Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Portrait of a Thief.

I won't lie. I was excited to read this when I saw the premise; it's got a little bit of everything I love, a heist, art, complex characters featuring people of color, righting wrongs and 15 million bucks!

Told through the POVs of the five heist members; Will, his younger sister, Irene, Irene's classmate Lily, Will's friends' Daniel and Alex, each character reflects on what led them to join Will's heist, the expectations their parents have for them, leaving their homeland and forging a life in a strange country and struggling to make a living so their children can have a brighter and more stable future here in the US than in China.

And this is what happened: this is the main crux of the narrative.

Not the heist. The heist is superfluous. It takes a backseat to what is really going on: the character's repetitive worries, their lusting over each is the majority of the novel.

The writing is good, but the style and tone is very young-ish, YA-like.

There are plenty of YA tropes like how the whole crew is described as outrageously handsome or beautiful, ridiculously charming like Irene who can make anyone do anything because of the way she speaks or looks at you; how Will is a heartbreaker because he collects lovely ladies because he loves beautiful things.

The tedium continues with numerous mentions of soft mouths, the way the light falls on high cheekbones or the angle of Will or Irene's jaws, how the tattoo wraps around Daniel's torso, how the light falls across a Parisian sky or Nordic landscape and on and on and on.

The romance and tension between nearly every character takes center stage and decreases what little urgency and drama you would expect in a novel about a heist.

There's no urgency, this is not Ocean's Eleven; there are no jokes, no witty remarks, no sly comments like there were between George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Strangely enough, I didn't like anyone. You think I would identify with someone on the crew (being a child of immigrants myself) but nope, no one stood out for me.

In fact, I found them annoying but that's not their fault. It's the author's fault.

I really wanted to like this more but this was more introspective and not the exciting, suspenseful drama I had hoped for. I do look forward to reading the author's next book.

I've been excited for this book the day I heard the premise and I can't lie, this has been my most anticipated release for next year, so I was thrilled that I was able to snatch it up earlier than planned.

The story follow five individuals, through them we learn about their struggle of identity, relationship, family, future and more, it's basically everything I love to read/dig into. Adding onto all that, the main five came together for a grand heist, exploring and examining the ownership of art, of conquest and colonialism, it couldn't get any better than that except...

Unfortunately, I don't think the book itself delivered on what it promised. The marketing of the story talked about an epic heist and I personally found the heist to be too easy. I found myself looking for the stakes, the thrill of the steal and the possibility of it all going wrong. To follow that up, the planning for the heist was a bit silly/simple for something so serious and it was so very short when everything did start to play out.

The writing from Li was beautiful but I would have preferred it if she didn't use one sentence as a defining trait for each of the character. It felt like they were reduced down to that one thing and it got repetitive when we were reminded of the same thing almost every single chapter.

Overall it was a good debut novel with good themes and characters and a so-so plot. I won't lie and say that I'm not bummed out that I wasn't in love with it like I hope I would be but I can also see it working for other readers. I am still very excited and looking forward to the adaptation, I can see it working out really well if handle correctly.

A really fantastic heist novel. Great characters, a great plot that moves at just the right pace... I'm always drawn to heist stories only to come away from them disappointed, but this one really paid off. I feel like a few of the POV chapters were a little repetitive, especially toward the beginning, but it smoothed out quickly enough. I'm definitely keeping this author on my watch list.

“Who could determine what counted as theft when museums and countries and civilizations saw the spoils of conquest as rightfully earned?”



Do you want to read a book with movie pacing, that conjures images of Fast and the Furious and Oceans Eleven hijinks. (Which makes it unsurprising that this book has not been released yet and has already been picked up as a Netflix tv show).

Portrait of a Thief is a fast-paced heist novel that asks us to examine the ownership of art and the effects of colonialism and conquest.

Will and his friends, all Chinese American (Daniel, newly official) are presented with an opportunity to make a lot of money and return art back to China, from where it was stolen. The five friends all had personal reasons to agree to the job and the novel follows these characters examining what it means to be both Chinese and American, the pressures children of immigrants face and the question of identity and home and history. This is not just a simple heist story. It is much, much more complex.


I often find it difficult to relate to all of the characters in a story that is told from multiple points of view, but I breezed though this book in a day and a half. I couldn’t put it down because I had to know what was going to happen to each character. They all had unique histories and unique relationships with not only family, friends and lovers, but with China as well. I didn’t have a favorite character (okay, maybe Daniel’s dad), I loved them all. This book is smart, critical and action packed.

I really enjoyed the multiple changes of scenery from San Francisco (my hometown), Santa Clara (where I work, not in tech, the Stanford Dish where I’ve done plenty of after work walks), the cities, the museums, the colleges, the racetracks.

The ending of this books was perfect.

I’m torn now between wanting to visit a museum and wanting to rob one and return all of the masterpieces to where they belong (for legal purposes, this is a joke. I have even less museum robbing skills than these college kids).

Would highly recommend and cannot wait for the tv show (and for a hard cover version!).

This book has five main characters and the story was told through their povs. All the characters have personal struggles, their identities, relationship with family, uncertainty about the future, not being sure if they belong, burden of expectations, comparing yourself to your sibling etc, something which can be relatable.

Unfortunately, none of the characters were memorable and I was never invested in them. There were many inner monologues which are fine but some sentences were repeated a lot something I couldn't stand but I guess that is just a personal preference. I also expected this book to be a lot more exciting than it was because heists are involved but none of the heists were thrilling. I did like it was shown they're unprofessional and make mistakes instead of them being perfect suddenly.

