2.5 stars Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! This book had some good points to it with the heist factor, but with the magic added in and then the story behind the mysterious stranger and with a love interest that didn’t seem much like a love interest, it fizzled out for me. I couldn’t get into it and at times was forcing myself to grab the book to finish it. I love heist books that have twists, but this on e was too out there and didn’t all come together as I’d hoped it would. I couldn’t even make myself care who Dani was going to end up with as they were both kind of blah. Overall, it wasn’t terrible, but it’s not a book I can see recommending to many people. FYI clean romance, language wasn’t terrible, not too much in the way of violence, does have some talk of a rape in the past but not graphic

This upcoming release has some interesting elements and things it does well. The beginning caught my interest, and the author employs some of my favorite tropes of found family and magical realism. However, the middle of the book kept me just interested enough to keep it going as a slow & steady read. I found some parts of this story a bit lacking, and the most interesting part of the story didn’t kick in until around the 50-60% mark. I really enjoyed it when I finally reached that point, but it did take a while to get there. I also felt that the story rushed towards the end & wrapped up a bit too quickly. Despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed the undertones of feminist rage. I’m a sucker for it. 🔥 Also, who doesn’t love an adorable dog named Sunflower? Overall, it was enjoyable read with an interesting premise, quirky characters, plenty of Dolly Parton references to keep me satisfied, and a little bit of a dark side. However, I would have liked to see a little more depth and refinement of the story. The Frame Up may be a great read for someone who enjoys art history, heist stories, found family, magical realism, or secret societies! Also, it has a great cover! ✅

Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!

#bookstagram #booksta #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookreview #books #goodreads #goodreadschallenge #storygraph #kirbyreads #kirbyreadsandreviews #netgalley #arcreview #arcreviewer

I liked and disliked The Frame-Up. The premise was solid, and there were good chunks throughout. It was a very readable book, and I think an audio version would be great. As it was, reading the print (well, ebook) version felt a little like trudging through snow in parts.

Dani Poissant, the daughter and former accomplice of a famous art thief takes her magical abilities to a new job in order to earn back the respect of her mother (who is now in prison) and her former crew (which includes her former love).

Dani must reconcile with the estranged crew to pull off this near-impossible job in a matter of days. With a wide cast of characters, a world of magic, and the influence of history, THE FRAME-UP is a creative story with a great concept and compelling plot elements.

However, so much of this story is underdeveloped. Everything from the worldbuilding to the characters to the romance needed to be fleshed out in major ways to make this story impactful and engaging. I wanted more backstory to understand the characters and their intentions, and I wanted more richness and depth added to the magical worldbuilding elements. Perhaps more flashbacks to past heists in order to create action throughout the book (not just during Dani's main near-the-end heist) and give us more insight into the characters and the world they inhabit.

A really wonderful concept with an unfortunately lackluster execution.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

The Frame-up by Gwenda Bond
Genre: magical realism, romcom
Pages: 352
Publication day: February 13

The Frame-up by Gwenda Bond
Genre: magical realism, romcom
Pages: 352
Publication day: February 13

Rounded up from 3.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I was very excited to receive this eARC because the plot sounded so interesting and up my alley! Magic, art, heists! Much thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Frame-up follows Dani Poissant, a former art thief (who has a magical gift of making perfect art forgeries that pass as the original) as she contracts to do a new theft job for a mysterious man, Archer. Dani turned her mom in to the FBI during a prior art heist, and because of that, her mother is in prison, and Dani’s found family turned their backs on her. Archer tells her if she can get a painting from a virtually impenetrable gallery, he will reunite her with her family and reconnect her with her roots.

But, there may be more nefarious powers at play, there are definitely wrenches thrown into the team’s plans, and there are two men who want her attention. Can Dani pull it off?
—————————
The Frame-Up was my second Gwenda Bond novel, and I liked it better!

Speaking of things I liked:
🎨 the art! I love art and reading/watching nonfiction accounts about art, forgeries, and art heists. So that was right up my alley, and I wish I lived in the Fortress with access to such a collection of fine art
🎨 Sunflower the dog was my favorite character (Emma is a close second). Any companion who keeps her friend out of trouble and has a knack for sensing danger is okay with me 😊
🎨 The structure of the book. I liked how it was set up by “__ number of days before the heist.”
🎨 The intrigue of learning more about Archer was fun.
🎨 Dani’s journey navigating her relationship with her mother and her growth.

What Fell A Little Flat:
🎨 the pacing was slow for about the first 50% of the book, but I found the last 30% (when the action picked up) was much faster and I sped through it.
🎨 I liked the side characters but found myself wanting more dimensionality or backstory. I think it’s not very easy to do in 350 pages with all of the plot, but I wish they had been a little more developed.
🎨 I didn’t feel the chemistry between Dani and Brad or Emmett.
🎨 I wish the magic system was more fleshed out, but I liked seeing what people’s powers were.

