Member Reviews
I loved the premise of this book and have read many similarly themed books. I expected this book to be exciting and fast-paced based on the blurb, but it seemed to drag at points. There was a lot more social back-and-forth than I expected too, and I would not say I found it very engaging. Unfortunately every time I put the book down I found myself not wanting to pick it back up again. Thank you for the chance to read this one, but I would have to say I do not recommend it.
I wish I could say that I loved this book but I didn't. For a YA book, I found it to be unnecessarily wordy and slow paced. It was hard to connect to Ross although she was really the only one that you were rooting for in the story. Unfortunately the book was easy to put down and there wasn't a lot to draw me back to it. Thank you for the ARC.
Fans of the Inheritance Games will love this one (also anyone who loved Oceans 11). In it, our main character has to enter the thieves' gambit in order to save her mom. This includes stealing famous works of art and artifacts. A high energy book that will keep you up reading late into the night. Definitely worth the read, but watch out because it ends on a cliffhanger, which I wasn't expecting.
This book has a good story line. Teen girl wants to run away from home and live her own life. But, here is the twist. She is a member of a family of world-renowned thieves. When trying to run away from home, she leaves her mom during a heist. Unfortunately, her mom is kidnapped. In order to save her mom, she enters a world-famous competition, the Thieves Gambit. During the Gambit, she needs to steal famous pieces of art; steal ancient artifacts; and steal secrets that can harm important people. Of course, she needs to do all this while trying to save her mother from those kidnappers, challenge off a long time archnemesis, try not to fall in love with a challenger, and try to overcome her self loathing for allowing her mom to be kidnapped. If she succeeds, she may get her wish to save her mom. If she doesn’t, both she and her mom are likely to meet a perilous end. On top of all this, Lewis is able to insert more twists and turns to keep the story exciting. I am looking forward to the second book in this series, Heist Royale.
Really enjoyed this - read through it quickly because I wanted to know what happened next! I liked Ross a lot, and seeing how she interacted with the other competitors was great. I feel like I should have seen the twist coming at the end, but I didn’t and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next book!
3.5
I was completely captivated. I found the storyline to be really original, and I appreciated the variety of characters. The book has an excellent blend of excitement, action, suspense, mystery, and just a hint of romance woven throughout. I was really shocked at the end. I’m jumping straight into book with the way it ended
This book was super fast paced and I things started happening so quickly which is always a plus! I love a good competition, and the added "who is the best thief" part was perfect. The characters fell a bit flat for me but I enjoyed it otherwise.
Where to start?
This wasn’t a typical type of read for me, but I was drawn in by the description. The book is really fast paced and things got started almost as soon as you turn the first page.
Things I liked:
The pacing
All the twists and turns
The heists
Noelia
Things I didn’t like:
The romance- it didn’t have depth, felt rushed and forced.
Telling versus showing
Predictability
I enjoyed the last half of the book, but it was very hard to connect with the characters as I feel they were very face value. I give it 3 stars because the pacing really kept my attention.
Thank you NetGalley, Kayvion Lewis for the arc in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
I read this in like 30 seconds because you give me oceans 11 type thievery, teens in a competition and life and death stakes and I am HOOKED!!!! I NEED MORE!!!!!!!
Immediately got this book for the classroom library and it was checked out the very same day! The kids are already trading it back and forth!
Loved this book! Anything with heists definitely grabs my attention and the premise of this was so unique. The book started out quick but then took a bit of time to pick back up. I loved the writing style and how I was on the edge of my seat. Everything about this book was great except the romance. The romance just fell flat for me.
This is a fun YA romp through an implausible game of thievery, but I was IN for all of it! It involves a competition to see who’s the best thief amongst an international crew of families who’ve been stealing for decades. It’s a nice mix of kids from all different backgrounds, countries, and ethnicities + their personality types are quirky in the very best ways. A little romance was thrown in, of course, but not overly much. Think Ocean’s Eleven meets The Inheritance Games - very appropriate for any age:)
This was one of my highly anticipated books!! Thieves’ Gambit is perfect for fans of heist books. It was such a fun page turner.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This an exciting and entertaining read for a middle grade reader. I had my 11 year old son read it and he said it held his attention and he looks forward to reading the sequel,
Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this young adult book. It was clever, creative, and a lot of fun. If you are a fan of the Inheritance Games series, I think you will really enjoy this title. I would recommend this to friends of all ages.
