Member Reviews
YA thriller with an Ocean 11 plot and rich people vibes. Cute, fun, but a bit messy. I loved the found family, the heist was fun and the setting was great. Towards the middle the authors tried to do too much and the plot points got mixed up and confusing. Character wise, I do like the growth throughout the book, but the main character Olivia was rather unlikeable for most of it. I like the revenge vibes, but I just did not like her and how she treated others.
Overall, this is a fun YA book to pass the time.
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the advanced readers copy!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for a honest review. I absolutely loved this heist book. The characters were fun and well developed. The plot certainly kept me in my toes as well. There was also some good humor sprinkled throughout as well. I'm definitely hoping there will be a sequel...seems like there will be. I will be sure to read more by this author in the future!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to reading this book in advance of its release.
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To start off being completely transparent, I DNF'd this book at 39%. I do not have the tendency to not finish books so this was a challenging decision. . I quite enjoyed the titles this book is being compared to so I was really looking forward to this one as a fan of those and these authors' previous works, including their other YA titles. Unfortunately, this book just missed the mark for me. From the beginning, I felt the story dragged a bit. I had a hard time feeling really engaged in the story. A lot of the themes feel very predictable and the turns taken in the parts I did read didn't really make me nervous or anything in a way I feel I should be in a high stakes heist situation, if that makes sense? It was just like oh...okay. The pacing feels very slow and there's so much internal monologue the exciting parts of the story get drowned out in the internal turmoil of the main character. Not for me.
This book was tough for me to rate, because I have mixed feelings about it. I was particularly excited for this book, but it fell just a little short for me.
I liked more about this book than I disliked. I appreciated Olivia’s struggle with wanting love and acceptance from both of her parents, and her guilt over her parents’ divorce. Her anger and her resentment of her father battled with just wanting his love, and I think this is a relatable feeling for a lot of young people, and it helped me really understand and empathize with her character.
I also enjoyed the humor in this book. It was definitely young people humor but I can still enjoy that in my old age! I laughed out loud more than once while reading this.
The twist was also totally unpredictable for me. Although it was an overdone trope, in my opinion, I thought it worked well in this context and I didn’t see it coming.
The thing I struggled with the most in this book, and struggled A LOT, was the pacing. I felt like it was so slow at times, and that I was dragging myself through it. Not a whole lot of anxiety or suspense was built up during this story. I was expecting an edge-of-your-seat, thrilling heist story and it was just too slow. I think what might have helped with pacing is cutting out some of the redundant reiterations of ideas that became repetitive fluff.
Overall, I liked this story. I think a lot of people would enjoy it. It just was not quite there for me.
I am so appreciative to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Readers for the opportunity to read this advance copy!
This was a good YA book, that has a few elements of humor. The rag-tag team preparing for the heist was an eclectic mix, and I liked being able to learn a little about each of them, even if it was through the lens of our MC. I appreciated that I didn't see every single twist, but definitely called out the majority of them.
Primarily, I struggled with the pacing; several story points just felt so belabored and the story dragged on and on. It felt like the wedding scenes lasted 15-20 minutes and not the length of a song. That added with some reallllllly tough to swallow events just made it seem a bit too far fetched for my personal liking.
That said, I do think it'll draw in readers of a younger age who will be able to enjoy the story at more of a surface level than I did as an adult who just repeated shook their head.
Overall: 3 stars (I liked it)
I'll tell my students about: language, LGBT+, sex (mentioned), mental/emotional abuse, trauma, cyber stalking,
**Thank you to NetGalley & Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**
honestly never thought they would write a heist book, but they pulled it off so perfectly! I love this author duo and this is no exception. what a fun YA adventure!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Overall I really enjoyed this. It had a little bit of everything. Revenge, a heist, love story, familiar twists, and imperfect protagonists.
The book definitely dragged in places as the pacing wasn’t spot on. Usually I fly through books but this took a few days as while I enjoyed it, I didn’t get the sense of urgency to keep reading or return as soon as possible.
