Tag: heist

Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️

Title: Den of Liars

Author: Jessica S. Olson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 7/1/25

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Heist, Fantasy, Casino, Magic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!


A young thief attempting a daring casino heist during a high-stakes tournament is torn between two warring brothers in Den of Liars, a thrilling YA fantasy romance by acclaimed author Jessica S. Olson.

Lola St. James is the world’s best kept secret. When her father’s loss in the Liar’s Dice Tournament–a high-stakes competition where players are forced to gamble with their deepest secrets–made her a target, she was rescued by the Thief, the notorious leader of the Tentacles. But the Thief’s kindness came with a Lola’s heart. In the years that followed, she and the Thief formed a bond like no other, able to feel each other’s emotions because of their shared heart.

Now, living under the pseudonym Astra, she is determined to prove herself and become a full-fledged Tentacle. But when a critical heist goes sideways, the only way forward is for Lola to compete in the Liar’s Dice Tournament herself. Lola is confident in her ability to pull off any heist, but the Thief’s mysterious brother, the Liar, runs the game and he turns out to be more than she bargained for. As her attraction for him grows and illusions run wild, she will be forced to confront the secrets of her past, the truth of the brothers’ shared history, and the lies she tells herself.

Content Warning: violence

+ This story starts with a heist and ends with secrets coming unraveled and I had a great time with it! This is set in a casino which I found fun and dark. This is a world revolving around magic and secrets. The magic system is unique and there is a competition taking place to win an Unbreakable Lie. A game always makes things interesting!

+ Lola was saved by the Thief (Enzo), but now they have a mission to infiltrate the world of the Liar (Nic), so they can find the moonshard to break Enzo’s curse. Lola is a pretty good thief but even she isn’t strong enough to withstand some of the Liar’s magic or how much she comes to learn about him and desire him later on. I liked Lola, she was strong and wanted to prove her worth, but she’s also gone through some trauma. When she’s caught in the web of lies around her she has to make a choice on whether she wants to know the full truth. And that’s a hard choice to make. There is lots of growth for her from beginning to end.

+ Enzo and Nic are brothers but something major came between them and they hate each other. I loved getting to know these two different guys and getting a glimpse of their back story also. Enzo being the edgier of the two and addicted to thieving, and Nic who can weave a spell and make people love him with his lies. This is not a love triangle – I feel like it’s pretty obvious Enzo and Lola treat each other like siblings. Whereas Nic and Lola want each other but can’t be with one another because of mistrust, lies and Enzo.

+ It’s enemies to lovers and forced proximity but I really enjoyed how the story explored trust, lies and questioning who was manipulating who. It’s not spicy but there are some scene filled with heat and tension that was really good. Obviously, neither Lola or Nic, trust each other enough to take a chance on each other which is sad but I’m looking forward to see if that changes in book two (and I am assuming there will be one or else I’ll be crushed).

~ I would have liked more information about the magic and moonshard. We get a little bit of a backstory, very little. There is a lot more in this world to explore, like trying to find Laurel, Nic’s ex and someone important to the brothers finding this moonshard. Also, I’d like to know if Lola and her dad ever reunite and we can learn more about Lola’s past. Basically all of these things would give more information about the moonshard and magic so I hope we get that in book two.

Final Thoughts:

I read this one in two days. I got sucked into this magical, dark, casino world and the feud between two brothers, and Lola, a girl with a secret identity at the middle of the web of lies. I loved the tension in the romance between Lola and Nic and I hope there is a sequel so I can find out what happens next!

Book Links:

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BLOG TOUR} A Forgery of Roses by. Jessica S. Olson | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Zodiac Rising by. Katie Zhao | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac, #1)

Author: Katie Zhao

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 10/8/24

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Chinese Mythology, Heist

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Random House Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!



At a secret Manhattan boarding school, the Descendants of the Chinese zodiac have hidden away since the source of their magic—the twelve zodiac statues—was vandalized and lost to time. Thus, a curse befell the Descendants, and they’ve lived as creatures of darkness . . . until now.

