Reviews with content warning for Torture - To Have and to Heist

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai

13 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I read this book through my library using Libby.

Brief Summary: Simi and Chloe are best friends...the kind of best friends that would help you hide a body no questions asked. So, when Chloe gets accused of a crime she did not commit, Simi will do whatever it takes to keep her friend out of jail. Even if it means planning a heist and organizing an eclectic group to pull it off.

Thoughts: As a heist book with elements of Ocean's 8, I loved this book. The quirky group of characters who are forced to work together and throughout the book become a tight-knit family was a five out of five read for me. The cast of characters was fun and diverse and I genuinely liked them all...okay there is a rank order, but still, every character had a shining moment.

Where this book lost me was the love story plot line. First, the love triangle was just not something I was even remotely into. Especially since Detective Garcia had a job to do and I often felt that Simi was misreading his job performance as interest in her. Second, Jack was hardly in this book! I felt the spark of something between him and Simi on the page at first, but I never really felt it take off. So I was not invested in whether or not they got together or not. I was way more interested in Chloe's love life and I was kind of annoyed that we did not focus more on that this book, especially since it seems like this book is leading into a sequel.

This book is a fun read, but I wouldn't go into it because it's a romance novel. I would say go in for the heist and if you are happy with the love story that is a nice bonus.

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stephbeaudoin20's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai
This book is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. Laugh out loud, let me read that again, hysterical! I LOVED IT! It has skyrocketed to the top of my purchase list.

Things I am here for:
Authentic South Asian Representation
Very Diverse Cast of Characters
Simi is HILARIOUS! 🍬
Chloe is a white hat hacker - yes to women in tech! 💾
Emma can drive anything, even an elephant 🚤
Anil The Butcher 🔐
Gage the elephant whisperer 😂 🐘
Christian cares about everything so much! 🐶
Jack’s love of plants was such a special character trait 🌵
Rose who has done everything and knows everything 🍿
Auntie networks that can make an Italian wedding happen in 3 weeks
The twists!

The swooniest line of all swoony lines:
“You complicate my life when you say things like that,” he said. “I'd appreciate it if you could be less interesting.”

This is my 10th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge, the 2nd for the February prompt of Found Family.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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beckyremillard's review

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mostly mystery with a little bit of romance. Funny story, I just didn’t totally love the choices of the MMC.

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callidoralblack's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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kdailyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really enjoyed this laugh-out-loud mystery rom-com. When her best friend gets set up to take the fall for stealing a multi-million dollar necklace from a museum, Simi and her mystery new friend soon to turn lover, a professional thief, decide to do a heist, with their merry band of misfits, to recover the necklace and save her friend from going to jail.
My two biggest complaints are 1) the narrator, she was over the top in her voice acting and it was cringy, like half the book was written in all caps. I almost gave up on the book multiple times because of the narrator. And b) that it seemed a bit similar to the Stephanie Plum books, with a cop and a bad boy as possible romantic interests, and an eccentric older lady as side characters. Though Simi was more competent than Stephanie Plum is. These are the reasons the book lost half a star.
The writing kept me engaged and I ended up really enjoying the book. I would love a sequel. Especially with a different narrator.

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