A review by bargainbinkazbrekker
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan

3.0

thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an ebook arc in exchange for an honest review!

i’m sitting at at 2.75 to 3 out of 5.
i see this get compared to six of crows a lot, and while i see it, i think a better comparison would be Court of Miracles by Kester Grant or Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria would be better fits. Court of miracles has the historical fiction and thieves aspect and Beneath the citadel has the found family fighting against a corrupt system vibe. 

i think my biggest issue with this book is none of the main characters felt very fleshed out to me. They all felt like molds that were just thrown in to move the plot along and they weren’t very developed. I could tell that i was supposed to feel for Khalid and Sarra, i was supposed to sympathize with Rosa and her backstory but i didn’t. at all. and Giacomo annoyed me so much, he was such a stereotypical adhd coded quippy comic relief pov and he was so underdeveloped that i couldn’t stand him. 

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the story; the descriptions were good, especially of the city and the settings and i can tell a lot of effort was put into them. The romances didn’t feel organic to me at all either, i was in disbelief every time one was hinted at. 

tldr; the plot wasn’t gripping enough for me, especially for a heist plot, the characters weren’t developed, but i enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. i would recommend if you’re looking for a mostly vibes and atmosphere book and don’t care to much about thinking about the plot and don’t mind some shallow characters. the cover is gorgeous though, i will definitely give it that!