The beautiful cover and the catchy title caught my eye.
I was expecting more of a regency spy mystery with a cute romance but it didn't really materialise. There are shades of My Fair Lady but I couldn't quite believe she was being made to learn the piano in order to pass herself off as accomplished at tonnish events.
All she had to do was steal a few papers I couldn't believe that the Home Office couldn't have dealt with that themselves without bringing in a criminal to help them. Everything she goes to do is accomplished straight away and she has no trouble stealing, making a mould of a key and replacing said key around the duke's neck all without him noticing. This just made him look dumb and not much of a villain to worry about.
I've seen a few reviewers complain that Della uses the F word a lot and that it wasn't used back then. It has actually been around for centuries and came into common usage in the 18th and 19th centuries.
I however, winced at the use of fall instead of autumn.
There are scenes upon scenes of sex so if you are into that you will be happy. Maybe a naked character on the front of the novel would give readers a better idea of what to expect.
The final few chapters where there is a lot of tense drama and action saved the blah storyline but I was still glad to see the end of this book.

A humble orphan forced to live on the streets pick-pocketing in Victorian England meets the Earl of Bradford when she, Della Rose tries to steal his watch. He immediately sees more in her and eventually enlists her help in a covert operation to expose a traitor to the crown. This is wonderful plot that was enticingly written. It is part spy novel, part My Fair Lady where the Earl is Della's tutor and a wonderful rags to riches story. I thoroughly enjoyed Della's success in winning over all those who met her because it was the first time in her life that she was valued for herself and supported and loved. It was unputdownable until a certain part where it slightly went off the rails.

This novel could be a top ten best seller and appeal to fans of Downtown Abbey, if the author didn't stoop to inserting chapter after chapter of endless sex scenes complete with heated loin references and seemly unending references to the Earl's amber eyes. The extremely graphic sex scenes were too much and they really cheapened the story with no real gain. It almost seemed like two novels: a historical fiction and a bodice ripper. A little heat between the Earl and Della was fine, but several chapters was way too much. It was a chore to get through and delayed the plot twist which was written so well. Their budding romance of intellectual equals was enjoyable to read. A bit of back story into why the Earl chose to be a spy and how his Dad got involved with spying could have replaced the sex chapters.

All in all I enjoyed Della and the Earl's story and it could have been a 5-star book with the the sex toned down. The book still held my interest and I am glad I read it.

Funny, romantic, full of action and passion with a bit of spice.
Follows Della Rose, an orphan who has developed into an artful pickpocket in Victorian London.
She gets more than she bargained for when she try’s to steal from Cole Winthrop aka Lord Bradford.
He has a proposition, he’s in need of a thief and is willing to pay £10,000 for her to retrieve important personal documents, the only problem is she needs to charm the letcherous Duke of Salisbury to get to the documents
As the plan starts firming up, Cole & Della realise they are are falling for each other, but must remain focussed on the task at hand fo they want to succceed.
Loved Della as a strong female character, with her love of books.
Perfect for any Bridgerton fan with an Oliver Twist vibe about it.
Thanks @allisongrey, @stormbooks_co & @netgalley for the chance to read

"For ten thousand pounds, I'd pretend to be Queen bloody Victoria herself,"


Thank you Netgalley and Storm publishing for giving me this book to read as an eARC!
The Lady Thief of Belgravia is released Jan. 18,2024 and you absolutely do not want to miss it!


Della Rose comes from nothing. Living her days away hiding in a brothel, she does whatever she can to get herself through the hardships of living in London, 1879. Before she could stop it, she built herself a reputation for picking pockets and her reputation serves right- she was very good.
Until one day, she picks the pocket of the wrong man- Cole Winthrop.
When he catches her stealing his watch, he strikes a deal - he wouldn't report her or the suspicious brothel she lives in as long as she aids him in a task.
He only requires a simple task- Della must steal some papers from the higher-ups, and he's willing to pay her ten thousand pounds. What's a girl going to do but agree to the offer?
Soon, Della Rose of Nothing finds herself thrown into a world of high class society, balls, gowns, and corruption. And in the midst of it, Cole Winthrop shines and radiates the warmest glow of comfort. So what happens when this robbery becomes full-strings attached?


