Thank you to the author, Net Galley , and the publisher for an ARC of Medici Heist in exchange for an honest review.
Medici Heist is a fun historical heist with a found family. I liked the quick pace and the characters. I thought it was fun to have Michelangelo as a character in the heist. If you like action, friends, and twisty plots give this a try.

Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan, 421 pages. Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan), 2024. $21. lgbtq
Language: R (106 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Not everyone in Florence is happy to see the Medici return as Pope and head cardinal to replace the blossoming Republic Fiorentina. With a crew of five others, Rosa (17yo) is determined to rob the Medici family blind—but when your home is being threatened, keeping things strictly about the money is near impossible.
Schneiderhan balances perfectly the building of anticipation, with the right amounts of success and hurdles, and the absolute delight of watching how everything actually turns out. The setup drops a good amount of hints without being obvious or boring, and the inclusion of a last-minute crew member gives Schneiderhan a legit reason for explaining what happened after the fact. There are a couple parts I still have questions about, but my bits of confusion do not take away from my overall enjoyment of this heist. I can even see myself reading it again.
Most of the characters are explicitly or implied Italian, and Khalid is Tunisian. A couple of the main characters are members of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, illegal activity, partial nudity (and mentions of nudity in art), kissing, innuendo, and mentions of charlatans and rape. The violence rating is for blood, assault, mentions of suicide, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I vacillated between giving this a 2.5 or 3 stars. There was just enough I liked to make it 3 stars, though I'm still debating this. I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise sounds so good, but the execution was off. It's not terrible, but it could have been so much better.

The first thing I noticed was the writing style, which I think is something many readers noticed. It reads a lot like a script at times, which makes sense as the author is a screenwriter. The story doesn't flow quite right, as some scenes are written completely in a screenwriting style, while others are written more for what you'd expect in a novel. The interactions the characters have with each other at times would have been much better displayed on a screen, while their personalities are lacking. I had a hard time differentiating between Rosa and Sarra, as they read like the same character. I would be thinking I was reading about one when I was really reading about the other. They would have been much better as a single character, or as two characters with different personalities and such. Another thing I noticed was the speech. For a book that takes place in the early 1500's in Italy, the characters speak a lot like modern day people. I get that it can be hard at times to convey the proper speech of a region or time period in a novel, but there didn't seem to be much effort in this regard. If it hadn't been for the descriptions of Florence and the use of Italian honorifics, you would never know where or when this book took place.

As far as the heist goes, I was rather let down. I was expecting something along the lines of The Italian Job, but there really wasn't a lot in regards to the actual heist or the parts the characters play. We get a brief description of each character and what they're supposed to do, who they planning on robbing, and then a couple hundred pages of random storylines and events. We're left in the dark about how the actual heist is supposed to happen, and then when things go wrong, they still miraculously pull it off without much explanation as to how. It all seemed to end a little easily for what occurred.

I will say that the descriptions of Florence and the many buildings are well done. It made me want to go back to Italy and see more of the country, as I didn't make it to Florence when I was there before. While I didn't love Sarra or Rosa, I did enjoy Giacomo and Khalid. The inclusion of Michelangelo was an interesting touch as well.

Like I said earlier, this isn't terrible, but it leaved a lot to be desired.

DNF at 29%...I wasn't feeling this one; heist novels have started to feel the same to me, and the only thing about this book that I found interesting was the 1500s Florence setting. I'd consider picking it up again for that element alone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian for sending me an ARC to review!

As soon as I saw heist + band of misfit criminals + renaissance Italy + Michaelangelo is there?? Of course I had to check this one out.

This book opens up with a fun scene that really sets the stage and puts you in the moment, feeling the tension of Florence under Medici rule. We get introduced to each of the characters one by one in a really fun way. You definitely get the Oceans Eleven vibe as the two partners are assembling each role ("ok we need a player, an apothecary...") You can also tell there's some tension simmering beneath each character's surface as the planning begins.

Unfortunately, this book did lull a bit in the middle for me. It seemed like each character had to go on a bit of a side quest or have some backstory unfold, and we lost the central plot. It felt like we lost some of the urgency that makes a heist novel so exciting.

