Kayvion Lewis’s new series, Thieves’ Gambit, is a stellar globe-trotting heist adventure. I love books with a game at its center, and while I sometimes take my guessing a little too far, this book delivered on the game, the characters, and setting the stage for a great series. The book is being compared to Inheritance Game and Oceans 11, and it’s well deserved comparisons, while also creating a unique new crime world.

Ross Quest comes from a family of thieves and has been raised to be fiercely independent. As she tries to spread her wings toward her own future she is hurtled into a secret game to save her mother. Her other competitors are all vying for the prize of a single wish.

I can’t wait to read more in this series. Thieves Gambit is a wonderful escapist YA novel. I highly recommend it!

I love a good heist story, and the comp titles of Ocean’s Eleven and The Inheritance Games set the bar high for this novel.

Ross comes from a long line of thieves, and she’s been trained in the family business from a young age. When her mother’s life is suddenly in danger, Ross has no choice but to enter the Thieves’ Gambit, a cutthroat competition pitting her against other master thieves from around the globe. With the exception of raising the dead and defying the laws of physics, the winner is granted any wish.

The competition sends the contestants to exciting locations – London and Egypt to name a couple. Each heist is dangerous, challenging, and impossible to accomplish at first glance. But these competitors are clever and creative. Ross gets to a point where she has no choice but to trust other players. How can you trust a group of thieves? I questioned every player’s motives and actions – were they honest? Playing Ross and everyone else?

And that ending? Wow. So many unexpected revelations that show characters in a different light. It looks like a sequel is in the works, and I’m totally here for it.

Filled with exciting heists, unexpected betrayals and alliances, and even a little romance, this novel kept me glued to the pages. I’m excited to see where the sequel goes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This action-packed young adult thriller carries all the propulsive action of a summer blockbuster film. With a premise that feels at once unique and familiar, filled with characters you love and want to trust (but aren't sure if you can), a heroine who is the craftiest of them all, and a jaw-dropping ending that will leave you clamoring for the sequel, this book is one that deserves all the buzz across the book world. Ross is a character that deserves to jump to the top of readers' lists of favorite YA heroines. I loved the fact that she came from a thieving family, but wanted to see what a normal life would be like. She was such a smart and resourceful character, and I'm looking forward to seeing where she goes next in this series.

Interesting story about a family of thieves. On a gig, Ross’ mom gets kidnapped and she has to join the thieves gambit to win prize money to win her back. Going through the gambit Ross has to learn to trust others, maybe? Or does she have to figure out how to win on her own.

Setting: all over the world
Rep: black protagonist; multiple BIPOC side characters

This was an enjoyable heist story but at times it felt a bit convoluted and I occasionally lost track of characters and motivations.

I wanted to love this book — but I had a hard time getting into it. It was just very slow at the beginning, which made it hard to stay focused on reading it. I loved the premise, and expected a bit more from the story itself.

Thank you so much to Penguin and. NetGalley for this ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I heard anything being compared to The Inheritance Games and I'm immediately there. This book had a lot of promise with the premise, and because of that, I think I expected the pacing to be a lot better than it is. For a book that was marketed as being something thrilling, it moved awfully slow. It was nonstop later but I think it gave me a bit of whiplash. I think more consistency would have made the book a lot better but I will be tuning into the rest of the books!

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @penguinteen for an early copy of Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: September 26th, 2023

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112974911-thieves-gambit?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jIJrxahmu2&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Thieves’ Gambit is a fast-paced and exciting novel centered around Rosalyn who joins a secret thieving competition to win money to rescue her kidnapped mother. Competing with other teenagers from known significant thieving families worldwide, the challenges were exciting and thrilling as each competitor fought to win. There were lots of betrayals, twists, and amazingly crafted heists, which ended quite unrealistically.

It was fun seeing Ross make friends with her team as this has been her wish ever since, to make friends as she feels so alone with only her family to count on, regardless of what her mom says – “Trust no one”. This, by the way also applies to her with how the ending came to be.

I found Devroe sketchy from the very beginning, and I was actually pleased that I was right not to trust his character (all these betrayals in the novel got me having trust issues too 😅). I felt that regardless of how hard he pursues Ross with all is charm and flirting, their chemistry was way off.

But I enjoyed the ride. The ending was a revelation although quite disappointing and a cliffhanger. A good beginning to a series of books.
Looking forward to the next one!

