Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌓
Genre: 🔪 Thriller
Sub-Genre: YA
Violence: 🔪
Spice: 🔥

Synopsis: Rosalyn “Ross” Quest made a selfish choice—maybe for the first time in her life—and her mom paid the price. To save her, Ross must win the Thieves’ Gambit. All she has to do is beat 8 other players in 3 phases of increasingly complex trials. It’s bad enough she’s competing against her childhood nemesis. But one of her competitors is a swoon-worthy Brit determined to charm her. And boy do these two have chemistry. As play continues, Ross begins to suspect “the organization” hosting the competition is shady, and that’s coming from a career criminal.

Thoughts: If you like inventive heist scenarios, great character development, and a slow-burn romance, you will love this fun, fast-paced read. The book reads in part like a primer on thieving. Whether any of it is accurate or not—don’t worry, I don’t plan to field test, asking for a friend—the well-thought-out methodology Lewis sprinkles through the narrative gives Ross’s expertise verisimilitude and manufacturers obstacles for the cast of characters to overcome. Ross’s cunning and aptitude for revising strategy on the fly, along with a good heart and a moral center, make her a MC you root for from the beginning. And while winning never seemed a simple proposition, I definitely didn’t see the final twist coming.

Thank you to @PenguinTeen and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read. I love me some mystery and riddle solving. Not being able to trust anyone kept me on the edge of my seat. The different characters and how some of them are connected through their past made this a lot more interesting! Also the stakes were high in the beginning but the development of friendships and relationships really upped the game.
The story was kinda slow towards the middle and the ending was rushed but it kept me interested and I definitely want to pick up the sequel because there are so many unanswered questions!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

I loved the inheritance games and when I heard this one gave off similar vibes I was so pumped!

This follows the story of Ross, a teenage thiever, who gets invited to participate in the Gambit Games. These games are for the top young thieves in the world to prove they are the best and if you win you get a wish. When Ross gets put into a situation where her mom’s life is at risk she decides to enter the games to save her mom with her wish.I loved the chapters where they were in the different phases of the game but I was honestly so confused by the ending so it fell flat for me. Overall quick easy young adult read

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC. Book was released 4/9/2024!

I just loved getting to enter this world. I just loved getting to meet these characters and see what they are currently getting themselves into. This book was just a really fun read. I just lost myself in this great story and I didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Thieves’ Gambit was a fun read. Ross Quest is the sole daughter of a thieving family. When her mother is kidnapped in the middle of an operation, Ross is determined to come to her rescue. The problem is the kidnappers are demanding $1 billion.

So Ross decides to accept an invitation to the mystery and worryingly dangerous Thieves’ Gambit. Ross will be competing with the best teenage thieves in the game with the highest stakes, but is absolutely committed to winning and saving her mother.

There’s some wild competition, danger, a hint of romance and a diverse set of characters. The book moves quickly and easy reading. The ending is a big cliffhanger, encouraging the reader to move on to book 2 of the series.

Recommended. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An international heist competition for teenagers is a fun vibe for me. I enjoyed the diversity, accents, love interest, twists and competitions. Audio was definitely the way to go for this one. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

3.8/5 Rounded up
This was a really fun, fast paced story, I see the Ocean's Eleven and comparison but make it YA. Ross has been trained by her mother to be a thief as it is the family's business. But the mother I found to be manipulative and oppressing, keeping Ross isolated and not able to trust . Then Ross is forced to participate in this competition to save her mother. There she encounters a diverse cast of participants to win a wish of their choice from this group called "The Organization". She finds attraction in Devroe a competitor from England who is there for his own familial reasons, but she's been condition to never trust anyone outside of her family so she tries to keep him at arms length. I liked all the different heist things they had to do, the stealing at the museum then the auction, and I am glad that even though they could use violence they couldn't kill anybody. I do have say it was a bit predictable at times, I kinda saw the betrayals coming from a mile away. I want to get the second book to see what happens after that ending. Overall this was really enjoyable and I think it would make a great movie if it ever does get made.

Thank you to NetGalley and penguin Group young Readers Group for the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

Ross was trained by her mom and aunt to be elite. To execute flawlessly. To be there perfect thief. She is a Quest after all. And the Quests are one of the world's most notorious crime families.

But when a heist goes bad, and her mom is kidnapped, Ross finds herself accepting the clandestine invitation she received to the Thieves Gambit, a competition involving a series of international heists. Because the only way to get the 1 Billion dollars for her mom's random is to win.

