Amazing, loved it, wish I could read it again for the first time. High stakes heists and a dash of romance - pick this one up straight away!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy.

What a great book with so many twists and turns along the way. I usually guess the plot twists pretty early on, but this book had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next the whole time. I am already wanting there to be book 2 for me to pick up and read!!

The blurb for this book is on point. It is definitely Hunger Games cross Oceans Eleven. Ross/Rosalyn grew up isolated from everyone except her mom and aunt and was raised to be a thief. She lives on a remote island in the Bahamas, where she, her mother, and her aunt pull off some of the best heists in North America. That is, until Ross wants more. She wants out. And then … a job goes wrong and the only way to fix the mess she made is to participate in the gambit.

I will admit, imho, this book had a very slow start. It didn’t really pick up until the second heist of the gambit. However, it did pick up and didn’t lose steam later. The train scene was probably my favorite of the story.

Sadly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Ross. I didn’t dislike her but I didn’t really like her either. I didn’t connect with her, she was simply the method of my “participating” in the gambit. But her family … nope, they were awful! (That was intentional though and done well). As for the other participants in the gambit, some I liked, some I didn’t, but I wanted to know more about each one and I think that is important. The actual gambit was my favorite aspect of this book. The heists, how the characters handled them, and the ending was pretty great.

For me, this was probably 3.5 stars. Mainly because I need to love and root for the main character to truly connect and rate a book five stars. However, readers of this review need to take that with a grain of salt. I have aphantasia, aka I do not have a minds eye, and I believe that made a huge difference in my personal enjoyment. My gut says that if I could visualize when reading, it would be a solid five star book. Therefore, I’m giving it 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for an arc of this book.

The youngest member in a family of thieves is entered into a competition as a last resort way to save her mother from thugs. Her world to date has been limited to direct family, her education focused on the skills needed for the family trade. Thru this competition, she learns teamwork and trust, and finally makes friends outside of her family. She develops confidence in herself. With each level, she learns more about her family and other rival families. The competition is exciting and action packed. The planning, the deceit and the underhanded maneuvers are thrilling to follow. The end left me hanging with my mouth open as everything I thought I understood was turned upside down. The competition may have ended, but the challenges for Ross have not ... Can't wait to see what is in store for her next!

An international thieves competition!! YES PLEASE!! I wish this book would have been published when I was a teen because it would have for sure been a repeat reread for me! I loved the competition aspect, the friendships and deception, the diversity. It was just fantastic and so entertaining. I’ll highly recommend this fast paced adventure to everyone!

This book was so fun and thrilling to read. I loved the whole storyline and the inclusions of backstories, familial relationships and more. I really hope there’s going to be a second book!!

4.5
You wanna hear something I just learned about myself despite having read literally thousands of novels in my lifetime? Turns out: I'm an absolute sucker for a heist story. Bring me your confidence men, bring me your double cross, bring me the diamonds, baby, then get lost.

I like that the missions weren't overly complicated, I like it when its dumbed down enough and there weren't that many like in the Inheritance Games, trips too solve the riddles hurt my head but the action and rivalry in this book I love it. Also when I read the description idk why or how this happened but I apparently thought when Ross was going enter the competition she would be competing against an ex boyfriend so I was waiting for that to happen but then Noelia and Devroe got introduced and things snapped into place. The stakes just kept getting higher and I loved all the drama and the action scenes especially the car chase, perfection. The way it ended makes me assume a sequel is in the works. I hope we get answers soon.

This sounded so fun— Inheritance Games x Ocean’s 11 seems right up my alley. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one and though some of the Gambit tasks were interesting, the romance was lackluster and some of the writing style was not to my taste.

They had me at heist thriller. How many YA books have there been lately that are reminiscent of Ally Carter and MK England? The answer is not enough! This filled a hole in my heart & TBR that I didn't know was there, and the whole idea of the Gambit is a concept that I will be thinking about for a long time. I loved Ross and her strength, growth, and family loyalty, along with her two hot AF love interests! The twists and turns in this were quite the ride and the entire thing about not trusting anyone certainly held up- I had no idea who was going to con or backstab anyone, which is just how i like it!

I adored the story, the world building was amazing. I love meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it. The writing was also really nice. I couldn't put the book down and I can't wait for others to read and enjoy this story as well.

Everything was perfect except the ending it was a little lackluster but besides that everything was perfect. The pacing of the book was 10/10, the diversity of the characters, the gambit itself. I loved everything. I need the sequel already!!