This was a sweet, clever read.

A thief and a gentleman! A perfect match. I really liked Della, her characters was fab and I loved the element of romance in there as well as the storyline. A clever read.

I think the writing shows promise. But the execution and even the ideas in this book were flawed.

I did not enjoy the insta-love because it was so unconvincing. Della is unbelievably horny for the circumstances she's in, which includes daily stress over food scarcity and boarding conditions and then meeting Cole, a stranger, who is offering her a job that will remove her from that poverty. I guess this means she's now allowing herself the luxury of having a crush...? But it would be more realistic if she was instead focusing on making sure she actually gets that promised paycheck.

It's also incredible to me that outsiders, such as the tutor Cole hires for Della or the housekeeper should be allowed to know about their underhanded scheme. It's a distracting and unnecessary risk. The attempt to make Della speak with a cockney accent is bad because it's inconsistent. In one phrase of dialogue, she says it "everythin'" and then in the next she's pronouncing it "everything" and this is among her poor friends, when she's not trying to be more correct. Could have been an editing error, but it kept happening.

Combining the Pygmalion-esque plot thread with a heist thread did not work. These ideas are so big that they would adequately serve as a primary plotline. Putting them in the same book resulted in a fight for attention and to make it even more crowded, the romance very obviously took precedence over both. Nothing was working together and the plot points really only supported the race to the first sex scene. The subsequent, repeated fussing over how Della and Cole couldn't ever be together was incredibly frustrating and boring.

The whole thing was a bit of a mess.

I loved this fast-paced adventure through the mansions and alleys of London. The characters were so exquisitely realised, and the emotional push-and-pulls, both internal and with other characters, were a few of the best I've read lately. This story sucked me in from the first page; it's both a Cinderella story and not, in a way, the author having placed the most "Della Rose" twist on it all so that it's purely her story, hers and Cole's.

This is a fast-paced, high-stakes adventure; the characters setting out for higher goals but unwittingly, a simultaneous voyage of self-discovery. Beautiful dynamics and worlds are set up here (along with impeccably, swoon-worthy romance and equally heated scenes on silk sheets), placed in a familiar-yet-unfamiliar London/England. I adored this story, truly, and I can't wait for more of this author's works!

A fairly solid historical romance, but while the first half was fun, the second half dragged more than necessary and felt rather repetitive - I was rolling my eyes as the characters went two steps forward, two steps back for so long before finally getting some development. If it had been about fifty pages shorter, I would have enjoyed it so much more.

What a fantastic read! A cross between My Fair Lady and Oliver Twist with a touch of Bridgerton thrown in for good measure!
A tale of courage, fair play and staying true to yourself. The characters were lovable and beautifully flawed, the dialogue was witty and charming and who won't love the combination of the good guy and the criminal?! The spy and the pickpocket would have made a fabulous sequel but I am happy with the ending it had.
A first read from this author but it definitely won't be the last.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and the author and publisher for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun quick palate cleanser of a book! If you are looking for witty repartee, banter, and a male MC that I want to do some naughty things to this is the book for you. Now the writing isn’t Jane Austen but that’s not why you read a book like this. Over all enjoy!!!

If you're a fan of Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, and Eloisa James, then this is definitely going to be a great selection to add to your collection. Allison Grey delivers an incredible tale of foes, deception, and historical romance in between. I love when the love goes beyond a first impression and I love when the leading role hero breaks all of society's barriers to prove love is beyond that measure. Great story, an absolutely fun story, and a thriller of nail-biting heist.

10/10

I devoured this story- a great combination of period drama at its best but with the thrill of there being a mystery to solve and something exciting to keep you hooked throughout. I loved the character of Della rose and I genuinely found the sneaky Lord Salisbury they were trying to catch to be quite unnerving- I was never sure what he might do. Plenty of raunch, plenty of laughs and generally an all round entertaining book- would recommend!

The premise of this story was interesting which is why it was chosen. However there were some parts of the narrative which struck me as highly unlikely. There is a whiff of Pygmalion to the story which I found hard to believe. A pickpocket from the Rookeries of London becoming transformed into a lady of the ton is a stretch. The author writes well but the characters were difficult to relate to, I found the instant dive into lust/love awkward and superficial as the hero's quick trust of Della. I can only give this book three stars for good writing. A bit more depth to the setting and less steamy interactions would provide the remaining two stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Storm for an ARC of The Lady Thief of Belgravia

I loved that the book is set in 1879. Definitely makes for an interesting story when there's no modern technology. But I didn't love that from the first page you're straight into Della stealing from Cole. It felt like it really needed a prologue to introduce the characters a bit more.

