An interesting read although a little slow at times. I loved the premise but the story itself failed to excite me.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was perfectly fine. Not boring, but not overly exciting. I really like the premise, and one aspect of it reminds me of Ghostbusters 2, of all things. 😁 I think the story was lacking a sense of urgency; the stakes weren’t high enough.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book was not what I expected. The cover art led me to believe it would be a fun, Oceans 11 type heist. But that was not the case at all. I had a hard time following the characters, and I really could not get into the story. I also really struggled with the idea of magic here. I feel like, to use magic in a story, the idea needs to be fully fleshed out. It needs to be part of the world built as a whole, but it was really only mentioned in terms of stealing art. It made the plot harder for me to stick with. I didn't hate this book by any means, but I didn't love it either.

I REALLY (!) wanted to love this book more than I did. There were so many elements that drew me in: a heist romance and some magic? Sounds amazing. And it could have been! It feels like everything here was a bit... flat. The characters felt under-developed, the plot felt convoluted at times, and the portions where the actual heisting should be happening just did not feel exciting at all. I was really excited for this one, but I don't think it was for me.

I found this story to be disappointing after a promising premise (and honestly a really cute cover). I really didn't enjoy the characters, especially the mom, and did not get the resolution I wanted from their relationships. I could not connect with any of them, and there were several side characters that just sort of petered out and didn't serve much purpose. I also felt the protagonist's dog was weirdly superfluous; I kept expecting more from the book that it just wasn't giving me. Several times I found myself confused about what was happening or who pronouns were referring to. Overall, the story just felt too predictable, and I wasn't invested like I wanted to be.

Bond's newest book is a contemporary romantasy. Its also a well-written heist story with a parents are garbage thread. The mix of all these elements left me with a satisfyingly entertaining read. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

While the idea of an art heist with a splash of magic powers seems enticing, the execution of The Frame Up did not feel like it met the interest I felt in the synopsis. Some of the best parts of heist movies are putting together the team and creating relationships with them. Then you have a ton of B-roll of the main character conducting their very essential skill set. Finall you would have the actual heist, which should be action packed and grabbing you in every possible way...I didn't get any of that with The Frame Up. The lead was annoying and most of the book feels like her everyday actions, but somehow it didn't add to her character. Any of the side characters had the potential to add to Dani's tragedy but they were just kind of there. I didn't get alot of depth but I did get a lot of cringe. Even the discussions of magic felt incredibly forced.

This book wasn't for me. I think someone who likes a low intensity book with a slower paced plot would appreciate the story.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but I actually found it to be very entertaining and interesting. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be about but I found that I rather enjoyed the actual story. I feel like the magic system could have been more developed and I also didn’t see any chemistry between Elliot and Dani. Other than that I really enjoyed the book as a whole and would rate it 3.5/5 stars

I had high hopes for this book. It was a slow moving story and I had a hard time feeling connected to it I loved the concept but it fell flat for me.

Wasn't really my thing, was expecting more of a social commentary based on the pitch I got. So that might have colored my expectations.

I read Mr. & Mrs. Witch as an ARC last year, and it was one of my five-star reads of 2023. When I saw The Frame-Up on NetGalley this year, I was so intrigued. I love the cover, I recognized the author from M&MW, and the premise was so interesting. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this.

This is meant to be an art heist, but none of the events are written in a suspenseful way. They just do it, there's no worry about things going wrong aside from Dani literally saying she's worried. I also don't see how Dani is literally known to the world as an art thief, but no one suspects she's going to steal any art. Most, if not all, of the plot points felt unimportant and random.

The worldbuilding and magic system in this book are severely underdeveloped. There are only a few characters with magic, and the abilities don't even seem all that magical. One is good at finding things, one is good with electronics, and one is good at unlocking doors. There honestly isn't much need for magic at all. Dani's ability had the potential to be so cool, but all it boils down to is that she's a skilled painter. There's never any explanation of how their abilities work either; it's just "Rabbit cut the cameras off with her tech skills." or "Elliot thought for a moment and found the item."

The characters didn't draw me in, and they felt completely one dimensional. I don't understand how any of them were truly important. The relationships between everyone also made no sense. I also feel like the romance was totally unnecessary. Elliot and Dani had no chemistry, and had barely spoken before Elliot is acting like a jealous boyfriend. He hasn't seen nor talked to her in 10 years, he didn't really speak the first time he saw her again, and then out of nowhere, he's jealous of Brad. I think everyone's favorite character will ultimately be Sunflower, Dani's dog.

The idea was there, but this was not for me. I kept hoping it would get better, it didn't, and I feel like I'm almost in a slump after finishing it. I would still give the author another try, I loved the other book I read from her, but I'm a little disappointed here.

E-arc review: 3/5

First, i’d like to thank the author, the publisher & netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a good book, but I feel like it was more targeted to a specific niche. This is a cozy story about heists, magic, and art. Did I enjoy it? Yes; Did I love it? Not quite.

It felt a little too slow at the begining (I’d say the first 25%_30%), right up until the heist itself. I was excited to see how it all would play out, and I actually did love the characters, but the plot-twist was kind of predictable. That being said, the ending was GREAT and redeemed the whole book for me.

As an art school graduate with an art history minor and professional designer working in the creative field who LOVES heist movies, this book felt tailor made for me.

