A heist story with a crew that has magical abilities, what a great mashup of genres! Dani Poissant has been working cons since the fateful night she turned her mother, the infamous Maria Poissant, art thief extraordinaire, in to the FBI. She left home shortly after and has regretted it ever since. When a mysterious stranger shows up with the promise of reuniting Dani with her mother and her old crew if she’ll steal a painting for him, Dani is torn. She longs to go home. But the painting she is supposed to steal is locked in a super-secret collection that is better locked down than Fort Knox. And she’s not sure she trusts this stranger.
Gwenda Bond had me hooked from the start. I love heist stories. From assembling the crew to working out the weaknesses in security, to the inevitable twist, this story had the beats of the genre down pat, but added a fun new dimension by giving most of the crew magical powers. They were just enough to keep the story interesting, elevating the usual hijinx.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a chance to read an advance review copy.

Surprisingly this is my first Gwenda Bond read. Who doesn't love a heist novel??? I enjoyed the magical twist to the narrative. If I had one criticism, it felt like the writing and pacing lagged a bit in the middle for me but overall a fun read.

Starting out the book had GREAT set up, but the execution was just flat. I had a hard time keeping my attention.

I really liked this magical romance/thriller about a group of art thieves. After growing up with a notorious thief as her mother, Dani uses her magic for good, she’s an expert forger who helps people get what they’re owed. When a mysterious man from her past named Archer appears, she’s skeptical about his motives.
When Dani was a teenager, she misguidedly turned her mother and her crew into the FBI. Now her mother is in prison and they’re estranged. Archer wants her to steal a certain painting in a collection housed in “the fortress”. In exchange, he’ll reconcile her and her mother.
The Fortress is basically impossible to steal from, and Dani gets the old crew back together to do the job, including her first love, Elliot. When she gets in as a security consultant, she sees the painting and immediately knows something is off. It seems almost alive?
A fast moving plot and quirky characters make this worth reading, 4.5 stars.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I went into this story intrigued by the concept of a female con artist with magic powers, but unfortunately I think the problem with this story is that it was trying to be too many things at once.

I think this story has so much potential to be really good, but in my opinion the story does not need a romance. Just focus on the found family and her pulling of the biggest con of her life.

The romance needed a little more focus for us as readers to become invested. We barely got much interaction between Dani and Elliot, and then there was a love triangle that didn't even feel like one other than the fact that Elliot was so jealous.

I love Romance but this is one I could not get on board with. I think if you take all that out add some more world building and make it a little longer, it would have been a really interesting story.

I loved the found family and Sunflower and finding out more about the mother and Dani's history.

Thank you Netgalley for approving this Arc, in exchange these are my honest thoughts on this book.

A unique story line with a cast of characters that fit a magic filled art heist. Gwenda Bond set up a drama accented by some fun events and snarky word play. Enjoyable and entertaining. If you are looking for a light hearted "different" story, try this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

Who doesn’t love a heist? This was a fun read. Magic being part of the plot was a little off putting at first, but it worked out to serve the story decently. Of course, the real thief was Sunflower, who stole the show. The love between Dani and her dog was so relatable to any dog mom. I would have loved to have seen more between Dani and Elliot. Even the back story was limited, so there wasn’t really any real chemistry on page for me. It would have been more interesting for me if there wasn’t the love triangle trope and instead more development between them finding their way back to each other.

🖼️Book Review🖼️
The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond
Publication Date: 02/13/2024
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was my first fantasy read in several years, and the book was good. I will definitely reread in the future, and I guarantee my rating will go up.

The Frame-Up features a world where magic is a secret, and most use their magic to run con jobs. Danielle “Dani” Poissant was once part of this life, until she was convinced to turn in her mother to the FBI ten years ago. She’s pulled back into that world after a visit from a man named Archer, who asks her to steal a painting of himself, offering a reunion with her mother. The catch: Dani and their old team only have a little over a week to pull off the heist.

As the deadline inches closer, twists and turns appear from thin air with a dramatic ending with possible hints of a sequel if not a series (here’s hoping)!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Gwenda Bond, and @NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️
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The Frame Up follows a group of art thieves who get involved with the wrong job.

Dani Poissant is the daughter of one of the most famous art thieves, and Dani was her accomplice until she got locked up. Dani left that life behind her until a former acquaintance of her mother's makes her an offer she can't refuse. Now, she has no choice but to call on the only people she thinks she can trust, but they don't trust her. Oh, and there's also a bit of a twist, they will use their magical powers to pull it off.

Am I artistic in the least bit? No.
Do I regularly read about heists? Also no.
But did I enjoy both of those aspects of this book? Absolutely!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. There were so many unexpected twists, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I loved the characters, specifically Brad, Emma and Mia. And Dani is an absolute badass.

One thing that fell short to me was the details. I found myself being overwhelmed and confused by the details given, like maybe there wasn't enough context, or whatever detail was mentioned hadn't been mentioned for a long period so I forgot the context of it.

The romance is definitely PG, so if you're looking for a book for a romance for young adults or teens, this would be perfect. The romance aspect is usually my favorite part, but it was a little weak here.