But dropping into the gambit she not only has to trust her lifetime of training, but she has to decide whether to trust her competitors and the game organizers, which is starkly against the "don't trust anyone whose name isn't Quest" mantra that her mom has drilled into her.

This isn't just a high stakes game to save her mom, this competition had the potential to reshape her whole life.
_____
I am a BIG fan of heist books and this one did not disappoint. I was sucked into the story and was entertained the whole way through.

I appreciated the push and pull of trusting your gut vs trusting your training that Ross experienced. Her mistakes and triumphs really served her character arc and I can't wait to see what lies ahead in book 2.

This is YA and while the characters seem more mature than teens, the content of this book is appropriate for YA audience. Little to no language and no sexual content. There is a lot of moral ambiguity around the nature of the thefts of course, but this book could have been much darker and more violent and I appreciate that it didn't take that turn.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books for this ARC!

"Thieves' Gambit" by Kayvion Lewis is an electrifying young adult thriller that plunges readers into a high-stakes world of cunning and competition. The story centers on Rosalyn Quest, a talented young thief who enters the Thieves' Gambit, a dangerous global competition, to win the ultimate prize and secure her freedom.

Lewis' writing is sharp and fast-paced, with a plot that twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Rosalyn is a compelling protagonist—smart, resourceful, and deeply motivated by her desire to escape her past. Her journey through the Gambit is filled with nail-biting challenges and unexpected alliances, making for a thrilling read.

The world-building in "Thieves' Gambit" is rich and immersive, drawing readers into a secretive society of elite thieves and their intricate heists. Lewis skillfully balances action with character development, exploring themes of trust, loyalty, and self-discovery as Rosalyn navigates the treacherous competition.

Overall, "Thieves' Gambit" is a captivating and adrenaline-fueled novel that will appeal to fans of action-packed thrillers and clever heist stories. Kayvion Lewis delivers a dynamic and engaging tale that keeps readers hooked from start to finish, making it a standout debut in the young adult genre.

This long, complicated novel pits thieves against thieves in a deadly game that offers big rewards if you win. A young group of thieves from well-known crime families are invited to participate in a dangerous game. Rhiannon Quest had never heard of this competition, and she really wants to participate. When her mother Is kidnapped because of her and an outrageous amount of money is asked for her ransom, Rhiannon knows the competition is her only hope of saving her mother. A very twisted plot and characters with no mercy make it a fast-paced death trap at every turn. I was enthralled from beginning to end. I loved Rhiannon, and like her, I didn't trust any other character. Well worth the time spent reading. I look forward to a second book as a lot of threads are still dangling out there. Excellent read.

Ross was born into a family of thieves and she longs to have regular friends and a normal life. Her mom is kidnapped and she must come up with the ransom of one billion, which she has no idea where to get, when she gets an invitation to the Gambit. A group of young thieves is invited to participate in a competition. Only one can win and the prize is one wish is granted. There is more to the winning but I am not going to spoil it. Rossalyn has been taught to not trust anyone and when she sees her enemy there, she immediately wants to put up walls. She ends up having to work in a team for one of the challenges and she starts to see that her mother didn't do her any favors by the way she was raised.

Lots of twists and turns make this just so much fun!

I had heard a lot about this book, so I was excited to check it out. But, sadly, I struggled with it. It was too much like The Inheritance Games, which made it quite predictable. It also seemed like it could have benefited from a tighter edit because there were plot points that just dragged out, making it hard for me to stay engaged. I did like the diversity of the cast of characters, though it was occasionally hard to keep them straight. It was nice to see enemies came together when needed. The sequel will be releasing soon, for those who are interested in checking that out

Note: There is kissing, swearing, violence, but no explicit sexual activity.

The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world’s best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother's life.

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother’s life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves’ Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn’t exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world—a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Ross tries her best to stick to the family creed: trust no one whose last name isn’t Quest. But with the stakes this high, Ross will have to decide who to con and who to trust before time runs out. After all, only one of them can win.

My Take:
I'm revisiting this book in eager anticipation of the sequel set to release later this year. As someone who delights in puzzles, I found great enjoyment in this book. While some outcomes were foreseeable to me, an enthusiastic adult reader, it promises to captivate younger readers with its well-crafted plot. If you haven't yet delved into this book, I encourage you to do so as a prelude to the upcoming second installment.

I really enjoyed this book! Great, fast-paced plot and interesting characters. A few of the twists and turns I was able to predict, but the majority really left me guessing! Lots of world building with a unique premise, I hope there is a sequel!