Thank you again NetGalley and Storm publishing for the eARC! I really enjoyed this book. It did take me a second to get into it, but in the end, it really pulled through!
Della and Cole took a hot minute to grow on me, but now I can't stop thinking about them! I loved the development of Della's character- from the pickpocketing thief who doesn't trust a person within an inch of her life- to....still Della Rose. The same girl, except now she knows more than starving and picking pockets and hiding in the shadows. She learned to grow to love and allow herself to be loved. The way romance to her was heavily altered after living in the brothel was a big part of her character. The way it was nicely worked through and the clear way Della slowly learned NEW ways of love through Cole was....oh it was so yummy.
I loved the Victorian setting- I loved the high society aspect of it and the Undercover Spy tropes!!!
Cole Winthrop is SWOON WORTHY. SWOON. WORTHY!!!
This book simply wowed me away. My favourite favourite part had to be the visuals- the way Allison Grey can so perfectly capture the setting from dark alleyways to ball rooms and mansions, I can see every inch of it so vividly. While I do love characters, I love imagery and good settings even more and Allison Grey DELIVERED.
I also really enjoyed the high stakes of some of these events. I liked the politics and how well the habits and expectations of this era were captured! From the corruption to the dirty politic play and questionable men, I was so perfectly thrown into London 1879, I couldn't have asked for anything better.

The Lady Thief of Belgravia is out January 18, 2024, and you should absolutely give it a shot! From the plot to setting to characters, this book cannot be put down. Not to mention, Cole and Della's romance is SO good, it had me giggling and squealing and shrieking like a child all over again.

Allison Grey you have my UNDYING loyalty.

3.5 Stars
London, 1879. Della Rose learned her trade as a pickpocket on the streets of the notorious Seven Dials. But when the handsome Cole Winthrop, Earl of Bradford & kept my interest. offers her a huge sum of money to steal from his arch nemesis, the nefarious Duke of Salisbury, it seems Della’s days of deceit and thievery could soon be behind her. To do the job she must go undercover as a member of high society, learning to walk, talk, ride and flirt like a lady.
As an undeniable attraction grows between Della & Cole. Succeeding in her mission could be her ticket to a new life.
I believe a debut novel for the author & I enjoyed the book & look forward to reading more from the author as she hones her craft. The characters had some depth but I felt it was a bit superficial & I didn’t really get to know them. The pace was good & the story flowed well. There were historical inaccuracies & sometimes I felt it was more Regency than Victorian. Overall an interesting & entertaining debut
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Overall, this was an enchanting and enjoyable read - the author did a great job at illustrating the setting and the main character’s wit and charm made her super relatable.

This was such an interesting read, the cover made me feel like we were in for a full-on historical romance, but this has such an amazing twist. We knew there was a thief, but the assignment was astronomical and I adored this book. It kept me on my toes, as Della kept Cole on his. This was a fun quick read and I will look forward to what Grey does next.

How fascinating when in historical romances the protagonist breaks out of the mold, but even more so when she is a thief!

The Lady Thies of Belgravia is a beautiful story where we find some characters out of series, on the one hand we have Della Rose a masterful street thief who makes a living by lightening the pockets of the unwitting donors she meets on the street and on the other hand, we have Cole Winthrop, an aristocrat who in the eyes of the nobility performs the noble profession, we have Cole Winthrop, an aristocrat who in the eyes of the nobility performs the noble office of being a "scalp" (difficult jobs at this level) but on the other dark side of the coin is a spy who is after the clues of some documents stolen by a high aristocrat who is suspected of committing treason.

Well, I think I've already summarized the characters, now the plot, I can't because I can easily drop some spoiler than the ones above, but let me tell you that the synopsis is very revealing, I would suggest to go more blind to have more excitement in the first pages, but what I can tell you are my opinions about it.

