Book Review: Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
Published: September 26th 2023 by Simon & Schuster
Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Genre: Young Adult // Mystery, Thriller
Quick Thoughts: A high-stakes race against time with intense rivalries, ruthless characters and a magnetic romance—this is going to make the perfect movie!
About The Book:
Winner takes all: a cutthroat competition for the world’s best thief and the girl who must beat the odds to save her parents’ lives.
Rosalyn Quest was raised by a legendary family of thieves with one rule: trust no one. Trapped in a glamorous world of riches and double-crosses, she is about to escape the family business when her parents are kidnapped. Her only chance to save them is to win the Thieves’ Gambit – a deadly competition for the world’s up-and-coming thieves, where the victor is granted one wish. To win, she must outwit all of her backstabbing competitors, including her archnemesis. But can she take victory from the handsome, charming boy who makes a play for her heart? The one who might be hiding the most dangerous secret of all?
The most highly-anticipated YA launch of the year from Kayvion Lewis and soon to be a major movie, are you ready to join the Thieves’ Gambit?
First Thoughts
When I was kindly offered an ARC of Thieves’ Gambit, I was legitimately so excited after seeing so many great things about it on social media and also so, so grateful to have had the chance to read it so early. And the movie rights has already been bought—pre-release—which made me believe I was heading into something extremely incredible, which is always a feel-good feeling.
My Review
Rosalyn Quest, aka Ross, belongs to a legendary, infamous family of highly skilled thieves. Although she longs for a normal, slower-paced life, Ross goes along with the motto of trusting no one wholeheartedly, telling herself she’ll be completing one last mission and then be out of the game. But right before she’s about to, everything goes off the rails and her mother’s life is suddenly on the line.
To save her Mom, Rosalyn’s only choice is to enter and win the Thieves’ Gambit, a cutthroat competition for young thieves where the winner is granted whatever they wish. But to win, Ross has her hands full. The path to winning is far from easy, and although it’s in her trained nature to be deceitful, being in the running with so many others just like her makes things harder. The heist itself is full of traitorous faces, double-crossing enemies and a rogue romantic interest that threatens to derail her focus—and when new secrets and revelations come to light, it’s not just the lives of the people she loves on the line, but her own heart.
Overall, Thieves’ Gambit was a rollercoaster of action-packed antics, trials and namesake quests. I turned pages fast into the night, desperate to follow Ross through high-highs and lowest lows. Although part of the conclusion was a bit predictable, I still found it wholly enjoyable and extremely well-crafted throughout, and loved that the door was left open for further stories. This was a high-stakes race against time with intense rivalries, ruthless characters and a magnetic romance—it’s going to make the perfect movie. An amazing four star novel!
About The Author
Her next book, THIEVES’ GAMBIT, releases with Nancy Paulsen (Penguin) in Fall 2023. Film rights have been bought by Lionsgate.
Have you read Thieves’ Gambit?
If you haven’t, don’t forget to add it to your TBR!
Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!
happy reading!