When the lost statues suddenly resurface and a powerful classmate is found dead, all signs point to foul play from the fae. The Descendants finally have the chance to take back what’s rightfully theirs and break the curse. To pull this deadly heist off, though, they must assemble an elite crew:

THE VAMPIRE: After a century of burning hunger, Evangeline is out for blood.

THE SHAPESHIFTER: Nicholas yearns to restore justice to his people—and make peace with his past.

THE MORTAL: Alice seeks the truth of her mysterious heritage, and this mission may be the key.

THE WEREWOLF: Tristan will do anything to break free from the monstrous wolf inside.

Only these four have the power to save the Descendants, but the wrath of the fae waits at every turn. One wrong move and the fate of their kind will come crashing down. . . .

Content Warning: violence

The synopsis of this book intrigued me: Chinese Zodiac, a heist, and paranormal characters – well here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ I like a book with boarding school setting and with this story and 12 zodiac signs, everyone is in their own zodiac groups. But not only that, we get more paranormal elements were some characters are vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters or mortal.

+ The heist kept the storyline moving for sure. Evangeline creates a crew to help her break this curse that was put on these zodiac descendants. It’s full of action and we get to know the characters of this main crew. The twist at the end was good also.

+ There isn’t really romance in this one but Evangeline (vampire) and Tristan (werewolf) had a forbidden love in the past. Descendants can’t intermarry, so I thought that was interesting. But these characters got the most time in the the story and I thought their bickering definitely showed that there were still feelings for one another but the heist took precedent over anything.

Dislikes:

~ I think the story had a bit too much going on with the descendants storyline and lots of characters to follow. The enemy of the descendants are Fae which I find to be very interesting but not sure how it all fits. I wanted more world-building, and definitely more character development.

My Thoughts:

I think this story has a lot of potential and I like how it was fast-paced, filled with action and had a heist. I do think it needs more character development but I thought the descendants of the zodiacs having Fae as the enemy was very interesting.

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Book Links:

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Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

How We Fall Apart by. Katie Zhao | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Tempest of Tea by. Hafsah Faizal | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1)

Author: Hafsah Faizal

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 2/20/24

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Categories: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Peaky Blinders, Vampires, Heist

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance, revenge, and an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

Content Warning: violence, blood drinking, fire, death

+ I love when a book totally catches me off guard and surprises me. This book was full of surprises! How do you combine King Arthur, Vampires and Peaky Blinders (never watched it though I’ve always wanted to) together and make it work? I don’t know but this author just did it! I also loved how she adds historical fiction to the mix as she covers the colonization of countries liked Ceylan (in our reality that would be Ceylon-now Sri Lanka). This story is set in Ettenia which I’m assuming is England. And the vampires are just a race of people that live among them. This book just had everything I wanted, things I didn’t even know I wanted in one place and I loved it all. There are a lot of twists and turns in the second half of the book and that cliffhanger ending left me wanting book two now.

+ I am in love with Arthie and Jin. I love their story, their friendship, their love for one another – even though this story had hints of a romance for Arthie (a love triangle even that never came to fruition-an no it didn’t involve Jin), the love between Arthie and Jin appeased my soul. I also loved that this was told in multiple POVs because Jin’s voice was important to this story. He is Arthie’s right-hand man and I loved that he was the lightness in their relationship. They are found family, they are to one another the siblings they never had, they are soulmates and I knew they would have each other’s back no matter what. Also, I need Jin to have a happy ending, that guy deserves the world!

+ Because this story is about a heist, there are other characters involved and part of the crew. Flick, Matteo and Laith. All of them intriguing and we do get Flick’s POV but not Matteo and Laith who are very intriguing and added to the story in various ways. I like how they all have complex backgrounds.