To begin with I liked the tug of war between the characters, I found it most amusing to see that despite the changes to which Della is subjected in order to fit into the role of aristocrat and be able to enter the ballrooms and fleece the aristocrat traitor, she does not leave aside her suspicious and thieving nature and goes stealing valuables every now and then; I have come across some books in which they tend to forget what the nature of her character is and it doesn't fit with her supposed personality, that's why I liked that here she was so faithful.

Della's lack of decorum shown in the story has been fascinating, I always love it when protagonists in this genre break the rules, but when they don't have a single appreciation or first thought of them it fills me with great glee.

In case you haven't noticed, I loved Della much more than Cole, but I just enjoyed her character.

There were a few things that shocked me, but I still recommend it, I think it was a good story for those looking to get into the historical romance genre and have a season in London.

Thank you for this ARC, it has been a beautiful adventure.

#TheLadyThiefofBelgravia #NetGalley.

Unfortunately I didn't particularly enjoy The Lady Theif of Belgravia. I found it quite long and drawn out and was a bit underwhelmed by the climax. It's a shame because I thought I'd really enjoy it. Della and Cole were likeable characters though and I did enjoy their chemistry but it wasn't enough to save the story for me.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Two and Half stars for this book.
This is a Victorian romance with a sprinkling of mystery and intrigue/ thieving And a bit of spice.

I thought there would be a bit more action given the title, but enjoyed the book nonetheless.

A lot of the book focuses on Della Rose learning how to be a lady of the ton. In a Pygmalion situation except Della is under no illusion as to her role, to infiltrate the Duke of Salisbury inner circle and steal items per her agreement with Cole.
It was sweet and frustrating at times seeing the romance grow between Della and Cole. Both stubborn Individuals set in their ways not wanting to change their minds.
Naturally their chemistry and passion was hard to ignore!

I would say a bit more fact checking on customs and the Victorian period could have been done to ensure accuracy.

This book is a charming but imperfect Victorian romance with opposites attract/different world main characters. It's like if someone took a spy movie and crossed it with My Fair Lady, with our pickpocket heroine and our too kind too decent too noble hero. That's not a criticism! I always like a hero who is a decent human being, and too often we get rakes or stiffs in Regency and Victorian romances. Cole is charming and wonderful, Della is sharp and protective. Of course they fall in love. I enjoyed this and wouldn't have minded it becoming a series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This book is heavily into the my fair Lady vibe but with spy/undercover tones. This is focused more on the romance side than mystery/spy side which was basically no mystery as the villain is known as it's all about the theft. The only failure for me was how they were going to be together at the end. This outcome was unrealistic for the era. 3.5 stars. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The premise of this book was enticing, and I enjoy regency romance novels, so I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. As far as the storyline goes, there were too many plot holes and instances where it was just unbelievable. The tasks they had to complete in order to do the job the Earl hired the pickpocket for would have been extremely difficult, but they had no resistance whatsoever and seemed to just move through each step as if it was super easy. She even seemed to learn the piano in a matter of a few weeks enough to play a song at a dinner party. As someone who played piano for 7 years I can assure you that this would be almost impossible. There were definitely exciting parts and enough of a story to keep you interested, but it just wasn’t believable to me.
The romance also fell flat for me, and I couldn’t really understand what either person saw in each other. They didn’t even have many conversations or moments when it felt like they connected. There was too much emphasis on their physical connection and nothing else. I also do not understand how the fact that he is an earl and she is a thief who grew up in a rookery isn’t a bigger part of the plot and was seemingly easy to overlook. In every other regency romance I’ve read, crossing classes is basically impossible unless the characters are able to lie or move away.

All in all, there was a lot of questionable things that made it just an ok read for me.


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

I really wanted to like this, it had so much promise but unfortunately fell flat for me.

From the cover and the blurb I did not expect this book to be filled to the brim with raunchy smut, I am not against spice and I have read plenty of books with spice but this was totally over the top especially when there's nothing that alludes to it going in.

I was expecting more of the mystery and thieving aspect but it was fairly minimal and not very exciting. It felt like there was bare minimum plot thrown in so that the whole thing wasn't just about lusting and f*cking.

