'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.

The Lady Thief of Belgravia is the first book I've read by Allison Grey but it definitely won't be the last.

Della Rose is our heroine and she also happens to be the best pickpocket in the Seven Dials. When she targets a gentleman in a crowd who has a gold watch she wants, she steals it (with a bit of trouble) and her life suddenly takes a turn.

The gentleman who was robbed is Cole Winthrop and he isn't in Della's sights by accident. He has been watching her for a while, waiting to see if what he has heard about her is true. If so, he needs her help to retrieve something that was stolen from him and he's willing to go to extremes, including hiring a pickpocket, to get it back.

As Della and Cole start to work together to get her up to snuff for society, things eventually shift. They start to realize they are attracted to one another but to make anything work, When Cole finally trusts her enough to reveal his greatest secret, Della understands that completing the job is about more than earning the money to start a new life. The safety of the entire country rests on her shoulders. ACole would have to disclose who he is to the world and he's not sure he is ready. I loved how the relationship was developed between these two. They come from very different lives/backgrounds and they were both realistic about what they were going to face if they came together.

If you're looking for a new historical fiction that has interesting characters, a solid story, and a class difference trope, grab this one when you can. I enjoyed it and can't wait to read whatever is next from this author.

I am a sucker for novels about female thieves, so the title of this novel really attracted me. To my surprise, for a first novel, this book was as good as I hoped it would be and gripped me from the first page.

The pickpocket, Della Rose, is recruited by Lord Bradford, a British spy, to steal documents. To do so, Della will have to learn to pass herself off as a young lady of the ton.

What I loved about the novel:
Independent and intelligent heroine
Upward mobility of a few characters
Celebration of women’s friendship
Steamy romance
Thrilling plot

The Lady Thief of Belgravia checked all my boxes for a fun read!

Della, a notorious pickpocket, is hired by the Earl of Bradford to steal some important documents from the Duke of Salisbury. In order to achieve this she is to pose as the Earl's niece, requiring her to be taught how to act as a proper genteel society lady.
Think of this as My Fair Lady with a touch of suspense - and a lot of very spicy moments. I'm not always a fan of these, however these did fit in well with the story and the growing attraction between the two main characters. It is slow paced, concentrating on this relationship, rather than the suspense plot, but it did draw me in to the story. It also shows the disparity between the haves and the have nots at the time, with the latter having to do anything to keep themselves alive. Read this book as a romance with a touch of suspense, rather than an action story, and enjoy.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I had thought, and actually kinda hoped, that the heist would be a more significant and spectacular part of the story. Instead, the emphasis was more on romance and the vast differences between the two worlds of the main characters. Nevertheless, a very entertaining, somewhat spicy Pygmalion retelling.

I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this debut novel by Allison Grey and look forward to reading more in the future.
I found the book hard to put down once I got a few chapters in. There are some spicy scenes so be warned – I was not expecting that! Overall, I enjoyed this book though - a quick read, and I loved Della’s sass and belief in herself. The characters are well developed and I feel it is a good depiction of life in the late 1800’s, clearly portraying the different social classes and the struggles of living in each world. Definitely worth picking this up if you're looking for a quick read and don't mind spice.
Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and the author for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A fun and delightful debut novel! I did find the start of the novel to be very very quick to jump into the plot set up but then the author pulled back and the story unfolded beautifully! Will definitely be keeping an eye out of other books by this author!

A bit of a modern My Fair Lady with a twist and a hint of spice. It certainly took the original story to another level! A really good read, great, strong female character and lovely historical background.

★★★★.5
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Set in 1879 London’s Seven Dials, this story unfolds as Cole Winthrop (Lord Branford) enlists Della Rose, a skilled pickpocket, to help him steal from and apprehend his arch-nemesis, the Duke of Salisbury. Della must transform into a member of high society, posing as Cole’s cousin, and master various skills to execute their plan. Amidst the deception, a potential attraction between Della and Cole adds an intriguing layer.

This novel pulled me in from the very beginning and captivated me with its perfect blend of intrigue, high society, and historical romance. I was charmed by the compelling, passionate, and witty Della Rose, our strong female character. Bonus character trait: she is obsessed with books! She is one of my favorite characters so far!

The book also tastefully incorporates open-door spice, avoiding smutty rom-com style. 😬🫣 But just go into it knowing that. lol

❥ Strong female main character
❥ Dual POV
❥ Grumpy x sunshine
❥ Forced proximity
❥ Tasteful open-door spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I LOVED this debut novel by Allison Grey! I was beyond excited when I received this arc from @netgalley and @stormbooks_co.