The main character Olivia, a cast out heiress isn’t overly likable but she is identifiable underneath everything. The love story between her and Jackson was a bit frustrating as they are broken up and the events between them just don’t ring as authentic and some just plain ridiculously outlandish as it doesn’t mimic reality. But it’s a minor part of the book so you can get past it.
Overall i recommend grabbing it when it gets published if you like the themes listed.
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again
"I guess what I'm saying is....hold your grudge. Get your vengeance. Wonderful, as long as it's not...against yourself."
This was a really fun read. I picked it up based on the comparison to the Inheritance Games, and while I don't know that it completely reaches that level, anyone who loved those books is going to enjoy this one too.
Seventeen year old Olivia Owens needs money. Cast out of her extremely rich father's house after her parents' divorce, she's gone from private schools and designer couture to public school and a minimum wage job. Desperate both to help her mom pay off mountains of medical debt and to get revenge on her slimy, cheating dad, Olivia carefully cultivates a group of individuals from her new life and plots to steal millions during her father's upcoming wedding to bride #3. But she's not the only one headed to the wedding with an agenda, and it's going to take everything she has to make it out unscathed.
Was this book particularly realistic? Definitely not. Was it still a good time even with all the ridiculousness? Absolutely. The plot for this one is one twist after the other - some of which I called, many of which I didn't - so it's a quick read (I finished in about a day and a half). The heist team had some pretty lovable characters, so it wasn't hard to root for them. Olivia reminded me of Veronica Mars a little bit - smart, sarcastic, underestimated due to her appearance, and all-in when it comes to getting even with those who have wronged her. I had Vector from Despicable Me in my head for Kevin at the beginning (and still a little at the end too) but he grows on you. I've never read anything by this author team before, but after this I'll need to give their other books a try.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! While I didn’t love this book, there were things I did like find appealing for my students to want to read it, First, the characters-I was rather irritated with Olivia. If she lived with her father for all those years, I just don’t see how he and the people around him wouldn’t know that she wasn’t ditzy and wouldn’t know what she was really like. I also didn’t find her heist very realistic. To be honest, my favorite character was Kevin, the annoying rich boy son of her dad’s accountant. Her assembled group also didn’t seem realistic but were likable anyways. The heist, though not realistic, was fun, as it had some twists and things that went wrong that required quick thinking on the part of her crew. There were several twists, especially near the end that I think readers will enjoy. I wish it didn’t talk about sex with her ex so casually; I just don’t think that was needed for the story. I do think the language was pretty clean from what I recall. In the end, I cannot give it full stars as there were many times I was skimming to get to the good stuff, but I do feel like it will appeal to some teen readers and will keep their attention.
I absolutely love this author duo and was excited to see them branch into a new genre….however maybe they should stick to what they do best.
Seventeen-year-old Olivia Owens isn't thrilled that her dad's getting remarried...again. She's especially not thrilled that he cheated on her mom, kicked them out of their Rhode Island home, and cut Olivia out of her rightful inheritance.
But this former heiress has a plan for revenge. While hundreds of guests gather on the grounds of the gorgeous estate where she grew up, everyone will be thinking romance—not robbery. She’ll play the part of dutiful daughter, but in reality she’ll be redistributing millions from her father’s online accounts.
This one starts off with a bang on page one and then almost immediately hits the brakes hard. The pacing was all over the place and the short chapters with cliff hangers were great, until almost every single result was super boring or just plain silly. There was an underlying romance component which felt really unnecessary and again took away from pacing. I also have to comment on how so many plot points seemed unexplained such as her father wanting nothing to do with nor her with him but they still have weekly dinners? Why????
This is targeted as YA but at times didn’t feel that way at all especially with complex vocabulary but also did feel YA due to immaturity levels.
I will say the ending plot twist was good but overall these authors definitely have better pieces of work I would recommend over this one.
This was so fun and full of twists!
