4 stars!

I loved Charish Reid's last book, "Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up," so I was excited to read "Jewel Me Twice." This is not my typical type of romance book, but with Reid's excellent writing at the helm, I ended up really enjoying this second-chance, 40-somethings jewel-heisty affair! Go in knowing that this book is about the heist first and the romance aspect second. If you can temper your expectations on that front, you might end up liking this as much as I did. But believe me...when the romance starts romancing.... ooooooooooh boy, are you in for a treat! I *lived for* the chemistry and the banter between the main characters, Celeste and Magnus. Their interactions had me begging for more every single time they were in a room together! Celest and Magnus are both smart, attractive thieves at the top of their game when something happens that sets them on different paths for five years. When a tragedy brings them back together for one more heist, the attraction between them is still there, but can they put the actions of their past to the side so they can pull off the job? This story is not just about their hotness and their smokin' hot chemistry. There is a deep love and tenderness and yearning between the two of them that is palpable, in my opinion, from page one. I also appreciate the heck out of these characters being in their 40s! YES!! Just because we're in our 40s doesn't mean we're dead, people! Love to Charish Reid for always including characters around that age in her books. There's a lot more at play here that I don't want to spoil, but just know that there is also a found family aspect to this story that will have you connecting to the side characters just as deeply as you'll connect with the main characters. This book is slick, sexy as h3ll, and wildly entertaining! Don't sleep on it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Charish Reid, Canary Street Press, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This wasn’t exactly on my radar at first because I told myself I wasn’t a fan of heist novels. They stress me out. BUT when I saw the author, I said eff it and gave it a try. Because I will read anything by Charish. Indie or trad. She can take all my money lol

So about the book. If you’re going into this and you’re looking for the romance to be the center, don’t. The biggest part of this book is the heist. And although the romance is here and it’s definitely hinted to on the cover, I would say this is more of a thriller or adventure novel with some romance added to it. I saw this because there’s another heist as soon as the last one is over. It wasn’t a bad thing for me because I love thrillers because they keep me on my toes, but if this isn’t your thing, this is just something to keep in mind.

The romance itself is ok. I liked it enough. Their chemistry was off the charts tho. There were so many times that I said out-loud, “KISS ALREADY” lol And the way the sleeping meds did Magnus was comical lol I laughed out loud like in real life. I thought the romance was a great “romantic relief” for the tense heists that were happening throughout the book. But I do have a question…. What is the name for a second chance romance when they’ve met before but they have a meet cute kinda thing? Because that had me clutching my pearls. I thought things were about to go very different.

The heists were super cool. It was like a scavenger hunt, but with different heists to complete. It was so crazy the way they were under direction from someone too. Idk why, but this had me glued to the pages. And I thought all the places they went were cool too. I also loved that all the characters had their own job and they put them together to become such a well oiled machine. It was very impressive.

The ending was ok. I loved seeing that we might be getting lucky with another one. Because I need to know what happens with…… Yeah. IYKYK. So go pick this one up so that I can get the next one. Because I need to know what other heists they’re going on!

DNF. Started this book but just couldn’t get into it. I liked the premise of there being a heist and having the characters get together for one more job but this just wasn’t for me. Not bad by any means and I still suggest trying it out even though it didn’t work out for me :)

this book coming out days before my birthday was so amazing because I really love love love, the way this book was written. this book was so amazing and I love the way this book remind me of certain movie and its just so amazingly written... please more black stories!

I initially felt like this was gonna be so entertaining and sexy. Which is surprising for me because I don’t care for cat and mouse nor heist books, movies etc. but the heist and ex lover thing sounded so intriguing. I think about the 20% mark is where this book lost me. I feel like i was just aimlessly reading and not fully enjoying. Unfortunately this was just not for me.

When I first read the blurb of this book, I was immediately drawn to the idea of ex-lovers reuniting for a job, giving them a chance to rekindle old feelings and pursue a second chance at love. I found this concept incredibly exciting! I appreciated that the main characters are in their 30s and 40s; it was refreshing to see adults navigating relationships. While there were aspects of the story that I enjoyed, overall, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I'm usually a fan of Charish’s writing and witty dialogue, but I felt the pacing was off. At times, the story dragged, making it difficult for me to fully engage. The diary entries, intended to add depth, ended up feeling tedious. I went in hoping for an "Ocean's 11" vibe, but I didn’t really find that excitement. I think the heists could have been developed further, even though the crew had a solid dynamic. As for the romance, I found it frustrating—the characters were stubborn, and their chemistry just didn’t resonate with me. Their antics started to feel repetitive, and I found myself wishing for a quicker resolution. Overall, I loved the concept of this book, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. If you're into heists and second chances, though, I would still recommend giving it a try!

DNF at 23%. Both the cover and synopsis drew me in, and while I wanted to love this book…I just couldn’t connect with the characters and found myself losing interest.

This follows a group of thieves who after 5 years have come together for last heist in honor of their mentor who passed away. The book focuses on Magnus and Cece who are former lovers and if they have a shot of rekindling their romance. I struggled with this book as it was a bit a repetitive and I am not a fan of spicy scenes. This is more of a romance book with a bit of heists.

