary masterpiece it does have a lot going for it. Durst is a great storyteller- she’s good at keeping the reader on the hook and even when the story leans more towards the absurd you find yourself going along somewhat more willingly than you might normally. The story is fun and unique and short. Not a lot of time needs to be devoted to this book- it’ll be over in a couple afternoons and you’ll be left with an enjoyable experience under your belt.

I recently read a book by Holly Black called White Cat and it reminded me of this book in a lot of ways. It has a similar tone and set up even though that book is about curse worker families and this one is about dragon-shifter families. If you happened to have read Holly Black’s Curseworkers series and enjoyed it you’ll likely enjoy the vibes in this story as well. This book isn’t taking itself too seriously- it’s not a book meant to evoke visceral emotional reactions but it is a good time and it will tug on your heartstrings at times because of the various family dynamics at play. If you like dragons in your books this story might be a fresh take on an old trope and I think it was a good time which is why I’m bumping the rating to a 4 star rather than the other way.

This was a good read. Nothing really stuck out to me but it's a good fast pace read and helped me get into the flow of reading fantasy again. Would recommend for anyone looking for a filler book in their free time.

what a unigue and delightful shifter story. This has been in my TBR list for a long time and I'm glad I finally got around to it. Fast paced. Sometimes, fun little stories lurk in the shadows.

I recieved an ARC via netgally and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book wasn’t for me. It has entered my DNF list. Nothing wrong with the book, just not for me. This would be above my age group that I purchase for but for fans of books with dragons that are in MS and HS this would be a great one to recommend for them to try out.

What a fun book! I’ve been struggling to get into fantasy lately so this one sat on my TBR for far longer than I intended. But what a lovely read!

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

I sadly could not get into this book. I wanted to give it some time because maybe I wasn't in the mood but I have just lost all interest in the story.

Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst ended up being a fun read, who doesn’t love dragons and heists. I would say it’s best promoted towards juvenile readers with its fast pace and action.

I’ve been struggling with fantasy books lately and just really couldn’t get into this novel. I wanted to like it but it didn’t work for me. Thank you netgalley for my free review copy.

I have to be in the mood for this type of book--a campy, fast paced read that you basically know what's going to happen but you're okay with going along with it. I mean, it's were-dragons on a heist, come on now!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Fire & Heist sounded like something I would really like but, I don’t think it’s for me. It’s not this book but me. It just wasn’t what I have been looking for lately. I don’t have anything negative to say about this book. Just that it wasn’t for me.

This wasn't bad, wasn't good, just fine. It was a little too fast paced for me, but I know there's an audience for that and I hope those people find it.

Kind of a fun romp. I'm always here for heist stories with lots of moving parts, but the end came up really, really fast.

Sadly was a DNF for me, but it may be suited to others' tastes. I had high expectations but sadly couldn't really get into it.

Heist books are something I'm always hesitant to pick up because they can be so, so good when they're done well, or just incredibly awful when they're done poorly; Fire and Heist, however, does not fall into either of the categories. Fire and Heist by Sarah Beth Durst was just...ok. I think it just felt a bit juvenile and predictable rather than fun and exciting. The characters were enjoyable, the dragon people were such a cool concept, but the plot just fell flat for me. I kind of felt like the book opened up on such a great note with the heist scene, but just fell flat after that. I think there was a lot of potential here, but that Durst that ultimately missed the mark.

Unfortunately, for my older books requested I was unable to review probably. They were never read, not because they weren't great, but because I ended up sick. I am just now getting back into the swing of thinks. Thank you, Netgalley.

I have not had the time or interest to get through this book, unfortunately. I requested based on the author and would love to get to it eventually.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.