I really LOVED this book! I was hanging on word for word and finished this in a little over 2 days. The whole idea of a thieves competition was done so well and I was rooting for the characters. Didn’t expect the “twist” at all. I’m going to for sure to be reading book 2. Action packed page turner!

The Thieves’ Gambit definitely surprised me because I tempered my expectations for it given the average ratings it got from Goodreads. The novel definitely matched my mood when I was reading it; no dilly-dallying, straightforward, and packed with action.

The story immediately introduces us to our narrator, Ms Rosalyn Quest, thief extraordinaire and a member of a large thieving family in the North American Continent. She is very close to her likewise thief extraordinaire Mom and Aunt who seemingly had retired from thieving. While Rosalyn definitely has all the material things her illustrious can afford her, her deepest desire is just to live life like an ordinary person: go to school, attend gymnastics class, and have friends. Unfortunately for her, that is not going to happen as she was forced to participate in a game called The Thieves’ Gambit, hence, the title of our novel and the start of our series.

Right off the bat, we already know how the game’s gonna go. It’s either go big or go home. And Rosalyn could only afford to go big as a beloved’s life is at stake should she fail the game. And thus the starts the adventures of our feisty heroine clashing and fighting with the other participants whose thieving credentials are also as stellar as hers.

If one is really to scrutinize the Thieves’ Gambit, one could not say that it’s an outstanding masterpiece of a heist story because there are better heist reads out there like Leigh Bardugo’s Six Of Crows series or Benedict Jacka’s Alex Verus series. But I enjoyed this novel nonetheless. The writing is simplistic but not juvenile making me breeze through the pages faster, the characters were easily relatable and easy to remember, and there was just balance to everything. The romance, although a bit instant, was cute and not suffocating, the conflict between the participants was nothing too melodramatic (although I did wish for some slapping and hair grabbing) and the twist in the end was actually surprising. Well, I hope that Rosalyn would finally be her own person now that everything has been revealed to her.

My only gripe about the Thieves’ Gambit is how little character development does Rosalyn undergo all throughout the book. But anyway, books 2 and 3 are still coming so there’s a lot of room for her to grow. As much as she is an excellent thief, it’s kind of hard for me to believe that she lives in a shell instead of being someone who could just fly free.

With the way this book end, I cannot wait for how the second book will develop. That ending did put my mind at ease but on the other hand, I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 because OMG, Rosalyn is not yet free from the game. Hahahaha.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Nancy Paulsen Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Heist Novel
Subplot: Romance (quite a strong romance too)
Audience: Young adult (adults will have fun with it too)
Spice Level: Kissing
Language: Some cursing
Representation: Black main characters, secondary characters in a variety of different races, and one kid reads as gay though nothing is overtly said in the text

*THIEVES' GAMBIT* is a fun and wild ride.

Note that this book already has film rights purchased. It will be a fun movie!

INHERITANCE GAMES meets OCEAN'S ELEVEN is a great description of the match up. There are thieves you're rooting for and others you want to fail. And the stakes are HIGH! There's such a tangle of events to tease apart.

I loved Ross and her tug between wanting to find independence and meeting her family's expectations. Such a great way to develop a young adult character.

Ross's nemesis is in the gambit too—and oh, I hated her (just like you should). Having a nemesis really worked in this book that works around themes of trust. These two girls have a background that shades every action they take.

TWISTS!
That's right—there are multiple twists, and I don't think you'll guess all of them. There is a big of a cliffhanger, but because so much was resolved, I could forgive it. I definitely want to read the next when its out.

Happy reading!

I enjoyed this book, and thought the plot moved quickly. I really liked Ross the main character and enjoyed being inside her head. There were parts I found predictable but still enjoyable. I loved the diverse cast and the twist. The beginning read a little slow but once the Gambit was going I sped through it. I really enjoyed Noelia and Ross being friends again as well!

This was a thrill of a book! I didn’t realize it had already come out, but I’m eager to read the next installment.

This book was *chef's kiss*. You can find me counting down the days until Heist Royale comes out! The quick blurb describes it as Inheritance Games meets Ocean's 11 and I completely agree. Honestly one of the best books I've read in a while. If you haven't picked up this book yet, STOP what you're doing, DROP everything, and ROLLLLLL to your nearest bookstore.

There is suspense, betrayal, brilliant thinking/planning/scheming, a romance that shouldn't, and I loved following along, trying to figure out what was going to happen before it was revealed.

It's been a while since I was in a high school library, but I hope this one is on the shelves because I imagine this would get a lot of people interested in reading again!