DNF at 30%

I had so much expectations for this book but unfortunately I feel disappointed at how flat this felt. It didn't manage to hook my attention from the start, and it's a chore trying to finish this. The premise had so much potential, but the writing and the characters did not work for me.

This was a good starting point for this new series. Josephine and Xavier had passion and great banter but I felt like it took quite a while for the story to come together. I will continue with the second book however as I love action romance and the idea of a crime fighting elite unit.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. 3 stars!

An entertaining game of cat and mouse uniquely disguised as a coerced master thief and a former jaded one. The action is nonstop and fast paced with constant direction changes when least expected. There were gaps in some of the players involved, but in the interest of the story not being twice as long with too much fluff and filler, I can forgive that in favor of the overall storyline.

Xavier and Josephine were a unique pair who kept the action tightly twisted, one with an objective, and the other thwarting the same. The writing was superb, with wonderful descriptions of the locations and players. Everything playing in real time to keep the activities at hand nonstop...with enough back history to set the stage for the current choices and decisions having to be made. Certainly enjoyed the revelation Josephine dropped on Xavier which was the catalyst to their history and the present.

I'm looking forward to reading more from this author with the next installment in the series.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and Netgally, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This story starts off with a bang the horrible ex of an retired jewel thief breaks into her home and tells her that he needs to get her back in the game. She refuses A fight ensues and he leaves. Josephine Devereaux our heroine in this story decides that she needs to find out what is going on and how Lincoln was able to find her. In the end Josephine has no choice, as she is being blackmailed by Lincoln to find this diamond. Josephine and Xavier encounter each other when they find out they are both after the same thing. Xavier our hero, has no choice really he is an ex criminal and if he should obtain this diamond he will be getting time off his jail sentence. He now works for the Elite Crimes Unit. This story is filled with suspense, action and quick witted banter. The romance seemed off to me, there was just too much going on, but in a good way. This seems to be to a great start in this series. 4 stars!

I was really excited about this book, but unfortunately I was just not able to believe the situations in it. 2 thiefs, the French countryside, the whole idea that they were both thieves...I was so intrigued. But, it just didn't work for me, and the reactions to situations from Xavier just never worked for me. I have chosen to DNF this at 47%.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the title.

Review of The Thief by Michele Hauf. I thoroughly enjoyed the story however the writing was more crude than I'd like. You have a thief who is retired and she is blackmailed for one more job. You have a thief that's been caught and is now working for a special organization or face going back to jail or to a tombstone. I love how they met; where he steals a necklace and she steals it from him. She grew up respecting him and following him learning from him in the shadows. He doesn't seem to remember her however. Her and her obsession with her cat was hilarious and heartwarming as it was the only friend she had. I've always love the story where you're trying to be one step ahead of the other guy.

Sexual content: physical scenes, crude language regarding sex
Violence: some mild torture; mostly just beating them up, they do hit a girl
Language: profanity and crude language
Drugs/Alcohol: no drugs, maybe mild drinking, nothing that stood out.

This book grabs your imagination from page 1. It entertains from beginning to end. Hauf's characters are enthuse with life and are very likeable, including the elf-eared cat.
I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

This was fantastic! It had action, adventure, romance, two thieves who are after the same necklace and of course there's a lot of chase scenes as well. Xavier is a reformed thief (he works for the Elite Crimes Unit) and Josephine is a retired one. He steals for the good, she steals to get her cat back! Right?! Kick ass, smart and sexy and a cat lover! I mean who wouldn't like Josephine. Xavier isn't too bad himself. But despite the very lighthearted tone and the action scenes, there is a lot of mystery going on as well, including when did Josephine and Xavier really first meet and how? Their chemistry simmers, the job is excellent foreplay and the romance may appear instant ah but who can really resist these two!

The Thief is the first in the Elite Crimes Unit and readers will be going crazy waiting for the next one to come out!
Oceans Eleven and The Italian Job move over cause Josephine and Xavier are here!

The Elite Crimes Unit works behind the scenes of Interpol—and employs some of the world’s most talented criminal minds. Because as everyone knows, it takes a thief to catch a thief—or to seduce one . . .

The old farmhouse in the French countryside is a refuge for former jewel thief Josephine Deveraux. Admittedly, there aren’t many men in the vicinity, but she has her cat to cuddle up with. It’s a far cry from her former life, constantly running from the law, and she’s enjoying her peace . . . until the intruder in the three-piece suit tackles her. He wants her back in the game, helping with a heist—and he’s not above making threats to get his way.

