The Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey is a rags to riches type story while including the plot of a heist. However, the speed at which the main character Della Rose trusts Lord Bradford to embark on the heist is unrealistic to me.

Also, the detailed love scenes detracted from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

Unfortunately I could not finish this title. I tried my best and got 30% into the book, however the character development was rather poor, and I did not connect with them at all. They seemed flat on the page and I didn't feel they had a connection at all. All the chemistry was based on exchanges of smiles and I just find them a believable couple based on their actions.

I am giving this two stars because I think the author can improve. Her writing quality is good, she just needs to focus on building chemistry and characters that we want to root for.

Didn't love it. The writing didn't flow and the plot was a little outlandish making it hard for me to really be immersed in the story. I'm generally open to a wacky plot but I needed more developed characters, or smoother writing, or something to keep my attention/suspend my disbelief.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This one was ok but had strong my Fair Lady vibes and was a bit too predictable.

For some reason i just couldnt get into this story, i have never read from this author and although it wasnt a book for me im sure many other readers will enjoy this.

This was such a wonderful read and I am definitely looking forward to whatever Allison Grey writes next.

The Lady Thief of Belgravia had a great premise and plot, wonderful characters and I always love books that include spies :)

Thank you for the early copy for review

‘The Lady Thief of Belgravia’ by Allison Grey is funny, romantic, exciting and surprisingly spicy given the cover, this was a definite five star read for me!

The story follows Della Rose, orphaned as a child and bloomed into a mighty fine pickpocket, trying to make her way in Victorian London against all odds. When she attempts to steal from Cole Winthrop, she may have taken on more than she bargained for! Also known as Lord Bradford, he is a man of secrets, and offers her a job opportunity where her unusual skills could earn her a tremendous sum of money to turn her and her best friend Violet’s life around.

Next thing she knows, she is living the high life as his ‘cousin’, tasked with wooing the letcherous Duke of Salisbury and recovering some documents of national importance. As she learns the proper etiquette and ingratiates herself into high society, Cole and Della begin to develop rather un-cousin-like lust for each other, but they must remain focused on the task at hand if they want to succeed. Plus, Della knows there can’t be a future for a Lord like him with a lady thief like her…

This book is the perfect combination of Bridgerton, My Fair Lady and James Bond, and I loved every minute!

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback. Thanks NetGalley and Storm Books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"The Lady Thief of Belgravia" by Allison Grey is a historical romance, with an undercurrent of espionage, set in 1870s London. The book follows Della and Cole, Lord Bradford, as they reluctantly join forces to take down a traitor hidden amongst the aristocracy. The premise of this book is unique and immediately intrigued me, but the pacing was a bit off (slow to start and then rushed in the final third) and the relationship between the main characters developed too quickly for my preference. However, I did think that the main relationship conflict (extreme social class differences and ingrained prejudices) was very believable, and I appreciated the open communication from Cole throughout the story. This was a fun and unique weekend read.

Della Rose prides herself on being the best pickpocket in London but is dismayed to find an easy target catching her in the act. He has a proposition for her which she finds difficult to believe. Why would anyone pay such a large sum of money for her skills? The task is much more complicated than she first envisioned drawing her further into the world of high society so far from her origins. Della has to try to shield her heart as she doesn't want to rely on any man even if he's as perfect as Cole Winthrop. Very enjoyable Eliza Doolittle type story.

The writer's smooth and well-written prose, despite its slow pace, makes reading a pleasant experience. Nonetheless, the story failed to captivate me. My disappointment was at its peak when I realized the story differed from the description. The blurb and the cover don't hint much about the genre. I couldn't connect with either of the characters, nor did I find them appealing. The heat level was too much for me to handle. It completely drained my interest. If the writer had included some intriguing twists or exciting subplots, I might have enjoyed reading more.

The first thing that drew me to the book was the beautiful cover.
I really enjoyed this romance novel and was hooked from the very first page. It had a great story line and a brilliant cast of characters. A brilliant novel that I highly recommend.
Thank you to storm publishing, netgalley and the author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book which I devoured in two days.
The book starts off with the promise of an action packed heist and although the action was a little lacklustre the romance aspect made up for it.
The characters were great and I enjoyed their relationship developing throughout the book. Would definitely read another book by this author and recommend to historical romance fans.
Thanks to Netgalley for the early read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

The characters in this book are amazing. Skilled, multi-faceted, and most important of all: interesting.I really enjoyed reading Allison Grey's work and was glad to find this is her debut novel and I hadn't missed any previous books.
This book started off with a promise of a heist with a romance. We ended up getting a LOT of romance and very little heist, but overall the story was interesting and fun to read. I didn't love the main characters rehashing the same problems with their being together over and over without any movement or compromise. I was also disappointed with how the romance was portrayed while they tried to resolve the problems, but that didn't last very long.
Overall, it was a interesting book, and I didn't feel like I'd read the premise or the characters before, so I'd definitely give Grey's future books a try!

Synopsis:
London, 1879. The city’s most notorious pickpocket is about to become the jewel of high society…
Della Rose learned her trade as a pickpocket on the vice-ridden streets of the notorious Seven Dials. But when the handsome Cole Winthrop 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. Which also means pretending to be Cole’s cousin…
As an undeniable attraction grows between them, Della must fight to stay focused. Succeeding in her mission could be her ticket to a new life. And this thief won’t let the small matter of falling in love get in her way…
With irresistible charm, sparkling romance and an unforgettable heroine, The Lady Thief of Belgravia will delight fans of Evie Dunmore, Minerva Spencer and Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton.

What a delightful and exhilarating story! This novel really captured my attention. The Lady Thief of Belgravia is an exciting blend of Victorian adventure and passionate romance.