When I first read about Jewel Me Twice, I was immediately hooked. A rom com? And a heist? I’m in! I love rom coms and I will watch almost every single heist movie out there. It was no wonder I was so looking forward to Charish Reid’s latest novel. Unfortunately…it let me down. I was bored - which is not something you should be when you’re reading about jewellery thieves!

Here’s the book’s description:

Love can catch you red-handed.

He was her partner—both in crime and between the sheets. It’s been five years since professional thief Celeste St. Pierre laid eyes on Magnus Larsson. These days, she runs a Manhattan antique store, but her talent for stealing beautiful, shiny things hasn’t faded. And as a chance reunion over a locked safe proves, neither has the heat between her and the gorgeous, ice-cool Magnus.

For Magnus, only one thing beats the thrill of getting away with robbery—and that’s the woman he’s tried hard to forget. Their last job together ended in disaster. But if they’re going to honor their mentor’s last wishes to pull off the theft of the century, they’ll have to temporarily put their grudges behind them.

Crisscrossing Europe on a real-life treasure hunt, Celeste and Magnus quickly rediscover how well they work together. The higher the stakes, the hotter the sexual tension. But one slipup and it won’t be only jewels on the line, but a future that, just maybe, has been the ultimate prize all along…

I felt a lot like Bea, Celeste’s current work partner and protege, when she told Magnus, “I just don’t see it.” “It” being a healthy relationship that made sense between Celeste and Magnus. I didn’t get it either. I just felt like I was missing something between the two of them that made me want to care if they ended up together or not.

I also felt like I was missing something with the whole story and the history between all of the characters. Granted, I started skimming at about the halfway mark because there wasn’t enough happening nor was I getting enough information. Maybe some of that information was hiding in the latter part of the book but, by then, I kinda stopped caring. I almost DNF-ed this one but I really wanted to see how the final heist played out. (Sadly, I felt disappointed in it.)

I did like the found family aspect of the story (even if the found family still had their issues just like blood family does) and I really appreciated that Celeste and Magnus were in their early forties. I had just been talking to someone at work who struggled with a romance novel recently, in part, because of the main characters’ ages. I like that we’re seeing more romances with older characters and hope to find more in the future.

This should have been a great book. But neither the romance nor the heist were executed to the level I expected so Jewel Me Twice just couldn’t thrill me. I think Charish Reid is talented - I’ve read and enjoyed another of her books - and I’ll seek out another of her books in the future, but I was just a little let down by this one. Onto the next!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HTP Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I'm honestly struggling to form words. I wish I could bottle this book up and drink it whenever I'm sad. I want to force all my friends to read this book. I want MORE from this series and author!!!

I loved everything about this book. Celeste and Magnus... their relationship is so complex and emotional. I appreciated that even though this book is *technically* a second chance romance, their backstory is lightly discussed aside from where they went wrong. Celeste and Magnus are so seductive whenever they're together, even beyond a sexual meaning they're so alluring. Any scene with Celeste and Magnus doing literally anything? I'm hooked and reading for the next hour.

The found family dynamics in this book were amazing. I love the journal entries and watching the group (but especially Celeste) grief for Doris. The thievery in this book was just realistic enough to be believable, but just unrealistic enough for it to be fun to read. It felt like I was watching Oceans 8.

The only thing I would change about this book is for it to be longer, maybe another trip for a clue would have been nice.

Beatrice and Santiago, oh I absolutely need more of them.

Find this review on StoryGraph @kathigh86 and on Instagram @katkatreads!

Great for fans of Ocean’s Eleven, Jewel Me Twice brings the heist aspects and group dynamics of the film series, with a touch of the puzzles and clues aspects of The Inheritance Games, plus a heavy dose of sizzling hot chemistry.

Years after their last job together, Celeste St. Pierre and Magnus Larsson meet again when they both go after the same score. It could have been as simple as encountering each other that one time and then drifting their separate ways, but their late mentor had other plans.

Before her death, she set events in motion to bring the team together again to pull off a major heist in her memory (and to encourage them to all reconnect).

Read it for
- The 🔥🔥🔥tension and love scenes
- The thrill of the heist
- The adventure of criss-crossing Europe
- The found family
- The tenderness and vulnerability between Celeste and Magnus when they open up to each other
- The chance to get things right the second time around
- The push-pull of opposites attract
- The found family aspects of the team
- Two super-smart, extremely hot, successful MCs in their 40s

I received an advance copy of the book from Harlequin Trade Publishing and Canary Street Press. All review opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book when it came down to the action parts. This book had me at heists and I was all for it. The only thing I wasn't vibing with was the spice, but that has always been hit or miss for me. Some days I cannot get enough and other's I'm like turn those pages until the action picks back up. I think this book I just really wanted to continue living through the action.

This was such a fun read! I really liked the characters, I liked how the couple were both older and had more life experience. I enjoyed watching both of them navigate a second chance at a relationship. I also enjoyed the hest elements, it was super fun to imagine.