I wouldn't say the book is bad, just not at all what I was expecting or what it was described as. If you're looking for a light, spicy historical romance then this will probably be just right for you but it wasn't for me

I enjoyed this story although I feel it would've benefitted from a bit more background about Della and Col. the storyline was good and entertaining, the sex scenes were plentyful!! overall I enjoyed this and would read more from this author. thanks Netgalley x

For fans of Bridgerton! The synopsis of the book drew me in and I devoured this in one sitting. The spice and sass were definitely my cup of tea. I mean, yes it was predictable but the journey to the ending of the book was definitely worth while to read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Allison Grey for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Lady Thief of Belgravia coming out January 18, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the set up was interesting. It had some mystery and action. The writing was a little modern, but it worked for me. There were a couple surprises. I wasn’t expecting spice and instalove. I thought it was borderline unprofessional of Cole since there was also the work aspect of it. He was her employer in a way. I don’t want to give anything away, but I thought a few of the circumstances could’ve been changed to make it better. But overall I enjoyed Cole and Della. I thought they were strong characters. I definitely want to check out more books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance!

In a Nutshell: Doesn't deliver what the title and the blurb promise. Focuses more on the 'stirrings in the stomach' than on the workings of the mind. Very disappointed because I hope for far better from the premise.

Story Synopsis:
1879. Della is a twenty-four year old pickpocket, and quite good at her job in the notorious Seven Dials area of London. Imagine her surprise when the Earl of Bradford hires her for a special task: she needs to steal back some very important documents from the evil Duke of Salisbury. Della doesn't work for anyone, but at the high reward he offers, she can't refuse. Now with the help of the Earl, whose name is Cole, Della needs to train herself to become a high-society lady so that she can get her work done quickly and earn enough to get out of Seven Dials.
The story comes to us through the limited third person perspective of Della and Cole.


Bookish Yays:
🍓 A pretty cover and an attention-grabbing title.
🍓 A narrative voice for both Cole and Della – a rare occurrence in this genre for the male lead to get his thoughts on paper. (Never mind that his thoughts were almost the same as Della’s!)
🍓 Never heard of a place called Seven Dials in historical London, so I learned something new. (I also learned that one can wiggle one’s backside even in a bustle gown. Who knew! What will I do with this knowledge? No idea!)

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🍍 The actual “heist”, if I can call it that, is decently executed. (This was the only thing that saved the book from getting a one star rating.) But this comes too late in the story. Moreover, every heist story has to have something going majorly wrong. This one was too smooth to be fun.
🍍 A couple of the secondary characters from Seven Dials – I’d have loved to know them better.