BUT - it did really came together in the end. Like any good heist story, the usage of different perspectives kept me on my toes as it seemed like things weren't going to plan, or they weren't going to pull it off, but with just the right twists and turns everything was revealed in the end and it was so satisfying. Also, there were a few threads of romance that tied up right at the end that actually felt like a fun surprise, rather than something that was forced.

We can't do partial stars on Netgalley, but I gave this one 3.75 stars!

Welcome to the renaissance. The scene is Florence, 1517, and the Medici family rules the city with a puppet Pope at their side. Extorting the people of Tuscany, the Medici’s sit upon an exorbitant pile of indulgence money. Con-woman Rosa Cellini hopes to steal it right from under their noses, *if* she can pull off the greatest heist of all time.

Medici Heist introduces us to a diverse cast of characters, each getting their individual times to shine. Rosa will need to rope the best of the best into her crew if she wants to steal a mountain of money and live to tell the tale. Her team consists of Sarra the tinkerer, Agata the apothecary, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo the master of disguise. To top it all off, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of Michelangelo (yes, THAT Michelangelo).

This was a super fun read that solidly sets the scene in historic Italy. It does a fantastic job of incorporating the setting into the story and has beautiful descriptions, great scheming, and entertaining action scenes. This was truly the foundation of a terrific book. What knocks this down a star is the lack of dimension. I’d liken the experience to reading a play. The play loses something in the written form without actors adding in the depth and emotion. Actors bring a lifeless script to life by adding emotions and tone to the text. My favorite authors craft characters that jump off the page and while Medici Heist was descriptive, cinematic even, the characters fell a bit flat. I was not surprised to find out after reading that Schneiderhan is a script writer.

If you love a good setting with a great atmosphere, I’d still recommend this read! It has great vibes but could have benefitted from deeper character work. 4 out of 5 stars.

Originally I worried this book wouldn't be for me, but it very quickly grew on as one of my favorite reads this year purely for the fun and whimsy I felt while reading it! The characters and the plot are so enjoyable and this felt so easy to read and find myself swept away in everything!

I wanted this one to be for me as any book with a comparison to Six of Crows I will pick up. However, I feel like the author took that comparison and tried to go far with it and it didn't work. I wish I had loved this one but I didn't.

I love books like this. I love it when people from different backgrounds come together to pull the perfect heist. This book has it all. It will sweep readers off their feet and suck them in right away on a great endeavor to bring down the Medici family. This story is fast paced and has so many lovely twists and turns. I also love all of the representation and growth portrayed with different characters. I can’t wait to get it into readers’ hands.
Thank you to Macmillian Children’s Publishing Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title

From the moment I started this book, there was something about it that felt strange to me. Once I went back and read the Author’s summary, I realized what it was: this read very much like a script. t’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it also wasn’t something that I enjoyed. The pacing felt off, like it was too quick. It felt like every time I started to fall into the plot, I was yanked back out with a change in character POV. Several times I got confused with who was who, because the characters were sort of thrown in and out quickly, and left character development to be desired.

The book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a favorite of mine.

Thank you NetGalley, Feiwel & Friends, and Macmillan Young Listeners for an eARC and advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of a heist set during the Renaissance was catnip to me, especially because the Medici family are perfect for intrigue and court politics.

Schneiderhan knows how to write a scene, and I thought the action in this was very well done. Her writing reads smoothly and I think she’s got a good grasp on basics. Despite the fact this is easy to read, the overall story and characters felt flat to me—I struggled with differentiating the characters from one another and at times it kind of just felt like a collection of scenes rather than a novel.

The descriptions are cinematic in nature and I came as close as I could to “seeing” a scene in my head (historically, it’s just dark up there for me. there is no movie playing in my head, but sometimes I can get the vaguest impressions). I think this would make a really solid miniseries and actors could really bring the characters to life, but based on the writing alone it felt like a standard YA heist novel. The plot beats were solid but there’s a missing spark, I think, and if Schneiderhan’s writing hadn’t been so digestible, I would’ve gotten really lost.

The audiobook was well done, and I think Sara Alexander did a good job at trying to bring little quirks to each of the characters, even though I had a hard time telling them apart. It definitely contributed to the overall movie-like feel of the book, so while this won’t stick with me, I did have an overall positive experience.

