I didn't really care for this one. It starts in the middle of a situation and the reader feels lost for quite a while while trying to figure out who everyone is. I don't like when books do this; I like to understand who the characters are in relation to each other with little mystery (when the mystery isn't the point of the story!).

Amazing concept but the execution could have used more work. Nonetheless this was engaging and enjoyable.

I love a good heist, and had a great time reading this book! smart characters and an immersive setting just added to the edge of my seat tension I felt while reading and hoping they were successful. Definitely recommend this one!

What a fun book!!! I was drawn in by the cover and stayed for a great story.

Will definitely be recommending this to my readers and friends.

I think this would work really well for anyone who likes an alchemy/historical city setting, which is just not my favourite! I liked the characters and the writing, but nothing else really stood out to me.

This book was so fun! The pot was very well thought out and action packed. And the romance was the absolute cutest. Would highly recommend.

This took waaayy longer to read than I had hoped. It was necessarily a terrible book but it wasn’t a page turner either. It just felt lacking. The world building, the character depth, and relationship building, all didn’t feel fully fleshed out. A the plot itself was a too obvious. I do think there is so much potential and I’d love to see where the next book goes.

I rounded up from 4.5. I love Kane and the plot. I went to an author talk and the author talked about all the research she did on the great exhibition, and I really enjoyed that part of the book. The magic is interesting, I like when the magic has a cost. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected and I am interested to see how the plot evolves in the second.

The first of the book dragged, and I would say at around 60% I considered dnf'ing even. However, I decided to read one more chapter, and that's when I realized I was really invested in the characters? So I commend the author on sneaking them into my psyche. I think the heist could have been moved up a LOT. Half this book was honestly a little unnecessary and boring.
That being said, I did like Zaria a lot, and Kane was a good mmc, though I found him to be trying a little too hard to be Kaz Brekker (and Fletcher did seem a little reminiscent of Jesper, especially their dynamic together).
The romance was cute, and I found myself smiling once they finally got themselves together.
Kane pmo a little bit at the end (spoilers!!!) when he went on his little rampage because she betrayed him. Hypocrites are one of my biggest pet peeves in books! You were literally going to betray her yourself!!!
Overall, it was okay. I think there could have been less of the prep for the heist, but the writing and character work was good, if a little kaz-like. I'm not sure I'll pick up the second book, but if you like heist stories and slow-burn, this is for you! The worldbuilding was also interesting, though a little underexplained :)

Ohhh, this was fun! The characters were all well-developed, and the supporting ones were more than just props. Who doesn’t love a good heist? While the story took a little while to grab me, once it did, I was hooked. There was a scene between Kane and Zaria where the tension was thick, and it completely caught me off guard—I think I even gasped out loud! Their relationship was so perfect; they both knew exactly how to challenge each other. I loved how deeply they cared for their best friends, constantly putting themselves in danger to protect them. The ending set things up perfectly for the next book. I genuinely can’t wait to read it!

I really don't know what I was expecting from this book. Maybe I was a little too eager to request this title and my redish flag of not reading descriptions got me stuck in this book. *sigh*

Basically the FMC is trying to clear up the debt that her late father left her with by creating magical items. The snag in creating these magical items is that it takes from the soul, it takes a lot from the person, where it ages them. She does her best to investigate a semi-mythical itme that could aid her to make magic without burning her out, and possibly prematurely ending her life. The MMC enters the picture as a gang member who is trying to pull off a con of a lifetime. Both MC's are tied together by debts and are swayed to make decisions when their friends/found family's lives are put at stake.

Sounds good right? I guess. There was something a little off about this story. The relationship between the two enemies to lovers seemed a bit too forced and didn't seem as organic. The FMC's personality was strong but highly flawed. Additionally, her side kick was this very weak person, which probably could have been given a better light and back bone. And though the MMC seemed to be this macho being, he of course has this stereotypical soft side. The dynamic between all of them just did not come of great.

Now, the one thing I really did enjoy was the idea of the creation of magic and imbuing it onto every day objects to amplify them for good or bad. I do hope that the next book explores this more. There is a bit of a predictable twist of a certain character showing up and then exiting just as quickly. And the heist itself? That was quite fun to read.

