I really wanted to like this but it felt rather boring and flat.

Things I enjoyed: the inclusion of the disillusion artist Michelangelo, “find the lady,” Giacomo and Khalid, and the premise.

I struggled with the pacing of this story, it felt like the story only really came alive two thirds of the way through. I know I was supposed to root for these characters but I never really got to that point for the most part. Honestly, it felt like I was forcing myself through this read at times.

This book was reaching for Oceans 11 but didn’t really differentiate itself from the pack in terms of the heist genre. I wanted to like it so much more.

FUN! This book is one big, fat pile of fun! It has a most interesting cast of characters with wildly different personalities who come together to steal money from the corrupt Medici pope. Their quest takes you through Renaissance Florence (and beyond) where you get to see and experience the scenes from high (the pope's palace) to low (a printer's shop). It's immersive and hard to put down. Very well written, this one goes on the shelf of rare books that I will read again.

Medici Heist" by Caitlin Schneiderhan promises a romp through Renaissance Florence filled with intrigue, rebellion, and a daring heist that would make even Danny Ocean envious. Set against the backdrop of 1517 Florence, where the Medici family holds sway over the city, Schneiderhan weaves a tale of sharp-witted Rosa Cellini, a teenage con-woman with plans to liberate the people of Tuscany from the Medicis' grasp.

The narrative kicks off with Rosa assembling a motley crew for her audacious plan, including the reluctant help of none other than the famed artist Michelangelo. As tensions rise and the authorities close in, what begins as a robbery evolves into a bid to save Florence itself from destruction. With snark, innuendo, and plenty of action, "Medici Heist" promises a rollicking adventure from start to finish.

One of the book's strengths lies in its vibrant cast of characters, each with their own quirks and motivations. From Rosa's cunning to Michelangelo's misanthropy, every member of the crew adds depth and flavor to the story. While some readers may find the pacing occasionally sluggish, especially in the middle, the overall narrative momentum keeps the pages turning.

Schneiderhan's background in screenwriting shines through in the book's dialogue, which crackles with wit and humor. Despite some clunkiness, particularly in establishing the stakes early on, the characters' banter injects energy into the story and helps to carry it through its twists and turns.

Ultimately, "Medici Heist" is a fun and entertaining read, perfect for fans of historical fiction, young adult adventure, and, of course, heist stories. While it may not break new ground in the genre, its lively cast and rollicking plot make it a worthwhile addition to any bookshelf. So, if you're looking for a swashbuckling romp through Renaissance Italy, look no further than "Medici Heist."

I understand that the author is a screenwriter, but this read a little too much like a screenplay just begging to be adapted on Netflix. I didn't find the heist particularly compelling and kept comparing this to Six of Crows, which is the premier YA heist novel. I also wonder how much the setting of Renaissance Florence will attract teenagers to this book.

3. This one will be difficult for struggling readers or those with limited English proficiency. It was difficult to get into because of all the names and characters introduced in the first several chapters. Paired with the names of locations and a Renaissance setting, many students may become lost. However, for students who enjoy epic fantasy, this may be a good entry point into historical fiction. The idea of fighting corrupt leadership with well planned sabotage is a familiar one for many teen readers. Also, if students look into the locations and some of the people mentioned, they will learn a lot. The glittering backdrop of Florence and a group of plucky teen thieves is bound to be appealing to many.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of Medici Heist! To be completely honest, I ended this read with mixed feelings. While a fascinating premise, I felt that the book didn’t really reach its full potential. I mostly struggled with three main elements: the pacing, the heist, and the characters. The book is divided into three parts—and if you ask me, it doesn’t really hit its stride until the third part. The story is slow at the beginning, introducing us to the cast of characters without really fleshing out their backgrounds of their connections to each other. Then, we move into a “planning for the heist” segment that is, honestly, a bit nebulous. The plan or how the different characters work into it is never completely explained, which makes it difficult to follow what everyone is supposed to be doing in the lead-up to the actual heist. There is always an element of “show, don’t tell” with heist stories, but we honestly weren’t told enough about the heist to appreciate the show later on. As someone who loves this genre, I did feel let down by the heist set-up and description. There were too many details missing to fully understand and appreciate the nature of the heist. Lastly, in terms of the characters, I just didn’t feel a connection to them. We get sparse details about their backgrounds throughout the novel, with everything really only coming together in the third part. Additionally, while we know that some characters already know each other and have had relationships in the past, these dynamics didn’t feel well-established or particularly lived in. The “found family” dynamic really only kicks in at the end of the novel instead of being laced and built on throughout, which I was disappointed to see. However, despite my qualms, I did enjoy this read. While the worldbuilding does rely on some historical knowledge from the reader, I thought the setting was fantastic and I liked seeing the history sprinkled throughout. Additionally, while I’m not always a fan of the multiple-POV structure, I did think it worked well in this novel. Overall, while not a gold standard for the “found family/heist” genre, I did find Medici Heist to be an entertaining and refreshing addition to it.