Overall, this was a quick and easy read that had multiple spicy scenes, however I was expecting it to be a little more historical fiction. Give it a go If you're a fan of Bridgerton!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

The story of a pickpocket (Della Rose) who, on the pretext of a mission in the service of the crown, is brought into the life of high society in 19th century London by a nobleman (Cole Winthrop), her partner on the mission.
The story has everything going for it, but the author ends up exploring little of the nuances and intrigue that the mixture of two such different facets of society would surely generate and ends up focusing more on the (impossible) love story of the two protagonists who, time and time again, remind us why this story can't have a happy ending.
In the end, the book is very entertaining and I spent a couple of hours reading this story.
I received an advance copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily, thanks to the author for it.

This book was well written, but although I think the writer has promise, the story itself was not as entertaining as I would’ve liked. It was a fun premise, but the characters felt a little flat and their love story progressed a little too fast at the beginning, while the back and forth towards the end was too long.

Great cover but a little misleading. This has happened a couple of times recently - publishers don't align the cover with the story inside. The cover led me to believe it was a humorous historical mystery and even references humorous titles in its sales blurb but it wasn't funny.
I enjoyed the premise, just think it could have been fleshed out a little more - I didn't like the insta love and would have enjoyed a bit more meaning in both of their reasons for beginning the ploy but overall a well written read.

“The Lady Thief of Belgravia” by Allison Grey captures the mind and heart from the very first chapter. The perfect balance of romance and suspense brings the reader on a journey that captivates throughout it’s entirety. The descriptions of characters, events, and scenes provokes a movie within the mind that you wish will never end. This book is sure to be a bestseller.

“The Lady Thief of Belgravia” is a great debut by Allison Grey with an interesting plot, well developed characters and a good cast of side characters.
Cole, a spy for the Crown, wants to steal some important documents. He recruits Della, a pickpocket from Seven Dials. Della is trained to be a high society lady in order to infiltrate the Ton and accomplish her mission.
Based on the title and description, I was expecting more suspense and mystery, but “The Lady Thief of Belgravia” is first and foremost a regency romance with lot of spice and a dollop of intrigue.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read 'The Lady Thief of Belgravia' by Allison Grey, and it was absolutely amazing! It's a historical romance filled with action, humour and suspense, and it had me hooked from the very first sentence. The main character, Della Rose, was fantastic - strong, independent and brave. It was fascinating to see how she transformed from a thief on the streets to a woman of high society, and it was always exciting to see how she used her street smarts to outsmart the upper class.

The love story between Della and Cole was incredibly romantic. Cole was the epitome of a gentleman, and his love for Della was so sweet. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and I loved how the tension built up as they worked together to recover his stolen property.

Overall, I would highly recommend 'The Lady Thief of Belgravia' to anyone who enjoys reading historical romances with a bit of mystery and suspense. The writing was superb, the characters were well-rounded, and the plot was thrilling.

The premise of this book sounded like alot of fun and I do love a historical romance. I really enjoyed the fmc, she was interesting, nuanced, feisty and unpredictable, alot of the side characters were fascinating too.
The heist/pickpocket plot was definitely my favourite aspect of the story and I would have happily read more about life in the Seven Dials. I also enjoyed watched as the fmc learned the skills she needed to thrive in 'polite society'.
The romance element of the book didn't work for me, it was a bit insta love and the power dynamics were just not it (rich lord plucks young girl from poverty, he's her way out of a life she doesn't want, he's paying her and using her skills in a dangerous business). While I appreciated that both characters grappled with their difference in class, this all focused on the fmc needing to potentially lie about who she was to maintain the MMCs lie, rather than the difference in their class being an issue, which would have been a massive issue.

All in all I enjoyed this and I would try something else from this author if I liked the premise it just wasn't an outright winner for me this time. The author writes brilliant female characters and I would be interested to see what she writes next

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book.

I liked the premise of this novel, expecting more historical fiction rather than gushy romance, sex scenes and repeated explanations of why the two main characters couldn’t be together. I enjoyed the feisty Della and the honourable Cole Winthrop and a peek into their respective lives. The back story of why these letters needed to be retrieved was good, as was the cast of staff members. This is really a romance novel rather than historical, so it probably wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. For those who love romance novels, this would be very enjoyable.

I enjoyed this so much! A very lovable thieving heroine and an even more lovable chisel jawed hero. With plenty of historical detail to relish, and a happy ending for all concerned, I have to recommend this for people who like to sit up all night and read a book in one sitting...