Overall, I did enjoy this as a fun fantasy-esque read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Gwenda Bond, and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

#TheFrameUp:⁣
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Thank you so much @delreybooks and @prhaudio partner for my gifted copies!⁣
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The Frame-Up is my third Gwenda Bond book, and definitely was fun. I loved the idea of a grand heist, but make it ✨magic ✨. Dani was a really fun character and I loved getting to know her (but let’s be honest I just wanted to give Sunflower, the dog, the biggest boops) ⁣
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I definitely feel like we could have shaved about 100 pages off. The middle lulled in the “getting ready” for the heist. There are things we needed to know to get ready, but it could have been more of a checklist then just going through 4-2 days out. I liked the prep work, but do think it could have been condensed. ⁣
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The audio was wonderful! Shannon McManus is such a wonderful reader and definitely got me through the book. I loved how they were able to add the snark from Dani in such an effortless way.⁣
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Overall, a middle of the road read for me. I can’t wait to see what Gwenda Bond conjures up next! The Frame-Up is out today, 2/13! ⁣
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QOTD: Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. If you could be gifted one gift (material or not) what would it be and why is it bookish?

When I first read the premise of this book I was intrigued and excited. I can't tell you how much I love any plot where a heist is involved. The planning, the getting the gang together, and then pulling it off will legitimately never get old for me. Add in the fact that it's an art heist and I couldn't contain my excitement. I think, in the end, I hyped myself up too much and was a little let down.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a fun adventure-filled magical heist with some romance thrown in but it ended up being quite a bit heavier than anticipated and just wasn't what I was expecting. There were a lot of different plot lines that got a little confusing and there were mysteries and layers to the story that felt distracting instead of necessary to the story.

Overall, I had a good time reading this, it just wasn't my personal favorite since I was expecting something else from the description.

I love a good heist with romance. The story was entertaining, at times I was too overwhelmed with the characters, there were many characters being introduced or having their own story.

2.5 rounded up

A wonderful idea, heist combined with magic... unfortunately the execution perhaps needed a couple more drafts. The magic element did not seem well thought out, and the characters were rather one-dimensional, which made the pace drag for a reader, such as me, who likes character-driven narrative. A heist story ought to crackle along at high intensity--but that's if we are immersed in the characters and rooting for their success. Perhaps other readers will love it, but I had trouble finishing it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an electronic ARC for me to review.

The premise for this book sounded wonderful on paper! Magic, familiar connection, a heist… however it never seemed to keep my attention for too long and I didn’t feel any attachment to the plot or the characters. The writing felt a little stilted and the picture didn’t get of the page, but I can see how this would be a fun read for others. I’m glad to have read it and expired the story once, but this wouldn’t be a book I would reach for again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an e-ARC of The Frame-Up in exchange for an honest review!

The Frame-Up has a great premise, but the characters unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. The story's pacing also felt slightly off, moving too quickly at the beginning and then slowing down throughout the book, which put me in a bit of a slump while reading. That said, I enjoyed the plot and thought the magic element was an interesting addition to a classic heist story!

Overall, a decent heist novel. Dani Poissant had been part of an Art heist crew run by her mother. All of the members of the crew had some sort of magical powers. Dani’s power was the ability to paint forgeries that could not be detected. At seventeen, she helped the FBI capture her mother and she has been on her own for ten years. She is approached by the mysterious Archer, to commit one more heist with a promise to get her mother, and old life back. Archer ensures that she is put in charge of security for the collection that has the painting he wants stolen. Dani needs to get the old crew back together to pull off the heist, but they are still holding a grudge. The heist part of this book worked for me. What didn’t work was the love triangle between Dani and Elliot, the ex that abandoned her, and Brad the wealthy owner of the art collection. If you enjoy a fun heist novel, you will enjoy this, but if you are looking for a good romance, you may be disappointed. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Dani Poissant's mother is the world's most famous art thief, using magic to get the job done. As a teen, Dani turned her mother over to the FBI. Now an adult, Dani is approached for a job only her mother and the rest of the crew could pull off, and she hopes this can help her reconcile with her mother and the rest of the old gang. Even with magic, it's an impossible heist, especially when she's given just a week to do it and more stakes than she ever knew.

Magic in this world is the subtle, manipulative kind. Dani's mother Maria could persuade anyone to do what she wanted, and Dani can paint anything that she sees and convince people it's the original if she has the same age material to work with. Ten years after turning in her mother, Dani still churns with guilt over turning in her mother to the FBI. The crew she ran with had been like family and froze her out, so it takes Maria's work to get them to help Dani. Maria wants the job to go through, as her benefactor Archer wanted a particular painting stolen. He can't touch it directly, Maria is in prison, so Dani will have to do. The short timeline has many complications, and Dani learns exactly what is at stake and why the painting is so important.

I enjoyed the touch of the supernatural in the heist story, as well as glimmers of second-chance romance and a found family coming back together. I liked Dani and her wonderful dog Sunflower, and cheered on her successes over the course of the novel. It was such a fun book, I had to keep going to find out what happened next.

I guess the thing that bothered me about this book is that it felt superficial. I do think the magic aspect of it came out of left field, maybe. I don't know. I just didn't blow me away.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dani is the daughter of a famous thief assistant. She is talented her self in the art of con. She has magic, a thing outlawed, and she uses it to aid in her missions. She meets Archer, who wants her to steal a portrait. But this mission may be more than she bargained for.

The concept for this story was so unique that I had to have it. There’s magic and thievery mixed together. Unfortunately it fell flat. The story itself wasn’t bad, but the magical element that’s proposed was not really explained well. And if you’re expecting romance, as the book suggests, there’s was just odd and lacking.

All in all, I did enjoy what was trying to be proposed as the story.

This was the first book I've read by this author. I read the synopsis and it sounded like a fun mystery. Unfortunately, I was not hooked. The writing seemed awkward for me, the character development was off, but I did like the plot. If it weren't for the fact that I make it a point to finish the ARCs I receive, I likely would have DNF'd this early on. I finished it, and I appreciate the originality of the plot, but there's a lot that could have been fine-tuned in this one. Because of the poor star rating this is receiving from me, I will likely not post this on my Bookstagram page for the sake of the book and the author.