I have come to accept that this book is simply not for me. The premise was intriguing, but for some reason, I just could not get into it. I understand what this was meant to be, and I really liked it, but it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

3.5/5 stars

This was perfectly fine - well written with interesting characters. It just wasn't anything new or exciting enough to make me go "Wow! This is fantastic!". I thought the setting was interesting and I appreciated the use of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, but that was really just a new front on a heist story we've all ready 10000 times.

I don't mean to be negative - it really was well done and I did enjoy it. I simply wasn't blown away, thus the middling rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Medici-ruled Florence, Medici Heist follows a group of young thieves who set out to rob the Medici Pope, Leo X, of his fortune. The descriptions of the city were very well done – I could easily tell that the author put a lot of time and research into getting the feel of 1500s Florence right. I appreciated all the historical and political aspects of the Medici family and their broader impact on Florence, the church, and Italy as a whole.

While reading, I struggled to discern the characters from one another. Their personalities were all quite similar, along with their motivations for participating in the heist against the Pope. The romantic elements of the story felt forced, and I often wondered why certain side characters were cropping up when and where they did. Sometimes, they felt more like plot devices than anything else.

Each of the main characters would have benefited from being fleshed out further. One of the main reasons they believed the heist could be pulled off was due to the engineering talents of Sarra – yet the reader never sees her actually engineer or create anything.

Overall, an intriguing and seemingly high-stakes premise that ultimately fell flat for me.

I love a good heist story, and the setting of early 1500s Italy sealed the deal with this novel.

Rosa was wronged by the corrupt Medici family and has spent the past six years plotting her revenge. She can’t pull off her plan alone, so when she returns to Florence she recruits a team to help her. The team includes a tinkerer, a master of disguise, a fighter – and Michelangelo. Yes, the one and only.

This author knows how to set a scene, and the descriptions of sixteenth century Italy paint a beautiful picture. It’s easy to imagine these characters moving about the streets of Florence as they lay the building blocks of Rosa’s plan. As a devoted fan of snark, I certainly enjoyed some of the quips between these characters and laughed out loud more than once. With four different POVs, the story is told in alternating chapters. I liked how Rosa recruits each team member and the way each of their backstories is gradually revealed, with some tugging at my heartstrings. The story moves at a breakneck pace near the end as Rosa’s meticulously constructed heist encounters roadblocks, and the characters’ fates are uncertain. The ending plays out like an Ocean’s movie as actions the reader might not have picked up on are divulged – it left me with a smile on my face.

While I enjoyed the strong found family vibe, the four main characters weren’t as distinct as I’d hoped. I listened to the audiobook and unless the character’s name was mentioned, I wasn’t always clear whose POV chapter I was in. Still, it’s an exciting story.

Recommended for readers who enjoy David vs. Goliath-type stories, found family, and intricate heist plots.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As soon as I heard about this book - a historical based heist novel - I was like 'yes, please'. So big thanks to Net Galley and the publisher (Feiwel & Friends) for the chance to read this ARC.

This book is so much fun! It's a fun, fast paced read with such enjoyable characters. I love the way things just keep going, it's not a peril-filled book, but it is fast-paced. To be honest, it's one of the few books I've read this year that I was fully confident reading just before bed because I trusted the author very quickly to not fill the book with unpleasantness.

The heist story is fun and I definitely feel some Leverage in it. (Which is all for the good for me as I love that show.) Things don't go smoothly, of course, but our mastermind Rosa is well up to the task.

For as much as I love the historical - which it plays super fast and loose with - heist aspects of this book, I am a character reader and that's were so much of my love for this book goes.

The characters each have their own personalities and they play off of each other wonderfully - and I adore the way you could tell they obviously like each other. A lot of times when I read ensemble cast books, even the ones that are supposedly all about the 'friendship' or 'found family' vibe, I don't get a real feel that there is a tight knit group.

In this book, though, right away, they like each other and you can tell. There's no pettiness, no backstabbing, maybe some needling and arguing, because friends don't let friends do stupid things. (And friends always know where to poke to hurt the most.)

Because this is an ensemble, I was very pleased - and somewhat shocked - to find out that everyone has a story. I'm not used to the level of fairness that this book has with the plot. Each of our narrators has something else going on, has things that tie into the heist plot. And you get to find out a lot about them and their pasts and I just really appreciate the fact that this isn't an 'ensemble' with one or two obviously main characters, two secondary characters and one or two people that are always forgotten and you pretty much don't know why the author even created them. Everyone has a story and everyone is important to the heist.