Bookish Nays:
🌶 The character development is almost non-existent. Della and Cole meet within the first few pages of the book, so we get their backstory only in bits and pieces through their conversations. The Duke was so idiotic that I failed to understand how Britain’s best spies also had failed to recover the stolen property from that nincompoop. The overall effect is very flat.
🌶 All the steamy stuff - aargh! I expected ‘My Fair Lady’ combined with a daring heist plan. What I didn't realise was that the focus of the writing would be more on the intense physical attraction that Della and Cole feel for each other. Every single scene with the two of them contains at least one instance of stirrings or feelings or some other kind of physical palpitations, no matter whether they were alone or with anyone else, whether they were talking or quiet, whether they were dancing or horse-riding… heck, even during the heist, their libido isn’t in control. It was over the top and cringeworthy. I am no prude, but there has to be a way in which lascivious scenes/thoughts are incorporated into the plot smoothly. You can’t shove them into every single scene!
🌶 Anachronisms in the writing, especially but not only in the conversations. Imagine someone saying “plant a bomb” in 1879 – Sheesh! Moreover, Cole promises Della 10000 pounds if she completes her assignment. Really? In ‘Pride & Prejudice’, written just seven decades before this story is set, Darcy’s annual income of 10000 pounds makes him the richest man around for miles. Was inflation so much that by 1879, earls had 10000 pounds – worth almost 15 million pounds today – to spare as reward money, no matter how valuable the item? Also, the use of the F word (even by the Earl, not just by Della) – a nope for the periodic setting.
🌶 Too many illogical occurrences! (I know romance is not to be read with logic, but this book isn't a plain romance, so heck yeah, I'm using my logic!) Cole hires Della as a last resort and takes her to his mansion on the very day they meet, saying that “time is of the essence” as the job needs to be completed urgently. And then he plans to invest a few weeks in training her to become a proper lady, with horse riding, lessons, piano lessons, social behaviour training, language polishing, and what not! Then the plan is for her to meet the Duke and woo him into trusting her enough so that she can carry out the job. I fail to see how any of this can be called “urgent.”
🌶 Della’s makeover itself is fraught with goofs. She isn’t taught art, but is trained to play the piano, apparently because the piano can be learned well enough within a few weeks to impress the high society snobs. Seriously? The piano is easier to master than painting? Has any musical novice attempted playing dual-clef classical sheet music within that tiny time frame? Moreover, Della’s accent keeps changing even before her training. She pronounces or skips the final ‘-ing’ as per her convenience, no consistency at all. It was also very convenient that Della had access to the “classics” and loved books that most of us today would yawn at. (Books by Homer, Plato and their ilk.) Not once did Della struggle to adapt to the drastic change in her life, which made the whole thing even more unreal.
🌶 The ‘relationship” – An Earl lusting after a beautiful thief? Definitely possible. An Earl pursuing a serious relationship without a single thought about society or scandal and not a tinge of regret or doubt, not even once dwelling on the what-ifs? Unlikely. And not a single person throwing looks of derision at their union? Impossible. Nothing about their relationship felt rational.

I never pick up steamy romances, and this book isn’t indicated as such anywhere. (I don’t think “sparkling romance”, as used in the blurb, indicates “steamy” or “spicy”.) To any reader who enjoys raunchy love stories, this book might work better. But I just kept rolling my eyes and almost fractured them in the process.

Then again, the “steam” isn’t the only reason I am steaming right now. There was so much potential in the base premise, but the execution needs a whole lot of developmental editing to make sense. Della was a strong character, so it is sad that her character wasn’t allowed to shine on her own merits.

Apologies to the team behind the book, but It’s a no from me. I hate being so harsh on an ARC, especially when it is a debut work, but I struggled with this read all the way, and found barely anything to justify my efforts. This might work better for regency romance lovers looking for a smutty romance story and not for a historical heist novel. Maybe its marketing ought to be changed as the current blurb doesn't give a true idea of the content.

1.5 stars.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Lady Thief of Belgravia”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

Della Rose a pickpocket from seven dials steals a pocket watch from a gentlemen, little did she know that one action would lead to her embarking on a secret mission and falling head over heels for the man she’s helping.

The romance in this book was absolutely spot on what I needed, I felt like I was in a bit of a slump after my last book and this was the pick me up I so desperately needed. It is a slow burn, full of steam mixed in with secret agents.

It almost had an Oliver Twist meets Bridgerton vibes and I was here for it.

It was really fast paced, even though the chapters were quite long they didn’t feel like it.

I really hope I get the opportunity to read from this author again in the future.

Yet another book whose content is seriously misrepresented by the publishers summary. Sigh.

I was excited to read this, as a female Victorian thief getting mixed up in some light spy craft sounds like a great premise for a novel. I was expecting a sort of adventurous period piece crossed with a RomCom.

Alas, there’s very little actual thieving and adventure in this one, and the tone is largely dominated by lengthy, cringey, and very open door smutty romance.

I have no issue with a genre like this existing for those who enjoy it or with the inclusion of the occasional open door sex scene being present in books that occupy other genres. But I don’t like being misled, and it’s especially disappointing because the concept here (or at least the alleged concept according to the publishers summary) was a good one. I love the idea of a clever, light historical heist novel with a cute love story on the side.

But what happened here wasn’t that. We don’t ever really here how the protagonist plies her trade. The actual theft at the center of the novel feels like an afterthought in the end. And the schlocky romance that takes over the story seriously damaged the quality of what could have been a fun read.