Little does Josephine know that notorious—and notoriously charming—thief, Xavier Lambert, is after the very same 180-carat prize she’s being blackmailed to steal. To his chagrin, he’s doing it not as a free agent, but as a member of the Elite Crimes Unit—the team he was forced to join when his brilliant career came to a sudden end. And little does Xavier know that his comeback is about to include a stranger’s kiss, a stinging slap, and a hunt for missing treasure—along with the infuriatingly sexy woman who’s outfoxing him . . .




Review:




I have been hooked lately by a show called The Catch and this story sort of reminds me of it, a little intrigue, a little thievery, and a little sexy.




I had not read a contemporary story by this Author before, just the supernatural ones. I quite liked the story. The writing was great. She did a good job of setting up the this story as this is the first book in the series. Josephine and the attachment to her cat gave some lightness to the story that I really liked. The cat does get kidnapped but I loved the extremes she went to keep her cat safe. I liked there was an age difference between Seph and X, though I could not really determine just how far apart they are. I loved the back story on how Seph knew who X was and his occupation, it added a great twist to the story. I will say that there were a lot of people thrown into the mix and I did have a little difficulty keeping who was who straight. The terrorist gist of the story really fits into what is going on in the world today. Of course, this is a romance and there is good sexy times for those who like spice in their action.




Great start to this new series, not sure how the series will go but would love more X and Seph adventures.




3.5Stars




*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

Loved this well written romantic suspense

I've not read any book where the hero/heroine is a thief, so this was quite refreshing and enjoyable for me; this was like a breath of fresh air from my usual reading fare. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, as I follow the unexpected yet delightful twists and turns in the story.

The thing though is, because they're both thieves, they didn't know when it was time to trust the other. Maybe never. I thought that would get super exhausting in time. Yet, both Xavier and Josephine managed to surprise me with their devotion to the other, especially toward the end, when Josephine... (spoiler). I myself can't imagine me doing that for anyone.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book, and I'm glad that the next book in the series is coming out soon!

I am a suckers for books about talented criminals working together. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have watched movies like Oceans the classic to Catch a Thief and the list goes on so when I saw the chance to pick up advance copy from netgalley about a Elite Crimes Unit with talent criminal I couldn't help but myself.
I guess I am giving it 3.50 stars because this series had great potential. The author might need to scale back the endless amount of characters that pop in and out of the book like popcorn. The romance was a little to forced and could use more build up.
The story is fast pace with lots of action and violence which isn't normally found in this type of set up but I enjoyed the change in pace. Yes there is humorous moments.

This book is a wonderful start to a series and I can't wait to read book 2 which I hope will tie up the loose ends this book seemed to have endless amounts.

Advance Copy from Netgalley.

This book reminds me a lot about the TV show White Collar. Xavier Lambert is a jewel thief who is released from prison to help the Elite Crimes Unit fight crime by providing a criminal's insight. At his unit's behest he steals a diamond necklace carrying the recipe for a bomb but becomes a pasty for the first time when Josephine Deveraux makes off wit the goods after flirting with him.
As the two of them go back and forth in quest of the necklace the casual simmer between them becomes a full fledged conflagration. It seems that the ECU has a new recruit in mind in addition to preventing the attack on a Paris city block Xavier is now tasked to bring Josephine into the fold. Her ex-boyfriend and a Turkish terrorist are in hot pursuit of the bomb and recipe.
Suspense, action adventure tales are my favorite genre but unfortunately this story didn't really sweep me in and keep me riveted as I had expected when I read the pre-view.

the thief should probably be called the thieves, because our two leads are both master burglars. xavier lambert, also known as le renard, has reformed somewhat after getting caught red-handed. now a reluctant member of the elite crimes unit, he is sent out on missions that require his particular skills.

his current mission involves stealing a necklace with the recipe and target for a biological weapon etched on the diamonds. when josephine deveraux intercepts and distracts him during his mission he is confounded, confused and incredibly drawn to her.

he knows their paths have crossed before, but he doesn't know when or how. and josephine has the answers. she knows more about le renard than he thinks. she has been following his career for years, modeling hers on his. when he was captured she retired from the business, intending to live her life out in quiet retirement. her ex-boyfriend is the one who tasks her with stealing the necklace. and the next thing she knows she's in up to her neck.

