Thieves' Gambit

Great plot. A really fast moving read. I read it in quite a short time.

It’s a very engaging read. You never know how it’s going to end.

Ross’ world is something else. She comes from a family of thieves. She’s living in the Bahamas. She yearns for a normal life. She disregards a message she gets about a thieving competition and is delighted when she's accepted into a summer camp on gymnastics.

Things later change when her mum is kidnapped with a billion dollar ransom being demanded. The only way to for Ross to get the money is to enter a competition, the Thieves' Gambit.

The phases of the contest take the competitors to different countries where they must work against each other to complete their missions. They can form teams. Ross doesn’t want to work with anyone as she needs all the money for her mum’s release.

There’s a guy she has feelings for who she is trying not to get involved with. There are lots of twists and turns in this high tension tale.

Each phase of the Gambit was engrossing. You never know what’s going to happen next. The ending was something else! I’m taking it there will be a book two.

I recommend this well written high tension tale to others.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was offered the chance to review this book and I loved the cover straight away.

There were a few things straight away, immediately you can feel our FMC loneliness. And it makes her so relatable. And while its a dramatic version this would really resonate with anyone driven too hard to excel at the expense of 'living'.

We have:
• Dangerous game with All or nothing stakes - heist hunger games
• Desperate measure to save one's we love
• Immediate attraction no matter how hard she tries
• Childhood betrayal and reunion of now enemies
• Layers upon layers of manipulation go deceit
• Learning to trust, tentative friendships, blossoming romance and second chances
• Fucked up parenting 😬
• A dang doozy of a plot twist and cliff hanger!!!!

Got a quote I loved
"His kiss was a riptide threatening to pull me out to sea."

And a sudden desire to own a collection shoes with painted soles 😻

I enjoyed this so much more than I anticipated, so ya know what....

5 stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this incredible YA novel!
This book is marketed as inheritance games meets oceans 11 and that is exactly what it is.
This was an absolutely thrilling read, I was on the edge of my seat, frustrated and biting my nails the whole way through!
Thoroughly enjoyable and I cannot wait for a continuation of Ross’s story!
4.5 stars ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance Reading copy of Theives Gambit.
Action and adventure abound in this stunning YA novel where Ross Quest is the central character.
Ross is tested in her skills when she enters the thieves gambit, competing against eight other thieves in a deadly game where the winner takes all.
Very cleverly written with a sprinkle of romance and many twists and turns this book is sure to appeal to fans of Oceans Eleven and Mr & Mrs Smith.
I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment to see what happens next.

*Thank you to Netgalley for my arc copy of this book.

“Rule number one….trust no one”

Rosalyn (Ross) Quest come from a legendary family of thieves. Her mums main rule is that you can only trust a Quest. Wanting a break from the family business Ross hatches a plan to leave her family behind. On a final heist with her mum, everything goes wrong and her mother is captured, with the ransom amount being 1 billion dollars. Unable to come up with that amount of money Ross has no other choice but to win the Thieves Gambit.

The Thieves Gambit is a deadly game comprising of a series of international heists for the most elite young thieves. There can only be one winner and the prize is one wish granted. Ross is determined to win that prize to save her mum. She is prepared to do what it takes to outsmart the other competitors but the game just got a whole lot harder when she sees her backstabbing archnemesis is also taking part of this years game.

This was a fast paced, interesting YA read with lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed reading this and can see this book being made into a hit movie.

Who doesn't love a heist? Not me! This was a pacy, wild ride which I read in one sitting! I look forward to what this author does with this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for the advanced copy.

“𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦….𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦”

This was definitely a good change of pace as I often would not reach out for YA books however I simply couldn’t help myself once I read the description! Who doesn’t love heists?

This story follows seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Quest who was raised by a legendary family of thieves. When her mother is kidnapped, her only chance to save her is to win the Thieves’ Gambit – a deadly competition for the world’s best thieves, where the victor is granted one wish. To win, she must outwit all of her backstabbing competitors, including her childhood archnemesis. But can she take victory from the handsome, charming boy who makes a play for her heart and might be hiding the most dangerous secret of all?

Overall this was a fun, fast-paced, action read that had many (big and small) twists and turns that had me engaged from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed the incredibly diverse characters who were of so many different cultures and the found family aspect of the storyline. It was hard not knowing who to trust and if they had ulterior motives as I was rooting for Ross from the get go! I’m already eagerly awaiting the next instalment to find out what happens next.

This. Was. Fun!!

I would actually purchase this book from Audible and do a re-read with it I enjoyed it that much.

I can absolutely see why it's been snapped for tv/movies.

First time trying Kayvion Lewis but I dare say I'll be reading alot more from this author in thr future.

WOW!!!!
This book was AMAZING!
I could not put this gripping YA novel down. My heart is literally still racing after finishing the book.

This book gave me six of crows X oceans eleven X hunger game vibes!
The plot and action was epic. It’s a page turner with twists and turns that I did not see coming.
There’s still unanswered questions making me want to know more but still satisfied with the ending (I’m really hoping there is a book 2)!