All said, I enjoyed reading The Frame-Up and would recommend for people that like art, simple magic systems, and found family vibes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I was very excited to receive this eARC because the plot sounded so interesting and up my alley! Magic, art, heists! Much thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Frame-up follows Dani Poissant, a former art thief (who has a magical gift of making perfect art forgeries that pass as the original) as she contracts to do a new theft job for a mysterious man, Archer. Dani turned her mom in to the FBI during a prior art heist, and because of that, her mother is in prison, and Dani’s found family turned their backs on her. Archer tells her if she can get a painting from a virtually impenetrable gallery, he will reunite her with her family and reconnect her with her roots.

But, there may be more nefarious powers at play, there are definitely wrenches thrown into the team’s plans, and there are two men who want her attention. Can Dani pull it off?
—————————
The Frame-Up was my second Gwenda Bond novel, and I liked it better!

Speaking of things I liked:
🎨 the art! I love art and reading/watching nonfiction accounts about art, forgeries, and art heists. So that was right up my alley, and I wish I lived in the Fortress with access to such a collection of fine art
🎨 Sunflower the dog was my favorite character (Emma is a close second). Any companion who keeps her friend out of trouble and has a knack for sensing danger is okay with me 😊
🎨 The structure of the book. I liked how it was set up by “__ number of days before the heist.”
🎨 The intrigue of learning more about Archer was fun.
🎨 Dani’s journey navigating her relationship with her mother and her growth.

What Fell A Little Flat:
🎨 the pacing was slow for about the first 50% of the book, but I found the last 30% (when the action picked up) was much faster and I sped through it.
🎨 I liked the side characters but found myself wanting more dimensionality or backstory. I think it’s not very easy to do in 350 pages with all of the plot, but I wish they had been a little more developed.
🎨 I didn’t feel the chemistry between Dani and Brad or Emmett.
🎨 I wish the magic system was more fleshed out, but I liked seeing what people’s powers were.

All said, I enjoyed reading The Frame-Up and would recommend for people that like art, simple magic systems, and found family vibes.

<b>2.5 stars, rounded down</b>

This book should have been a slam dunk for me. I love heist stories, and I’m always looking for new ones.

I wasn’t expecting a magical element to the story which wasn’t really necessary. I think I would have liked it a lot more if it had just been ordinary people doing an ordinary heist. There was also a completely unnecessary love triangle (ugh, aren’t we over those?) and I wasn’t happy with the guy the MC chose, so that didn’t help me like the story more either.

The characters were all quite flat and I had a hard time relating to them, or even liking them. I couldn’t stand Elliott or Rabbit, Dani (the main character) was clueless, and it’s really sad when the best character is Sunflower the dog (who was the only character I really liked).

I found the whole thing very obvious as well, especially about Archer.

Sadly I was disappointed in this one.

I DNF this book. I caught myself constantly having to read pages over and over again because I for the life of me could not pay attention. Unfortunately the book did not grasp my interest. The cover of the book is cute though.

An interesting read although a little slow at times. I loved the premise but the story itself failed to excite me.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was perfectly fine. Not boring, but not overly exciting. I really like the premise, and one aspect of it reminds me of Ghostbusters 2, of all things. 😁 I think the story was lacking a sense of urgency; the stakes weren’t high enough.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book was not what I expected. The cover art led me to believe it would be a fun, Oceans 11 type heist. But that was not the case at all. I had a hard time following the characters, and I really could not get into the story. I also really struggled with the idea of magic here. I feel like, to use magic in a story, the idea needs to be fully fleshed out. It needs to be part of the world built as a whole, but it was really only mentioned in terms of stealing art. It made the plot harder for me to stick with. I didn't hate this book by any means, but I didn't love it either.

I REALLY (!) wanted to love this book more than I did. There were so many elements that drew me in: a heist romance and some magic? Sounds amazing. And it could have been! It feels like everything here was a bit... flat. The characters felt under-developed, the plot felt convoluted at times, and the portions where the actual heisting should be happening just did not feel exciting at all. I was really excited for this one, but I don't think it was for me.

I found this story to be disappointing after a promising premise (and honestly a really cute cover). I really didn't enjoy the characters, especially the mom, and did not get the resolution I wanted from their relationships. I could not connect with any of them, and there were several side characters that just sort of petered out and didn't serve much purpose. I also felt the protagonist's dog was weirdly superfluous; I kept expecting more from the book that it just wasn't giving me. Several times I found myself confused about what was happening or who pronouns were referring to. Overall, the story just felt too predictable, and I wasn't invested like I wanted to be.

