This book is very similar to inheritance Games but I feel its for a younger audience maybe middle schoolers, my daughter would enjoy this book.
I like that the prize for winning is being granted a wish from the organization, more positive than say Hunger Games where you lose it ends in death. The characters where immature and lacked emotional depth, rim and reason for everything. You do not get much details about the other characters reasons, why, backgrounds in this story. However it does have some good storyline of thieves, some more experience than others, and then of course the lover turned to rival, somewhat enemy.

The premise of Thieves’ Gambit was what drew me to initially drew me to this book. Literally described as a “cinematic heist thriller with cutthroat competition” and as The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven, the descriptions did not live up to those promises in my opinion. Definitely a little overhyped.

Main character, 17-year-old Ross Quest, is a master thief - but she’d rather be thinking about what college she’s going to rather than what her family’s next heist is going to be. So when she sees an opportunity to run away from her criminal responsibilities during a job with her mother one night, she takes it, but then everything goes wrong. Her mother is taken hostage and the only way to pay her ransom is to join in an international thieving competition where the grand prize is literally to have any wish granted.

Like I said before, it’s a very interesting premise - one that seems like it will include action, drama, subterfuge, and all kinds of cool thievery-related scenarios, puzzle solving, etc. However, whenever there is an opportunity to showcase Ross’s exceptional skills, the details are glossed over.

It’s as if the author skips over parts they thought would slow down the plot in an attempt to keep up pacing, but the jumps and skips are disappointing. For example, a scene where the character has to solve a complicated series of locks is rushed through to get to the dialogue and drama-filled character interactions in the next scene. Or, in a part where the main character needs to find a way to hide in the ceiling we just jump to her in the ceiling.

The characters carried the bulk of the story, and it sometimes felt like the Gambit scenario was just a backdrop for the characters. It wasn’t until the end when things got a little deeper that the story felt more full and the elements interconnected better.

For those who read YA more often, maybe the book will be received a little better. However, for it to be an upper-YA, I think some readers will come expecting more and leave a little disappointed. Of course, there is a sequel on the way, so maybe those issues will be addressed. I personally don’t think I will be reading the sequel, though. I just couldn’t maintain enough interest in book one to continue on to the second, unfortunately. I’m sure there are people who will thoroughly enjoy Thieves’ Gambit, though. I’m also very thankful to NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for providing me with a DRC.

This was a fun chill read. After reading the Inheritance Games series I was looking for something similar and I felt like this story delivered; however, I did find myself comparing it to Jennifer Lynn Barnes work because they both had some similar vibes.

if you like ...
– jennifer lynn barnes’ writing
– ocean’s eleven (or kaleidoscope on netflix)
– heist competitions (think six of crows)
– a diverse cast of characters (like, actually diverse, not just one black side character)
– fast-paced, bingeable, high stakes stories
... then READ THIS!

i don’t really have anything else to say but THAT ENDING!!!! i love a good lovers to enemies plotline, i’m actually on my knees begging for the sequel this just came out in sept i’m gonna be kneeling for a while. also the film rights were already sold? GIVE ME THE MOVIE. guys this was just so good i need all of you to read it like ... yesterday.

2⭐️

I promise to be as gentle with my words as my heart will allow. We shall see how well this goes…

After reading several reviews from both GoodReads and NetGalley, it is very clear that I am going to be an outlier with both my experience and review of this book. And while there is nothing wrong with my experience being different from others (book are very subjective), I am VERY disappointed in my inability to truly enjoy this as much as several other readers. But…it is what it is and I am planning to read “Heist Royale” in the upcoming weeks so that is something.

Let me preface this by saying: THIS IS NOT A BAD BOOK . Anyone who reads the synopsis of this novel will immediately want to drop what they are doing and start this book right away. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. Requesting the ARC was my way of forcing myself to give this book another chance. The first time I tried to read this was when the hardcover version was released. I made it through 4 chapters before I softly DNF’d this and made a promise to myself that when the audiobook was released then I would pick this up again. This time around is me keeping that promise. I participated in an audiobook and an ARC E-Book read along and found myself enjoying this a lot less that I did when I read it on my own the first time. Again, I am beyond disappointed that I feel this way. I was really hoping this was going to be my third 5 star read of 2025. But. Nope. That did not happen.

Why didn’t this book work for me???

