This was the first book from this new-to-me author. It was a fun, interesting read, although sometimes it seemed to drag with all the baggage of things that happened before that you didn't understand. I thought the ending was fitting and interesting. Overall, I enjoyed it.

This novel featured an interesting and original concept--the overlap of magical abilities and high-end art heists, but I would have liked to have known more about the magic world and the characters abilities. Additionally, for an art-heist story, it just wasn't that suspenseful.

An art caper with a ragtag group of quirky characters? Sign me up. The ✨supernatural✨ elements and love triangle were a fun bonus.

Bond is a solid writer, and her books cover a lot of territory. I love the romance/supernatural/heist mix here; it makes for a fun story, and I think Bond mostly gets the ratio right (although I would have actually loved it if the romance was ramped up a bit more). The villian annoyed me (just because he represents one of my least favorite types of supernatural entities -- that's a personal preference thing, not something Bond missteps on). The book is a quick read, and I enjoyed it. Love the Kentucky setting; I kept picturing everything taking place at the castle located between Lexington and Versailles. I HATE that the cover tries to fit in with the current romance shelf aesthetic -- it just doesn't match the tone of the book and feels a bit misleading.

I wanted to love The Frame-Up. The synopsis seemed very intriguing but the execution of the storyline fell short for me. I almost DNF the book during the first half twice. I kept pushing through because I really hoped it would get better. The second half did improve and saved this one. I wish there had been more to the first half besides setting everything up. To me, it took to long to get to the heart of the story.

Overall, I liked The Frame-Up but it could have been better.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

This was disappointing. The premise contains every single aspect of a book I should enjoy: a heist, magic, and romance, yet it fell flat in each category. The book itself was okay, it just was SOOOOO SLOWWWWW.

I'm a fast reader. It took me 27 days to read this. I couldn't get into the novel, yet it was just interesting enough to keep me invested.

I can't say that I would recommend this, but I also won't not recommend it. If it sounds interesting to you, read it!

On paper this book should have been catnip to me. I love a heist novel. I enjoy magical realism. But for some reason I just couldn't connect to this one. I slogged through the audio even listening at 3x. I can't really pinpoint what didn't click, and I did finish it, but as I sit 30 minutes after it's over trying to write this review I have nothing to say about it other than, it was boring... And I hate to say that, but I think there are better heist books to spend your time on.

I suggest: the Charlie Thorne Series (middle grade), Thieves Gambit (YA), or Rook to King (rom com).

Thanks to Del Rey for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Dani is a talented painter...and daughter of a talented thief. Ten years before her story takes place she's 17 years old, afraid for her mother, and sells her out to the FBI. Now her mother's former partner, Archer, needs her to complete a heist. This new job will require so much more from her than she's prepared to give, and it means reuniting with people who she believes she betrayed back in her teen years. With a bit of magic, a lot of teamwork, and rekindling an old flame, she hopes to catch Archer and reveal the truth behind his power.

This is a really fun adventure with laugh out loud moments.

Reading this book reminded me of reading Ally Carter's books for the first time as a teen and that is a very high compliment. It had just the right amount of intrigue, and the action was not at the expense of the character development and the exploration of their relationships to each other. I definitely was at the edge of my seat through reading it, and look forward to more from this author.

Danielle (Dani) Poissant makes her living making bad guys pay. Then, she's contacted by the mysterious Archer who used to work with Dani's estranged mother. He makes her an offer she can't refuse: steal his portrait from the most heavily guarded private art collection in the world and he'll restore the life Dani used to lead. Soon Dani is working with her mother's old crew of magically-gifted art thieves, but this may be one job Dani won't get out of unscathed.

This novel featured an interesting and original concept--the overlap of magical abilities and high-end art heists, but I would have liked to have known more about the magic world and the characters abilities. Additionally, for an art-heist story, it just wasn't that suspenseful.

