To Steal From Thieves was an entertaining read with some clever heist moments, but it didn’t fully grab me. I appreciated the fast-paced plot and the witty banter between characters, yet I felt the story sometimes leaned too heavily on tropes I’ve seen before. It was enjoyable enough to keep me reading, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression, making it a solid but not standout experience in my eyes.

I'm a fan of this author's Seven Faceless Saints series, so requesting her new release from NetGalley was a no-brainer. Now I'm convinced there's no way she could write something I didn't want to read.

The personalities of Kane and Zaria are about as far from the warm and fuzzy realm as you can get. Their edges are sharp, their dreams big, each has something to fight for, and nothing will prevent them from achieving their goals. Unfortunately, they need each other to attain said goals, which makes them extremely reluctant partners. Their snarky banter reminded me of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. And did I mention their objectives don't exactly align?

Kane and Zaria's character depth and complexity are a chef's kiss. Kane's tragic past and toxic relationship with crime lord Ward, who murdered Kane's parents and then raised him, especially intrigued me. Kane doesn't shy away from who he is and leans into it on occasion when needed. His chosen path at the end leaves me excited to see what's in store for him in the sequel. Zaria is aware of most of her strengths, weaknesses, and flaws. Several threats hang over her head by the end, and her future is jeopardized. Both have ride or die friendships - Jules, Zaria's childhood friend, and Fletcher, an orphan Kane brought into Ward's gang years ago when Fletcher had nowhere else to go. The safety of their friends takes top priority for both Kane and Zaria.

This world is dark, gritty, and full of danger, but The Great Exhibition paints it with a bit of grandeur. I didn't check the history, but I wondered if the author took some of the detailed descriptions from actual exhibits. The heist itself kept me on the edge of my seat. Although Kane plans for unforeseen obstacles, everything doesn't quite go as expected.

I'll be waiting anxiously for the sequel to this novel. Flaws and all, I fell for these characters, and I'll follow them until the end. Recommended for fans of danger-filled heists, historical fantasy with a touch of romance, and wonderfully complex characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3 | 😘=2.5 | 🤬=4 | ⚔️=3.5 | 14/15+

summary: there's a magical heist at the Great Exhibition and she has these magic powers and he's like the adopted son of a crime lord and they're stealing this necklace??

thoughts: if you like heists and angsty morally gray teenagers being toxic and committing crimes together AND you also do not care one (1) iota about the Victorian era, you’ll like this. I, however, DO care about the Victorian era. I have read and studied its contemporary literature and also read about it and I also in general am very fond of clever, deliberate interpretations of history that are appropriate for the genre and context.

for example, I don’t fault a Victorian bodice ripper for not going into the horrors of mid-to-late nineteenth century British imperialism. that’s not the point of a romance novel! I get it! however, in a book centered around the Great Exhibition, imperialism is intrinsically entwined with everything in this novel, but the author didn’t really follow through on that? like it would be unrealistic for these scrappy kids to pause their lives and have a grave conversation about colonialism, because that does not directly affect the (white) main character’s lives, but it’s hardly mentioned when they’re actually inside the Great Exhibition. like they’re not making observations about what they see around them and even though in heist books/movies seeing the entire plan before the execution of the plan ruins the tension, I think it would have been helpful to describe the map that they’re basing this heist on and maybe they could mention all of the imperialism stuff in the process of doing that?

the author seems unable or unwilling to truly commit to anything that concretely places her novel in 1856? like anachronisms are fine! this is historical fiction. but it seems like M. K. Lobb only wanted The Great Exhibition and nothing else about the Victorian Era in her book, and I think she would have been better off creating a fictional world with a Great Exhibition-inspired situation. like she could have had more control that way and I think would’ve created something… better?
and AGAIN I don’t think it’s reasonable for these characters, who are dealing with their own Very Understandable Troubles to suddenly sit down and have a deep discussion about colonialism, but it’s got to be present in your book ABOUT THE GREAT EXHIBITION aside from like two “isn’t the British Empire evil” mentions that don’t feel earned because those evils haven’t been established by the text. YA books shouldn’t treat their audience like they’re stupid, because teenagers aren’t stupid, but also I don’t know if the average 14 year old has enough cultural context to understand “Kane wanted like the British Empire wanted” and the one (1) overheard comment at the Exhibition from someone who is critiquing it??

also idk how on earth Kane would have remembered a complicated piano piece if he hadn’t played for years?? I play the piano, I’ve played those complicated pieces, and I don’t remember them perfectly after not having touched them for a decade! that’s not how muscle memory works! sorry!!
but AGAIN! if you don’t care about that, then this is fine!

also for the record, the ARC is missing any author's note/acknowledgements, and I don't know if the final copy has more details on the author's research process et cetera, so having that might change my mind on that element of the book.

