3,25 stars.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.

The premise of this book was great and the pacing was even better. It wasn't a very long book but the author still wanted a lot to happen so naturally things moved quickly - which I love. I love when a story includes many different action scenes and a fast-paced environment. And it worked really well. However, I will say that it resulted in less character/relationship development than I would have liked to see. I needed some more communication and confrontation between Lyta and Sylvian where they get to sort things out a bit more. Spoiler: And I would also have liked to see more between Kit and Ben. I really liked how they found each other and fit together, but it was very much insta love which felt a little rushed with everything at stake.

I did feel like it was a bit confusing in the beginning. All the places, people, gods and religions. It was hard to keep track of everything and it took me quite a while to figure out how heavily historical it actually was. I'm not the biggest fan of mixing real world places and elements with fantasy in this way, so I had a hard time focusing when I was reading in the beginning. But when it started moving faster, it made me continue through my confusion and I got sucked in a bit more.

The writing was fine for the most part but did sometimes feel flat and a bit matter of factly. Not a lot of feeling in it. And also, even though the characters were in their late twenties they felt like teenagers for the most part. It gave som serious YA vibes and they seemed more immature than I would have liked. More reckless and naive.

As I said, I needed more scenes between Lyta and Syl, especially at the end. Spoiler: The last few pages felt sort of odd with her thinking he went back to ignoring her but then maybe him showing that he didn't? Or did he? I get that it was also meant to be an open ending maybe teasing more in a future installment. And I don't hate that. I just didn't like feeling confused at their ending and where they stand with each other moving forward.

But a good fast-paced story with a fun heist and magic (that admittedly also was a bit confusing at times) and great characters with very different moral compasses. Overall an enjoyable ride!

Lyta is a notorious thief. Her brother Kit is a lawful printer. That is till he gets caught printing seditious pamphlets. He wants nothing to do with her but she is going to save him. She make a deal with the King to steal an infamous book of magic in exchange for her brother's freedom. What she wasn't counting on was her ex-lover and partner in crime now royal bodyguard Sylvian, an enigmatic scholar and her brother interfering. And that book puts them in jeopardy...

Heists seem to be a literary trend at the moment and I'm here for it. The book starts in the midst of one and this author knows how to stage a scene with words set in wonderful, descriptive embellishments and showing the cunningness of the protagonist. The author grounds us in this historical with Latin flair fantasy of hers, an alternate Renaissance, by use of evocative & plentiful detailing. If you like lots of info about the literary world you are entering there is an abundance of informative paragraphs. You can get lost in this imaginary place, these pages — this narrative that sings lyrical in such a relatable way.

There are many interesting characters and they are all given depth even with the slightest of enlightening sentences. Was not expecting the multiple POVs but they certainly did enhance the story, the narrative's flow never interrupted as we go from one character to the other. They are flawed character you cannot help but like. The POVs are honest and insightful. Lyta is reckless, presenting a sharp wit and tongue that get her in trouble. Then we have angry with her, loyal, beautiful Sylvian. These two past lovers with betrayal between them have a passionate connection and are constantly butting heads. Kit is noted for his idealism and is supposed to be the voice of reason between them. Idealism & cynicism are warring in these POVs, and at the center is hope.

As emotions fly high we have more often than not developments that are heart-squeezing and we readers get dearly invested. The shocks come early and I did literally gasp time and again. There is a wonderfully adventurous atmosphere to the book, which is suspenseful, thrilling (there were parts where I cheered) and has a great sense of humor with clever dialogue.

I loved how fast-paced it was but there were scenes that I wished were given more time to breathe. I had to go back and read them again to get the whole picture. Also there were some things I'd have liked if they were explained more extensively about some betrayals — one from a character that never really resonated — but mostly having to do with the magic and gods. A few things just did not make sense to me.

A few themes of this story were the force of love and the desire for power. It is about making the world a better place, striving for fairness, equality and freedom. It is about fighting the system.