I'm honestly super glad I requested this book from Net Galley because the lower Goodreads reviews - and a lot of them talking about how lacking the characters are - would have probably caused me to give the book a pass. And the fact is, yes, the book isn't a deep, thoughtful, navel-gaze-y, what is the meaning of the world type book. (I don't like those type of books, anyway.) But what it is is fun with a cast of characters that I truly loved spending time with and a snappy story and writing style that does bear out the authors screenplay roots.

(And, honestly, I would LOVE to see this as a movie. That would be so awesome!)

This book had so much going for it. Renaissance Italy, a heist, found family, rich in history. I was so ready to fall head over heels in love with it but sadly my feelings are only lukewarm.

The POVs jump around a lot and I struggled to keep them straight. I also found that there is too much telling instead of showing with the writing style.

I did like the characters but I wanted more of them as people instead of their factual backstory. I feel like I didn’t connect with them enough.

I was hoping for THE GILDED WOLVES or SIX OF CROWS meets Oceans 11 but sadly, I only got a fraction of that.

Good but not great. I would try this author again because I did love the premise of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fantastically FUN romp of a YA heist, with plenty of pining and the best kind of angst! I loved the way the heist was written--that's really difficult to pull off! Heists are notoriously easier on screen, but Schneiderhan does a great job. The banter/language is more modern than the setting, but that didn't pull me out of the narrative. The setting is so incredibly vivid. I wanted to leap through the pages!

Medici Heist will make a wonderful movie. It’s full of fast action scenes, cinematic descriptions, a relatively short timeline, and diverse characters. Usually, that would be a good thing. But the medium of a novel didn’t match the story. Scenes that would’ve felt incredible were they filmed felt choppy and distorted written down. Character descriptions that would’ve been amazing notes for an actor to bring to life instead fell flat. Whip-smart dialogue that would’ve been hilarious to hear on screen ended up feeling repetitive without vocal tonal shifts. As you might’ve guessed, my main issues with this novel were the writing and the characters.

First, there were too many repetitive characters. One thing you’re taught as a writer is to cut/combine characters whenever possible. If two characters have the same skill set, it’s okay to make them into one person. Sarra and Rosa were essentially the same person with different skills and the book would’ve been better had they actually been one person. Most of the interpersonal conflicts they dealt with could have easily been simplified into one storyline instead of two separate arcs that weren’t needed and slowed down the pacing. The author didn’t spend enough time developing them as separate people, so I was bored every time I read from their perspective.

As for Giacomo and Khalid, they got more character development, but not enough. Readers could’ve used more time getting to know their individual backstories and motivations instead of a few flashbacks. Again, this book will work well as a movie. Every written scene would be more powerful on screen with more than words to bring it to life because the words alone weren’t enough to transport me into the characters’ minds. To me, flashbacks serve a purpose when they’re charged with emotional resonance. Here, there were a ton of flashbacks that showed an event rather than making the audience feel it.

That brings me to my next issue: writing. Medici Heist would make an excellent blueprint for a film, yet as a novel, I grew bored. It was like reading the black-and-white outline of what the story should be: the color hadn’t been filled in, nor had the depth or emotion. The author spent more time describing the architecture than she did developing her characters’ emotions and thoughts, leaving readers feeling like spectators rather than immersed participants.

Even the plot structure was set up like a movie instead of a novel. There were training montages (literally), scenes of scheming that needed flashy transition music, and a storyline that followed the three-act structure down to a T. Every twist was obvious because it was foreshadowed the way you would foreshadow something on screen—flashy dialogue and dramatic threats meant to grow suspense rather than to plant the seeds of a possible twist.

Don’t get me wrong, the plot was amazing. It was easy to follow without being boring, and though I took significantly longer to finish the novel than I usually do, I always remembered what was going on because the characters would refer back to past events. The historical setting was fun without being overdone and the pacing was perfect. Whenever Medici Heist becomes a movie, I will be first in line to see it. But until that day, the story left me hoping for more.

An engaging heist story set amidst the backdrop of Medici Florence. Filled with historical detail and peppered with real historical figures. The exciting plot to steal from the Medici keeps the story moving, but it is the engaging characters, who you really come to care deeply for, that make this a must read!