“You are invited to participate in this year’s Thieves’ Gambit.”
Thieves’ Gambit follows a young girl named Ross who comes from the world-renowned thieving family, the Quests. Each member of her family is well immersed in their lifestyle; stealing is in their blood. However, Ross is not as enchanted by this life as her family is. So, in order to leave thieving behind, Ross does what she does best and makes an escape plan. Things don’t go to plan, though, and her mother ends up kidnapped. When she is offered a spot in the Thieves’ Gambit, a high stakes competition between teenage thieves, Ross might be able to get her mother back with the grand prize—a wish. But, to win, she must beat both her childhood nemesis and the charming boy who seems to give her just as much attention as he does the Gambit.
Kayvion Lewis’ novel surprised me in all the right ways. Thieves’ Gambit has witty, lovable characters and a high stakes plot that make this a compelling read. Each character has a unique and diverse background, which plays well into the different tactics and skills that they possess and bring into the Gambit. Ross is easy to like, and her thoughts are understandable and relatable, which makes her the perfect narrator. Each new task of the competition is more thrilling than the last, and the added tensions between Ross and her nemesis, Noelia, are an excellent source of conflict that add depth to the plot of the story. Noelia’s character is sneaky and is willing to do anything to make sure Ross doesn’t win, even to the point of sabotage. The budding relationship between Ross and Devroe, the charming competitor who has his eyes set on both Ross and the wish, will keep readers on their toes, unsure of what words are true or false from the mouth of the teenage con artist with hidden motives. I found this dynamic to be a fresh take, and it fit well into Lewis’ plot. I was completely engaged through the entire novel, and once I started, I couldn’t put it down. The ending was excellent, and the multiple twists left me excited to read the sequel. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
If I'm being honest I thought this book was going to be a cheap version of the inheritance games series however I am happy to say I was wrong. This book had such a good pace and an amazing storyline. I enjoyed every minute of this book and can't wait to see if there will be a sequel. 🤞😉 This book gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me!!
Posted to Goodreads, will be posting to Instagram @cocos.book.nook this week!
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This was so good!! 🤩 It was kind of like The Brothers Hawthorne but with thieves! Huge thank you to NetGalley and Kayvion Lewis for sending me a copy! Book 2, HEIST ROYALE, is releasing NOV 12 💥 Stay tuned for my ARC review 😉
Ross is from a family of trained thieves, but after things go terribly wrong, she joins a dangerous game where she has to pull off insane heists against her other competitors.
The pacing was thrilling, and there was never a boring moment. I was always on the edge of my seat to see what would be next—who would betray who, and how would they pull off the heist?
The characters were well-developed, and you never knew who to really trust. The twists were crazy, the minor romance subplot was cute, and I just really enjoyed the whole thing!
If you like YA reads and thrilling heists, you’ve got to read this!
Ah, well, my dear reader, imagine a tale similar to The Inheritance Games, full of twists and turns that would even leave the Pink Panther—on edge. The main character, is a strong female of color, who can run with the best of the best. And maybe outsmarts some of those that are deemed the upper echelon of thievery aka the best of the best whose who are kings and queens of the underground. its intriguing to see behind the mask lies into the mind of thieves, oh, quite intriguing, wouldn’t you say? But, what happens when in the course of saving someone you fall for one of the competition how far would you go to save the one you love ? Mon dieu! An international competition ensues, with mind games and plot twist this book will not leave you bored but there is a cliff hanger you are warned as there is a part 2 in this caper quest for sure. Answers we must get.
Oh my gosh - I LOVED Thieves' Gambit. It is such a fun book with an amazing cast of characters. I could not put this book down, and read it in one sitting. I loved the theming of the book and storytelling. The author does a great job, and I cannot wait for the next book!
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for providing a copy to review.