I want to thank Jes Drew, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Netgalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

It's a 3.75 stars for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Some details bothered me a bit, so this book is not a favorite, but it was enjoyable to read.
The beginning is very fast-paced and the action starts immediately, which I appreciated because you get straight into the story.

I loved having the two points of view of the main characters, which brought out their thoughts and feelings, especially in the same scenes. I sometimes had a bit of trouble with the sequence of scenes, as I was often lost in what was going on.
I preferred the end of the book, the time to understand the universe and the characters' pasts.

I can't wait to see what happens next, with the rebellion, revenge, and romance between our two characters.

I don’t normally have trouble with back and forth pov, so I guess it was the added fantasy element that the pov was a little difficult for me to grasp at first. But overall, this was a good light read. Not as dense as some fantasy books, and that’s a good thing. Good story.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

The beginning of the book was quite messy and confusing for me. The timeline seemed off, as it implied that Elspeth had achieved legendary status and earned the title of Bandit King after robbing only one place following her family's tragic events. This discrepancy left me with a feeling that I had missed something crucial in the narrative.

Although it did redeem itself later on, it might prove discouraging for other readers who are quick to abandon books they find challenging. The story felt like it dropped me into the middle of the plot, making it a confusing game of catch-up.
I'm not particularly fond of the instant love trope, and unfortunately, the book heavily relied on it in the beginning. This aspect didn't resonate well with me, and it could be a turn-off for readers who prefer more gradual and realistic romantic developments.

Furthermore, the doppelganger element of the story, while purposeful in some instances, made it difficult to follow along at times. This added layer of complexity created obstacles in understanding the plot fully.

In summary, the messy and confusing beginning, the instant love theme, and the challenging doppelganger aspect might hinder the overall enjoyment of the book for some readers. Clearing up the timeline and smoothing out the initial chapters could have improved the overall reading experience.

The premise really gripped and it is a light easy fantasy story to get through I just wanted a little more, Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eArc of this book.

i’m going to say it, this book felt like a wattpad book, but not the good wattpad books, the bad, the TERRIBLE. it can’t have been edited, it’s not possible or else it wouldn’t have such a bad writing. i hated our main character because i just cannot stand the whole maiden/virgin type of character that’s sweet and needs to be protected, not like other girls, you know, every 2010 wattpad main character but then she becomes a badass for some reason, while still remaining not like other girls because she’s can fight and everything. i dnfed around the 15% mark because i could NOT stand the writing style, it was awful, please stay away from this book.

I'm not gonna lie, I requested this book because of the beautiful cover but I ended up loving it. It was such a fast and good read! Can't wait for the next book.

Betrayal and Banditry by Jes Drew is about Elspeth, an elf who is kicked out of her home and ends up in the forest with a band of misfits who steal from the rich. She decides that she is going to take back her rightful place by saving the prince who she dreamt was in danger.

There were a couple of things that bugged me. There are different perspectives and one chapter will be Otello, then the next chapter is Elspeth but an hour earlier, so that we can see how she got to where she was in Otello's chapter. We just end up reading the same conversations, when it could be summarized what they were doing in a paragraph.
Also, there were quite a few times that I was confused. An entire face switching scene was very confusing until it was almost over.

It did get more interesting near the end and I feel like this could've been a complete novel, but I believe it was written as a serial.

Are elderberries real? Because almost every fantasy book uses them.


Thank you @netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of betrayal and banditry. This was interesting, not one of my favorites but it was definitely one to look into getting for the store since we are a fantasy/romance book shop

"She's the disgraced noblewoman turned Bandit Queen.
He's the Sacred Prince of the Holy Empire.
And neither of them remember being betrothed."

intriguing concept!

The world-building is intricate, as is the magic system - but- I had a hard time at first trying to keep track of how everything works. I’m sure the magic system will be explained more in-depth in the following books....
The romance was light, fade to black so no spice/smut for anyone who is looking for the heat. The marriage of convenience is cute, though.
⁣
All in all, it's an exciting and fast-paced tale that’s filled with some of great tropes. A great read for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy retelling with Robin Hood vibes, revenge plots, and no spice.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley sending me a free eARC. All of the statements above are my own opinions.

I loved this one! It was humorous, intense, and engaging. At no point could I have guessed exactly wjat happened. I can hardly wait for the next one!

This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention.

Wow, what a ride! I really enjoyed this plot and characters, though it did take me a few chapters to grasp what was happening because our main characters have had their memories stolen. For our female protagonist, we have Elspeth, an Elf cast out from her home due to the discrimination against Elves by our villain, VonTrapp. Otello, our MMC, couldn't come from a more different world. Born the sacred Prince of the Holy Empire and faced with the destruction of that empire, he joins forces with Elspeth, whom he doesn't know he knows and once loved. The chemistry between the main characters is great and deliciously slow burning. Dual POV writing style is a favorite of mine, though it was written very unique for this story, like both POVs in the same chapter and even the same scene, and took some time to find the rhythm. But when I did, I found it hard to put down. It had me on the tip of my toes at time, and the cliffhanger at the end definitely interested me to the next book. I think this is a perfect debut to a series, with lots of set ups for future books and adventures these characters might get into next. 3.5/5

This was a nice, east light YA romantasy, I did enjoy this but there were some slight errors, so I’d give it between 3-4 stars. It takes a little bit to get going at the start, but it picks up after a few chapters and it’s definitely worth the wait, it has dual POV which I love so much, I hate only seeing how one person feels, it also feels more realistic I feel. This book has magic, romance, action and an enjoyable tale.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

DNF'd at about 15%. I just couldn't get into the world due to the writing, I think the story had promise and I was very excited for it but sadly it wasn't my cup of tea.

Betrayal and Banditry is a light and easy YA fantasy romance. Overall, I’d rank it at 3.5 stars with some errors that pull out of of the storyline. Our female lead, Elspeth, is Robin Hood in with a tragic backstory and the male lead, Otello, is the rich Prince. The story takes a bit to get going as you start with them meeting and then the memories getting wiped. It takes a few chapters to pick up, but it’s worth the read! It’s told using dual POV so you see inside each of the leads and get to enjoy their banter. Magic, romance, war and more unfold during the story.

This would be a great read for a beginning fantasy reader! A fun ya story. The couple was magical to read about. A simple fantasy ya story and a good first installment.

Well, I read it! Ok, it was pretty good. The story, the worldbuilding…the magic. A good fantasy story!

It’s giving me Wednesday vibes with bandits. I would totally read it again and you should too!

All opinions expressed are my own, I was gifted this book through NetGallery.

I received this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was intriguing from the first chapter, it had Romeo and Juliet vibes if Romeo and Juliet met more than once and had their memories wiped. The story follows Otello who is the prince of the empire, and Lady Elspeth, a noblewomen Elf, who’s family and life were taken from her out of prejudice. They need to help each other survive and reclaim what is rightfully theirs and learn what they mean to each other.

In this book you will find a female Robin Hood, miscommunications (done tastefully), memory loss, different magic systems, mistaken identity, mind control, and some murder.

I’m excited to see where this book goes in book 2, as the stakes are higher at the end of book 1 and they need to learn to work together to survive and claim what is theirs, plus tension as they learn what they mean to each other.