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A review by britswickedry
Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I was so excited for this book—heists and thieves are some of my favorite tropes—but it ended up being a mixed bag.
The protagonist, while 17, felt much younger, with awkward slang and a constant obsession with her “kicks” that was mentioned far too often. The juvenile tone of her inner monologue made slower, introspective moments frustrating. The action scenes, though, were great—especially the boat scene early on, which reminded me of why I picked this book in the first place. Unfortunately, the pacing suffered whenever the focus shifted back to immature character dynamics or the insta-attraction to Devroe, which felt out of place given the stakes.
At 30%, I realized the problem wasn’t the YA aspect, but that the writing skewed toward lower YA or even middle grade. The descriptions were simplistic, dialogue felt stilted, and random references to urban fashion choices made high-stakes scenes feel disconnected. The story started to redeem itself after the halfway mark when the focus shifted to heist elements, with an unexpected twist that genuinely surprised me.
By the end, I was back to enjoying myself. The ending was action-packed and plot-focused, strong enough to make me consider continuing the series in hopes that book two delivers more of what I liked and less of what I didn’t. Overall, this was a 3-star read for me—fun in parts, but ultimately uneven.
The protagonist, while 17, felt much younger, with awkward slang and a constant obsession with her “kicks” that was mentioned far too often. The juvenile tone of her inner monologue made slower, introspective moments frustrating. The action scenes, though, were great—especially the boat scene early on, which reminded me of why I picked this book in the first place. Unfortunately, the pacing suffered whenever the focus shifted back to immature character dynamics or the insta-attraction to Devroe, which felt out of place given the stakes.
At 30%, I realized the problem wasn’t the YA aspect, but that the writing skewed toward lower YA or even middle grade. The descriptions were simplistic, dialogue felt stilted, and random references to urban fashion choices made high-stakes scenes feel disconnected. The story started to redeem itself after the halfway mark when the focus shifted to heist elements, with an unexpected twist that genuinely surprised me.
By the end, I was back to enjoying myself. The ending was action-packed and plot-focused, strong enough to make me consider continuing the series in hopes that book two delivers more of what I liked and less of what I didn’t. Overall, this was a 3-star read for me—fun in parts, but ultimately uneven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism