I really wanted to like this book. But it doesn't know what it wants to be. The jacket art is incredibly misleading--the plot and characters are way darker than the cheerful cartoons portrayed. It was trying to be way too many things, and didn't do any of them well. Not one character was sympathetic, and the plot plodded along incredibly slowly.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Dual POV, criminals, family drama

I like this one. I think that the premise was really interesting, but it just didn't live up to what I thought it would be. There were great parts, and there were very dull parts. Those outweighed the good.

"The Frame-Up" by Gwenda Bond presents an intriguing premise marred by disappointing execution. The writing is often simplistic and clunky, relying too much on telling rather than showing, and it lacks depth and nuance. The author frequently explains the obvious, even dissecting simple jokes, which disrupts the flow of the narrative. I found it hard to like or connect with any of the characters, except for the cute sidekick dog. The dialogue feels forced and awkward, reminiscent of Stephen King's style. The heist itself was fun to read, but at that point I had already trudged through more than 75% of the book with a lot of boring buildup, making the eventual execution less satisfying.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book.
I read it over a few days, and couldn't wait till I got free time to read it more.

Heist novels can be a lot of fun when done right. Add in a romance and a bit of magic, and I had high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately, there was a lack of chemistry between the characters and an issue connecting with Dani as our MC that made this a quick by difficult to finish novel.

Dani Poissant is a con artist, hired to help others or run her own jobs as a means of survival. Having been part of her mother's crew years before, until one day, she was convinced to turn on her mother, Dani has been working alone to make ends meet. She's approached one day by someone from her past, offering her a way back in to her crew and to get back on her mother's good side by stealing a painting from an estate. Will she be able to successfully pull this job off while working with people who lost their trust in her?

While the concept of this book is exciting, there's an element of magic that gets poorly sprinkled in. Magical powers are referenced a lot thru the book but they aren't well written out or even explained. Are they people with magical powers or do they just have the gift of con artists?

Thank you to Netgally and the Publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

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.

DNF at 10%
Idk man I was just so bored. There seemingly should be a lot to be invested in. Dani's mysterious backstory and issues with her mom. The heist gone wrong. The band of misfits that used to be her family. I loved the dog, but everyone else was just kind of meh. I kept finding myself having to push to finish a chapter and life's too short. It's not badly written, I just could NOT get invested.

A fun and fast read set in the uniquely converging worlds of art heists and magic, with romance and funny characters.
I found a few parts of the story leaving me wanting more, but would definitely read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. I really loves this book, such a fun read and probably the best heist I have ever read!! Such a fun twist on the genre with the magic, and I also liked the whole cast of characters.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for allowing me to read and review The Frame-Up.

Published: 02/13/24

Stars: 2.5

Didn't work for me.

Heist equals Pierce Brosnan, right? I read the synopsis, chuckled and thought 'let's see you get out of this one Pierce. Yikes.

Sadly, this is a mess. It's not a fairytale, therefore it needs to be realistic. The characters were marketed as con-artists (a group) who were going to perform the ultimate art heist. Fortunately these are fictitious characters and I'm not uncomfortable saying, they weren't intelligent enough to be out in public and I'm expected to enjoy the ride. Of course familial fighting and the group taking sides, blah blah blah.

I was bored and found myself line skimming trying to find more than an intriguing synopsis as a positive.

Recommend if you are looking for a nonsensical read.

wow. this book was so amazing!! i can't believe netgalley let me read this early .thank you so much! it was amazing and wonderful and fun and the characters were just so so so great!!!

An amazingly sweet book. I would recommend to all my fellow romcomers out there. HOWEVER, it was more of a relaxing read. A lot of the magic and overall plot line fell flat, so I was left wanting a bit more. Good read, but not great.

This book just didn’t do it for me. I was so thankful to receive an arc via @prhaudio but unfortunately this one just fell flat. Art thieves with magical powers? It sounded intriguing but the magic was never really explained. One character was immortal but it just didn’t fit together for me. My favorite part was Dani’s dog!

The Frame-Up has such a fantastic synopsis, and all the ingredients sound like they'll make for an absolute romp of a story - romance, magic, heists, oh my! But the execution of those elements falls short, and I was left feeling disappointed more than anything else.

Somehow it feels simultaneously like it's trying to do too much and fit too many pieces in, and like there are big chunks where things drag and could be tightened and trimmed. The writing stays obstinately unvaried throughout, meaning that romantic scenes and high-action scenes both lack any kind of tension. All that along with a handful of loose ends and unanswered questions, plus a romance that had absolutely zero development and very little chemistry, turned this one into a shrug for me.

Thank you to Del Rey for the advance review copy.

Thanks to Random House/ Ballantine, NetGalley, and Glenda Bond for the opportunity to read this book. The Frame Up is a fun heist romp with an eclectic mix of characters that have magical abilities that help them pull off elaborate jobs. Our main character has returned home reluctantly to pull a huge job that she hopes will help mend her relationship with her mother. Ten years earlier she turned her mother in and now she’s having to pull her mother’s gang together to help her steal a painting that her mother wants her to steal for a friend. But she has to prove herself to all of them first.
Excellent story and fun action I definitely recommend it.

The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond is a mystery/heist story with found-family and a little sprinkle of magic. While I enjoyed the story overall, there were some parts that I wished we a little more fleshed out, specifically the magic system. It plays such an integral role in the story but really lacks any substantial explanation, but I will admit that I don’t typically take to magical realism very easily, so your mileage may vary. It was an interesting premise but there was just too much going on for me to really get lost in it.

I really wanted to enjoy this because I am a huge fan of Gwenda's previous titles, but I was not able to connect with this one. I felt really separate from all the characters and I was just...bored. I love the premise and the cover is outstanding, but I wish this one had another round of editing. My library has bought copies and I will recommend it, but to a very specific person, rather than a general recommendation.

Dani agrees to do one last painting theft for a man that haunted her childhood in order to repair her relationship with her mother.

3.5/5
The story was very interesting, and I enjoyed the magic element. There are love interests but unfortunately the romance falls flat. There’s no chemistry between Dani and either Brad or Elliot. There are also some cringe-worthy attempts at shoehorning in political viewpoints.

Another delightful adventure from Gwenda Bond! I love a good heist story, and the delightful aspect of the paranormal that Bond does so well. There's also a lot of fun nods to art throughout the story so it would be a great gift for art lovers!