she doesn't want to be so drawn to xavier. she doesn't want to admit how fascinated she is by him. she doesn't want to admit that he is her perfect match. not just as thieves, but also in life, in love. she knew this the first time she ever kissed him, even if at the time the thirst for revenge was clouding her judgment. but now as passion explodes between them, the thrill of the heist and their need for each other consuming them in a vortex of emotion and lies and broken hearts. there is no way this ends well for them, the cost of being together is too high even though it might be worth it? this is what they need to figure out. is it just the thrill of what they do that binds them together or is the passion and the emotion between them real. is freedom worth it if they can't be together? is the elite crimes unit really such a terrible prison?

this is a romance, so you can probably guess the answers to these questions, but the stakes are and the sense of danger and impending doom stays with you as josephine and xavier figure it out.

Retired thief, Josephine Deveraux is blackmailed by an ex, back into the life to steal a notorious diamond. When she goes for her prize she is interrupted by Xavier Lambert, another thief who was supposed to be in jail after getting caught doing a heist a few years earlier.

The diamond they both were after is the key to a terrorist plot. Xavier was after the jewel because he is working off his jail time as a member of an Elite Crimes Unit. Xavier is given permission to retrieve the diamond so he pushes Josephine into helping him.

The thrill and Xavier entices Josephine.

Xavier is drawn to this thief but he knows his life is tied to the Elite Crime Unit and doesn’t want to get Josephine caught up in their web as well.

The story starts out strong with a cast of characters that you want to really get to know. I loved the semi-anti-hero, high end thief turned into special ops agent idea. I was all in and loving it and for the most part I kept loving it but...their seemed to be a few twists that were thrown in in the end that didn't seem necessary and/or over kill in my opinion. Still a really great read and I would highly recommend The Thief to anyone who enjoys a good romantic suspense.

I received this ARC copy of THE THIEF from Kensington Books. This is my honest and voluntary review. THE THIEF is set for publication April 11, 2017.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by Michele Hauf
Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN-10: 1516101979
ISBN-13: 978-1516101979
Genre: Romantic Suspense

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http://tometender.blogspot.com

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**** ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ****

Warning: This review/rating is based on my feelings, thoughts, likes and dislikes. You should read the book to form your own opinion/thoughts. Read on!

Rating: 4 Stars
Cover: I like it
Cliffhanger: Nope
Triangle: Nah
The story, Josephine is a thief, well, a retired thief, she is trying to have a normal life now that she has stopped stealing jewelry. Her ex blackmails her into stealing a necklace, but also a member of the Elite Crimes Unit intents to steal it too. But he is not just a thief, it is her “mentor”, the thief she loves to hate. Xavier wants to steal it for the greater good, so now he has to partner with Josephine to save the world and sparks fly. Needless to say, it was fast paced, intriguing, and very well written. I didn’t think it would be possible for them to trust, I mean, they are thieves and they are ruled by, trust no one, so their struggle was very palpable.

Josephine, I liked her, she had a hard time trusting, and she admired and at the same time hated Xavier. That spin of the story, it was a bit predictable but it brought spice into the plot. Her love for Chloe was adorable.

Xavier, I felt for him, he was doing good things but at the same time he felt like he was in a cage and in a way he was. So when he stumbles into his “protégé” and has to work with her, he realizes there is more to life, that unpredictability is good sometimes and that some things just can’t be stolen.

Overall, it was a fast paced, hot, intriguing, suspenseful story.

This book had potential but I was disappointed by how it ended up playing out. The romance wasn't convincing to me and the plot itself was semi interesting but there were too many characters who were too vague. It set itself up quite abruptly, which would have worked better if the gaps had been followed through, but there were too many loose threads for me to buy into the romance and the connection between the two characters.

Josephine has left her previous life of being a master thief to settle down in the country and live an honest, quiet life. Her retirement is disrupted by her ex-boyfriend who forces her into one last job. She didn't count on going up against the one man who she emulated her career after.

Xavier works for the Elite Crimes Unit, not exactly by choice, but he has accepted it as his life since he was caught in a heist. Working an easy job he was thrown off his game by a kiss out of nowhere.

I loved this book! While the story behind the necklace was a little odd, it did not get in the way of the plot, the characters and the writing. I loved the relationship of Josephine and Xavier, especially when you get to the point that they start sharing their secrets. I hope, since this is labeled 'book one' that we will get to see their relationship progressing in the background of any subsequent books. I'm excited to see more from this series if they will be anything like this first book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.