Also, this book has a found family but I felt like there weren't many interactions between them. I wish there was interactions between the characters who weren't interested in each other romantically

It is a pretty good debut, the writing is good and the povs were balanced well between all the characters.


Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book.

*Spoiler free, 3.5 stars*

I’ve been excited for this book since the deal announcement. A book about five twenty somethings stealing art back that resides in Western museums even though it doesn’t rightfully belong to them. It sounded amazing, art, heists, found family. I couldn’t wait to read it.

Grace Li is a TALENTED writer. Every single line felt like it was crafted with such care, and every single line packed such a punch. Just, all the amazing things about the writing.

This book was also a lot different than I expected. I expected something high in intensity all the way throughout, a book where catching your breath doesn’t happen. But, this book was more of the sway of a inhale, rather than a large swell. And that’s completely fine! There is so much packed into it, and the emotional journey it takes is monumental. It just wasn’t as fast as I was expecting.

I also wasn’t expecting to fall in love with all of the characters like I did. All of them feel like an open wound and an exposed nerve. They’re all fighting for different things, but they’re all searching for themselves, for a connection. I want to hug them all. And seeing them grapple with identity, what they want out of the world, and each other, it was incredible. They’re also all very hot (all heist partakers are hot honestly).

And the relationships between them all were top notch. A lot of angst and grudges and grudging respect. There’s budding friendships and romances that made me want to scream.

The only qualm, and its honestly just a personal thing, was that this book leaned a bit too literary for me. It’s an Adult book, so I should’ve expected it and for the pace to be a bit slower. So really, this is just personal preference and nothing about the book at all!

It’s a heist book. Of course it’s amazing. It feels like the crest right before the wave crashes, a catch of breath before it’s exhaled. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s amazing. The writing is spectacular, and the characters just want a place in the world. I love them all, and I really liked this book.

i wanted more from it, but for a debut it's not bad!

i think the standouts for this book are the themes and the characters. the author had a clear vision for what she wanted this book to be about and she wrote it alright. the themes are obvious and the author delivers the message well, but i found several sentences repetitive and it feels like the book was written for those paragraphs only. the characters perfectly capture both the potential and uncertainty of being in your early 20's and, as Chinese diaspora myself, i saw myself in each of the characters. their struggles, goals, expectations, and burdens are relatable and each of their diaspora experience resonated with me; however, i was not deeply invested on the characters themselves. i was rooting for them, ofc, and they were each their own distinct character (which shows the author's skill to juggle 5 character POVs), but i was not emotionally invested in them. the switching POVs gave me further insight into each of their own diaspora experience, but it also kept me at arm's length.

another one of my complaints is the heist plot; maybe i expected a lot, but i did not feel the thrill of the heist at any point in the book. it all felt too easy, even with the weeks of planning. i wanted things to go wrong, but we were never put into tight situations and i was never left reeling with the sheer brilliance of the heist. granted— it's less heist and more grand theft because they are just college students so there is none of the elegance of the heist movies— still, i never felt the adrenaline rush and i never felt like we could get caught. it never surprised me or caught me off guard, though i still enjoyed the book and the journey i went through with the characters.

overall, it's a pretty solid debut! plot and writing are OK. themes and characters are great + generally well-executed!

mistakes i found:
1. "high color on his cheeks" (ch 22)
2. "The fact that they two of them could be here, talking about it— it was a miracle in itself." (ch 48)
3. "In the car, the quiet dark, he took his hand, pressed his mouth to the inside of her wrist." (ch 65)

This book follows five Chinese Americans in their early twenties as they carry out several heists to steal back looted art, and while the premise focuses on the heist, it's ultimately a story about relationships -- with oneself, with family, with friends, with culture and the world at large. This is the kind of book I know I'll return to again and again.

“What’s wrong with wanting everything?
Nothing, as long as you know how to get it.”

Holy shit I finished. First and foremost, huge thank you to Dutton Books for the eARC of Portrait of a Thief in exchange for an honest review!

Portrait of a Thief follows a group of 5 college students who get the opportunity of a lifetime: steal back 5 Chinese sculptures in exchange for 10 million dollars each.

Not only did the heists of the sculptures have me at the edge of my seat, but the heists were realistic, something you don't often seen in fictional media. And while, yes, the heists are the main premise of the book, Portrait of a Thief is so much more than that. Portrait of a Thief closely examines ideas of colonialism, immigration, and identity.

While I personally cannot speak to the Chinese and Chinese American representation in this book, I can say that many of the themes of immigration that were brought up in relation to the Chinese American identity were as familiar to me as the back of my hands. The unbelonging and isolation of being an Asian American, the rage at the culture of my ancestors being stolen form the Motherland, and the disconnect that often occurs between immigrant parents and their American born children.

The focal point of the novel, the art and Western thievery, is so delicately written about an intricately woven into the story. Will's steadfast belief that all art belongs to those who created it is something that will touch the hearts of anyone who hails from a country that has been colonized by the West.

Beautifully written, Portrait of a Thief is filled with twists and turns, highs and lows, and love and hate. Grace Li writes a fantastically structured novel that will leave your heart racing, your eyes mistry, and your heart full. This was an absolutely stunning debut novel and I can’t wait to see Grace’s success unfold in the coming years.