I would recommend this to those who like a good heist, enemies to lovers, found family, and magical realism mixed with historical fiction. 3 out of 5.

Thank you Netgalley, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

two reluctant allies set to double cross each other but you don’t find out who actually pulls it off until the very end… plus an ending that will have you screaming for the next book!!!

this book was addicting and i had such a fun time reading!!! each character was so complex and well written, i love them all. the magic was so unique and like nothing i’ve seen before, the heist had me on the edge of my seat, and the ending has me wanting more! i’m beyond excited and looking forward to the sequel!!!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced readers copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

2.5 stars rounded up

I'm sorry to say that this book and I did not mesh well. The characters felt underdeveloped; I was never invested in either perspective, nor their friendships. I enjoyed the taste of alchemology/the magic system we got but found Zaria to be incredibly detached and unrelatable. Kane's little bit of a Kaz Brekker vibe was fun at first but lacked a sense of depth. The smidge of romance felt forced and fueled by anger. The overall planning and execution of the heist was like 10 pages total and the pacing of the end was super rushed. This book was just not for me.

Glittering with clever cons, daring heists, and a maddeningly twisty romance, To Steal From Thieves is a genre-blending gem that’s impossible to put down. With threads of history, fantasy, and just the right sprinkle of slow-burn romance, there’s something here for almost everyone.

Thank you to the publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, for this eARC to review.

4.5/5 stars! (Rounding up because I love M.K.)

This honestly did not go in the direction I thought it would, and I absolutely loved it! I did use the audiobook to help me get through this at a quicker pace, and the narrators were phenomenal and really brought even more life to the book. I cannot tell you just how much I appreciated having ADHD representation in a MAIN character, not just a side character. I found myself relating to Zaria so much throughout the entire book, and it was cool to see her still shine using her talents and ADHD qualities combined to fulfill their plot/mission. I also loved how she addressed class differences in their world and how politics/their government were affecting them along with the gang's own machinations. I also really enjoyed the duality of Kane's character, and seeing how his relationship with the Kingpin influenced his decisions throughout the book. There were only a few spots where things suddenly got slow that were difficult for me to get through, but most of the book was all gas and no breaks, my favorite!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

In an alternate version of Victorian London, magic exists and can be used to improve technology. It's known as alchemology, and requires the magic-user to sacrifice some blood and life force to create the magical element known as primateria. It means that alchemologists tend to have shorter lifespans, which was certainly the case with Zaria Mendoza's father. Now she's an orphan struggling to complete her father's outstanding commissions to unsavoury individuals in the London underworld. Soulsteel, the material required to create primateria is rare and expensive, and she keeps having to postpone her rent payments. If her landlord wasn't the father of her best friend, she would probably be out on the streets already.

Kane Durante has been tasked by his patron, the sinister underworld kingpin Ward, to find a particular necklace coming in on one of the boats in the port. He and his best friend, Fletcher, have been working undercover on the docks, trying to intercept the necklace before it goes on display at the Royal Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, because having to steal it from such a public place will be a nightmare. Unfortunately, neither he nor Fletcher are successful and it seems like they have no choice but to pull off a dangerous, nearly impossible heist. If Ward doesn't get his necklace, he promises to do all manner of unpleasant things to Fletcher. So a-heisting they will go.

Having fetched a magical firearm from Zaria while undercover, he decides she is essential to the success of their endeavour, and manages to persuade her to cooperate through a combination of threats and promises. Zaria desperately needs enough money to get her and her best friend Julian out of London, and if she can help Kane rob the Crystal Palace, her share of the loot will be enough for them to live comfortably and get away from the squalor that is their current lives.

Of course, Kane and Zaria are both cynical, distrustful individuals used to relying on no one but themselves. They both plan to betray the other before the end of the heist, with no misgivings about how this could affect the other.

Does the heist succeed? Do Kane and Zaria turn from reluctant allies who snipe flirtatiously at each other to potential lovers? Does Kane discover that his patron and boss, Ward, clearly had more to do with his parents' death than has previously been revealed?

