This was such a cute novel that really exceeded my expectations. I hadn't heard of Gwenda Bond before, but I will definitely be checking out her future work after this. I loved reading this story and I've been thinking about it since I put it down.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Frame Up.
This is a “heist” book centered around the art world.
Our protagonist is Dani. She’s a thief with a dog and a past. She’s been made an offer and need to get it done in 10 days. Can she conjure up the strength and magic to get it done.
The odds are not with her.
3.5 stars

I gobbled up this book. I'm subtracting one star because the ARC was billed as a romance, and this book fails in that regard (see spoiler below). If you like fast-paced mysteries, heist stories, troubled but determined heroines, and spooky elements, I highly recommend it.

Our heroine, Dani, is smart, competent, and motivated. She's also a criminal. That's usually a deal-breaker for me, but by the end of the first chapter, I was absolutely Team Dani. I was also rooting for her border collie, Sunflower, who is a very good girl. Dani's backstory unspools slowly, but it's clear early on that she's fighting the good fight, even if not from a legal perspective.

We follow Dani for ten days leading up to a near-impossible heist. The execution of this heist feels realistic and plausible (in the world of the story), and the pacing is excellent. The only weak section comes in the penultimate chapter, where the sequence of events becomes confusing and a startling plot twist is revealed. Given how effectively Gwenda Bond managed the rest of her plot's intricate choreography, this is forgivable.

What annoyed me:
- Dani's partners in crime. These are people she'd known all her life. They rejected her years ago and still treat her terribly when she approaches them again. The worst offender is Rabbit, her mother's friend. When we finally learn why Dani was ostracized—there are several layers here—those reasons are inadequate to explain the level of hostility from Rabbit. <spoiler>We will eventually find out that the persuasive magic wielded by Dani's mother more or less brainwashed Rabbit. However, this magic is short-term, so how can it explain hostility that lasts for the decade Dani's mother was in jail?</spoiler>.
- The "romance" in the book. Don't read this as a romance, or you'll just be annoyed. <spoiler>There are two love interests. One is charming and kind. The other, Elliott, repeatedly betrays Dani and undermines her heist. He has cyberstalked her for years and sets her up as prey for Archer so that he (Elliott) will get to see her again. Elliott's her choice, apparently because she loved him all those years ago and still thinks he's sexy. There is nothing this dude does in the book to deserve love or respect. Among other things, when he finally explains why he betrayed her in the past, his reason is lame (and doesn't even include an apology). Dani may simply accept that Elliott is "the love of her life," but this only made me feel that she needs therapy to come to terms with the trauma of being shunned. I wouldn't trust Elliott as far as I could throw him.</spoiler>

Despite these quibbles, I loved this book. I may even reread it so that I can enjoy the way Bond sets up all her complicated moving plot elements.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Art heist stories are one of my favorite niche genres to I was so excited to hear about Gwenda Bond's newest book. This story drew me right in. I had a such a fun time trying to figure out how the characters would pull off the heist. The addition of magic added a unique element to the traditional heist story and would be super helpful as a thief! It was an interesting magic system since only some people have magic and they can only use it for one thing. The fantasy reader in me would have liked the magic system to be explained more, but I think it worked well for this genre. Overall a fun read that combined several different elements that I enjoy into one book!

Side Note: As much as I LOVE the cover I do think it is a little misleading about the genre of the book. The cover feels very rom-com but the romance is a side plot and I wasn't very invested in either of the love triangle options. This could lead to potential disappointment if you were looking for a romance heavy rom-com. This didn't affect my enjoyment of the book, but could change a reader's expectations going in.

It feels somewhat distant with the narration, and it wasn’t gripping me. Feels like a solid three stars “liked it” for the target, four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

There’s not a lot of character development so the twists didn’t feel as high stakes. I didn’t really end up caring much about the protagonist. Interesting concept but needed some more work in my personal opinion!

I received an unfinished ARC from Del Rey. All opinions are my own.