The Book of Gold invites you to come for the heist but stay for the action-packed twists and turns, the double dealings, the plans upon plans and some really delicious, villainy villains.

I try to read summaries before picking up books. I really do. However, sometimes books simply have such beautiful covers that I can't be bothered to check what it's about. I just wanna read and have them. So, I pre-ordered this book and then I noticed that the publisher made digital review copies available through Netgalley. Of course I submitted a request, once more without reading the summary, and Hodderscape granted me a copy.

Let me start this review by stating that this book is really nicely written. The sentences flew nicely, the thoughts and emotions of the characters felt and seemed realistic, the dialogues felt natural and it was easy to understand these characters and to root for them. I also liked getting three different perspectives, especially because all three characters were different and had different roles in the story that was being told.

I'm not a huge fan of heist stories in general, though. I guess that's partly because characters capable of a successful heist are also characters capable of dealing with emotions I can't really understand. They're not the emotional types, or they're very talented and controlling their emotions and keeping them in check. That's hard for me to relate to and since I read books to feel something it's also not what I mostly prefer.

However, the mythology of this book and the world building was awesome. I have to admit that the finale of the book, with all the reveals and information, felt a little chaotic and all over the place, but we had gotten more than enough information before then so it never really got confusing. I also liked that a part of the storyline is finished and yet another part of the storyline has only just started. The ending is kinda satisfying and yet I'm also very curious about the next book!

The Book of Gold is a historical fantasy about Lyta (a thief), Kit (her rebellious brother) and Sylvian (a royal guard). We follow them and their crew as they attempt to steal a magical book in order to save Kit’s life. With a daring heist at the centre of the story, this is a novel full of action and adventure.

I have always been a fan of fantasy heists, so I was really excited to read The Book of Gold. The betrayals and twists keep you reading as the mysteries unravel. I won’t give too much away, but I will say that it was not a perfect heist. There are certainly plenty of challenges along the way as Lyta attempts the impossible. But that also makes it much more exciting. Most of the problems come because of miscommunication and secrets between the characters so in that sense it is quite realistic. After all, who would trust a thief?

However, I will say that the betrayals and lack of communication began to annoy me halfway through the story. I felt like shouting at the characters for their decisions. So, don’t expect genius plans (like in Six of Crows) or an unproblematic found family when you start reading. That being said, I think that the relationships were well developed, and the romance was compelling. I’m not the biggest fan of lovers to enemies to lovers, but the shared history between Lyta and Sylvian did create a lot of tension which was fun to read.

I would recommend this book to fans of YA-style heist books. If you want something more complicated with lots of world building like Mistborn, maybe look elsewhere. But if you liked books like The Thieves’ Gambit I think you’ll enjoy this.

This book started well, and I love a heist. However it just didn't hit the spot for me and I found some of it difficult to follow. The characters were good, but didn't feel like they ever reached their potential. Overall I think I enjoyed the book, but probably wouldn't go back to it.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This was the solid start to a new series focused on a very magical book, the Book of Gold.

Lyta is a thief who might have met her match. Her ex, Sylvian, is suddenly back in her life and possibly her only ally in a new and impossible mission to save her brother, Kit. The king wants Lyta and his bodyguard (aka Sylvian) to steal the infamous book of gold from his political rival. The catch is that no one steals from the Duchess but Lyta prides herself on being the best thief and she may just have other plans for breaking in. Not only will she have to work with Syl, she also has to work with some aristocrats whose stakes in the game are not quite clear.

Lyta may be a desperate thief but she has always had the luck of her trickster god, Eninn, on her side. The question is will her luck hold out against impossible odds? And what exactly are the gods? Lyta is brash with a big heart she tries to hide. she's no stranger to betrayal but she still wants to protect those she can. it was very easy to get caught up in her and her Kit's troubles. Kit wants nothing to do with his sister's plots, but after he's imprisoned for standing up for his beliefs he has to work with Lyta if he wants any hope of returning to his normal life.