✨The audio narrator made the FMC (Roselyn Quest) sound about 14-15 when she was supposed to be 17.
✨This entire book felt juvenile, especially the writing style. Maybe if I was in the 7th grade the I probably would’ve enjoyed this so much more.
✨From Roselyn’s mother to the all of the competitors in the Gambit, these characters were awful. And I can only remember one person’s name (MMC: Devore Kenzie).
✨The heists were boring and carried for far too long. Literally, heist two started from chapter 12 and lasted until Chapter 39 (I think. I can’t remember. This was both fast-paced and uneventful). Chapters 40-47 were focused on the final heist, which wasn’t even an heist. It was a rush ending and added to the annoyance of what this book was.
✨Speaking on the the final chapters, this book did not need to be 47 chapters to get to THAT ending. This book contains: gaslighting, cruel parenting, misplaced revenge, and bullying. And it all feels like it missed the mark.
✨The author’s attempt to end each chapter with shock and awe failed miserably. Yes, several of these chapters are short, making the entire audiobook 10 hours. But, each chapter’s ending either made you want to continue reading the next chapter or take a break. For me, it was the latter. I read the audiobook at 1.75x speed. What a huge help that was.

At the end of the day, I survived and I have 4 weeks before my Libby hold for “ Heist Royale” arrives. Trust me when I say that I will be spending the these next 4 weeks preparing for worst but hoping for the best.

However though, if you find yourself drawn to this book then give it try. You might read it and experience something completely different.

Thank you NetGalley and Nancy Paulson Books for granting my request for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book on exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

I received an advanced copy of Thieves' Gambit from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Usually, I have a great time with heist books. There's something about the planning and the execution that goes into them that tickles a part of my brain in a good way. However, Thieves' Gambit was one that I couldn't get through, having to DNF around the 25% mark.

A couple of things made me put this book down, but the most glaring issue was that I was bored. Heist books, in my experience, are enjoyable because of their unpredictability. I read this book's first few chapters and knew precisely how it would go. Now, that's not always a bad thing, as there are many books I read specifically for plot similarity, but that's not what I want for this kind of book. I want heist books to surprise me, to have me on the edge of my seat wondering how the characters will get out of this unexpected situation because, let's be honest, almost every heist goes wrong somehow. But I wasn't getting that feeling here.

I also had some questions, the most significant being, if this is such a huge competition, why did they only recruit teenagers? Like, what's the purpose behind that? I get it, it's a young adult book, and we can't put adults into this competition because we want teenagers to read the book, and they won't read about adults. But even a one-off question asked by one of the teenagers would have helped because at least someone acknowledged it. Perhaps this and other questions would have been answered later in the book, but I just wasn't getting the information I needed.

I don't know. Perhaps I'm being too picky, but Thieves' Gambit just wasn't what I was looking for.

Thank you to Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This moved exceptionally fast and kept me reading past when I thought I should as I wanted to see what the next twist and turn was going to be. Ross Quest as the scion of a thieving dynasty enters a competition to save her mother with all of the drama therein with new friends and love interests. I would highly recommend having the sequel ready to go once you finish this as you will want to know what happens next as well as the ending feeling a bit flat with the immediate tease of the next one. 4 stars.

I’d didn’t expect to enjoy this one so much. Felt like watching mission impossible. Theives Gambit was fun and fast paced. I can’t wait to read the next one.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rosalyn (Ross) Quest stems from a family of thieves. Growing up she was taught the tricks of the trade by her single-mother and maternal aunt. Now a teenager, Ross is desperate for a break from both family and work. But when her mother is captured and held for ransom, she must accept the challenge of a lifetime.

Kayvion Lewis’ debut novel, Theive’s Gambit is poised to be the next big YA series!!!

This is a faced-paced, action packed book. Filled with a diverse cast of young characters, who just so happen to be professional con artists- at the height of their careers.

Entering the Thieves Gambit (a game requiring intellect, deception, and adaptability) while not a death sentence, comes with eminent danger to those who accept and the ones they love most. However, one lucky winner will walk away with a year long contract and single wish granted.

I enjoyed the complex family/ friendship dynamics found in this book. Not only does it feature interpersonal relationships, it challenges us to reexamine how we view and offer trust.

Needless to say, I will be continuing on with this series. Heist Royale, the second book in the series, has been on the market for a while now.

*I recently learned that Hollywood has optioned the rights to turn the novel into a movie. I look forward to learning more about this revelation!

Special thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Kayvion Lewis for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

This book is everything a YA reader could ask for! Packed with action, suspense, and just the right amount of romance, it kept me hooked from start to finish. The plot had some fantastic twists and the pacing was spot on. The characters were relatable and I hope they will be explored more in depth in the future as it was left open for the sequel—there’s so much potential for the story to expand further. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next!

Thieves Gambit is an interesting novel about a heist game with high stakes, backstabbing, crazy missions and betrayals. I really enjoyed reading it and did not see all of the twists coming (although definitely saw a few). I enjoyed the writing, it was quick and engaging. It was a good middle grade to upper middle grade in style book similar to the Inheritance Games. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Thieves' Gambit is an interesting YA novel about a group of thieves roped into participating in a competition to obtain what The Society wants stolen. It's also a coming-of-age where the protagonist wants more to her life than just participating in heists with her family. In the competition, she finds friendship and what she thinks is love, but the cliffhanger ending makes it hard to tell if that is true.

