This was my first "heist" novel and I actually quite enjoyed it. It absolutely took me by surprise because I didn't realize this was a sci-fi categorized book. I love the found family trope and this was just written very well.

Also, I love the dog. Sunflower deserves the good pets.

The cover is beautiful. A dog, a heist, a bit of magic, sign me up! A heist is quickly becoming one of my favorite tropes to read about. Each heist has a different twist and it's always interesting to see how elaborate the heist is. My toxic trait is thinking I could easily and flawlessly pull of a heist.
The characters were excellent and Dani's journey of finding herself was the most enjoyable part. That, and the heist of course. Each member of the crew held their own and they didn't necessarily feel like side characters as I learned enough about them to care and root for them as well.
I will definitely have to check out the author's other books and I hope there are more heist books in her future. I will definitely be recommending this to my friends when it's released to the public

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"The Frame-Up" by Gwenda Bond is a fun, fast-paced magical heist novel that I read in less than one day. If you like stories about art, found family, smart dogs, magic, and second-chance romance, you will really enjoy this book. It's like a magical version of Ocean's Eleven, with tons of references to art history...a very fun read!

Most of my favorite books are heist novels. Love the feeling of reading unexpected twists. I thought the author did a great job structuring the heist plot in a way that's believable but not predictable.

I knew this was categorized in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but with the cover being the way it was - I was really just expecting maybe some magical realism and maybe some rom-com tropes thrown in. There's definitely more fantasy than I expected, but still thought the magical elements were a nice touch.

Also loved each member of the 'crew'- Definitely had a found family trope going on. Overall I found the story wonderfully clever.


4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC.

What a fun book! I’ve read a handful of Bond’s books in the past, and this was a fun ride just like her previous ones. I don’t typically read heist books, but this was such a fun ride.

I absolutely loved the characters, especially Brad and Mia. The story was unlike any other heists I’ve ever heard about with all sorts of magic included.

I enjoyed Dani's journey of self-discovery she went on throughout the book. I also enjoyed how she learned about her mother and her mother's obsession with power throughout the book. The plot is interesting and drew me in. I'm happy to have been trusted with an advanced reader copy by the author and Netgalley.

Really fun read. Once I got into it. Fun and wacky with an easy writing style. Overall a good time and I'm glad I gave this a chance. Would recommend if you enjoy heist novels

This is one of those cases where I wish there was an excerpt I could've looked at—writing didn't work for me at all unfortunately.