This is a very intriguing story full of a whole pantheon of gods that are being slowly removed from the world. There is a struggle between the church and the crown, not to mention an additional power play of the gods behind the scenes. There is also something extra about the queen that wasn't quite uncovered and I'm very curious to get to the bottom of that whole ordeal.

Overall I think this was super fun read and I'm really eager to see what happens next in this trilogy.

3.5 stars

Conceptually, The Book of Gold sounds quite interesting. I always enjoy books that are centred around heists and for the most part, I quite liked this. Lyta loves to steal, but she also loves her brother Kit and is willing to do anything for him. After Kit gets arrested, Lyta strikes a bargain with the king to steal the legendary book after which this book itself is title. But for that, she needs to work with others - Ben, a mysterious scholar and her former lover now enemy (kinda) turned royal guard Slyvian.

The cast of characters was the perfect mix of personalities. Lyta is headstrong, a tad bit reckless and willing to rush into danger at any moment. Kit is careful and wary and reluctant, slowly gaining feelings for Ben, the scholar, who himself is a mystery. And then there's Sylvian, a brooding soldier who despises Lyta (or not actually). They mesh together surprisingly well and honestly the scenes with all of them together were so much fun to read.

Although I liked the world building, I would say that it got a little bit confusing at times. I also didn't realise that this was semi-historical fiction/fantasy till waaay too late in the book. While the pacing was pretty good at the start and continued to be so during the planning stages of the heist, it just kind of fizzled out when the actual heist happened. But the writing style was really good and descriptive without feeling like it was going to further drag down the pace. It was quite easy to imagine the locations where the characters were going.

All in all, I did enjoy The Book of Gold and I am looking forward to finding out what happens to these characters in the next book!

3.5 stars rounded up

What happens when a thief, a printer, a scholar, and a royal guard come together in a heist fuelled by the gods? Complete and utter chaos.

The Book of Gold brings adventure, deceit and betrayal, bittersweet romance, magic, and more. However, while the story itself is interesting and full of action, there were a lot of things I found not living up to my expectations.

The world building was probably the biggest gap for me, as it felt like information and atmosphere was introduced when needed rather than woven into the tale naturally. This was especially true for everything relating to magic and the gods. Also, there were a handful of plot holes and not fully developed threads that jumped out at me. My other frustration was how quickly events wrap up and then sweep into the next disaster. I felt like I never had time to adjust to the new circumstances or emotional weight of certain scenes...

That being said, I did find The Book of Gold absorbing. I am curious about the bigger picture with the Church, what is happening with the gods, and how magic is being twisted into a tool for control. There were some really intriguing ideas in this book, and I hope the sequel delivers more on these.

The relationships between the characters are all pretty complicated (and often toxic as well). It makes for a lot of drama and when things work out you can't help but feel relieved for them. The ending was like a punch to the face though and I'll probably pick up book two solely to see how in the world the relationship between Lyta and Syl resolves.

This was a fun concept but overall not very enticing with the worldbuilding and characters. While I liked some aspects of them, the whole plot and story felt dull, I wish it could have been more exciting. The action was good, everything just felt boring nothing really gripped my attention even though the story sounded interesting. I don't think much can be done with the type of world the book was set in other than the heist and magic, it didn't feel fleshed out enough. The stakes weren't real or felt childish. This felt like six of crows lite. I'm giving it a 3 stars because of the romances despite them also lacking prolonged intrigue.

2.5 Stars (outliner)

One Liner: Depends on how much you like the main character
Lyta is a notorious thief but she’ll do anything for her little big brother, Kit.
Kit wants nothing to do with his sister and leads a respectable life until he is arrested on sedition charges for printing a pamphlet in his press.
Lyta makes a bargain with the king to save Kit. She will steal The Book (the one with mysterious magical powers) in exchange for Kit’s life.
Sylvain is a reformed pirate and the king’s bodyguard. He wants nothing to do with Lyta after what she did to him. However, he seems to have no choice but to be with her for this heist.
Things will have to get dangerous before they are sorted.
The story comes in the third-person POVs of Lyta, Kit, and Sylvain Chant.