I had not really heard much about Thieves’ Gambit by Kavion Lewis when I received an ARC. Going in blindly, I wasn’t sure what to expect but wow!! The characters are extremely well written, especially our main character Ross Quest. There is mystery, suspense, & more than enough to keep you hooked. This one is a true page-turner. I will definitely check out other works by this author.


Thank you NetGalley &Penguin Group for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book deserves more buzz than it got. The beginning started a little slow, and I kept forgetting it was young adult because Ross seemed so young. Though the seventeen-year-old lives this wild, heist-filled life, she is really young because she is so secluded from others. As I got to know her more as a character, that young-sounding voice made a lot of sense.

By the time she enters the Gambit, she already sounds older than the girl in the opening pages. As she reaches the final phase of the game, she sounds older still. I’m pretty impressed with the author’s ability to seamlessly shift the writing with Ross’s maturity while the story careens around hairpin turns with the stakes climbing all the time.

I also really liked the characters, especially the team Ross works with during the middle of the book: Kyung-soon, Mylo, and Devroe. They each add something different to the team, and the experience of working with them changes Ross in ways she wasn’t prepared for. I loved that.

I think readers looking for an Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s 11 story will not be disappointed in this wild ride of a tale. I’m eager to read the sequel.

Thieves’ Gambit is a fun book full of mystery and heists. Ross Quest is a teenager and master thief. Her family is legendary in the heist world, but she wants more and has a plan to run away. Unfortunately, her plans are thwarted when a heist goes wrong, and her mothers life is in danger. Ross desperately enters the Thieves’ Gambit, a heist competition that provides one wish to the winner.

This book was action packed and had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved the concept of the Thieves’ Gambit and all of the heists. The characters were fantastic, and I especially loved Ross for her strength, quick thinking, and bravery. There were so many plot twists and betrayals and I was on my toes the entire time. I was also totally rooting for the enemies to lovers romance. The plot twist at the end totally shocked me!

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars.
If you like books like inheritance games and hunger games then you might like this. Although the language is somewhat basic it is fast paced and intriguing enough. As an older reader I have to confess it did feel more juvenile than The inheritance games and I couldn't help but compare them both.
With a diverse cast of characters and action packed plot it won't bore.
I this gambit we have a competition among young impressive thieves. The prize? A wish. Any wish that "The Organization" will grant. This high stakes game takes us around the world as the players team up and betray one another as only thieves truly can.
I enjoyed this book finishing in 48hrs however I felt it lacked a bit of mature depth, feeling slightly comic like at times.
Thanks to Penguin group who provided me with a copy of the book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group & Nancy Paulsen Books for the arc!

Heist novels tend to be pretty fun reads. Action, adventure, and mystery are some of the elements that make these stories interesting and exciting to read. That is one of the reasons I was originally drawn to give Thieves’ Gambit a chance.

The beginning of the novel was pretty decent. We get introduced to the protagonist, her family, and her justification for entering the Thieves’ Gambit competition. One of my main criticisms of the book comes from the fact that we know very little about the other competitors’ motivations and deep desires. When introduced, we get told a significant characteristic about each competitor that essentially becomes their temporary nickname (i.e. Card Boy, Ring Girl, Headphones) and their ethnicity. Though, realistically speaking, it makes sense that you would have a genetically diverse cast of characters (after all, there are thieves in all corners of the world), the description dump makes the diversity feel a little more performative than natural.

Moreover, some of the plot was pretty predictable as well. Not in the sense that it included very commonly repeated tropes, but more in the sense that when a character says, “I would never ____,” they usually do 😐. The romance was also pretty insta-lovey; there was very little to convince me that these characters should be together or that they genuinely cared about each other (at least from one of them).

However, it was not all negative.

I did enjoy a lot of the friendships introduced in the story. Even though we didn’t get to fully meet every single character in depth, the main ones highlighted in the story have been pretty likable. Their interactions with each other and the bonds created between some of these characters were very nice. I also like the way that there’s an air of mystery behind everything. Questions constantly ran through my head that I was hoping would be answered at some point in the novel.

The ending was one of the best parts if I’m being honest. I was not expecting several of the twists revealed in the end, and each one was more shocking than the one before. While some of my original questions have been answered, nevertheless, I am excited to check out the sequel in hope of finding even more answers.

All in all, it was not a bad book. It could have been better, but it was still a satisfactory read.

Wow wow wow. What a great read to finish the year with!

This book was so amazing and once I got invested it was difficult to put the book down. I loved all the little thieves so much and it was very fun to be stressed about the success of the heists alongside them. The plot was so good, and the writing was incredible! I need to read book 2 stat with the way this one ended like nowwwww. The competition, the schemes, the friendships, the betrayals, the love, all of it was so perfect!!

I will say parts were predictable and it took a minute to get me into the story, but wow. It's one of the best reads of 2024 for me.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.