In a Victorian London where alchemology is banned, a con man and a struggling alchemologist prepare to steal an incredible necklace from the Great Exhibition. Kane Durante is the Kingpin's adopted son, for better or worse. The reputation follows him, and protects him to a degree, but Ward keeps him in line by threatening his best friend, Fletcher. That's whose life is on the line if this heist doesn't work out. So Kane recruits Zaria Mendoza, the daughter of an alchemologist who trained her and then died and left her all his debts and commissions. She's struggling, and there's the risk that she'll lose her best friend Jules to the Kingpin. She wants nothing more than to get the two of them out of Devil's Acre. The pair plot the heist, and plan betrayals and crimes aplenty, but feelings growing between Kane and Zaria complicate things seriously.
Was Kaz Brekker your favorite part of Six of Crows? Might I recommend this book if you miss him a lot? Kane has big Kaz vibes. He's so messed up, and I'm a big fan. Zaria and Kane are, as the sequel's description aptly describes, "a match made in hell." It's the best description. They're both desperate people who make terrible decisions, and it's juicy. I also loved Fletcher and Jules; I hope the sequel has more Jules, specifically. It's a really well-written heist novel, full of suspense and corruption and a few really good twists.

It took just shy of three months for me to drag myself through this book😭

Kane, a gang member, recruits Zaria, a black-market dealer, to steal a necklace at The Great Exhibition, one of the most celebrated events in London. They both have secret agendas, which become harder to hide as they start to fall for each other.

There's nothing about this book that would make it recommendable. Every trope, concept, and plot point it contains has been done extremely well in other YA books. It's just so poorly executed.

I have no choice but to mention Six of Crows to make a comparison. Kane Durante was Kaz Brekker, if you took away Brekker’s emotional trauma, swapped it with some father-figure issues, and doubled the edge-lord act. Kane sure isn’t a saint, but he’s not the evil monster Zaria tirelessly accuses him of being, either. He goes out of his way for the most part to make sure people don’t get hurt. A line in the advance copy (subject to change in the final print): “...his past so slick with blood he wore it like a victory shroud.” I had to take a second and laugh. It’s just so edgy for a character that feels lukewarm, morally gray. It’s a shame, because Kane showed flickers of emotional depth when he interacted with the Kingpin, his boss, and an abusive father figure. If that had been explored more, he had the potential to be more than a shallow, smirking con-man.

Zaria could have been interesting if she had been given any depth. She is “tell-not-show” done spectacularly. She notices the most basic things, registers the most base-level shift in environments, and hardened criminals will start singing her praises. “Wow, you’re so perceptive, clever, and sharp.” From the beginning, the plot begs to differ. After Kane gets her agreement to help steal the jewels, there’s a scene where she wonders what he wants with the necklace. She’s rightfully confused, since he’s promised in exchange for one necklace, he will steal the rest of the jewels at the display and give them to her. Why would he do that, when all the other jewels would outweigh the worth of one necklace? But she dismisses this thought and decides to take Kane at his word, despite knowing only his criminal past. She doesn’t demand answers or even collateral from Kane. It’s so maddening. So many times, I was begging her to think critically about the dangerous situations she’s in, but she never does. There’s no way she’s survived a criminal underworld for even a day when she doesn’t follow through on the most simple survival instincts, or question anyone’s motives thoroughly.

If the main characters aren’t fleshed out, their romance won’t be either. There are lots of moments of forced tension, when they are arguing in each other’s faces or required to be in close proximity, and then they notice each other’s lips, or hair, and wonder why they feel like they are in love. I wish it had been purely a physical attraction between them. They know each other for all of a week in the book, and everything they share is superficial bits to force trust. The idea that they could feel anything beyond a shallow like/lust is unbelievable.

As for the heist, is it really worth mentioning? All of the vital intel they need to break into the place (the patrols, the necklace’s worth, the lock that protects the necklace) is dropped in their laps. It’s lazy to have a random side character that never appears again overhear Kane talking about the lock, and for the character to just happen to have a niche interest in locks and explain in excruciating detail the type of lock, how to open it, etc. It’s even lazier to have almost all crucial intel relayed this way. All that lack of work, it’s no wonder the heist was only a chapter or two long.