+ Arthie is a complicated character which I love. She’s had trauma and holds a lot of secrets, not only her own but she’s a phoenix who basically rose out of ashes. I love that she was smart, and still allowed herself to love (Jin and Spindrift) even though she doesn’t open herself to anyone else. She is flawed. I love that she is a business woman and she’s the leader of their crew.

~ I can’t call what was in this book a true love triangle. There is flirtation, there is desire that Arthie doesn’t want to explore because she is a person who is in control at all times. But I think it makes her mistrust even more heightened. She has a crew of people she doesn’t totally trust (except Jin) and her weakness was a good-looking mysterious man. She isn’t perfect, she can only hold so many of the right cards in her hand and I honestly loved every part of whatever romance was building for her because the tension between them was delicious! 

~ I think Flick’s POV was the weakest and she seemed like the weakest link because she’s not like the rest. She grew up in luxury as a lady’s daughter but she has her own agenda. Out of all of them I felt like I didn’t trust her the most because all she wanted was to please her mother and she had such a shiny upbringing. 

My Thoughts:

Why was I surprised that I loved this book? I loved the We Hunt the Flame series. The writing is so good, the slow burn in the romance is enticing and the relationships are heartfelt. Honestly, Arthie and Jin, they have my heart. It might be a slow build in the beginning as the pieces are set on the chessboard but I was riveted from the moment I started the book. Once the pieces started moving, it was a fun, twisty, emotional ride to the end. And then of course we get a crazy cliffhanger that made my jaw drop! I need the second book asap and this book solidifies that this author is a must-read for me.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review | We Hunt the Flame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

We Free the Stars | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Drowned Woods by. Emily Lloyd-Jones | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Drowned Woods

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 346

Publication Date: 8/15/22

Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Welsh Mythology, Heist, Magic

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

The Drowned Woods—set in the same world as The Bone Houses but with a whole new, unforgettable cast of characters—is part heist novel, part dark fairy tale.

Content Warning: violence

The Drowned Woods is a story inspired by Welsh mythology and I thought this was a fascinating story because of it. Here is what I liked and didn’t like:

+ Welsh mythology is so very interesting especially because it ties into the Fae. I could definitely feel the magic in the setting of the story. We have the last water diviner, Mer, and we know the land that was once so infused with magic – it’s still there, but not many have magic anymore. There are a few mythical creatures that show up in this story which was nice to see and learn about it.

+ This is a heist story and that was unexpected to me. Mer is propositioned to help someone steal the kingdom’s jewels and take down the Prince’s power. And she does to help take down the Prince after what he made her do as his water diviner in the past. The story introduces people into the group along the way but my favorites were Mer, Ifanna and Fane. Oh and Trefor the dog, of course!

+ The ending is great and I’d say it’s my favorite part of the book because the pace picks up and it’s a great conclusion.

~ The story starts off well but it started to lose me a bit in the middle. I can’t quite put my finger on why. I liked meeting Mer and Fane and eventually Ifanna but the rest of the group didn’t do much for me. Maybe it was the time putting the team together that was too slow for me? I wanted more action but we definitely get it at the end.

~ I think I also wanted a bit emotion in the story, maybe between the characters? I felt like it was lacking a connection between the characters and it turn I wasn’t connecting to them either. Especially for a heist story.

Tropes: heist, mythology

Spice Level:

Why you should read it:

  • Welsh mythology
  • it’s a heist story – and the ending is very good
  • Mer and Fane have powers and it was cool to see them use it

Why you might not want to read it:

  • kind of loses steam in the middle

My Thoughts:

I think I went into this one with higher expectations since I like this author’s work. I did enjoy it for the most part, but the middle of the story is what made me lose interest. I liked Mer, Fane, Ifanna and Trefor and the ending is great. The Welsh mythology is always fascinating and I like that this author writes stories inspired by it. I would have liked to connect to the characters more but other than that I still look forward to reading more books from this author.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Bones Houses by. Emily Lloyd-Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hearts We Sold by. Emily Lloyd-Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️

She Who Rides the Storm by. Caitlin Sangster | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: She Who Rides the Storm

Author: Caitlin Sangster

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 9/21/21

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Thieves/Heist

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this atmospheric YA fantasy that is Wicked Saints meets There Will Come a Darkness, four teens are drawn into a high-stakes heist in the perilous tomb of an ancient shapeshifter king.