We’ve got betrayal, lots of action, a diverse range of characters and a high stake competition.
Thank you to #netgalley and #simonandschuster for this ARC! I’m leaving this honest review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book by Kayvion Lewis and am looking forward to the next book in the series. 📖📖👏👏

WOW! This action packed, fast paced, international heists, YA had my heart pumping! I read this in one sitting it was too good to put down!

This story follows Ross and her fighting to take the winning spot against the world's best thieves in order to win the prize of a wish. The wish that could save her mother.

The twists and the ending of this book had me WISHING that book 2 was available!

Would I reccomend this book? DEFINATELY!

An amazing fast pace read that took a couple of chapters to warm up and then it was hard to put down. I liked the representation from different countries and cultures. There were many twists that I did not see coming including their family history, camp setup revelation when the phone background was viewed and secret limo plan. I had the same feeling as Ross about not trusting Denver and felt like screaming 'Don't trust him'. It was left open-ended with some unanswered questions so hopefully, a second book will come soon! Thanks for the ARC NetGalley.

This was a really fun story about a heist that had elements of Ocean’s Eleven and The Inheritance Games. It was an easy read that kept me entertained throughout and was full of action. A great YA novel and definitely an author I would read more from!

A gripping YA novel about a worldwide thieving competition- a rollicking, high-octane gripping story of heists, past tensions, love interests, kidnapping and double-crossing. This has it all. A really fun read - with undertones of The 39 Steps. This book is going to be huge!!

This was such an enjoyable experience from start to finish. I loved so much of this book but especially the characters for their individuality and fun quirks. The story was well paced with interesting highs and lows as well as some fun twists and turns. The clues hidden throughout will keep you guessing till the last page, I am very excited to see what comes next 💜

Wow. The blurb about this being “in-put-downable” was 100% correct! This fast paced hunger games for young thieves is the perfect balance of YA drama and action. Can’t recommend this highly enough.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this arc.

4 stars / 5 stars

Things I loved:
This book was soo much fun to read, like seriously a global competition
Hooked from the beginning
Couldn’t put it down at all
The ending was so shocking!!!

Really hoping there will be a sequel!!!

This is a really enjoyable young adult novel – it presents a little as though it’s a fantasy novel, but in fact it’s essentially a heist novel with young protagonists.

Rosalyn Quest is 17, and like many teenagers, she’s chafing under her mother’s rules and restrictions. Perhaps the hardest is “trust no-one”, because Rosalyn would actually quite like a few friends. Or even just one.

Rosalyn and her mother live an isolated life on an island, leaving only to carry out the thefts the Quest family is famous for. Although Rosalyn has a truly impressive array of skills, they’ve all been honed in the direction of illegal activity. Still, these can’t help her when her mother is kidnapped. Rosalyn discovers that the only way to get her back is to enter the competition known as the Thieves’ Gambit.

A mysterious organization runs the Gambit every year. It’s essentially a competition for young thieves, to see who is the best. The prize? The organization will grant a wish. Any wish. Many of the entrants have desperate reasons for needing that wish, quite apart from the sheer competitiveness most display.

Rosalyn finds that her competition includes Noelia, with whom she’s nursed a bitter rivalry for nearly a decade. It also includes Devroe Kenzie, who may or may not be an ally – and a love interest.

There are some elements of the world building which present as a fantasy: the mysterious Organisation, and the famed families of thieves, for example. However, these are really only traces in a classic heist plot. It’s also a young adult novel, but apart from the youth and relative inexperience of the characters, it doesn’t have strong markers of this either. It’s just a really enjoyable, well written crime novel.

The success of this novel – and it does succeed – is largely down to the plot and characters.

The plot is a lively and inventive heist novel, with the competitors needing to pull off multiple thefts with increasing degrees of difficulty. Each is well depicted, with both clever plans and exciting action sequences. I read quite a bit of crime, and enjoyed this a great deal.

The plot is reasonably self contained, although loose ends are left for a (presumed) sequel. Although I generally prefer to know before I start if a novel is part of a series, in this case there is enough of a conclusion for the pacing and rhythm of the novel to still work well.

The characters were strong and vivid. Lewis does a particularly good job of depicting confusion and suspicion mixed with growing trust as it becomes clear that alliances are essential to succeed. These are young people, with limited experience, but they’re neither naïve or stupid, and their behaviour reflects this.

I found this a really fun read. I was urging characters on during some of the action, I was caring what happened to them in the quieter bits, I was impressed by their dastardly plans. It catches you up and keeps you thoroughly absorbed. A great diversion.

I will publish this review closer to the book's publication date, and will return then to add links to those posts.

Really enjoyed this heist style story and the character development throughout. I was hooked from the start and would recommend in-store. I'm looking forward to reading more from Kayvion Lewis.

Thieves Gambit by Kayvion Lewis is marketed as The Inheritance Games meets Ocean's Eleven, which is an absolutely killer combo. I was very excited to read this right from the get-go, and it didn't disappoint!

This is a fast paced and highly exciting read, with plenty of action and thrills to keep you eagerly reading. Ross Quest is an absolute badass, and I really enjoyed her thieving skills. The way these little thieves just bump into people and end up with thousand dollar items is downright impressive.

Kayvion Lewis has written an absolute gem, and it is well worth a read. Would love to see this as a movie!