I will not be continuing this series; I have no interest. It’s a shame, I wanted to like this one, since I’m always down for a good heist. The only audience that comes to mind are readers who are newbies to YA books; any reader who already occupies YA space would find this disappointing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Books, for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Set up as a pretty standard friends to lovers romance, alongside a Victorian heist, there wasn't much that impressed me with this novel. It's readable and moves along well. Most kids will probably enjoy the ride. I was turned off by a few scenes of "pretend relationship" tropes that rubbed me the wrong way. There are better ways for characters to meet/cute than "Oops, I had to kiss you for reasons, I didn't like it, but will find excuses to do it again."

1800's London but with a little bit of magic. To Steal from Thieves has two morally gray main characters who are out to protect their own interests. Zaria works for the black market making devices/weapons that are endued with magic and she is behind on orders that were made through her father who died and left her the debts. Kane works for the kingpin and has orders to steal a necklace. The heist itself it a very small part of this story and it took a lot of time to get there. The ending was irritating and I understand there is going to be another book but I'm not really sure I will be reading it. The "romance" (two kisses) seemed forced as they "hate each other" and will betray the other and what the MMC did at the end, I just don't understand why.

I really wanted to love this, but I just couldn't get into it. It's a fun setting with a cool magic system, but the characters felt very undefined to me. We're supposed to care about them and see how much they care about each other, but I never really got that. It feels more like when a little kid meets someone at the park and tells you that's their best friend now. And because so much of the story is hinged on these relationships, the plot never felt real to me.
I love a heist, but I also love characters that make me want to pluck them out of the book and hang out with them. These characters were barely even there.

I love a good heist, and a good historical fantasy, so this was right up my alley. The worldbuilding was interesting, a version of Victorian England with a thread of magic woven through it. I’d actually be very interested in the next installment to see more of how (if?) magic is used in other ways in other segments of society, though the focus on the criminal underworld in this one is understandable. The characters were fantastic as well – multidimensional, complicated people who do horrible things, yet they are still sympathetic and understandable, and you still want to root for them. Kane Durante gives strong Kaz Brekker vibes, though Kane is a slightly less screwed up person. I liked the tension between Kane and Zaria. It will be interesting to see how that relationship develops, particularly considering the ending of this book. I do need to pay more attention to whether something is a “book one” or a standalone, though. I would have read this one anyway, but I might have been a little more emotionally prepared to not see everything resolved before the end. Luckily the next book is slated for next March, so there’s not too long of a wait.

Representation: POC characters

First off, I'm always a fan of a heist add in enemies to lovers and I'm pretty much sold! That being said I did have a hard to with the beginning of the book it was a bit slow for my taste, and I found my self picking up and putting down and picking up again the book having to make myself keep going. However once I got into it was good, the tension and the banter were well done and kept me hooked. Zaria and Kane were fun protagonists to follow and I thought getting POV's from both of them really rounded out the story. This books has some fan favorite tropes and plot to back it up, I'm really glad I kept going!

To Steal from Thieves was my introduction to M.K. Lobb, and I had a lot of mixed feelings while reading it.

It was a 5 star read based purely on the world building and unique magic system that Lobb seamlessly integrated into modern history with the British English industralization period. However the seemingly sudden drop off from enemies to lustful allies left a lot to be desired, the romance felt clunky and more than a little forced at around 50-60% when it was initially flowing smoothly. And while this book is labeled YA I think the subject matter and story might've done better in the New Adult category (perhaps because the romance fell so short and the writing style didn't resonate with me as typical YA writing). The other reason I left it at 3 stars instead of of 4 was because I lost all interest at around 65-70%. Like could not have cared less about the romance or plot. Not enough emphasis on the magic involved in creating these achemological weapons needed for a heist let alone the destructive side effects creating those weapons would have on Zaria (she's somehow simultaneously approaching the end of her mortal coil but also has enough energy to banter and continue living life...like the only time we hear how drained she is, is when she passes out. It would've been more interesting to see or hear about other physical issues she experienced in between creating the things they needed for the heist.) Meanwhile Ward balances the line between believable morally black villain and sprano-mob-boss-wannabe. The stakes felt relatively low because Fletcher and Jules subplots didn't progress throughout the story. They were threatened and thats that. Overall I really enjoyed it, and I would recommend this book to others, but it just wasn't for me in the end.

This book had me hooked from page one. A magical heist during the Great Exhibition? Say less. Zaria can literally forge weapons with her hands, but it’s slowly killing her. Kane is a disaster man with a tragic past and too many cons to count. The two of them together? Pure chaos, slow-burn angst, and the constant threat of betrayal. I ate it up.

