Reviews with content warning for Blood - Thieves' Gambit

This has apparently already been optioned for a movie, and I can defintely see why. It's fast paced, with lots of twists and turns and action tha tmakes you want to keep reading once you started. It's compared to The Inheritance Games, and it's a great comp title for that.They both have similar vibes, with that mystery/thriller feeler that makes them hard to put down.

For avid readers, the twists are a little easy to guess, but I didn't mind because the writing itself was pretty well done. I liked the characters, and the romance helps to add to the intrigue and the mystery. It's a high stakes thriller heist novel, with a cast of characters that are well developed and fun to read about.

The ending is left open for likely what's going to be a second book, so I'm excited to see what Ross does next!

Content Warnings

thenovelmaura's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.0

Thanks so much to Penguin Teen for sending me a copy of this book to read and review! This was another top pick from my roster of thrilling summer reads that will be just as fun for fall.

If you're aware of my obsession with Six of Crows, then you won't be surprised to hear that I love a good heist novel. It's so entertaining to be outsmarted by an author and their cunning characters! I loved the concept of a teen who was raised by a legendary family of Bahamian thieves and Lewis did a great job with the opening scenes of Ross and the legacy of training and heists she was born into. The competition aspect of the story was equally well done and the pacing of the various challenges kept me turning pages nonstop.

Ross' competitors were highly skilled, cutthroat, and gave you no hint as to who she should trust. And when she did (reluctantly) let her guard down, it was so sweet to see her form her first real friendships outside the bounds of her overprotective family. The only relationship aspect that I wasn't as invested in was the one between Ross and her love interest, where their interactions felt kind of forced and predictable.

If the rest of my review doesn't convince you, I read this book in a single day and there's already a movie adaptation on the way. I recommend grabbing this one soon!

Content Warnings

cover2covertx's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

kari_f's review

Go to review page

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I love heists. Movies, novels, documentaries… if there are heists involved, I’m here for it! Thieves’ Gambit had so many of the traits I’d expect with a great heist book: strategy, thrilling twists, and questionable characters with a variety of motives.

The book was quick-paced and oh-so-fun to read, and I loved that different young thieves were set up against each other throughout the competition. This involved some excellent strategy as they all try to one-up the others, leading to some exciting twists and turns.

I quite enjoyed the book and will definitely be watching for book 2 in the future!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for this advanced copy!

Content Warnings

stephalee4's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was the perfect YA heist book! So many twists and turns; fun characters; interesting villains; amazing skills and action; and all of it perfect for a young adult audience or someone like me who just wants to enjoy a good ol' heist without a lot of language, gore, or other not so young themes.

Definitely "Inheritance Games," Ocean's movies, and old school Ally Carter "Heist Society" vibes, but in a more modern and diverse world.

Truly enjoyed the thrill of this one and I can't wait to see what else this author has in store for readers!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early e-ARC!

Content Warnings

allapaz's review

Go to review page

3.5

Thieves' Gambit, at its heart, is a YA thriller that explores ideas of trust, independence, and relationships. The plot itself was fast-paced and interesting, and I absolutely can tell why it was picked up for film rights as many many scenes read like film sequences. Ross as a main character is interesting, because she's almost likeable to a fault, and although her family motto is 'trust no one', it seems she's always out here trusting the wrong people.

When I say I was hooked on this thrill ride, I was hooked. The plot and pacing and drama and twists were expertly crafted, and the book truly hit all the beats of a badass spy movie. My only beef is that, at times, the characters felt a bit surface level. I understand there are different layers to what characters get more 'screen time', and who gets a deeper backstory, but there are so many supporting characters here that some honestly became forgettable and motivations get muddled and lost.

There were times when this read a little young for YA, and then the violence ramped up and it placed it back solidly in that YA age range. This is more of accessible thriller for readers of different language proficiencies, as the pace of the plot and the simplicity of some of the dialogue make it relatively easy to follow.

All in all, I'd call this a solid thriller that was enjoyable, fast-paced, and twisty-turn-y in all the ways you want. Looking forward to seeing where this series goes!

**Thank you to the publisher for an ARC; all opinions are my own!

Content Warnings

kristinv20's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

this was fun! nice fast-paced ya thriller, has the old-money mystery feeling of Inheritance Games and a heist focus that would probably appeal to someone who liked Six of Crows or Little Thieves. all of these characters are noticeably young, like 16-19 age range, and the prose reads a bit younger as well - as long as you're okay with moderate (pg-13) violence, i honestly think this would be a good crossover for middle grade readers looking to get into ya. if there's a middle schooler in your life who loved the 39 Clues books, i think they'll love this.
overall i enjoyed this, it's not the best heist novel i've ever read but it's far from the worst. the stakes are high, there's a ton of tension, and all of the characters play to their archetypes really well. it feels like a very classic heist story, just with a diverse teenage cast instead of a bunch of men in their forties. i did get frustrated by the amount of miscommunication and what felt like unnecessary conflict between characters, and there's a couple switches in allegiance that felt like they came out of nowhere. this was fun though, it was a good book to kill time with (i read a good chunk of this on buses to and from the doctor and it was a nice distraction).

arc provided by Penguin Teen and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Content Warnings

lastblossom's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

tl;dr
Seamless combination of heist and competition with tons of tasty plot twists, and a hint of romance to round everything out.

Thoughts
Um, this book is excellent? Not that I didn't expect to love it, but I didn't expect to love it this much. Two of my favorite genres are heists, and mysterious competitions hosted by shadowy figures. So the combination of such is already right up my alley, but also Kayvion Lewis absolutely nails the execution - a perfect balance of both ideas. The showcased heist is cleverly planned and very satisfying, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns as the characters competed to outdo each other. There's also a romance subplot that took a back seat to the story kind of by necessity, but the chemistry was pretty sparking. I actually appreciated the rivalry plot with a childhood frenemy even more, with all of its serious girlboss vibes. Although it doesn't technically end on a cliffhanger, there is just enough of an open door that we might see more in the future. I'd certainly be happy if we did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Content Warnings

More...