How fun was this story!? I really enjoyed it! Fire and Heist has such a fun concept with an intriguing storyline. I absolutely loved the dragon elements/themes that were thrown in as well as the world-building that took place and the seamless progression of the story from start to finish. And gold! So much gold! (And unicorns?!)

The story takes place in the modern world and wyvern’s (dragon people) are accepted and are a thing in pop culture (paparazzi follow them around). I’m happy there was only a mention of this and that the human world was more of a, “oh yeah, we co-exist with them and they’re fine with it,” afterthought type of thing and didn’t drag on or muddle up the story and dragon-world.

Sky was a good protagonist MC. I liked her tenacity and strength - good for her for standing up for herself and her beliefs and deciding to prove herself by pulling off a heist of her own. I also appreciated the lessons about family and relationships and trusting and believing in yourself. My favorite line from the book had to be the very last one – “My friends and my family are my treasure. They are my gold.”

There were no dull moments in here except for the innocent, cutesy and childish banter that takes place between Sky, her three brothers and her ex-notreallyex-boyfriend. But that’s just me being nit-picky. Overall, the story seemed a bit juvenile for me only because it most YA books nowadays have language and vibes that definitely reflect 18+ culture – this was most definitely 12-16 yr old age appropriate.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this great eARC!

With a world rich in history and mythology and characters that leap off the page, Fire & Heist is a must-read for any fantasy lover. I enjoyed the heavy emphasis on family and the thrilling plot. The writing is compulsively readable. You do not want to miss this.

When I first started reading this book, i wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get into books about people who pretty much lived just to hoard a bunch of wealth. That’s just not really me. But I ended up really liking the book. I was glad to find out it had much more depth. Being about family, about relationships, about being true to who you are. Plus, there's the really cool dragon/fantasy side to it. Quite a fun YA book. I’d recommend it.

I also liked the little bit of the dig at the idea of a <i>meritocracy</i>. I don't know if that was intentional. But when most people suggest the idea of a "meritocracy", they really mean "we're going to measure you on some scale that some people think is important, and if you don't measure up, you don't deserve to have a good life." I mean, just look at Worm. "Meritocracies" don't reflect human worth - they reflect what people <b>already</b> at the top of the scale - who are already in power - think is important. So, there's really no such thing.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

Wow. This book has everything you could ever want in a high drama fantasy; dragons, magic, mystery, jewel thieves, love interests, and family secrets. It even has a snarky wizard! I devoured this book in less than a day; I could not put it down. Please, please, PLEASE read this book!

Who has two thumbs and was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book? This girl right here!!

Think Ocean's 11 meets (albeit high school aged ones) were-dragons!

This was definitely felt younger than the books I have been reading recently, but it was a fun concept and decent read. Also it seems like it will most likely be a standalone, which on one hand is super refreshing that the story wraps up in one book but also sad because we don't get to explore the world in more depth.

2.5 STARS

I get the sense that anyone who loves family stories and heist stories is going to love this one, and if you love dragons, then that's just the cherry on top. This meant Fire and Heist ticked ALL THE BOXES for me, and I was super excited going in!

After all, what's not to love?

And truthfully, I did love it. The main character is a wyvern (were-dragon, if you prefer, which is honestly the much more fun option), able to breathe fire and filled with a deep and instinctual love for gold. She's the youngest of four, with three older brothers, and one very calm and collected father. Mom's missing, though, which spurs everything that goes down from the moment Sky finds herself dangling from the foyer chandelier.

There's also a little crew of secondary characters, like Ryan the wyvern hacker and ex-boyfriend to Sky, Gabriela the human research nerd who really loves unicorns a lot (she was totally my favorite for, like, eighty different reasons), and Maximus the slightly concerning, slightly corny wyvern wizard.

When all the characters came together, there was a delightful sort of banter and snark between them, plus a fair share of realistically awkward hops in the conversation, which really makes sense when everything is A LOT and HAPPENING ON A DEADLINE, FOLKS and there's a lot of ground to cover. Plus, I came to love some of Sky's commentary (the book is written in first person); she's got a really solid handle on the importance of food and naps, which speaks to me on a very personal level. That, and she has this very short and snappy sort of sass to her, the kind that really suits a firecracker emotional character, and I can't help but love that.

The trouble was really the rest of the book, though.

When I went in, I was expecting fantasy, especially based on the cover design, but I actually got a fantasy-contemporary blend, which required some adjusting. Once it moved into heist territory and away from the exposition, I thought that genre surprise was starting to improve, but then I realized that I was only halfway into the book, and the big heist the summary teased was nearly over, and something else was ahead. It stopped being a heist book after that, save for the rapid conclusion, and shifted into something more like straight-up fantasy. I can't exactly call it genre-hopping, since it was all fantasy underneath, but, it did change its priorities rapidly, and the part of the book I was most excited for was over all too soon.

Another issue I had was that the characters all feel very shallow. Sometimes it's hard to get in a lot of character development in a standalone novel, and a first person point of view can shape what we think of characters based on how the main character reports them, but it can still be done. Fire and Heist, though, just didn't really do it. Sky flopped between mopey and get it done, and I really got tired of her "I just lost my mom, excuse me for also being upset about not being as rich as I was even though I'm still rich" comments, and I may have skimmed a few pages because she started waxing poetic about Ryan again. As for her brothers, they felt like caricatures: serious muscle, never committed, and nervous youngest son screw-up. Gabriela? As much as I loved and connected with her, she switched from practical observer to sudden tears or explosive delight without a particularly consistent thread, and even though Sky spent most of their early friendship basically using her, she idolized Sky anyway. In short, I wanted to love the characters, but they didn't feel well-rounded to me, and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more from a third person, multi-POV perspective. I like depth in the characters I read about, because good characters can save a weak plot, but a strong plot can still struggle to save weak characters.