In this story, a con artist with magical gifts must get her estranged mother's old crew back together for a once-in-a-lifetime heist in a fortress of priceless art pieces. I really loved this concept, and I especially loved all of the art references and information. I enjoyed the characters (the border collie was definitely the best member of the crew) and I was very curious to see how the heist played out, and what secrets would be revealed during the job.

That said, there were a few things I didn't connect with quite as much. There is a major plot reveal that I didn't love, and I felt the ending was a little predictable. This book felt a little niche – if you're not into art, I'm not sure that it will hit the same way. This book felt like a cozy comfort read, the pace was slow but that allowed you to see how the details unfold in the days leading up to the heist.

Read this if you like:
- Art history
- Found family
- Very good doggos
- Ocean's 11 or other heist movies
- Simple magic systems

I really appreciated the chance to read this ARC! Look out for this book next month, it will be available everywhere on Feb. 13th!

This was a wonderful book! I wanted to read it because of the cover and the author and because the synopsis sounded intriguing (I love me a good heist book), but once I started reading and learning that it was SOOOO much more than that - I was thrilled!

I was shocked by the magical element, but man was I here for it! It was a unique feature for me in this style of book and I think Gwenda did a wonderful job incorporating it.

She did a great job of making you love the characters you needed to love and hate the ones you needed to hate. You end up torn between love interests and you hit a point where you can no longer put the book down because you need to KNOW!

My only criticism that makes me not give this a 5 star is that once we got to the ending it felt a tiny rushed. We spent the entire book reading - at length - about everything going on and then during the point that you want more you’re given much less than expected.

I still loved the ending and I LOVED the last 2 pages which really helped redeem this more for me. I truly loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone that loves crime, mystery and finding belonging types of books!

the premise of the story was interesting, but there was a poor execution overall. i was confused 70% of the time with all the introduction of random characters and subplots. i had to push myself to get past the first 30% of the book because it was so bland.

also, magic? i really believe that this could have been a unique heist story but because of the unnecessary addition of magic, it all fell flat.

and personally, i'm disappointed with who she chose in the end.

tldr: i was excited when i first started reading but in the end, it wasn't for me. bummer.

E arc review- 2.5 rounded up - Thank you for letting me read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. The cover of this book is so cute and the description sounded intriguing, but unfortunately the book didn’t live up to my expectations. The character development was severely lacking, I felt no sort of attachment to any of the characters. The romance was a love triangle but without any real romance. The heist itself was decent but I wasn’t sitting of the edge of my seat during it. I finished the book in two days, but at the end of it i’m left thinking, “this is why you should cut off toxic people in your life, even if they are family”.

I've never read a book by Gwenda Bond, but the premise for The Frame-Up caught my eye: a con artist with magical abilities, attempting an art heist with her former found family of other magically gifted thieves? Sign me up. I enjoyed seeing how Bond fleshed out this secret world in an otherwise recognizable world and the abilities that people could have and apply to crime. However, it felt like the book was overstuffed, attempting to be several things at once: heist story, romance, family drama, fantasy world, an otherworldly villain. The characters, relationships, and pace suffered as a result - it felt longer than it was, and took a while to pick up as you'd expect in a heist story. There's a romance storyline but no real tension or depth to it, and the characters similarly felt surface-level. Disappointing as there was a lot of promise to this unique story.

2.5⭐️
The cover was great and caught my eye, but I apparently only half read the description as I did not realize there was magic in the book. As I was reading, the magic seemed to come out of nowhere and I had to reread that section to see if I missed something.

The heist story was a little slow and predictable. The romance was tame and there was no real banter or flirtation to build up that romantic spark. I’m not a huge fantasy fan, but the magic wasn’t too much that it deterred me from finishing the book.

I did like Dani the main character, but not as much as I liked her dog. Everyone needs a dog like Sunflower!

The thing about Gwenda Bond is that she’ll take your favorite microgenre or trope, mix some magic in, and give you a whole new story to enjoy. Which is exactly what she does with The Frame-Up. She takes an art heist story and adds in magic powers that make people good at their roles: mastermind, hacker, and more.

But Gwenda’s website tagline for a while was “High Concept with Heart,” and even more than the magic, the heart is what really makes The Frame-Up shine. This is a story about a daughter dealing with the fallout of betraying her mother and learning how to be right with herself whether or not her mother ever forgives her.

What I loved:

The art, honestly. Great descriptions of art and art periods. Dani is a character with a clear love and respect for the art she forges. The heist crew vibes: everybody’s got their role and while Dani is working with her mom’s estranged team, there is still love there between herself and Mia and Elliott, the two other members of the team close to her age. The intense interiority: always seeing inside Dani’s heart, her desire for her mother’s approval, her regret about her past actions. Most of all, Dani’s sweet dog Sunflower.

What I need to warn you about:

Not much here, except there are some really garbage parents and their adult kids are dealing with the repercussions of having been raised by such rotten people.

What I wanted more of:

I mean, I would read a lot more heists with this crew, so… Sequels?

Who should read this:

People who like fantasy set in our world. People who like heists and secrets. People who like paintings. People who like reading about fancy rich folks. People who like reading about Kentucky. People who like border collies.

Book: The Frame-Up
Author: Gwenda Bond
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Pages: 352
Age Range: Adult
Source of Book: ARC via NetGalley

I wanted to like this book so badly. The premise sounded amazing and right up my alley… but I just really wasn’t feeling the main couple. It seemed like the only reason they had to be together was because it was expected? I wanted to see their relationship really grow and have chemistry, but it just wasn’t there for me.