I don't know, because I just couldn't with this book. While I thought the magic system introduced was really interesting, I really didn't care about Kane or Zaria at all. It's nice that they both have a platonic best friend they're willing to risk everything for, to the point of stupidity (it's obvious that both Jules and Fletcher would be deeply unhappy knowing how many dangerous things their friends are willing to risk for their sakes), but having spent three days forcing myself through only the first third of the book, I decided to peak ahead to see if things got more exciting further on in the book - and I still wasn't convinced.

From what I can see, the book ends in a way that suggests at least one sequel (or the ending will be very unsatisfying), but I have absolutely no wish to read more books about these characters. Both the characters and setting felt like they were strongly inspired by <i>Six of Crows</i> and <i>Crooked Kingdom</I> by Leigh Bardugo, but unlike those books, where I pretty much gave up on food and sleep to get through the books faster, there was nothing here to hold my attention. I haven't read anything else by M.K. Lobb, so I can't say if the writing style is similar to their previous works, or something new they're trying. I'm sure this will make for an exciting heist narrative for another reader, but for me, this was a DNF.

<b>Judging a book by its cover:</b> I'm guessing the necklace that dominates the centre of the cover is the item they're planning to steal. I'm not entirely sure why the cover artist chose to portray him looking like a spoiled prep school boarder, but that's just not at all how he's described in the book. The girl, who I'm guessing must be Zaria, appears to have her own wind machine since her curls are so out of control.

Everyone loves a good heist novel, and I'm no exception! For the most part, TO STEAL FROM THIEVES is a wonderful read, with some personal caveats. The biggest being the dialogue. You know when you read a YA book and it sounds like an adult *trying* to sound like a teen? That was this book--simply put, it felt inauthentic and even overly "edgy" at times. I noticed this between several characters but most prominently between the male and female lead. All in all, I felt like they were quite well-executed characters heavily bogged down with dialogue that more often than not had me cringing a little. Your mileage may vary, of course. Lobb's prose and worldbuilding is solid throughout, and her general storytelling ability kept me on edge. A worthwhile read if you don't mind the questionable-at-times dialogue.

When I heard "heists" I was ready. When I heard "heists" and "Peaky Blinders" I was SOLD and boy am I glad I got an ARC of this! I had such a good time with this one! I loved the way M.K. Lobb merges magic and science in building this world. I loved the way they developed the found family and made you care for the characters in such a short time. The found family truly shines in this. Some characters are all sharp edges and pointed words, but man do they love hard. It's peppered with some beautiful prose/lines as well.

One of the many things I love about MK Lobb is that she knows how to do enemies to lovers right. Her main characters are most assuredly fierce enemies at the beginning of these stories–the kind that will screw you over without blinking. They fight things like caring tooth and nail. The romance? It burns slow. Very slow. The attraction burns faster, but sometimes you can’t help who makes you hot.

Anger is at the center of every interaction and every page of To Steal From Thieves, which may be a very fun read but is also a book that seethes with injustice. A fantastical story set in an alternative history surrounding the 1851 Great Exhibition that took place in London, its root plot is a jewel heist. I’m a sucker for heist plots, especially those involving jewels. It reminds me of gentleman thieves and slick female cat burglars who can navigate complex traps to get their prize. The jewel heist in TSFT is more about survival and less about pretty shiny stones, though, in a time when so many Londoners were unhoused, starving, and in debt to gangsters. Our two main characters, Kane and Zaria, each have something to live for and something worth dying for. This heist is the key to a freedom of sorts.

Lobb never scrimps on worldbuilding, and with so many real-world details to get exactly right to match up with the overlaid fantasy world, I was so happy to see just how intensive and accurate it got (if you can spot the Karl Marx cameo, you deserve a cookie!). The magic system seems to be some sort of fictional cousin to alchemy but is no less fascinating, and is explained rather well without dumping information on the reader.

I’m glad I knew going in this was going to be a duology, because as I approached 80% I felt the pressure of a turn coming, and I wasn’t ready. I can’t wait for the sequel. 4⭐️



I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action Adventure/Duology/Disability Rep/Fantasy/Romantasy/YA Fiction/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy

Definitely a fun, unique and atmospheric historical YA fantasy.
Loved the dual-POV, high stakes, banter and unique alchemy system.
I really enjoy M.K. Lobb’s writing style, and I loved all the characters (main and secondary).
An overall, very enjoyable and engaging story, and I cannot wait for the next one!