While I was targeted as someone who loves heists and Foundryside for reading this novel, and I <i>did</i> enjoy it, I'm still not sure about the demographic. But I also think that this is being mis-tagged on GR as being a romance just because the cover looks cutesy and romance. THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. There are romantic subplots as there are in most books, but if anything I'm more likely to compare this to a White Oleander where the primary relationship is a girl and her imprisoned mother who she still feels inadequate when compared to and the mom is very manipulative, even behind bars.

What I Loved:
Obviously the best thing in this book, hands down, is Sunflower. I will hear no arguments. She is beautiful and perfect and so smart that I was convinced for much of the book that she was only pretending to be a border collie and would actually turn out to be a shapeshifter or guardian angel or literally anything else. All the treats and pets for Sunflower.

The pop culture elements were also really fun. Using "<i>Pretty Woman-</i>ed" as a verb on one page and referencing Gomez and Morticia on the next was a delight. Though there are some areas where this can backfire a little (eg referencing Gates as a philanthropist when in actuality most of his foundations have been found to be too controlled to be efficacious, and mostly just a front for securing and hiding away more of his money) and I hope that they'll be able to clean that up before the final copy goes to print.

The Curator. I absolutely needed more scenes with The Curator, and maybe some spin-off short stories. She has such a unique ability and is brimming with personality and mystique and I'd love to glimpse more of her world.

What Felt Under-developed:
I mentioned already that this is not a romance, but there are two men who are vying for her attentions-- the hot second chance ex with unfinished feelings, and the kind single-dad billionaire. While I wouldn't want the story to be longer, I didn't feel like either of these characters got enough time for me to develop any emotional attachments one way or the other.

There's also a moment in the middle-ish of the book where the narrative is interrupted to read back-to-back journal entries from the late 1800s. While the information is vital to the plot, I didn't care for the writing or abrupt nature and actually kind of resented having to read them. Granted, journal chapters are hardly ever a thing I like in books so ymmv, but I think these could be both polished and truncated so they don't disrupt the flow of the story as much.

And lastly I don't think the found family elements landed for me. I was fully onboard with Mia and Dani, but I don't think Elliott interacted with the other characters enough to feel like more than Dani's love interest. And Rabbit has some very strong feelings in the beginning and the eventual emotional pay-offs happened too quickly without enough build-up and character moments for her as well.

The Characters:
Overall I really loved Sunflower, liked Dani, & wanted more of Brad and his daughter and Mia. Most of the other characters were just kind of present.

But I definitely think that Archer in the first 60% or so made a big impact on me. He was more toothless and cartoony and less present in the latter part of the book, but I was really enjoying him as an ominous present in the first half.

Likewise, Maria seemed to be built up as a much different character in the first 75%, then suddenly I didn't understand her character motivations or who she truly was as she seemed a lot more of a 2-D villain by the end. Since I think that this relationship is the emotional center of the book, I would have really liked to see more depth here.

The Sexism:
I wasn't prepared for this book with the cutesy cover in pale blues and pinks with a sweet puppy to get into SA and misogyny, but this was actually a pretty major theme throughout the book. It can get somewhat heavy, so just be prepared for that going in.

The Magic:
Honestly the magic could be scrubbed from the book and you wouldn't see a change. All of their powers just feel like shortcuts to becoming classic heist personas (the hacker/guy in the chair, the forger, the guy who always knows a guy who has what you need, the charismatic leader who can convince you to do anything, etc). It's definitely light on the Fantasy elements and I think there's more that could be explored here.

Overall:
Ultimately I think the first half of the book had the potential to be a 5 star, but the overall execution means that this is probably a 3.5 for me. And while certain elements were strong enough that I was thinking about them a lot and they invaded my dreams, the overall conclusion kind of washed that away and I don't think I'll be thinking about much of this book again (apart from Sunflower who is perfect and I love her).