My Thoughts:
Yep, it’s me, once again falling for a pretty cover and an intriguing premise. This is supposed to be adult fantasy romance even if the main characters act like teens.
The book starts with a list of characters and their roles as well as the list of gods and their domains. Given how the characters are introduced in the first 20%, I’m glad to have this list in advance.
The three POVs (thanks for the third-person narration) give us the story and backstories from different perspectives. This helps since I didn’t (almost) always like the FMC and the other two balanced it out well.
Kit was a pretty decent character. Ben and Beatriz are intriguing (I wanted more of her). The king and queen are mysterious and mercurial. Sylvain was okay too. In fact, I empathized more with him as the plot progressed though I cannot figure out why he loves Lyta. Love is brainless, at least in this case!
Now, what do I say about Lyta? In theory, she is a great character. However, in execution, she is 200% cocky and has 10% substance. I don’t understand why we are hyping the fantasy FMCs only to make them act as if all their brain cells have turned charcoal. She is supposed to be a great thief. Guess what? It’s the opposite. None of her plans and attempts go without a hitch. Worse still, she put herself and others in danger. Also, she is too reckless and impulsive to be a pro-thief. Can anyone tell me why it is such a bad thing to do as someone else says when it is a better plan? Quite a few times, I was reminded of Until We Shatter (and not in a good way).
This is a plot-driven book, which means the characters don’t stay true to their arcs. That affected Lyta the worst. Even her love for her brother, Kit, doesn’t always show her in good light.
However, the plot isn’t executed well either. It is all over the place. In fact, I assumed this was a debut author’s work only to realize the author has written more books in the same genre. Moreover, I read two of her books under the pen name Jessica Throne. I’m surprised! While those books weren’t perfect, they were much better written. Three possible reasons for this:
• The author experimented with something here
• The other publisher had a much better editor
• This is a very early draft
It wasn’t until after 60% that the story started to be gripping. There were many gaps even then, but I could feel the tensions and danger rising. By the way, calling it a ‘heist for the ages’ is silly. It is not; nowhere close.
The world-building is patchy too, though I don’t know if it’ll be better in the coming books. While I like the premise of old gods being targeted by the Church, I also feel authors are using this as a go-to trope but not doing justice to it. I cannot feel the indigenous flavor or the emotion, which rather defeats the purpose. After reading the author’s note at the end, I felt she should have stuck to the original bit instead of bringing in old gods.
It seems fantasy authors like to ‘use’ old gods but have no real respect or understanding of them. Most of them look at it from the same western Abrahamic framework which does not help the cause.
There’s an ending but it is a semi-cliffhanger. Plot-wise I’m tempted to know more, but unfortunately, I do not like Lyta. I mostly won’t continue with the series.

To summarize, The Book of Gold has an intriguing premise but ends up underwhelming due to various reasons. It will work better for readers who like YA fantasy (even if this is an adult book).
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodderscape), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

THE BOOK OF GOLD was such a fun, 16th century inspired heist and state-vs-religion fantasy.

The book is full of references to the state of Europe in the 16th century. The city of Amberes might not be a real city but pretty much every other place named is. The king rules a sprawling empire and is trying to secure his power against a very powerful religious order that wants to impose control over everything. There's this simmering tension that feels one misstep away from outright war the entire time.

But this is not a book about the king and the priestly princes - it is about the more ordinary people caught up in this fight. Lyta is a thief, Kit a printer, and Sylvian a guard who's worked his way up the ranks. These people are treated like pawns in the ruling classes games, but they're not going to be stopped - particularly not Lyta who is a force of nature and refuses to play by courtly rules. I loved her interactions with the king as she just says what she wants and doesn't let etiquette stop her.

There are also gods with agendas and abilities of their own who come slowly more into play the longer the book continues. I really liked the way they turned the story on its head from a typical heist to steal an object (and at least one character, naturally, is lying about their part in it.) They bring magic and an added level of danger to a book already poised on the edge of all out war.

