Thoroughly enjoyed this book - I've seen it reviewed elsewhere as a cross between Bridgerton, James Bond and My Fair Lady, and I agree (though actually re the Bridgerton ref, this is set in the 1870s rather than Regency; though it has the same light, fun feel). Fabulous characters, a galloping plot, and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Solid five stars from me.

From the book title I was expecting more of a mystery than a regency romance. I really enjoyed the book but found there were too many bedroom scenes for me. The book started off quite slow but the pace picked up. I really enjoyed the plot and character development but I would have liked more details about the heist. I don't mind spice in a book but I wasn't expecting it from the blurb.

If you're looking for something light and fun, then this will be a quick read. I'm looking forward to see what Allison Grey brings out in the future.

3.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Overall, I thought that the plot of The Lady Thief of Belgravia was rather fun and easy to read, but I was a little underwhelmed at certain parts of the book. I think my favourite part of the book was Della Rose and her charming personality. I liked how she was a strong female character and did not let anyone hold her back. But I expected to know more about her instead of her budding romance (even though I know this is ultimately a romance novel) I guess I was looking forward to get to know Della Rose as the protagonist more, and I was a little disapointed at how predictable the ending was. Nevertheless, a fun read!

Never judge a book by its cover. Well I did and this cover led me to expect a Regency type romance with maybe some mystery thrown in, and perhaps a little bit of originality since the Lady is a thief. My bad.

I did get some of that but the whole thing was very heavy on the romance which led very quickly to a succession of long bedroom scenes which were not really very interesting. I also spent a lot of my reading time wondering how on earth the author was going to reconcile the two characters according to the rules of society in London 1879. The answer was unrealistically.

Not a bad book but not really my cup of tea.

This was really fun! I loved the headstrong main character and her development over the story! The premise is also so fun, I would love to see more of this by the author.

I was excited to read a twist on “My Fair Lady.” I always seem to enjoy a strong woman who has received a bad lot in life get elevated in society by a ‘prince charming.’ I, also, love a good historical mystery! This book had all of these.

My biggest issue is that I felt like neither main character was developed enough for me to really get involved with the story. I have to say the majority of the plot seemed to be just about getting to the spicy scenes and a bit of banter and how good Della was at everything thrown in between.

All in all it wasn’t up my alley, but for those who love a rags to riches story with a good amount of spice, this might be the one for you.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Net Galley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There was so much of this book that was unexpected. I eagerly looked forward to diving into this after reading the synopsis - Victorian England with thieving and a heist? I knew this would be a book for me. What I got was actually even more than expected. There are elements to the story that could not be predicted from the description of the book and they contributed rather pleasantly to my reading experience.
Having grown up an orphan, Della had to learn to navigate the darker side of London. She is the best pickpocket around, never having been caught until trying to steal from Cole Winthrop. He is not your ordinary gentleman, Turns out he has been watching Della for a little while, hence why she gets caught. He has a proposition for her: he needs her to steal something that was stolen from him (it’s actually more than that, but describing the nature of the item(s) in question would be a spoiler). In order to succeed, she must become a lady. She moves into his house to pose as his cousin and trains with the housekeeper in manners and rules of society, learns to play the piano and other things needed to succeed in this mission.
We’ve got ourselves an excellent blend of forced proximity and forbidden (due to the social class difference) romance in this story. The relationship between the two main characters is authentic and evolves very naturally. The plot is pretty solid and the story quite enjoyable. It is told from the perspective of both main characters and that definitely added to the overall enjoyment of the book. For those looking for a little more spice in their books, this is an open door romance with some rather steamy scenes between the Della and Cole. The attraction between the two characters is quite palpable.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

There's a lot of potential and it's an entertaining story but somehow it didn't work for me as I found the characters a bit underdeveloped.
The historical background is vivid
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A loose My fair lady retelling that sees a Victorian pickpocket recruited by a Lord who is secretly working for the government and in need of her particular talents to help seduce a scoundrel in possession of important documents.

I really enjoyed this dual POV, opposites attract romance. It was steamy, full of great banter and had the right balance of action, adventure and romance. Perfect for fans of authors like Evie Dunmore or India Holton and good on audio too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a wonderful debut and I'm excited to read what the author writes next!

Steam level: open door, some explicit scenes

thank you for the review copy!

i was very excited to read this debut as i am a fan of historical books and also strong female characters! unfortunately for me this one just missed the mark. i think the characters needed a little bit more fleshing out. the only one that i felt was intriguing was della! i wanted to love cole so much but he felt a bit dry to me. i would absolutely love to see future titles from this author because there is definitely promise!

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to review this book.

The characters were cartoonish, with very little depth. They served their one purpose and only that purpose: Bad Guy, Spunky Heroine, Hot, Rich Hero. Della at least she had some sort of personality. Cole was supposed to be charming, but had as much charm as a piece of cardboard. As far as the romance goes- they were into each other physically, but the relationship didn't really have any depth to it and neither character had any growth within it. The connection was all physical, which was disappointing as the sheer number of explicit sex scenes became repetitive and almost gratuitous.

The plot was all over the place, heavy-handed, and seemed very unlikely. Everything was hilariously easy when it came to the actual spying/thieving (which there wasn't much of), and the Bad Guy turned out to be incredibly bad at BEING bad. The stakes always felt low because Cole and Della spent so much time in bed/thinking about being in bed that the plot kind of faded into the background, so I never felt a sense of urgency.

The writing is choppy and words/phrases not always period appropriate, which rips you right out of the story every time it happens. There was also an inconsistency in the way Della's lower-class accent was portrayed. Sometimes it was indicated when she was with her friend, sometimes it wasn't.

I was looking for a tense, dramatic espionage story with a dash of romance, but this feels like all flashy marketing, no real substance.