The concept of this story was unique and fun but it took a LOOOONG time to get to the actual heist. Heist stories are difficult to pull off and Bond did their best, but this never had the right amount of tension and "will they get away with it?" The supernatural abilities were a neat idea but maybe they needed to fall into a magical realism realm.

I loved Sunflower.

This is about a group of people with magic abilities that go on art heist, that brings up some painful memories along the way. I had a hard time getting in into this book, but I thought it had good writing.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

The Frame-Up has such an unusual and inventive plot! Our protagonist Dani is very charming and I enjoyed the story though I do wish there was a bit more development of the romance sub-plot. The pace felt a little slow so the tension wasn't as high as it could have been considering the high stakes the heist going smoothly. I would definitely read more by the author given the creative premise of this novel.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I found the heist details to be really entertaining and the makeshift family dynamics (not so much Dani and her mother's relationship) to be touching. I wanted more information on the magic aspect though as it took me a minute in the beginning to realize that they weren't just really talented thieves but instead had their own magical abilities suited to the job.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had never read a book by Gwen Bond before but after The Frame-Up, I'm willing to read other ones written by this author.

This book was exactly what I needed after the stressing month I've had. A good heist plot with a pretty fun twist (supernatural abilities!) was all it took to make me feel better.
I couldn't resist the found family aspect nor the second chance romance that I found deeply enjoyable. It made for a pretty great adventure!
And as a bonus, for pet lovers, you will without a doubt love Sunflower!

Needless to say, I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book once it releases in February 2024. And you should as well.

This was a fun read! Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.

A few weeks ago I read "Moorewood Family Rules" and was on the hunt for another heist book, and Gwenda Bond's "The Frame Up" met that need perfectly.

We are immediately thrust into the action in the first chapter, and are going play-by-play with Dani and her old crew in a well paced, magical realist world.

I really enjoyed the elements of magic in the story. They were light touches that didn't force the reader to accept a massively changed world - rather they were personal enhancements, but not the type characters were solely depend on to be relevant.

There are some nice layers to the story as well regarding the heist crew, the villain and the past from 10-120 years ago, which gave a well roundedness to the entire story. I would classify this as definitely more of a feel-good-low-pressure adventure - which isnt to say it is a shallow story, but it is definitely one that feels made solely for enjoyment, and I really liked that.

There is a dog and there is no harm done to her - just to alert readers.

There is also a light love triangle, but it is more of a simmer, and there is nothing graphic or any main focus on relationships - I would not qualify this as a romance.

I did read a bit about Gwenda Bond, and see she has written a Stranger Things novel, and, compared to the show, I felt she showed a vast knowledge of making magic/mystery in The Frame Up as well.

I would definitely recommend this to readers!

Summary:
It’s been 10 years since Dani has seen or spoken to her mom after setting her up to be arrested. When a mysterious “family friend” offers her a heist job with the reward of being in her mother’s life again, she can’t resist—but can she pull it off?

Title: The Frame-Up
Author: Gwenda Bond
@gwendabond
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
No spice

Tropes:
Supernatural Abilities
Making Amends
Overcoming Regret
Second Chance Romance
Found Family


Triggers:
Murd€r
Mention of r@pe and SA
Complex mother/daughter relationship


Whitney’s Thoughts:
I love Gwenda’s writing and this book is no different! This is fast-paced and compelling; Dani is a strong FMC and while there is some romance, the focus is really on Dani’s character growth. The supernatural element is weaver in seamlessly and manages to stay grounded in reality without being too fantastical. The fact that Gwenda is a local author and writes about places I know so well is just icing on the cake.

I do love a book where a character works through (blood) family toxicity and comes out on the other side with a found family instead. Yes, this is a heist novel (which, Leverage superfan that I am, I loved), but at it's heart it's about Dani's relationship with her mother and their mutual found family. To say more would be to spoil things, but if you like magic, heists, more than a little mayhem, and a heaping helping of family drama, I'm pretty sure you'd like this book a whole hell of a lot.

I was given an ARC for an honest review.

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.