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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I honestly don't know what happened in this book. I kept zoning out because some parts were interesting to me and some were either too boring or too complicated for me to focus. Maybe it's the fact that the story is incredibly fast-paced at times and slower in the beginning or that this isn't my go-to genre, but I was very lost. The ending shocked me. I hadn't seen it coming and I do think that was a cool way to end the first book of a series. I might go back and reread or pick up the next books in the series when I think I can really concentrate.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh my god, what a ride! I dont think my eyes have ever flown across the pages of a book so fast before, my eyes have got whiplash! I was that on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t stop reading. Especially towards the end of the book, I don’t think I could have put it down if world war three started outside my window.
Everything about this book was just geared towards capturing my attention and making sure it was kept there. On each phase of the Gambit, I was enraptured and eager to find out how it was going to play. The whole set up of the plot was just amazing and I can’t remember the last time I was that feverishly obsessed with a book and not being able to peg what was going to happen.
Sometimes you get a faint inkling about how things will end, but nope. Not with this one! I was completely bowled over by the twists and turns and like I said, I seriously couldn’t read it fast enough. It was entertainment personified from start to finish and I was so sad to finish it (but also relieved because I would not settle and resume life until the end of the book had been consumed). Safe to say I will very eagerly be awaiting the follow up for this one as gah, that ending! Wow and wow again.
Thank you to the author and publisher for this book on NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.
Everything about this book was just geared towards capturing my attention and making sure it was kept there. On each phase of the Gambit, I was enraptured and eager to find out how it was going to play. The whole set up of the plot was just amazing and I can’t remember the last time I was that feverishly obsessed with a book and not being able to peg what was going to happen.
Sometimes you get a faint inkling about how things will end, but nope. Not with this one! I was completely bowled over by the twists and turns and like I said, I seriously couldn’t read it fast enough. It was entertainment personified from start to finish and I was so sad to finish it (but also relieved because I would not settle and resume life until the end of the book had been consumed). Safe to say I will very eagerly be awaiting the follow up for this one as gah, that ending! Wow and wow again.
Thank you to the author and publisher for this book on NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“Know your exits, pick the best one. That was my thing, wasn’t it? Always knowing the best way out.”
“I was stealing my own future back.”
This was a fun read! It was Ocean’s Eleven— the youths version— mixed with… I don’t know, like Big Brother or something. I was going to have a better comparison than that but then I decided to stop thinking about it.
It’s a competition between a bunch of high school thieves that are part of big family thieving conglomerates. Winner gets one wish.
I’m always a fan of heist/competition type of stories. I like the planning, the gadgets, the tricks, the suspense. This had all of those components. You have to suspend some belief, but that comes with the territory. I had to just pretend all seventeen-year-olds are as competent and skilled as they were, which is fine.
I could definitely see this as a movie because it was action from start to finish. And it takes us all over the world from the Bahamas to Cannes, France, to Cairo, Egypt to the British Virgin Islands.
I wouldn’t say I was ever truly shocked. At 12% I had some suspicions that mostly turned out to come to fruition but I wasn’t mad about it. I think it needed to play out that way or I would have been disappointed.
Brief Synopsis
Our main character is Rosalyn Quest. She lives in the Bahamas with her mom and aunt. The Quest family has a monopoly on thieving in North America. From the time she was young Ross has been training to be part of the family business.
But the nature of their work requires isolation and anonymity and Ross is wanting a little more freedom and perhaps a friend or two. As she attempts to escape to a summer sports camp in the middle of one of their jobs, her mom is discovered and captured. The ransom? One billion dollars.
The only way to get that sum in such a short time is to accept her invitation into the Thieves’ Gambit and win her wish. Looks like she’s not quite done with the family business just yet.
The competition is in three parts, all of which require some sort of heist to steal something. The competition pool begins with 12 youths— including her archnemesis Noelia— and each phase narrows the pool further and further.
Ross’s biggest challenge is figuring out how to win if her number one rule in life is ‘Trust no one.’ Especially other thieves. She is forced to work with Devroe, and, of course, because this is a YA novel, sparks start flying. But is he for real? They all have a reason to win this gambit— what’s his?
“People will play you like a violin to get whatever they need from you. People you think are your friends, people you think you can trust, they’ll snap your heart in half and leave you to die.”
I thought the author did a good job of making all the characters different. They all came from different countries and had their own ‘thing’ and their own ‘look’. It helped keep them straight and be able to picture them.
This book had a little bit of Hunger Games in it in that Rosalyn had Katniss’s courage to not play the game the Game master— or in this case the Count— wants them to play. I’m not convinced true thieves would care the way she does, but then we wouldn’t like her, so it still works.
There is some violence but it’s not a dystopian book so it’s not dark and violent. Just, ya know, friendly shooting and punching and stuff.
Some have compared this to The Inheritance Games series. I have not read that yet so I can’t say either way. Part of me wonders if it would end up being too similar or if there is enough divergence to enjoy both. Feel free to let me know. From reading the Goodreads summary it seems like they both deal in the world of wealthy and privileged, but that series (well at least the first book) might have more puzzles and riddles and that type of stuff whereas this one was more about elaborate heists for valuable objects.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book. It’s fun, light, suspenseful in the sense of action and competition, and the characters are likeable. It is a YA novel and you can tell, but I still thought it was a compelling plot and we didn’t get too much in the weeds of teenage love which I was glad for since it’s not marketed as a romance and that’s not what I was looking for.
The second book in this series released this last November. I have it on my to-read list so we’ll see if it continues to be a series I recommend. It looks like it takes up 6 months after this book and will be a similar globe-trotting thieving competition.