Fantastic. Kept me on my toes. First 5 star book in a few months. I can’t wait for the next one! Thank you for sending me an ARC.

This book has a very interesting premise. I was initially interested based on that; however, the beginning of the book moved too slow for me. By the end it was clear this would become a series. It's just one of those times when I didn't feel like that was necessary. The book could have easy gotten by with less set up in the beginning in order to hook readers faster.

I would likely still recommend for readers interested in competition books that are willing to commit to a series. Sadly, I am not right now.

3.75 stars This tale of a hair-raising heist game was filled with twists and turns. The beginning was slow to pick up but when it did it was nonstop. I will look forward to the next in this series.

Finally a heist story with an actual heist! I was pleasantly surprised by Thieves' Gambit to the point where I wanna read The Half Class which is Kayvion's now out of print debut novel that's been sitting on my Kindle for awhile. I wish people would've rushed to read this one more. It's got great pacing which is hard to find in YA lately.

Ross Quest comes from a family of thieves and just when she's thinking of leaving and getting out of the business, a job gone wrong leads to her mother being held captive. In order to get the money to save her she must enter the Thieves’ Gambit, an international heist competition.

It actually feels like a book written for teen readers which is a plus and though this is the type of story we've seen before it brings a strong voice to the table.

This is a fast-paced, fun book as long as you can suspend a little disbelief at some of the twists and turns along the way. I really enjoyed the competition aspect, although I wish there had been more actual competing. I liked most of the characters, and found Ross a good MC. I enjoyed her back and forth with Devore and Noelia in particular.
To be quite honest, I went into this book expecting a standalone so I didn’t love the ending that obviously points to a sequel and doesn’t wrap everything up. I will, however, read said sequel because I enjoyed the book quite a bit.
I’ll be recommending this one to my students and the librarian at my school!

This was a book I could definitely see myself liking 10 or so years ago when I was big into the Heist Society books. But I think I’m just too old for this type of book now.

Some of my problems have to do with how rushed the whole thing felt. It also was pretty predictable from the beginning.

With that being said I do feel like teens & young adults will enjoy this book.

This book was such a good heist book! I cant wait for more of this series and I am itching to find out what happens with our fatal lovers. The schemes were so elaborate with so many twists that you can’t help but be on the edge of your seat for.

I started reading this one because I loved the description but unfortunately it did not keep my interest. I didn’t connect with the characters and I found the beginning boring.

The comps between this and Inheritance Games feel really accurate, as this has a lot of the same positive attributes and also a lot of the same problems.

This is a great premise for a series, though one that, like Inheritance Games, is almost guaranteed to set itself up to fail because if we learned anything from The Westing Game and other ancestors of this type of story, it’s that there’s no good way to end it.

As in the Inheritance Games series, you can see the devolution of the plot already at the end of the first book, and the cliffhanger ending just postpones the inevitable problems. Where this book has it over most series like it is that regardless of the likely doomed conclusion, it’s a lot more fun to get there.

The pacing in these is excellent, as are the tasks that comprise the game. These feel more like real heists than the kinds of goofy riddles typically used for books like this. And the characters are terrific, equal parts likable and intriguing and with the kind of well thought out backstories that help drive their actions in the broader narrative than the story.

In all this is a much more well written version of something we see frequently in YA books, and though it appears to have some of the same narrative and structural problems as it’s brethren, it’s a fun read and should appeal to most age groups.

I love the format of this book and it’s sits beautifully on the shelf of our store. The fans of inheritance games and good girls guide to murder will eat this one up.

4 / 5 ⭐️'ˢ

“Thieves’ Gambit” By Kayvion Lewis

📕 Edition: ebook & Audiobook

This was a fast paced fun read with a fun concept. Ross Quest, a young master thief, finds herself in a high-stakes competition to save her mother's life.

The characters, including Ross, her childhood nemesis, and a charming competitor, are well-developed in the story.

The vivid descriptions of the heists and the suspenseful atmosphere had me fully immersed in the story.

Thank you @NetGalley, @kayvionclewis , @penguinteen for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an arch of this thrilling novel in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 3.75 stars

Let me start by saying that my expectations for this vibe of the book were incredibly high because I love action-packed stories. One of my favorite series of the year was actually The Inheritance Games and while they are not very similar in my opinion, this book gave me that same thrill and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. I love how fast-paced it was and would absolutely read more from this author.