The world building is sharp, the magic is gritty, and the heist mechanics are actually clever. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a standalone until near the end, and now I need book two like, yesterday. If you love messy characters, tense vibes, and morally questionable teamwork, this one’s for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! This was fun! Not normally one for heist novels but enjoyed the banter.

As I sit here slow blinking, jaw agape after just finishing this book, let me try and gather some thoughts.

If you like a heist ridden story that kind of reminds me of a combination of: Mr & Mrs Smith, Knives Out/Glass Onion, and The Mummy series...check this book out.

This is a fast-paced story! Honestly, it's 400 pages and yet I basically read it in one sitting because I had to figure out what was going to happen.

Even if you are able to make the correct predictions, it's a wild ride getting there and I'm confident that you won't be able to predict EVERYTHING that occurs.

Even though I felt that this whole novel was fast-paced, that final quarter?! Rapid fire. My eyes couldn't read the pages fast enough!

I feel like the Sheldon gif from Big Bang Theory because at this point: I NEED ANSWERS. But I guess I will wait impatiently for them *eye twitch*.

To Steal from Thieves immerses readers in the dark and gritty world of 1851 London. This fast-paced novel takes place in Devil’s Acre, the city’s most notorious slum. Readers follow Zaria Mendoza, an orphan forced to continue her father’s dark market business after his death. Living amidst crime and desperate poverty, Zaria must navigate a life marked by bad choices and terrible choices. Those choices only get worse when Kane Durante forces his way into her life. Young, handsome, and ruthless, he is the adopted son of the slum’s kingpin. When Kane coerces Zaria to help him steal a priceless necklace, she has little choice but to use her alchemist skills to help him pull off an impossible heist. Her ability to craft magical objects might be the only way to save her best friend.

This novel offers a thrilling heist story with all the surprises of an Ocean’s Eleven film, but the themes of friendship and class inequality are just as satisfying as the plot. Through Zaria’s eyes, the reader sees the stark contrast between the opulence of the era’s elite and the desperate poverty of those trapped in places like Devil’s Acre. After all, Kane Durante is one of those people, and as they struggle to do the impossible, Zaria finds empathy for someone she had thought a monster. I highly recommend this book for teens aged fourteen and up who love adventure, danger, and a little romance.

To Steal from Thieves was exactly the book I've always wanted to read! With a heist set in London's Crystal Palace, a unique magic system, and an entertaining cast of characters, this story was a perfect balance of whimsy, adventure, comedic relief and a touch of romance. The contrast of the dark underbelly of the magic market and the FMC's cynicism, against the witty and charming conman companion is so well balanced.

The plotline and world building where crafted well and left me eager and excited for book 2!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. Though I love the premise and line-level writing, the story felt much more heist-focused than I had initially expected, and I just wasn't quite interested enough to keep reading. However, I hope I return to it some day!

To Steal from Thieves is a story of double-crossing thieves, murderous enforcers, and magical arms trafficking. It is much darker than I expected from the premise. The story is more layered than I expected too, but it falls victim to the classic thief plot blunder: it spends too much time on planning, and not enough on the aftermath of a heist, which is to me the most interesting part. Nothing ever goes according to plan, so laying it out multiple times frustrates me as a reader.
The magic system is very interesting, the idea that magic takes a piece of you forever. Despite everything I've said so far, I am immensely invested in these characters. They were extremely well developed. Kane is simultaneously a villain origin story and serious potential leading man material. Incredibly impressive to pull off both, and I applaud the author for this feat. Zaria is likewise fascinating, loyal yet selfish, uninspiring yet clever, and above all GOOD at her job, which takes the kind of effort you don't often see in a protagonist. She's not a secret princess or a wealthy heiress. Zaria is poor and angry and I absolutely respect that.
This book sets up a sequel, and I'll be adding it to my TBR immediately. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this ARC!

This was okay! The stakes felt a little low to me, so I wasn't as interested/ hooked while reading. I might've not finished it if I wasn't listening to the audiobook in tandem with the ebook. The audiobook narration was good, and this was a good flight read.

This is the third book that I have read by M.K. Lobb and I just want to say that her writing style is incredible. The characters, plot, and wordlbuilding really draws you in and keeps you wanting for more. To Steal from Thieves is an adventurous historical fantasy with a touch of slow-burn romance. The ending... the cliffhanger... I need book 2 IMMEDIATELY. This was such a great start to the Thieves & Kings series, I'm so excited for the ext installment in the series