Bond's newest book is a contemporary romantasy. Its also a well-written heist story with a parents are garbage thread. The mix of all these elements left me with a satisfyingly entertaining read. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

While the idea of an art heist with a splash of magic powers seems enticing, the execution of The Frame Up did not feel like it met the interest I felt in the synopsis. Some of the best parts of heist movies are putting together the team and creating relationships with them. Then you have a ton of B-roll of the main character conducting their very essential skill set. Finall you would have the actual heist, which should be action packed and grabbing you in every possible way...I didn't get any of that with The Frame Up. The lead was annoying and most of the book feels like her everyday actions, but somehow it didn't add to her character. Any of the side characters had the potential to add to Dani's tragedy but they were just kind of there. I didn't get alot of depth but I did get a lot of cringe. Even the discussions of magic felt incredibly forced.

This book wasn't for me. I think someone who likes a low intensity book with a slower paced plot would appreciate the story.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but I actually found it to be very entertaining and interesting. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be about but I found that I rather enjoyed the actual story. I feel like the magic system could have been more developed and I also didn’t see any chemistry between Elliot and Dani. Other than that I really enjoyed the book as a whole and would rate it 3.5/5 stars

I had high hopes for this book. It was a slow moving story and I had a hard time feeling connected to it I loved the concept but it fell flat for me.

Wasn't really my thing, was expecting more of a social commentary based on the pitch I got. So that might have colored my expectations.

I read Mr. & Mrs. Witch as an ARC last year, and it was one of my five-star reads of 2023. When I saw The Frame-Up on NetGalley this year, I was so intrigued. I love the cover, I recognized the author from M&MW, and the premise was so interesting. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this.

This is meant to be an art heist, but none of the events are written in a suspenseful way. They just do it, there's no worry about things going wrong aside from Dani literally saying she's worried. I also don't see how Dani is literally known to the world as an art thief, but no one suspects she's going to steal any art. Most, if not all, of the plot points felt unimportant and random.

The worldbuilding and magic system in this book are severely underdeveloped. There are only a few characters with magic, and the abilities don't even seem all that magical. One is good at finding things, one is good with electronics, and one is good at unlocking doors. There honestly isn't much need for magic at all. Dani's ability had the potential to be so cool, but all it boils down to is that she's a skilled painter. There's never any explanation of how their abilities work either; it's just "Rabbit cut the cameras off with her tech skills." or "Elliot thought for a moment and found the item."

The characters didn't draw me in, and they felt completely one dimensional. I don't understand how any of them were truly important. The relationships between everyone also made no sense. I also feel like the romance was totally unnecessary. Elliot and Dani had no chemistry, and had barely spoken before Elliot is acting like a jealous boyfriend. He hasn't seen nor talked to her in 10 years, he didn't really speak the first time he saw her again, and then out of nowhere, he's jealous of Brad. I think everyone's favorite character will ultimately be Sunflower, Dani's dog.

The idea was there, but this was not for me. I kept hoping it would get better, it didn't, and I feel like I'm almost in a slump after finishing it. I would still give the author another try, I loved the other book I read from her, but I'm a little disappointed here.

E-arc review: 3/5

First, i’d like to thank the author, the publisher & netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a good book, but I feel like it was more targeted to a specific niche. This is a cozy story about heists, magic, and art. Did I enjoy it? Yes; Did I love it? Not quite.

It felt a little too slow at the begining (I’d say the first 25%_30%), right up until the heist itself. I was excited to see how it all would play out, and I actually did love the characters, but the plot-twist was kind of predictable. That being said, the ending was GREAT and redeemed the whole book for me.

As an art school graduate with an art history minor and professional designer working in the creative field who LOVES heist movies, this book felt tailor made for me.

In this story, a con artist with magical gifts must get her estranged mother's old crew back together for a once-in-a-lifetime heist in a fortress of priceless art pieces. I really loved this concept, and I especially loved all of the art references and information. I enjoyed the characters (the border collie was definitely the best member of the crew) and I was very curious to see how the heist played out, and what secrets would be revealed during the job.

That said, there were a few things I didn't connect with quite as much. There is a major plot reveal that I didn't love, and I felt the ending was a little predictable. This book felt a little niche – if you're not into art, I'm not sure that it will hit the same way. This book felt like a cozy comfort read, the pace was slow but that allowed you to see how the details unfold in the days leading up to the heist.

Read this if you like:
- Art history
- Found family
- Very good doggos
- Ocean's 11 or other heist movies
- Simple magic systems

I really appreciated the chance to read this ARC! Look out for this book next month, it will be available everywhere on Feb. 13th!