I loved the relationships too. Lyta and Sylvian have a past but have also betrayed and hurt each other before - and haven't seen each other for years. Kit and Ben were very sweet and I liked how the disparity in station was an acknowledged fear for what it meant.

I really would like the second book. I loved the world and characters and unexpectedness of the plot at time and want to see what happens next. This book definitely wraps up the main story started but the world has so many more problems to throw in their path and I want to see how that plays out.

An absolute stunner that I simply could never put down.
SIX OF CROWS meets THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, with just a hint of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC, with a charm and edge that is all Long's own.

I expected to love this book more than I did.
It sounded fantastic. And while it started brilliantly, I soon struggled.
Firstly, I loved the relationship with Lyta and her brother Kit. When he is arrested and she tries to rescue him from the king. I confess, I had to read the interaction between the characters several times, because when the book is mentioned, it is so light and unimportantly referred to, and the proposition Lyta agrees to is not even explicitly discussed. I had to keep rereading, and even did a kindke search for the word 'book' in case I had missed a previous reference. Seeing as the book is clearly important, hence the title, I was baffled and frustrated at how the whole novel is centred around something you barely even read about.
So then I took longer to see the significance in Lyta's story, but I did come to enjoy the book, but the initial annoyance stayed with me.

The story takes place in a fictional European country in the 16th century. This combined with the heist and fantastical elements should have been a hit for me....

I really enjoyed the former lovers turned enemies forced to plan a heist together turned lovers turned enemies again (the drama!) and the idea of gods participating and meddling with the characters and their fate. I am someone who needs to bond with the characters in one way or another (love them or hate them but feel something!!!) and sadly neither of the characters, and there are quite a few, caught my attention and all seemed to be hastily drawn. The book is very much plot driven, and although I obviously enjoy action and twists and turns, during the last 50% of the book it felt a little all over the place and I was slowly loosing interest in what was happening.

The premise of The Book of Gold reminded me a little of Six of Crows, however although the writing was pretty decent, sadly the storytelling, the worldbuilding, the characterisation just didn't do it for me. Even the heist itself was quite uninspiring and not overly complex.

The Book of Gold is published on 28th November. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Blood brings power. Blood binds. Blood is power."

3.5/4 stars!

The Book of Gold is a historical fantasy where a desperate thief will do anything to save her brother, even if she loses her heart along the way. In exchange for her brother's freedom against execution, Lyta makes a deal with the king to steal the infamous Book of Gold, however, she didn't plan for her brother's interference, nor the return of her once lover and best friend as a royal bodyguard, nor did she expect his hatred.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. The amount of drama and push and pull between the characters had me thoroughly entertained throughout, I did not expect half the plot twists that happened... especially the one with Sylvian and the queen (IYKYK). There was a lot of miscommunication between our main characters, and after discovering their heated backstories with one another, it is completely understandable, despite it being utterly frustrating to read as a spectator.

Despite having a ball of a time reading this, I did unfortunately find the ending a little too lacklustre. After having so many revelations throughout, I feel like there could've been a bigger wow factor for the ending. I am still excited to see where the rest of the series will go however, as I loved the character dynamics and would love to return to this world.

If you love historical stories about heists, friends to lovers to enemies, magic, masked balls, bodyguard x thief romance, gods and goddess', then I highly recommend this book!

I enjoy the concept, but I was bored by the lengthy explanations of the world-building, which I thought was a jumble, and the characters lacked significant personalities. Fortunately, the pace was quick, and I was able to finish the book without skipping any pages.

Firstly, the cover design for The Book of Gold is absolutely beautiful and caught my eye immediately.

This is a ripper of a read, zipping through a heist story and a whole lot of other action with little breathing room - the hits keep on coming. There are some terrific villains, interesting grey characters, and some real surprises! I found this highly entertaining and enjoyable, it's pretty easy reading (even if it does occasionally get a bit gruesome) and I was certainly never bored.