Finally, I struggled to enjoy the second half of the book. With the heist over so soon, it launched headlong into a new plot thread, and I couldn't help but feel it was rushed. The unequal power structures at hand were under-explored, there were robots (yeah, still not sure about that one; really clashed with the rest of the setting), and just a lot of sudden world-building that left me with more questions than answers.

This was ultimately a book about family and heists (and dragons), though, so I can't fault it for its conclusion staying true to those features, and I certainly can't fault it for being a standalone. I've been looking for more fantasy standalones for a long time, so that in itself was a breath of fresh air, and probably helped to save the book from a 2 star finish. People who've been looking for standalones will probably enjoy this, and folks who like their dragons acting a lot like humans and who like thieves are likely to have a ball so long as they don't expect any deep depth of world going in. It's a fun, fast read, excellent for summer on the porch in the evening, and receives a 2.5 star rating from me largely because I'm picky and like my characters and worlds with possibly more substance than is necessarily advisable. I'm a little like Gabriela in that I am very curious, and I will take my time trying to learn everything about the new thing that's totally consuming my brain. Give me alllllllllll the material to dive into.

ALL OF IT.

Anyway, if you think Fire and Heist is the right book for you, preorder it soon, or buy it in stores or online December 4 this year! Or ask your library to get it if you can't get it yourself (libraries are kind of the best like that)!

Quick Star Rating: 5 stars

I’m seriously so happy I tried for this arc guys because it was fricking amazing! I mean it has were dragons aka people that can turn into dragons…yes you heard me right! Action in the form of intense heists that give a serious Mission Impossible meets magic twist and a dash of romance.

Sky was such a great character, she was strong, stubborn and caring which surrounded by many wyverns that only valued their hoard collection as status was unique. I loved her relationship with her brothers even when it was a bit rocky because it felt real! Her friendship with Gabriela was adorable, I loved her geekiness so much! I felt like I could totally relate to her. Her relationship was Ryan at first I wasn’t the biggest fan. I didn’t trust the jerk really, but he won me over in the end.

“…eye contact could lead to conversation, which could lead to feelings, and no one wants those. Especially not before noon.”

The idea of were dragons was so much fun as well! I feel like we don’t get enough books with dragons and this not only included dragons, but being able to turn into them would just be so so awesome! Their idea was home was so dragon like from all the stories of hoarding treasure it all felt perfectly together. The heist scenes were always very well done and I just love a good heist (cue mission impossible music xD)

The plot was very well paced and had a couple plot twists to keep you guessing! I loved the story line and want more of sky and her family already❤

Overall I highly recommend picking up this book that is set to be released on December, 4th 2018. You will not regret it, I promise!

It was a very cute story. Early on, we learn that the heroine, Sky, is heartbroken and her mother is mysteriously missing. Her family has fallen from grace, resulting in losing her boyfriend and all of her friends. She's in a bad spot.

I liked the progression in the book. It was really wonderful to think about dragon thieves and dragon investment bankers.

*4.5 stars*

This book was a lot of fun!

Sky’s mother disappeared after a failed heist, and her family has been shunned by the entire community, including Sky’s friends and best friend turned boyfriend. Sky’s father wants his kids to lay low, but Sky is determined to find out what happened to her mom. She wants to attempt the heist herself - on her terms.

Oh, and did I mention that Sky’s a wyvern?

I love the fantastical twist on a heist novel. The team Sky assembles is hodge podge and absolutely perfect, complete with an excitable human who reminds me a lot of Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, pre-Wiccan goddess. I loved all of the characters (especially Gabriela and Sky’s brothers), and the unexpected places this novel took me. It was a satisfying stand-alone book, but I’d be happy to read more about Sky and the world she lives in.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

I read this while stuck at the airport, and it was fun. It was a fluffy fun read. It wanted to be the juvenile version of the six of crows, and had similar elements. It had a protagonist that needs to pull of a heist to prove something, and there's the fantastical magic theme with the dragons. There are quasi mystery elements of what happened to certain characters. Like I said, it was enjoyable enough but the pace felt too fast. Things happened for the sake of plot, there wasn't enough build up or struggle. It was just here is a problem, character thinks up solution BAM, problem solved. It was a little cheesy in that regard. Also, the were-dragon thing (which admittedly, I was concerned about) doesn't really make an appearance? It's mentioned but then kind of disappears.

But I liked the strong female protagonist, the characters were cute and it resolves in a somewhat satisfying way.

Fire! Dragons! Mixed in with heists. Yeah, if those words don't pull you in, I don't know what's wrong with you.

This is a really sweet book about a girl/dragon/wyvern/fire breather (need I go on?), who is suddenly a social outcast after her mother fails a secret job. Not only does Sky lose her mother, but all her friends & even her family pull away from her.

The MC has a wonderfully humorous voice that makes for a great book. Combine that with the fire-breathing and other dragon abilities, plus a heist, tricky plot, & great characters, and this book is perfect.

I highly recommend this book for everyone.

Disclaimer: I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

You had me at heist. And then WERE-DRAGONS. This was a super fun, original spin on the lore of dragons and their golden hordes.

This was fun! Were-dragons!

So, if you're a dragon, you love treasure, right? In this day and age, where would you get your hoard? What an original tale.
Highly recommended.

This book was a great read. It kept you interested the whole time. I mean who doesn't love a good dragon story. There are plot twists and it keeps you guessing the whole time. It's not a typical sci-fi fantasy book. The author brings you into this fantastic world of characters who are extremely interesting. I would highly recommend this book.