It was 1879 and Della Rose was on the look out for someone affluent on whom to use her skills. She was the best pickpocket in London and had never been caught, so her confidence was high. But Cole Winthrop had an agenda and had been watching Della for some time, so when she approached him, he was ready. Cole needed a thief to catch a thief. When his father's papers had been stolen, Cole was determined to carry on his father's work, and he needed to get the papers back. So Della had a new job; one she was prepared to work for as the end result was good.

As Della slowly learned to be a lady, she was prepared by Cole - who was an Earl - about the person she needed to get close to; the person who she needed to steal from. And she wasn't impressed. But she was determined to do her job, and do it well...

The Lady Thief of Belgravia is the debut novel by Allison Grey and I quite enjoyed it. The cover is gorgeous and the premise was intriguing. Della was a strong character - she had to be in her situation - while Cole was a "nice guy", kind and caring, but hard and cold when necessary. My only quibbles were the use of the "f" word, which, when I googled, wasn't around back in 1879. And the over use of the fully described sex scenes - after about the 5th or 6th time, the tone of the story was changed for me. Oh, and the £10,000 agreed on for Cole to pay Della converts to £1,532,390.16 today - so perhaps not!

With thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I love me a good historical romance. They're literally my romance jam. This is a debut novel by Allison Grey and it was adorable. The premise of a female thief taking down one of the richest people in the country during this time period had me super excited to read this arc and it did not disappoint!

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a historical romance and a little spice to go with it. 🌶️ Thanks @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars.

The vibes:
- historical
- a con FMC & an earl MMC
- Romance with a bit of suspense

My thoughts:
I grabbed this one hoping it would have similar vibes to India Holton’s Wisteria series. It did have a con thief woman but the tones were definitely different.

There was a lot of sexual tension with little connection of the two main characters in the beginning half. I wanted more than just sexual tension with these two. It felt like any type of friendship was skipped over and the focus was primarily on a physical connection which isn’t my personal preference. I wanted more of an emotional connection.

While Della (FMC) had moments I enjoyed, I didn’t find her very likable for most of the book which made it hard for me to root for her.

Lastly, I was confused with the Earl’s dilemma. No spoilers on his backstory- but I got a little bit lost on exactly what was going on with his past.

Releases January 18, 2024

Thank you so much to Allison Grey, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


*note to publisher- I will post on Amazon on release date.

Set in Victorian times, an improbable but delightful story of an agile pickpocket from the streets of London and an aristocrat looking to retrieve lost documents.

Reminiscent of My Fair Lady and Audrey Hepburn at her finest our Lord attempts (and succeeds) in turning Della into an accomplished Lady.

Light, fun reading with a few raunchy scenes interspersed for good measure!

Punch & Judy are on in Hyde Park London 1879, and in amongst the crowds is Della Rose, looking for a victim.
Della is a pick pocket, extremely good at it too.
Della steals from a gentleman who catches her out. Cole has a proposition for Della, a job. Will she accept and see it through?

I was drawn to this book because of the title and cover. I enjoy historical fiction books.
I found the book had some mystery and intrigue and it was enjoyable. However I felt there were quite a lot of descriptive sexual scenes. For myself I found it a bit repetitive and didn’t like. I would have rated this book higher than I did if they had been removed. Apart from that I thought the story itself kept my interest, and as the book was nearing the end was excitedly reading to see how the plot would unfold.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

A fun and smutty version of My fair lady with a hint of action and mystery. My only criticism here would be that I still cringe at s*x scenes including very (unnecessary) explicit words and that I'm a bit fed up with "the perfect girl being perfect at everything even at the first attempt". If you can ignore that, you'll be in for a fun time with two characters you'll want to end up together!

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙮?"

ME! ME! I volunteer as a tribute!

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for my very first arc! What a joy it has been! I really enjoyed this debut book by Allison Grey, it has a solid plot, interesting characters and it is very well paced! Read this if you’re looking for a sexy book about spies, full of suspense and romance! Can’t wait to read whatever Allison puts out next!

This is the first book by this author. It was a book full of romance, adventure, mystery and suspense. I loved the characters, they were well-written with a lot of feeling and the storyline kept me turning the page. I was continually wondering how everything was going to work out, which makes for a good read. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was there was a lot of sex and this reviewer skipped it all but for some that is a good thing. I would read another story by this author despite the many sex scenes. I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and freely give my review.

'The Lady Thief of Belgravia' is a wonderful and fun Pygmalion-meets-heist historical romance.

Orphan Della Rose, nicknamed Rosie Diver for being the best diver (slang for pickpocket) in London, is a plucky, well-read and resourceful woman with dreams of academia. Her skills come to the attention of Cole Winthrop, Early of Bradford, who needs to transform her into a well-bred woman so she can retrieve important papers stolen by the Duke of Salisbury.

There is an instant and palpable chemistry between the two who try to fight their attraction to focus on the mission. Della surprises Cole with her sharp intellect and sense of adventure which he's sorely after a broken engagement due to his job. I loved how well they complemented each other and just how supportive Cole was of Della.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable as I enjoy a good adventurous historical romance. However the pacing got lost from the repititious steamy scenes at the expense of the upcoming mission. I don't have an issue with steamy scenes, but I found that it belaboured the point - they can't stay away from each other but they live two different lives, etc.

The biggest let down for me was the baffling final conflict and outcome. Della's ultimatum to Cole was unreasonable especially since knew he was nursing heartbreak from a woman who demanded the same. There was alternative outcomes for the two of them to get what they wanted, including becoming partners in work as well as life given Della's talents and sense of adventure. Plus it would've opened up for a series. A real shame.

Thanks to Storm and NetGalley for the ARC.