The pace of the narrative does mean that the reader doesn't always get to know the characters as well as I might hope - the headline characters are generally well fleshed out and interesting, but there are some very significant secondary characters who I sometimes struggled with their motivation or to understand their behaviour as it didn't feel consistent.

It's a fully formed story which can be read as a standalone but there is a strong teaser at the end for what I assume is the next book - and I really want to know what happens next!

Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author for an ARC, this is my honest opinion.

First of all i’d like to thank the publisher and netgalley for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review

This book had everything I like; heists, courtly dramatics, ex lovers turned enemies, and a meddling trickster god (you can never have enough of those imo). So it’s no wonder I ended up highly enjoying this novel.

Especially the lovers to enemies trope is the one that will always do it for me (and it’s even better when they go back to lovers again). I loved the dynamic between Lyta and Sylvian, and I highkey wanted to bash their heads against each other for just refusing to communicate for all those years (we could’ve avoided some stuff ya know). Only thing that kind of bothered me was the fact that the transition from enemies to lovers felt kinda blurry? Felt like they just went from ‘’hating’’ each other’s guts to diving right back into the sheets

Expect from that I absolutely adored this read. This is one of the few examples where I enjoyed every single pov and didn’t have to force myself through a chapter from a character I couldn’t care less about.

Definitely curious what the sequel will bring us!

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I liked that this was very different than everything else currently on the market. I don’t normally read historical fantasy, but I really enjoyed the re-imagined setting and the world of feral gods and magic.

I wish I’d been a little more invested in the relationships. I normally love a second-chance lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic but neither Lyta nor Sylvian really spoke to me; they fell a bit flat.
I really liked Ben as a character, but his romance with Kit felt quite sudden; no build up. They meet and they’re just very instantly into each other, despite barely knowing each other.

Overall, if you love a re-imagined historical fantasy with a very tense heist; you’re going to love this book!

3.5/5 stars

The Book of Gold is a semi-historical fantasy about the heist of a magical book. When her younger brother Kit is accused of printing seditious pamphlets against the monarchy, Lyta, a notorious thief, bargains with the king for her brother’s life in exchange for stealing back the mysterious and magical Book of Gold. She assembles a crew to do the job and is forced to include Sylvian, her once lover and partner in crime and now captain of the royal guard, who she once betrayed and was betrayed by in return. The monarchy, the church, the criminal underworld and the old gods themselves have a stake in the future of the book, and Lyta and her crew must navigate it all to succeed.

I liked the story, but this could have been better written. I thought there was just some iffy storytelling and multiple plotholes. The central heist wasn’t all that complex either so the build up wasn’t really worth the hype of being called “a heist for the ages” right on the book’s cover. The characterizations were also all over the place with characters changing their positions and attitudes from one page to the next without enough justification or preamble. And let’s not talk about how the characters seem to be unable to share any information with each other whether it be a secret or not. Some things just never come up because they never talk things through. They could fix all their problems if they just laid it all out.

The characters may be in their 20s, but this could have been any YA heist fantasy out there. It just doesn’t come across as adult in the prose, story, nor content. In fact, this reminded me a lot of Six of Crows but just not as well written, with a less interesting heist, and featuring a team that is half full of past betrayals and half new unfamiliar dynamics.

Despite my many critical points above, I did in fact enjoy this book as I am able to ignore most of the issues. I liked Lyta and Sylvian with their history of betrayals (another product of poor communication) and their will-they-or-won’t-they romance that turns into they-sort-of-are-but-aren’t. I’m rooting for them still. Lyta’s love for her estranged brother and Syl’s need to honor promises soften their many flaws. I especially like Kit (and not just for the gay representation) with his complicated relationship with his sister and his attitude towards nobility despite his growing attachment to a nobleman. Told from all three of their perspectives, the story feels well rounded and has something for everyone to latch on to. While it does tell a self contained story, the more personal storylines are still very much in limbo and ripe for exploration in future installments.

The Book of Gold underdelivers, but it offers enough to be ultimately satisfying nonetheless.

*Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC via NetGalley