This novel is one part magical realism, one part art heist, and one part romance.

In The Frame-Up, we follow Dani Poissant as she rejoins her mother’s crew of magical con-artists in the hopes of pulling off one more art heist. She’s been hired by her mother’s former partner, the mysterious Archer. The target: an unusual art collection belonging to a deceased billionaire. But Dani soon discovers this eclectic collection of paintings is more than meets the eye.

I was super intrigued by the premise and found it such a creative concept!

That said, I felt like I needed more for me to buy what this book was selling. As someone who loves to read about a heist, I needed way more twists and high-tension moments. And as someone who loves a romance, I needed way more chemistry and bantering from the love interests.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book is so intriguing. The book itself fell a little flat for me. Right from the beginning, I was a little confused. I wanted to really like it. The magical touch was odd. I felt it needed more depth. For everything going on in the book, it fell a little short.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review.

The Frame Up was a funny at times, suspenseful, second chance story of a heist with a twist.
Dani is a grifter that has been on her own for years. After a heist gone wrong when she was a teenager she ran away from those she had loved and struck out on her own. But, her past finds her and has her going back to where it began to complete the big heist they never were able to finish.
There are so many plot twists within this new heist that every time you turn the page there was something else new to conquer. I loved the addition of the magic aspect to the team. (Made me think of Oceans 11 meets Harry Potter). Everyone has a unique gift that aids in the heist. Add in a possible love triangle and a FBI agent that hasn't forgotten about Dani since the last time he saw her (at her mother's trial) and you have a story that keeps you turning the pages.

If you love art heist books, and books with a healthy amount of magic thrown in, and also some romance and family drama, The Frame Up is for you! The magic is somewhere between magical realism and fantasy. There is a whole world in this book of people with very specific magical talents, many of whom join together to commit crimes. Dani is the daughter of Maria, a master manipulator and thief who Dani sent to prison when she was still a teenager. Now Dani wants to make up for this and reunite with her mother and their thieving friends, and she's given a challenging heist to lead to get there. It's a little too much for me in the magical sense, but still an entertaining book.

This book was very mid to me. Nothing special.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

ARC Review ~ The Frame-Up~

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was drawn in by the premise of a heist but stayed for the magical fun. I loved the magical elements that the author incorporated throughout and the cast of characters kept me well entertained. I love the progression of the main character in her desire to right a perceived wrong and she find her true self. At the end I was wishing for more in that world.

Features:
*second chance romance
*lgbtq+ rep
*fun magical system
*heist

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC!

An art thief with the magical ability to create exact replicas, an adorable guard dog, a tempting offer to steal a portrait while acting as the head of security? What could possibly go wrong? This charming and exciting read kept me on my toes the whole way.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This book sounded so intriguing: magic mixed with art heists. Somehow the execution just didn't match with how I had built up the storyline in my mind. I didn't feel the great connection between the characters. We are told Elliot is her former best friend and love of her life, but...there was not a lot backing up the claim. I was hoping Dani would turn over a new leaf and pursue the relationship with Brad (and his adorable daughter.)

There were some dramatic scenes and some mystery and a demon...but, overall, I couldn't get fully invested in what was happening. The characters needed more development and the story to have less subplots.

2.5 stars

(2.5/5 stars) I genuinely wanted to like this book!! A heist? Magical realism? A romance? All the ingredients to be a slam dunk were there and yet... this book fell so flat for me. I couldn't get into it at all - I kept waiting for things to get exciting (which one would expect with an impossible heist) but alas! It took me DAYS to get through this, and I expected it to be an afternoon of "I can't put this down!" The chemistry just wasn't there for me between the characters, and the writing didn't excite me. I'm actually SAD that I didn't like this book!

Idk if it’s because I love heist stories, or because I love stories with people who possess different powers, or a combination of the two, but I enjoyed this book! Either not enough stories are written about heists or I’m just looking in the wrong place, but I was so excited to read this and am glad I did.

The best parts are obviously any moment with the MC’s dog, Sunflower. I love a pet that’s actively a character and not just “she had a dog.” I wish I had a dog LIKE Sunflower, or for the MC to teach me how to train my dog so well 😅. The bond between the MC and Sunflower is easily the best in the book.