Dashing spy Cole recruits skilled pickpocket Della to infiltrate high society and steal from his adversary. Masquerading as Cole’s cousin, Della finds an unexpected romance blossoming with him that threatens her focus. But this cunning thief won’t let love derail her shot at redemption.

This is a clever and emotional romance with endearing characters and an engaging plot. It has a bit of an Eliza Doolittle feel to it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Review: The Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey

The concept of this book, the intrigue, the combination of high society & a thief was great. It had potential to be a great book, but fell flat. I feel like it could have focused more on the mystery/spy work and the main characters’ transformations. It was also too much spice - skipping paragraphs multiple times to get to the story stinks! The characters were pretty well developed and the setting was great. The concept, again, a lot of fun!

The atmosphere was great -- this book checked all the right boxes for me in a historical English, high society story. I loved the dynamic between the two characters and the banter was witty and kept the pace of the story easy to follow. My one nitpick is that it seemed pretty quick for Della to pick up on years of manners and speech patterns cultivated by high society, which seemed slightly unrealistic? If there was a timeskip, that wasn't as evident to me!

In general, I do think that the chemistry between the characters was both strong and natural. Nothing felt forced and the subplot with the Duke was interesting and upped the stakes. I'd definitely recommend this and will be keeping an eye out for other works from Grey!

1870s, London, regency, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-romance, thievery, situational-humor, witty, safecrackers, mystery, suspense*****

Della Rose steals to make a living and keep it all together.
Cole Winthrop (Lord Bradford) is a gentleman and needs a thief to return an important item that was stolen a time ago.
But she needs to pass in company as a lady!
Shades of Pygmalion!
Della seems to adapt to a life and personality that is so very different from anything she has ever known. But this is fiction, so anything goes. Not as humorous as I expected, but well-written and shows the ability of the writer. Looking forward to any other books she writes.
I requested and received an EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Sweet, and enjoyable story that reminds me of My Fair Lady. Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure how I felt about this book. It wasn't bad it was just entirely forgettable. I'm writing this review about 3 weeks after finishing it and I can barely remember any details about it. I think the general sense I had while reading it was that I didn't really care about the characters or their romance.

I liked the premise of this, a thief pretends to be rich and from a noble family in order to steal something from a very important man - but this was essentially just a spicy romance, which is fine but wasn’t what I was expecting.

I think it would’ve have been better had it to been more about the mystery angle rather than the romance but that’s just personal preference.

This is a delightfully written book with themes from Pygmalion / My Fair Lady. Della Rose, an expert pickpocket, is plucked from the Victorian slums of The Seven Dials, to live the life of a privileged young woman about to embark on London society. She has been hired by Lord Bradford, Cole Winthrop, to retrieve important documents from a suspected spy. Her reward is a small fortune that would enable her to live independently with her best friend.

The personalities of the lead characters are carefully developed as is their growing mutual attraction which they refuse to admit to each other. Also they both grudgingly acknowledge that the yawning social gap makes a formal alliance impossible.

The story blends the growing emotional bond and physical attraction between Della and Cole with the drama of the mission in hand.

An enjoyable lighthearted romance.

TLTB is about a notorious pickpocket named Della Rose. She is hired by the Earl of Bradford, Cole Winthrop, to steal back something that was stolen from him.

I would definitely suggest this book if you are wanting a fun, lighthearted, historical romance!

The book is fast paced and jumps right into the story. It didn’t give enough time for the reader to connect with Della as a thief. From the cover and the description, I went into this book thinking there would be more action and it be a little more thrilling. It is very heavy on the romance and not so much the thievery. If you are going into this book wanting an adventurous story about a lady thief, this is not the book for you. If you are wanting more of an insta-love/ Bridgerton type book, then this is the book for you!

🌶️ : 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

This was a really enjoyable, easy read. The story had a good pace and made a great escape. The characters were well written and the plot was exciting. I think it was more of a romance than I expected. From the description I was expecting more about Della the thief, it still it was enjoyable and I would totally recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

This was an enjoyable romp. The relationship between the two main characters is developed really well. The seedy underside of London is explored as well as that of the rich and famous. It was good to see that a person moving from one class to another would find it difficult as this added a touch of realism. While it seems that the male lead is too free and easy with his identity as a home office espionage official this information was used effectively to make this into a thriller as well as a romance. Overall this was a great read