The synopsis/premise of the story was interesting, but the execution...UGH?! I definitely missed the magical feel of this because it was supposed to have it...but like, where? A lot of the relationships in this felt forced, the characters were pretty meh at best and it seemed like she was trying to make the book more romantic than it really was. I also was sooo disappointed in who she chose in the end, but alas, that's how it goes sometimes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy.

I love a this con artist story, and was so excited for this new release. It had a touch of magical elements, but a love triangle is not my fave, and unfortunately the rest of the plot fell flat for me.

*many thanks to PRh and prh audio, and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Book Name: The Frame Up
Author: Gwenda Bond

ARC
Thank you to NetGalley and **Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey** for an ARC of this book

Wrong Book at the Wrong Time.

First, I apologize to the author and publisher for the lateness of this review.
While the allure of the plot originally hooked me, this book failed to hold my attention. I have tried multiple times to get into this book. Restarting over and over but still not being able to push through. this is a DNF for me.

I had high expectations of this being similar to the Emily Donovan series or Moorewood Family Rules and it just… wasn’t

This is landing right in the middle for me at a 2.5 — I had really high expectations for this book -- the description and cover totally caught my attention, but I couldn't get into the story/writing here. It felt very flat, and I couldn't feel anything for the story or characters. I thought it would be so much more exciting! Not as captivating as I hoped.

Dani Poissant has magic that lets her copy a work of art and make it indistinguishable from the original. As a kid, her mother used her power and those of others with special skills to become one of the most successful and infamous art thieves. Until an FBI agent tricked Dani into betraying her mom and sent her to jail. Now it's 10 years later and her mother's mysterious associate, Archer, comes to her with a proposed heist she can't say no to. Dani will have to work with her mother’s old gang—including her former best friend, Mia, and Elliott, the love of her life—to get a painting that's part of a private collection impossible to approach with only a week to plan and execute. But the more Dani learns, the more she's realizing that there's way more at stake than just getting the painting.

It took me a bit to warm up to Dani, but she's the kind of character that you need to spend time with to warm up to. It's not ideal in books, but the rest of the characters and the unique situation kept me reading. It's almost more about the relationships and the interactions than about Dani herself, and I think that's why it works.

It's different from what I usually read and I appreciated the magical realism being a big part of the heist while the plot remains mostly about the planning of the heist and the relationships of the people involved in it. It somehow feels both cozy and exciting, which made for an entertaining read.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the original and entertaining read!

8/10. What a fun read this was! It wasn't at all what I expected in regards to the magical aspect, but once I was acclimated I really enjoyed it.

Quick synopsis—magical art thief/artist Dani is trying to get back in the good graces of her mom by stealing a painting from the private collection known as The Fortress. In the process she hopes to reunite with old family and friends, but learns a lot about herself and relationships in the process.

What I liked: the characters, the inclusion of magic, Sunflower, the flashbacks to the origin story (though how did the magic come to be?!)

What I didn't like: I thought Brad's character was a little weak. He was a good guy, and wanted to do the right thing, but he didn't have the charisma to make it happen.

I'd love to read more about the antics of Dani, Elliott, Mia, Liz and Rabbit + the other characters with magical powers. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher DelRay for the ARC.

PS—In my ARC there was some confusion over when Elliott vs Emerett was used, but I'm sure that's been corrected. :)

I love a good con artist story, and this one was fun! I loved the addition of the heist and the magical realism elements to the plot. I was engaged in this book the whole way through!

I’m always drawn in by a heist story and thought this sounded like a fun premise. Unfortunately the execution didn’t pay off for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

2 stars!

I'm so bummed because the cover is so cute and the description felt right up my alley but this just didn't work for me. The issue is I just didn't care? How can a heist book not be exciting? You have a heist! I also unfortunately did not connect with the characters or the writing and it took me a long time to get through it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Single POV, Magical Realism, Love Triangle

Despite the gorgeous cover and intriguing plot this novel fell a bit flat. An art heist theme lead me to believe this book would be full of tension and finesse only that wasn't the case here. Somehow this book felt anticlimactic and the FMC Dani was hard to care for and root for because she is so clueless most of the time. Highly enjoyed the dog Sunflower though.