The other relationships fell a little flat for me. I adored BFF Mia but that’s about it. There are two love interests and I can’t say I love where she ended up. I just didn’t. And her relationship with her mom was gross, honestly Dani just needs to go to therapy over that one.

Oh, and another bonus - there’s a character named Archer who, IMO, would be played perfectly by Tom Hiddleston, and that’s who was acting the part in my head 😂

If you like quirky heists and fun little magic books, I recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book started like so many others that I absolutely loved that it took only days to finish. But as k got further into the pages I found myself losing interest quickly. Not something I will recommend to everyone but I know there is a niche of people that will absolutely adore it.

2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this E-ARC. This book did not do it for me. I will say that this is one of the first books if not the first that I wanted the MFC to end up with someone else. I think the concept of the book was really good and interesting but I wanted more of it. What I though would be explored was just glossed over and I finished the book with just more questions that I had going in.

Dani has done her best to leave her fraudulent past behind, including turning in her convict mother. When Dani gets coerced into a new heist by her mother’s partner Archer, she wants to set things right. That includes reconnecting with her ex Elliot and old team to help pull it off. As Dani slowly uncovers the truth about her family’s magical past and more about the diabolical Archer the more she wants to end things once and for all.

A mix of heist, magic, and a little romance makes this an enjoyable read!

I really liked the way this one started, which is why I was so disappointed with the overall result... I wasn't familiar with the author prior to this book. I was drawn by the concept, which was cool and original - con men being one of my favorite plot devices - and the opening was strong and intriguing. Unfortunately, very quickly the book devolved into a messy aggregation of characters and stereotypes and a lot of meandering about that lost my attention and interest. It felt like the con man element and the family drama and the magic never really meshed together but were slapped one on top of the other in layers that never quite gelled. This one wasn't a good fit for me...

I don’t know what to rate this book. I’ve read another Gwenda Bond book, and felt much the same way about that one as I do this one. It wasn’t a bad book by any means. I enjoyed the banter between some of the characters; I thought Dani’s relationship with her dog, Sunflower, was the cutest thing in the entire world; and I’ve always loved heist books. But there was something about this book that also felt like I was constantly looking for just a little more, like I was just waiting for something else… and it never came.

Perhaps it was the villain, who is made to be “extremely evil” and scary with the worst of vibes, but we as readers never really see much beyond a bit of smoke and mirrors, and some tangential threats. You are meant to know as a reader that this man is a torturer of women, but as I moved through the book, I was largely ambivalent towards Archer, and the stakes he apparently set for the other characters. The other side villains felt like they existed solely for plot convenience, without any detail or depth to their depiction, and even characters like Dani’s mother and her other mother figure, Rabbit, felt like we were always just one step too far from truly knowing or understanding them.

Because of all of this, I found myself rather uninvested in the narrative as a whole. I was happy when Dani got her happy ending, but I didn’t really care in the way I do with novels that have better and deeper characterization. I read to the end, and I liked the way the book panned out, but I just didn’t care very much what happened to anyone. As such, I give this book 3⭐️

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I was excited for The Frame-Up because of the art heist element, but what I got was something I wasn't expecting. Honestly I'm not sure still a few weeks later if it was a good or bad unexpected. I enjoyed the heist elements to the story, but thought the magical and romantic elements fell short. It felt like Gwenda Bond wanted the magical elements to be a bigger part of the story, particularly given on specific painting, but I don't think it panned out well. Maybe it was because I wasn't expected magical elements in this story.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Dani Poissant is the daughter of the world’s most famous art thief who happens to be in jail because Dani turned her in. Now, ten years later, she is approached for a once-in-a-lifetime heist that can make up for her past mistakes and reunite herself with her mother’s old gang which includes the love of her life and her former best friend. Can she pull off the heist? Oh, did I mention that the secret to their success is magic?

Why We Liked it: The magical realism of this story set it apart from other art heist novels, but the magical mechanisms should have been more greatly explored in the story. The more interesting part was Dani’s journey of self-discovery and her realizations about her relationship with her mother.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I needed the world building to be better. I was so confused abt if the magic was real or not. But I liked the idea of the plot. But for a heist book, I’ve read better.

I loved the idea of a magical heist! I thought it was a fun book with just a hint of romance thrown in. Unfortunately it was really easy for me to put down and not want to pick back up. I would be willing to read more of Gwenda Bond's books in the future though!