Long ago, shapeshifting monsters ruled the Commonwealth using blasphemous magic that fed on the souls of their subjects. Now, hundreds of years later, a new tomb has been uncovered, and despite the legends that disturbing a shapeshifter’s final resting place will wake them once again, the Warlord is determined to dig it up.

But it isn’t just the Warlord who means to brave the traps and pitfalls guarding the crypt.

A healer obsessed with tracking down the man who murdered her twin brother.

A runaway member of the Warlord’s Devoted order, haunted by his sister’s ghost.

A snotty archaeologist bent on finding the cure to his magical wasting disease.

A girl desperate to escape the cloistered life she didn’t choose.

All four are out to steal the same cursed sword rumored to be at the very bottom of the tomb. But of course, some treasures should never see the light of day, and some secrets are best left buried… 

I definitely requested this book because of the cover. After reading this though, is the person on the cover, Calsta?

We follow four main characters in this story: Anwei, Knox, Mateo and Lia but to me the one that stood out the most was Anwei. I connected with her being a healer and helping Knox and many others – but I also love that she had the double identity, healer by day, thief at night. She was the most interesting character to me.

The other characters Knox, Lia and Mateo were interesting as well. Knox and Lia are part of the Devoted, an order that follows Calsta’s ways, what I got from the story was they were not shy to use violence and were trained to fight. Mateo was different – he’s an archaeologist who just wants to find a way to cure his disease. He can’t fight like Knox and Lia but Mateo has his own type of strength.

As far as the story goes – everyone is looking for this cursed sword that is in a tomb. What they uncover in the tomb is more than the sword but the true story about the Devoted, and the Basists. I think the second half was much faster paced than the first half and we get more into the heist of the story. Also the twist was interesting and makes me wonder what will happen in book two.

There is some feelings taking place between Anwei and Knox but it’s full of angst, longing and not sure what will come of it. Lia and Mateo are in an interesting situation themselves, I found myself more invested in their relationship only because Knox is adamant about being devoted to Calsta. Lia and Mateo might have a good chance at love.

Content Warnings: assault, violence

Lia is a Spiriter, a Devoted all covered and she has an obsessed stalker, another Devoted named Ewan. The story does address being attacked and not blaming oneself for freezing up in a moment like that. And I loved that Anwei was the one to tell Lia this.

It took me awhile to get into this story – I liked the second half more than the first half because there is more action. The beginning was slow and I didn’t even think I’d want to finish the book. I think world building wise, it was intriguing enough to keep me reading but at times I felt it was so vague, unless those were just the times I felt unmotivated reading the story (the slow beginning).

I was frustrated with Knox and his devotion to Calsta who speaks in his head and Willow-his sister who is trapped in the sword and talks to him in his head, as well. Poor guy, it’s crowded up there! All he wanted was to be himself with Anwei but nope…he is bound to Calsta.

Why you should read it:

  • you like heist stories
  • interesting cast of characters, mostly Anwei and Mateo for me
  • a good twist at the end

Why you might not want to read it:

  • not into heists/thieves
  • slow beginning

My Thoughts:

I almost gave up on this book because I wasn’t connecting to the story but Anwei was what made me keep reading on. I love her as a character – a healer who is a thief trying to avenge her brother’s death. I think you would like this book if you enjoy heist stories. There’s a nice plot twist at the end that makes me curious to read book two but I’m still on the fence if I would pick it up. Overall, it was good, not quite for me though but definitely for anyone who enjoys these types of stories.

📚 ~ Yolanda