Our heroine, Della Rose, is a likeable, strong, resourceful and determined woman who has had to fight for everything. After her mother dies she ends up in an orphanage and as an adult continues to fend for herself. She becomes known as Rosie Diver, a most accomplished female thief. Although she has a knack for stealing without getting caught, she discovers she has other more respectable talents after meeting Lord (Cole) Bradford. She learns quickly to play the piano, ride horses, dance, act, speak well—in fact to become a lady of high society. We cannot help but admire her. So, when she is discovered by Lord Bradford and offered a large sum of money to steal from his arch-nemesis, the Duke of Salisbury, she sees it as a golden opportunity to help make her dreams come true. It will offer her an escape from the dangerous life of Seven Dials, provide enough funds to set herself up in a nice dwelling where she can study books, become a scholar and help her best friend amateur painter, Violet, get her artwork out to the public.

Once recruited Della ‘trains’ to keep her real identity hidden and to make others believe she is a woman of high society. In fact, she becomes known as Cole’s cousin with a believable backstory to ward off any suspicions. She certainly adapts well to this fictitious life. One thing she does not prepare for or expect, though, is to have her heart fall for her employer. She gets emotionally lost in Lord Bradford’s charisma. He is described as being quite handsome, kind and private. But there is more to Cole than meets the eye. And his reasons for hiring Della are quite legitimate. We get to know him quite well and he is a perfect match for her (though society would disagree). So when these two unlikely pair begin to have great feelings for each other, Della fights it furiously as she knows his world is very different from hers. Yet the heart wants what it wants and this novel really showcases that battle. Love knows no social boundary. There are many intense romantic scenes in this novel that would make Victorians blush but it is, after all, a Romantic Victorian adventure story. It is also a revealing portrayal of the class differences. There are a few heart-racing danger moments that book end the sizzling attraction scenes. I loved the growth in Della— to see her finally appreciated. And that she realises she is worthy of love and that a man of higher social standing could truly care about her.

Allison really covers brilliantly the broad spectrum of rags to riches settings. We get a clear picture of the urban poverty of Seven Dials described by poet John Keats “where misery clings to misery for a little warmth, and want and disease lie down side-by-side, and groan together.” Then we are transported to the aristocratic fashionable gilded residential districts of Belgravia where dangers still lurk but are more hidden. These two worlds are showcased side by side through Della’s and Cole’s interactions as they travel back and forth while on a mission to take down the enemy. Della gets to live for a while in his world. And he gets a glimpse of hers but does it matter in the end where they come from if they want to remain together? The two realms eclipse and it is an exciting climax that carries forward a hopeful release to the conclusion.

I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it to those who love a strong Victorian heroine set against a rollicking high adventure. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my review copy.

Based on the description, I expected Allison Grey's The Lady Thief of Belgravia to be a Victorian heist rom-com. In reality, the heist-to-romance ratio skews VERY hard to romance; instead of Irene Adler, it was more like Pretty Woman with a cat burglary.

As a debut, Grey has done a great job crafting complete and interesting characters. It was a fun read, even if it was a little lighter on action than I expected. I'm looking forward to seeing Grey's future work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Historical drama,a bit unbelievable,but a good read. A thief from seven dials is enlisted to help a member of the aristocracy find some incriminating papers.

Everything felt very anti-climatic for me.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this at the very beginning but I noticed everything started going downhill for me when Cole admitted who he was and why he wanted what was stolen from him back. Their relationship was cute but it felt rushed and I didn't get to connect properly with the main couple.

The main conflict with the couple is the miscommunication or rather, lack of communication.

It's in third person so you get an idea of what both main characters feelings are but it didn't give them as much depth as I expected it to.

From the blurb, I thought this was a fun heist romantic comedy but the heist part was not detailed enough for me. It felt a bit too easy and that's what also contributed to my disappointment. There were a couple times in the book where certain characters kept mentioning how 'dangerous' the Duke of Salisbury was but to me, he really wasn't. He honestly just sounded like a misogynistic prick.

I'm not a huge fan of spice, I can take one or two scenes but this had four scenes that contributed more to my frustration than it did to the plot. I couldn't really connect to the characters because of this.

This had just a promising premise and I feel like if the heist and character building was worked on more, I would have really enjoyed this.

If you're looking for something light hearted and fun, then this would be a quick read. I love the writing style though and I'm looking forward to see what the author's future releases will be like.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison Grey is a fascinating mix of a period heist adventure and historical romance. The premise of a highly skilled pick-pocket being called upon to steal back documents from a high society traitor for a spy is original and fun, and the parts of the book that deal with this caper are fast paced and engaging.
I believe, however, that there is a point where romance crosses into love of a more graphic nature. From the description of the book, I did not expect the long and detailed love scenes in this book and found that they took away from the original premise. These numerous and lengthy passages unnecessarily detracted from the overall fun of the rest of the book, and now that I am forewarned, I will likely not read anything else by this author.
I received an ARC of #TheLadyThiefofBelgravia from #NetGalley.

I have not read a romance in a long time. I enjoyed this one.

In Victorian London, Cole Winthrop hires notorious pickpocket Della Rose to steal for him but she must learn how to be a Lady to accomplish the assignment. Neither expected to fall in love - not part of their plans.

This was a light read. The heroine is tough and focused. The hero is handsome and generous. The romance is steamy. There was not as much cloak and dagger as I expected. I also liked the characters. For those that enjoy historical London romances between aristocrats and fiesty thieves

I would like to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an early copy of the book.

This was such a promising book! A notorious London thief teams up with a gentleman spy to steal back some important documents. Unfortunately, it’s more insta-love and less plot. The characters all just seem a little flat and the ending feels quite rushed. A lot of potential, but I just couldn’t connect to this!