My thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press JY for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Ok, from the cover, when I opened this up, I was expecting a manga. I was a little disappointed when I saw that it was a light novel, but I was willing to give it a go.

JY is Yen Press's middle grade line, and it shows. This would have been my cuppa when I was younger, but now? It's too juvenile and old, tired storyline attempted to be made fresh and new. It IS new to newer readers, but I am an old and relatively seasoned reader, so this was just boring for me. I DNF'd at 57% because I just didn't care enough to read the rest.

Please note that it isn't bad and it does have good themes of not making assumptions about others and getting to know them before being judgmental about them, with a clear line being drawn between good and bad, but it just stretches credulity with how it tells the story.

Recommended for middle readers who enjoy manga and anime, though please note, the "dead mother" trope is used in this, for BOTH of the MCs who are cousins. Also, while they steal from the bad guys who have stolen from innocent people with the intent to give it back to the innocent victims, the MCs are still stealing. And they are 13 years old, being encouraged and trained by their fathers. So I would recommend an adult who knows the middle reader vet this book before letting them read it.

2, it didn't work for me but it is somewhat cute and one I would recommend with some caveats, stars.

4 stars
I love when novels have illustrations and this book was definitely a fun enjoyable read. Kind of a slow start but definitely gets interesting fast and easy read too!

An exciting middle grade story about a new Phantom Thief Red in town whose first task is to steal a rare billion yen Green Sea gem.

The first half of this light novel goes slow and seems somewhat underwhelming. However, that’s mainly because the light novel is setting the stage. It’s not overly descriptive or developed but enough to understand the characters, circumstances and their world. This it’s achieved mainly by the characters’ conversations and the occasional explanations by Asuka, given the story is told from her point of view.

The second half of this story is really well written and much more exciting. It’s probably because our main character’s are performing the heist, but the writing has a good balance of descriptions, action and emotions. Through the many twists and turns, it’s obvious that our characters, although strong and intelligent, will still have their fair share of hurdles and mistakes. I liked how this was portrayed because it was aligned with their personalities and gave them an opportunity to grow.

The characters’ personalities are very unique and can be somewhat confusing. They are a common duo where one is physically strong yet emotionally driven, and the other is mentally intelligent yet dense when it comes to understanding emotions. At first they don’t seem to be a good match however, as the story progresses it’s evident that they both not only care for each other but have compatible skills.

Volume one is sprinkled with artwork throughout. Similar to the cover, the inner artwork is just as detailed. In the eBook ARC version I read, the images felt digitally drawn with a lot of details, yet they were greyscale. I liked how each image was a different size and didn’t always fit into a square panel, as well as depicted not just action scenes but emotional ones too.

Overall, I enjoyed this light novel. It was fun to read something that didn’t have any complex topics. If you’re not a fan of unrealistic skills, abilities or somewhat rude or loud characters, then I’d recommend giving it a chance still. I think the characters are absolutely lovely and the story is very simple yet engaging. Definitely one I’ll be continuing in the near future.

Thank you Yen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this light novel, in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun and cool eye catching cover!

I love getting introduced to book characters, before the story starts, with their names and faces! Not only those faces ;) but all the illustrations in this book are really well done, cool and cute!

Asuka is a 12 year old girl who is enjoying spring vacation by just hanging around and reading lots of Manga. But then her dad suddenly wants to talk to her about something important and her life drastically changes!

She’s supposed to become Phantom Thief Red, together with her estranged cousin Kei who she has a hard time figuring out and getting along with. And they have to share a room!

I thought it was really funny, when she heard from her adult father (with no fashion sense), that he and his brother were Phantom Thief Red.

I do feel like I still don’t really get Asuka’s cousin Kei, but I have a feeling that might change in the next novel(s).

The first part of this novel was a bit slower but in a good way and it felt like the perfect run-up to the fast paced, action packed adventure that came after. That part didn’t always feel like the most believable story but I enjoyed it anyway. And what a great heartwarming side quest!

Overall this was an enjoyable read that had many different sides to it.

“In our family, it’s tradition to become a phantom thief upon turning thirteen.” These words from Asuka and Kei’s father forever change their lives.

Great art and great writing.

A middle grade light novel? Hell yeah! This was a nice novel with some good writing chops from Shin Akigi. However it does take awhile to really get going but it all builds to an amazing second half.
The first half can lose a lot of people with some very low stakes. I get they’re middle schoolers but the stakes are pretty low for a large chunk of the book. I can see a middle schooler easily getting bored and dropping this. I definitely know sometimes I was looking forward to the nearly every chapter LN images rather than the story itself before it began to pick up. Compared to the amazing heist-filled second half the first half lags with odd choices like the cat chasing mission. It could've something more related to phantom thieving like being on the prowl for a pickpocketer and secretly stealing back the wallet or whatever was stolen. That way it would keep the low-stakes but be related more. But the first half does serve an important role in building the character dynamics. Sadly though the character dynamics in the first half are pretty awkward. It's only after the growth from the halfway point and on that I enjoyed seeing the two MCs interact.
Additionally, if you not a fan of unrealistic abilities do not read. The duo dynamic of a smart person and a strong person is done well here. But it is done in the extremes with the strong one being a middle schooler that is able to scale multiple story buildings and jump from five story buildings fine and the smart one being a middle schooler who co-authors physics papers. Just a bit out there lol. I get they wanted to make it clear but I might've appreciated if it was a bit more toned down considering the more grounded storytelling and pacing of most of the LN.
But this gets saved in the second half where the heist stuff gets to really shine. The insane power of the MCs feel less over the top in this portion. Their dynamic gets much better as well as each go into a serious mode and work better together while having the fun opposing personalities. The heist itself is interesting as well with complexity, especially compared to chasing cats practice, and fun ingenuity as they adapt on the fly in interesting and fun ways. It made me wish there was more time spent on the heist with less lead-up.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

A nice middle grade light novel, cute and easy to read with some cute illustrations.

Rating 4 stars