For what I expect when I read YA novels, this was a great read!
[Content Advisory: 21 d-words and a use of BS; no sexual content]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
“I was stealing my own future back.”
This was a fun read! It was Ocean’s Eleven— the youths version— mixed with… I don’t know, like Big Brother or something. I was going to have a better comparison than that but then I decided to stop thinking about it.
It’s a competition between a bunch of high school thieves that are part of big family thieving conglomerates. Winner gets one wish.
I’m always a fan of heist/competition type of stories. I like the planning, the gadgets, the tricks, the suspense. This had all of those components. You have to suspend some belief, but that comes with the territory. I had to just pretend all seventeen-year-olds are as competent and skilled as they were, which is fine.
I could definitely see this as a movie because it was action from start to finish. And it takes us all over the world from the Bahamas to Cannes, France, to Cairo, Egypt to the British Virgin Islands.
I wouldn’t say I was ever truly shocked. At 12% I had some suspicions that mostly turned out to come to fruition but I wasn’t mad about it. I think it needed to play out that way or I would have been disappointed.
Brief Synopsis
Our main character is Rosalyn Quest. She lives in the Bahamas with her mom and aunt. The Quest family has a monopoly on thieving in North America. From the time she was young Ross has been training to be part of the family business.
But the nature of their work requires isolation and anonymity and Ross is wanting a little more freedom and perhaps a friend or two. As she attempts to escape to a summer sports camp in the middle of one of their jobs, her mom is discovered and captured. The ransom? One billion dollars.
The only way to get that sum in such a short time is to accept her invitation into the Thieves’ Gambit and win her wish. Looks like she’s not quite done with the family business just yet.
The competition is in three parts, all of which require some sort of heist to steal something. The competition pool begins with 12 youths— including her archnemesis Noelia— and each phase narrows the pool further and further.
Ross’s biggest challenge is figuring out how to win if her number one rule in life is ‘Trust no one.’ Especially other thieves. She is forced to work with Devroe, and, of course, because this is a YA novel, sparks start flying. But is he for real? They all have a reason to win this gambit— what’s his?
“People will play you like a violin to get whatever they need from you. People you think are your friends, people you think you can trust, they’ll snap your heart in half and leave you to die.”
I thought the author did a good job of making all the characters different. They all came from different countries and had their own ‘thing’ and their own ‘look’. It helped keep them straight and be able to picture them.
This book had a little bit of Hunger Games in it in that Rosalyn had Katniss’s courage to not play the game the Game master— or in this case the Count— wants them to play. I’m not convinced true thieves would care the way she does, but then we wouldn’t like her, so it still works.
There is some violence but it’s not a dystopian book so it’s not dark and violent. Just, ya know, friendly shooting and punching and stuff.
Some have compared this to The Inheritance Games series. I have not read that yet so I can’t say either way. Part of me wonders if it would end up being too similar or if there is enough divergence to enjoy both. Feel free to let me know. From reading the Goodreads summary it seems like they both deal in the world of wealthy and privileged, but that series (well at least the first book) might have more puzzles and riddles and that type of stuff whereas this one was more about elaborate heists for valuable objects.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book. It’s fun, light, suspenseful in the sense of action and competition, and the characters are likeable. It is a YA novel and you can tell, but I still thought it was a compelling plot and we didn’t get too much in the weeds of teenage love which I was glad for since it’s not marketed as a romance and that’s not what I was looking for.
The second book in this series released this last November. I have it on my to-read list so we’ll see if it continues to be a series I recommend. It looks like it takes up 6 months after this book and will be a similar globe-trotting thieving competition.
For what I expect when I read YA novels, this was a great read!
[Content Advisory: 21 d-words and a use of BS; no sexual content]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
Full Disclosure: Goodreads Giveaway Winner
Ross is a thief... not small time, she is pro, and Thiefdom Royalty. Her family has followed this profession generationally... and in the process made enemies of some of the competition. Ross is really good at what she does, but her family motto: Only trust family has left her lonely, and feeling that she is not experiencing her teen years to their fullest. She plots an escape.... but her Mom's kidnapping puts a wrench in her plans and sends her on a different adventure.
The Thieves' Gambit is the Superbowl and World Series of young thieves from the Royal Families. There are three challenges, and some require trusting SOMEONE... but who? Add Ross' long enmity with ex-BFF Noella, and a new, hot, flirty guy.... what's a girl to do? AND winning is everything because it's the only way to save her Mom.
This YA thriller sucks you in.... and I am thankful that it is also appropriate for middle school students, because some want to read about older kids.... but I have to be careful what is on my classroom library shelf. Excited to find there is a sequel, AND a possible film in the future.
Ross is a thief... not small time, she is pro, and Thiefdom Royalty. Her family has followed this profession generationally... and in the process made enemies of some of the competition. Ross is really good at what she does, but her family motto: Only trust family has left her lonely, and feeling that she is not experiencing her teen years to their fullest. She plots an escape.... but her Mom's kidnapping puts a wrench in her plans and sends her on a different adventure.
The Thieves' Gambit is the Superbowl and World Series of young thieves from the Royal Families. There are three challenges, and some require trusting SOMEONE... but who? Add Ross' long enmity with ex-BFF Noella, and a new, hot, flirty guy.... what's a girl to do? AND winning is everything because it's the only way to save her Mom.
This YA thriller sucks you in.... and I am thankful that it is also appropriate for middle school students, because some want to read about older kids.... but I have to be careful what is on my classroom library shelf. Excited to find there is a sequel, AND a possible film in the future.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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