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

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.