For the most part, I enjoyed Medici Heist. I think the central premise is interesting and I liked the themes explored. The author did a pretty decent job of setting the scene during the time period. The only issue I had, however, was that this book pretty heavily relies on having the reader be at least passingly familiar with the landscape. There are a lot of names of places thrown around and minimal, if at all, descriptions of them. So, as important as the city is, it never feels fully alive. Because, if you're like me, and none of the names really mean all that much to you, then it's pretty easy to just dismiss the world itself because there's not a lot there to picture.

As for the characters, I liked them mostly. Khalid and Giacomo were the stand-outs for me, personally. Rosa and Sarra were almost there, but I needed just a little more. There's a definite tension between Rosa and Sarra and while there is a resolution, it felt like it happened a bit too abruptly to be completely satisfying. Rosa, as a character, is very closed-off and protective of herself, hiding behind a smile. While I liked that aspect, I think the way she opened up to her found family also felt like it needed to be a little more smoothly done.

Ultimately, though, I think this book does set out to do what it wanted to do, even if there were a few places where I wanted a bit more.

This was a NetGalley approved read.
This was a great heist book, like Ocean's 11 in Florence. It's got multiple povs, lots of interesting characters. Found family and a few young love and brother sister moments. This would be good for a young audience, nothing too graphic or hard to understand and it reads fairly fast and flows nicely.
I think I would've liked to see an additional pov from the Cardinal or Pope during some of the more hectic moments. And a pov or two thrown in for Agata our apothecary grandma but other than that this was a pleasure to read.

Medici Heist was one of the best heists novels I have ever read - and that includes Six of Crows. The little twists and small details came together perfectly and had me thrilled the entire time. Each character showed true development and turned this story into something more.

If you love YA, Heists, Found Family, and Eat The Rich vibes, this is the perfect book for you!


Thank you for the opportunity of an eARC, and I am leaving this review willingly.

For those who love a Robin Hood story, heists, and ancient Florence, this YA novel is for you! Following a team of thieves intent on knocking down the Medici power, this book unfolds an intricate tale. At times, each character’s individual storyline felt difficult to track, but in fully fleshing out each one, the story has a wholly complete feeling, and we come to appreciate each thief in their own right.

The Medici Heist was a unique take on historical fiction. It wasn't about WWII or the Bolshevik revolution like a lot of books I've read. Instead, it was about the Medici family and corruption in the Catholic Church, which made it so interesting. Told with multiple POVs, the story follows a group of thieves and their (at first) unwilling friends to not only rob Pope Leo X and the his family, but also expose him and the other leaders in the Church as cruel, greedy frauds.
The characters were compelling (I liked how Michelangelo was part of the plot) and their backstories made it clear how much was at stake for each of them. Overall, I'd say it was similar Six of Crows without the fantasy aspect. I'd recommend this to any friend who reads YA.

Ever since Assassin's Creed II I have been intrigued by the Medici. Pair that with thieves, I was hooked. I will say that the start of this is a bit of a slow burn in figuring things out, but then the end picks up. Give it a chance and you won't be sorry.

so bland and i expected more sadly :( had potential but didn't deliver imo. i was expecting something a bit more hi-fi, something where i could follow the twists and turns of the characters and be invested. but sadly i wasn't in this one.

As a History Professor, I was excited for the idea behind this book. It had some good points but overall, I did not feel the writing was on par with what young adults would be interested in. I think it's a nice one time read; however, I do not believe that it is a book I could read again.

I try to take into account that I am not within YA’s target audience (age wise) anymore when I read this category. But at risk of sounding a bit harsh, everything about this book is mediocre. It’s not that bad in terms of prose or characters or plot, but something about it is incredibly boring to read. It’s the kind of book you pick up and repeatedly think to yourself: “There are much better YA heist stories out there I could be reading right now.” I won’t list titles to compare because I think that would be a bit unfair to do, but this is really the feeling you’re left with.