Loved this book. It made me laugh, teary eyed and more. I loved the 2nd chance trope in books so much.

This book was so fun and fast paced!! I love a good heist and Charish’s swoony romances. A perfect balance of humor and action and lovey dovey stuff.

This was a fun read. After the death of their mentor, the old team must come together for the heist of all heists.
The thrill of possibly being caught.
This was an action packed treasure hunt.

After five years of not seeing her, Magnus had to know what trouble she was up to.

It's been five years since Magnus walked away not only from their crew but from Celeste. Now, an antiques store owner by day, but not able to give up the thrill of thieving, Celeste works with Bea, a young woman she's befriended and trained. When a job has Celeste running into Magnus, and the death of their mentor, Dr. Doris Grant, has them working together again, the heat reignites between them. As they go on a stealing treasure hunt that Doris set-up for after her death, they'll have a second chance to decide what's really important and what they want out of life.

And rather than see the woman he cared for jeopardize her life again, he left them all behind.

Jewel Me Twice started off with a little bit of movie True Lies and Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes that instantly captured my attention. The danger and heat simmering when Celeste and Magnus run into each other for the first time in five years while on a job, was definitely felt. The tension continued when they get delivered a red envelope alerting them that their mentor and the one who recruited them into her crew of thieves, has passed on but wants the old crew to get together at her home, where she'll send them on one last treasure hunt. It was, oddly, when the treasure hunt began that I thought the flow lost some of it's way. Celeste gets left Doris' diary and we get sections of what she had wrote. It becomes obvious that Doris feels some responsibility for how everything went down after a job failed that caused Magnus and Celeste to split. Doris sending them on the treasure hunt is her way of getting them back together and giving them their second chance to get things right.

Did they truly know each other? Beyond the intimacy they shared?

Celeste and Magnus were older characters, forties, that were more set in their ways. There was some towards the end realizing how each was at fault for how things ended but Celeste's chip on her shoulder was a bit too real for most of the book for me. Her attitude towards Magnus fooled me even as the reader and I started to feel that she did only want Magnus for bedroom scenes and didn't have or want that deeper emotional connection with him. Some of her antagonism is from Magnus growing up rich, even though his parents died in a car crash when he was young, and knows he didn't start his thieving career from necessity, like her. There's also friction from Magnus not liking how Celeste takes chances and Celeste thinking he's too controlling on jobs. They have some working out about these feelings but I still felt the bulk of their relationship was bedroom scenes that, albeit, read on page hot but not emotionally grabbing and giving the depth I like and have me believing and connecting with their relationship.

Along with Bea, there were two other secondary characters from their old crew, Lawrence and Santiago that brought some outer world rounding out; Bea and Santiago very much feel like they could be set-up for their own book. While they travel to Estonia and Sweden, we don't really spend a significant time there to really feel the settings and they were pretty efficient at their jobs, so, except for the last one, the heists felt more like a blip (since I'm personally obsessed with them, I have to mention, Fabergé egg bonus moment!). The last job brought in a princess and Interpol agent with some tangents that I felt didn't quite fit. I thought this started off strong but there was some not fitting quite right pieces, the riddles, treasure hunt, emotional connections, diary entries, that ultimately hurt the flow for me.

I really enjoyed this book! I've read books by Cherish Reid and cant wait to read more of her work. While I was reading, I didn't know what was coming next. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review!

Super fun and steamy heist novel. Celeste and Magnus have a history of working together as jewel thieves, plus a little friends with benefits thing on the side. Until one of the heists goes wrong and the team breaks up and they don’t talk to each other for five years. When their team leader and mentor passes away, she sets up a series of clues and wrangles the team back together for one more big score. We get to read a steamy, flirty, action-packed adventure. Loved it.

Such a fun book.

It’s centered around the main characters Celeste and Magnus who are currently at odds. They’re part of a former team of thieves that worked under their beloved mentor. They’re no longer close, but it’s clear from the start that they have intense chemistry. Even though they have gone their separate ways, that spark reignites immediately upon seeing each other again. When their mentor dies, she leads them back to each other through an elaborate wild goose chase for the ultimate prize.

This was a new to me author but I’m glad I took the chance. Jewel Me Twice was such a fun ride. I was eating up the action in this book. It played out just like a movie. The plot line was like a scavenger hunt, leading our thieves across the globe. I had so much fun trying to understand the clues. It was well written, and so easy to envision the way these plans all go down. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if they’d get caught. It was so easy to get swept up in this exciting world.

Watching Celeste and Magnus achieve their second chance was so entertaining. It’s so clear they still have feelings for each other despite what tore them apart. Although Celeste tries to deny her feelings, Magnus convinces her that they are worth it. The banter between the characters was extremely fun, and the heat between them was explosive.

Along with Celeste and Magnus, comes an assortment of equally interesting crew members. I enjoyed watching the group’s dynamic. It was giving found family for sure! They’re tight knit, and oh so fun together. If you love a book that’s funny, action packed, and a little bit steamy you’ll enjoy this one