If I had to describe this quickly (and badly), just would say that this is about a girl with deep seeded rich daddy issues who plans a heist with her friends and a teacher to steal millions from her father. 🤷🏼♀️
Olivia’s dad is a terrible man who cheated on her mother and when she told her mom, he kicked them out of the house basically leaving them with nothing. Olivia’s mom then gets into a car accident which she survives, but the medical bills pile up. Years later, fed up and wanting to get revenge on her father, Olivia puts a crew together to steal 5 million dollars from her father during his third wedding. Can they pull it off or will they get found out?
I really liked the characters in this for the most part. Olivia kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I think she was a bit more vindictive than she wanted to admit. However, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the other characters. With the teacher though, like sir, what were you doing there? Even with the explanation, it seemed a little far fetched. Besides that, I also enjoyed the thrown in romance aspect of it. Olivia was told her boyfriend was cheating on her and he tries to get her back. I actually liked how that all turned out.
Overall, this was fun and filled with twists at every turn that kept it exciting! I love the idea of a heist ran by teenagers-very “Catch That Kid” and I was here for it. This was also compared to Inheritance Games and I did get that feel! If you’re looking for a fast paced and thrilling, this is the book for you!
Fans of ocean’s Eleven and similar genres will enjoy the story of a disinherited young woman seeking revenge on her father and the twists of achieving her goals. If the reader can suspend their disbelief of a teenager managing to manipulate the situations and security teams, there is still some of the story that feels missing. Not a bad read, the story moves quickly and is entertaining, but there are plot holes that are not resolved at the end and the reader is left to wonder if the heroine is any better than the villain.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing this book, with my honest review below.
Heiress Takes All was so much fun, and I was glad to see a well done heist novel for a younger reader. Olivia used to be the heiress in the title until her mother divorced her not so great father. Resolving to recover some money for her family, Olivia plans a heist with a funny cast of characters to take place during her father’s wedding. She finds herself, romance, and that deception is a complicated concept in doing so.
This was a great ride and I thought it brought a little bit of everything for readers looking for adventurous books that mirror some of the shows and movies they may enjoy. Recommended!
This was a super fun read and I loved how big the cast of characters was. The twist was great but I felt like it was a little predictable and I guessed it early on.
Olivia plans to steal millions from her father's online accounts after he cheats on her mom and cuts her off finacially. She works with a crew to handle the heist.
It's a suspense/heist novel filled with humour. The romance is sweet and has lots of touching moments. Jackson is very sweet! I love the over-the-top plot and twists...
Thanks to the publisher for the arc.
How many times do I have to try these authors before I can just admit that they aren't for me? It's me, I'm the problem.
I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected. Let me preface this with an apology. If I sound stunningly inarticulate at times in this review, I can't help it. My mind is completely fried from this being amazing. I recommend it for those looking for a good suspense book. My only complaint is that in order to make it a standalone, the author gave away too much of the plots of the previous books.
“Heiress Takes All” is an adventurous YA mystery / thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. Light easy, entertaining read for teens, YA and adults alike.
The first chapter had me hooked, we see our FMC racing through a mansion whilst being chased down by guards, and just as we think she has found an escape an unknown persons crashes the party.
Then we flash back to what brought our heroine to these circumstances and learn all about her plot to run a heist with the goal of stealing millions of dollars from her awful father, with the help of her group of trusty misfits with unique sets of skills.
We also have some romantic tension and chemistry with the likes of her steamy ex boyfriend, Family feuds and lots of twists and action.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, this is the perfect pallet cleanser if you’re looking to take a break with a not-so-serious, humorous and adventurous read.
Thank you to Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka, Little brown books for young readers and NetGalley for the EARC!
Publish date: June 4th
This story has it all-a clever heroine with heart, misfit co-conspirators, angry family and a sexy ex-boyfriend. The clever planning of the heist and many, many unexpected twists mKe this a very fun read. Olivia is a great character, but my personal favorite is Jackson. The rest of the crew are perfect. I would recommend this title to all teens.
Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books from Young Readers for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is my first YA read of this author pair- as I've only read their adult romances previously and I loved how their collective voice translated to this genre. This story was full of twists and wildcards and overall was very exciting. I loved the found family aspect along with the character growth. I will definitely be seeking out more of Emily & Austin's YA backlist!