Medici Heist follows Rosa’s return to the city state of Florence in the year 1517, six years after she originally left the city. Pope Leo X, also known as Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, returns to the city after his exile on the same day. Thus begins our heist story. Rosa gathers her old friends Sarra, Agata, and Giacomo, as well as newcomers Khalid and Michelangelo (yes, the very one you are thinking of) to assist her with stealing indulgences from the Pope.

The cast of characters and the dialogue are easily the strongest things about this story. Are they breaking any molds? No, but they’re serviceable. A few more rounds of polish and they might begin to really stand up on their own instead of falling a bit more into the trope-y side of camp. I had no idea that Schneiderhan was a writer for the latest season of Stranger Things until after I had received the ARC, but I think it’s very apparent that she is used to screenwriting. This can be a strength as much as it can be a weakness – the dialogue is a bit clunky, but like I said, it’s the strongest thing Medici Heist has going for it.

The biggest issue this story faces is that it felt as though the stakes were truly nonexistent. I think a major problem comes from starting the book off with a little girl character who isn’t a POV. I can understand wanting to set the correct tone for your book, and maybe chapter one wouldn’t have accomplished that in a way you would’ve liked, but opening up with a non-POV character can be extremely confusing and jarring to the reader. There’s a certain way you have to navigate that sort of decision and I feel like it was done poorly. I really had no idea she was even a small child (though we were given very weird, confusing hints at it I suppose) until towards the end of the chapter/Rosa’s POV.

I’m not sure how you would go about fixing the stakes to make the heist seem extremely vital/serious way earlier on, but I think this book is genuinely suffering because of it. It’s hard to care about any of the characters as it stands because it feels like nothing is really riding on them successfully stealing the indulgences. Sure, the Medici family rule Florence with an iron fist and that sucks, but we need established personal connections within the first couple of chapters as to why this is so important. We need more than just a vague, “People are unhappy the Medici family are back and posting flyers around town about Florence being a republic.” Especially when nothing in any of these characters' lives would have changed from the Medici family coming back. They would still be involved in the criminal circles they’re in, would still be going about their day to day lives just fine, etc. No one besides Michelangelo has a good enough reason to undermine the Medici power structure in Florence.

I think all of these things made me very unenthused with the book.

I loved the idea of the “Medici Heist” by Caitlin Schneiderhan, historical fiction set in Florence during the reign of Pope Leo X. It centers on an interesting premise, but unfortunately for me, the characters never came into focus and the plot to steal from the Medici was so convoluted that the story was hard to follow. When I read historical fiction, I am looking for rabbit holes for the author to lead me to, that I need to follow up and learn more about. That never happened. Maybe it is because I know quite a bit about this era, and have traveled to Florence more than once. While the setting and the premise captured me, the book never delivered. I wanted to quit starting about half way through, but I persevered. The ending (no spoilers) was disappointing. There were so many better ways that the story could have come to a conclusion that would have been more satisfactory. I also struggled to see this as a YA novel, maybe because the characters were all teenagers? I received a copy of this in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book had me with old time Florence, a heist, and a found family. All of these elements created a compelling story that captivates both lovers of historical settings and intricate heists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for accepting my request for an ACR of this book!
3/5
“Very well,” she said. “Let’s rob the Medici family.”
This to me felt like an Italian version of Six of Crows. First off is the Pros, I love a good heist, this one was no different. The setting was a breath of fresh air, there aren't a lot of Italian based stories out there, and there should be more. Not to mention the time period and the fact that there was a corrupt Pope?! I loved the characters, and their personalities. Now for the cons, I had trouble keeping everyone's stories straight. I felt there was obviously more of a spotlight on some of the characters than the others. I also felt like the pacing was just a tad hard to follow.

This was a very enjoyable read! I think my favorite part of this book was the time period that this story takes place. I feel like this is somewhat of an under-explored period in this genre of books and it felt very fresh to me. I absolutely loved the characters and found the dialogue to be very funny (I actually snorted in parts). The heist itself was my favorite part of the story! Overall, a solid read.

I knew immediately from the first paragraph that the writing was not for me. The prose is heavily narrative and overly expositional. It was supposed to be a fast/high-action chapter, but it felt slow because it’s so narrative, even with its short length. I stopped after chapter 1 (2%). I’d guess it will be a three-star for the target audience, four to five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the ARC.