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

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodderscape and author Ruth Frances Long for this eARC

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Book of Gold. Whats not to love?!
A sister trying to save her little brother through whatever means necessary, a heist, a misfit crew, lovers turned enemies who are forced to work together, an interesting world that blends historical elements with fantasy perfectly, trapped gods who still try to meddle and can't be trusted, complex characters and a great plot with lots of surprises, twists and turns.
The only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that Lyta (and other characters) keep telling the reader what a great thief she is. Yet every time we actually see her thieving something goes terribly wrong...
Still it is an amazing book and I can't wait to see where the story takes us in future books!
4.5 stars

3.25 stars

This should have worked for me. It’s a kind of mix of historical fantasy with a reimagined history circa late 1500s and magic and gods and a heist. But it just didn’t click for me.

The characters, especially Lyta, all took turns being extremely frustrating, secretive, and miscommunicative. I could tell the heist was going to be a disaster from the beginning, and nothing irritates me more than a confident thief who is actually terrible at thieving.
I also usually love a mash up of histfic and fantasy, but the world building being SO heavily steeped in real places, but half renamed and half not just didn’t work for me.

The one thing I did enjoy was the lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers(?) relationship between Lyta and Sylvian. But the end frustrated me there. There will clearly be a series here, and I’m sure their push-pull will be back in full force for future books. I’m just not sure I care to read them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

A fun, fast paced magical, fantasy adventure that pulls you in right off the bat with a heist. The main characters were enjoyable with their own different flaws with plenty of backstory weaving them all together. Was particularly thrilled to see queer characters in the main cast.

A lot of information was presented at the beginning, including backgrounds and character interactions that would've felt more impactful if they were revealed as they were relevant. And there is more showing than telling than what I usually enjoy.

But it was a fun, quick read that kept you on your toes with heist after heist.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I quite liked this one, but I found some of the twists quite obvious and overall I prefer books which focus more on the world-building. But, overall this is a quick easy read and would recommend for those that enjoy YA heist stories with magical twists.

This was such a fun and fast-paced fantasy novel. I was immediately pulled in by the gorgeous cover, but the premise is what really sold me on the story, and it didn’t disappoint.

The Book of Gold follows thief Lyta on her quest to find the Book of Gold. There are meddling gods, complex inter-personal relationships, enemies-to-lovers romance, and so many shenanigans. I loved every minute I spent reading this book! And while the book does end in a satisfying way, I am really hoping there will be a sequel. I would recommend The Book of Gold to fans of fast-paced quest stories like The Stardust Thief or We Hunt the Flame.

I’m thrilled I’ve already preordered a special edition of this book! I cant wait to see what Ruth Frances Long comes out with next.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Book of Gold by Ruth Frances Long is such a fun, fast-paced read! It’s got everything—magic, meddling gods, a heist, and some seriously complicated relationships. The main character, Lyta, is this sharp-witted, daring thief who is trying to save her brother Kit, and their bond really drives the whole plot forward. The story kicks off with her striking a dangerous deal with the king, leading to an intense quest to steal the mysterious Book of Gold. But, of course, things don't go smoothly—there's a secretive scholar, her brother’s well-meaning interference, and the return of Captain Sylvian Chant, Lyta's former lover-turned-enemy. Their tension adds so much depth!

The worldbuilding was one of my favorite parts—it's set in a 16th-century-ish world of book printing, but with gods pulling the strings and magic making everything more chaotic. And the gods? So fickle! They have their own plans, so you’re constantly left wondering who can be trusted.

The book is full of twists and political intrigue, which makes it even more exciting because every choice could backfire. The ending was satisfying but also left the door wide open for more, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with these characters, especially the villains who are sure to stir up even more trouble.

Definitely a solid 4/5, especially for anyone who loves a good heist mixed with magic and complicated, high-stakes relationships!

This book was such a fun read! It had twists and turns, meddling gods who seem like they can be trusted (but they have a few plans of their own). Former lovers turned to enemies that are forced to plan a heist together. And finally an unlikely crew filled with thieves, scholars, printers, a lady and a solider.

I loved the worldbuilding and the incorporation of the gods and magic, the politics made the whole thing more twisty as you never knew how something might go.

There were some true villains and a couple that I think would really show their next colours in the next book.

4.75 ⭐ I was very intrigued when i read the blurb but i didn’t expect to like it as much as i did. The complex characters, their interactions, the plot, the twists, the writing! The only reason it’s not a 5star is because i’m the beginning with all the character names, the god names and places got me confused but after 2-3 chapters is so much easier to read and understand without trouble.
I loved all the characters even the ones that are not supposed to be liked, i couldn’t put it down.
Cannot wait to read more stories and books by this author. .

" A desperate thief. A magical book. And a heist for the ages." was all I need to hear and it not only met my expectations but exceeded them!

The vibes of this book are just immaculate, the found family - SUPERB. The plot with its heists, political intrigue and melding gods - PERFECTION. Honestly everything... LOVED IT.

The Book of Gold was honestly such a fun read, I was hooked from page one by magical books, gods, heists and the found family at its centre, the twists and turns were incredible and honestly, I cannot wait to read more about this world and its characters in the future.

This was a fun and tumultuous fantasy novel. I felt that the writing did more telling than showing, but Lyta was a fun character to follow and I enjoyed her narrative the most.

Sometimes, you know how good a book is by the way the author brings the story to a close. On that basis Ruth Frances Long has written an excellent fantasy book. The start and the middle are brilliant too. The fictional setting is the 16th century world of European book printing. If that sounds boring, you would be wrong. This is action packed fantasy at its best, with plenty of wit and romance to balance the hitting of heads.. What do we have? 1. A thief, a brother, and a childhood friend now soldier, whose pasts are complicated. 2. A twisting tale involving magic, and fickle squabbling Gods. Can you trust them? Mmm, maybe, maybe not. 3. Self serving villainy that cannot be allowed to go unpunished. But I think the best bit about the ending of this complete story, is that the author says there is more to come from Lyra, Kit, Syl and their new friends because it would seem the villains haven’t all gone away and The Feral Gods have many more reasons to play - play probably means deal out more retribution. So I’m looking forward to more story beginnings, middles and excellent endings. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.