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natashaniezgoda's review
3.0
This was sweet but drawn out.
I love a mature gentlemen's romance (one MMC is in his mid-40s, and the other MMC is in his mid-30s). It's a fun turn from all the 20-something-year-old romances I've been reading.
I loved the prompt, the hint of mischief, the haughty audacity of Vaughn, and the golden-retriever spirit of William. But this could have been 75 pages shorter. It just dragged in the middle.
I love a mature gentlemen's romance (one MMC is in his mid-40s, and the other MMC is in his mid-30s). It's a fun turn from all the 20-something-year-old romances I've been reading.
I loved the prompt, the hint of mischief, the haughty audacity of Vaughn, and the golden-retriever spirit of William. But this could have been 75 pages shorter. It just dragged in the middle.
natashaniezgoda's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
This was sweet but drawn out.
I love a mature gentlemen's romance (one MMC is in his mid-40s, and the other MMC is in his mid-30s). It's a fun turn from all the 20-something-year-old romances I've been reading.
I loved the prompt, the hint of mischief, the haughty audacity of Vaughn, and the golden-retriever spirit of William. But this could have been 75 pages shorter. It just dragged in the middle.
I love a mature gentlemen's romance (one MMC is in his mid-40s, and the other MMC is in his mid-30s). It's a fun turn from all the 20-something-year-old romances I've been reading.
I loved the prompt, the hint of mischief, the haughty audacity of Vaughn, and the golden-retriever spirit of William. But this could have been 75 pages shorter. It just dragged in the middle.
bookish_notes's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't know what to expect from this book. It did take me until about 25% to be fully immersed into this book, but when I did, I really liked the story. I have read books from both Avon Gale and Roan Parrish, so as a writing duo, I'm not surprised that I came to like Heart of the Steal.
Will is a black and white kind of guy. He works with the FBI Art Crimes unit and when he attends a function his twin sister, Charlotte, helped coordinate and plan, he meets Amory Vaughn, the well-to-do, rich, fundraiser guy. It soon becomes evident that Vaughn loves skirting the line between what is legal and that makes Will's job that much harder. Will is attracted to the grey haired, Lucious Malfoy lookalike, but when he might have to arrest Vaughn if he gets caught stealing art worth millions of dollars? That makes Vaughn that much more attractive, and dangerous for Will to get close to.
Heart of the Steal is a much more lighthearted book that I anticipated, given the blurb. I legitimately thought that someone was going to be arrested and all that, but this wasn't that kind of book at all. I tend to go for more angsty stories, so this story skirts barely on the morally ethical questions of an FBI agent and a thief and delivers a happy romance instead. Art was the starting off point to the rest of the story, but doesn't come back up much in the last half of the book and I would have loved to see more of it. One character was introduced, James Novack, and was hinted that we may see more of him later, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Most of the Vaughn Foundation/art storyline was lost in the rest of the book.
Will is used to being the quiet one next to his extroverted twin sister. Their father was a cop, and Will is now an FBI agent. He knows what he could construe to being right and wrong. But when Amory Vaughn enters his life, it complicates what Will has always known.
The chapters alternate in first-person between Will and Vaughn. I highly prefer reading Will's chapters because his voice is much more relatable. Vaughn, on the other hand, borders somewhere between formal British aristocrat and someone who likes saying the cheesiest, sappiest lines. Unfortunately, Vaughn's chapters are a bit too over-the-top for my liking? I'm not a feelings person, so it was hard to connect with Vaughn, even on an emotional level. Vaughn is a conundrum. He's rich, but sweet. He will manipulate everyone around him because he is rich and powerful in society. Vaughn is an interesting character, for sure. I kind of wish he could be fleshed out to be more...I don't know. On the level with Will?
We see that Vaughn has a sweet side, and everything he does is always done with the best intentions, but I found it hard to relate to Vaughn in general. I loved Will. He definitely has his concerns about dating someone who knowingly flirts with the law, and I would have loved the rift between them to be more pronounced, if you will? More ethical questionings of their being together in the first place? They have strong sexual chemistry, but emotionally, I guess it didn't have as big an impact for me.
The book starts off enemies-to-lovers, but quickly turns into just a sweet little romance. There's not much tension to speak of between the two. I loved seeing their interactions with one another and I certainly enjoyed reading about the progression of their relationship, but I can't help but feel like that spark between them wasn't quite like it was in the beginning.
This is a fun, lighthearted book overall. William Fox is a darling, and I enjoyed reading the Heart of the Steal.
***Thanks to Judith at Binge on Books/A Novel Takes PR for providing an ARC as part of a bookstagram tour***
Will is a black and white kind of guy. He works with the FBI Art Crimes unit and when he attends a function his twin sister, Charlotte, helped coordinate and plan, he meets Amory Vaughn, the well-to-do, rich, fundraiser guy. It soon becomes evident that Vaughn loves skirting the line between what is legal and that makes Will's job that much harder. Will is attracted to the grey haired, Lucious Malfoy lookalike, but when he might have to arrest Vaughn if he gets caught stealing art worth millions of dollars? That makes Vaughn that much more attractive, and dangerous for Will to get close to.
Heart of the Steal is a much more lighthearted book that I anticipated, given the blurb. I legitimately thought that someone was going to be arrested and all that, but this wasn't that kind of book at all. I tend to go for more angsty stories, so this story skirts barely on the morally ethical questions of an FBI agent and a thief and delivers a happy romance instead. Art was the starting off point to the rest of the story, but doesn't come back up much in the last half of the book and I would have loved to see more of it. One character was introduced, James Novack, and was hinted that we may see more of him later, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Most of the Vaughn Foundation/art storyline was lost in the rest of the book.
Will is used to being the quiet one next to his extroverted twin sister. Their father was a cop, and Will is now an FBI agent. He knows what he could construe to being right and wrong. But when Amory Vaughn enters his life, it complicates what Will has always known.
It wasn't a compulsion. I could stop any time I wanted, and I never stole from museums or from people who would consider it a true loss. Unless, of course, they deserved it.
The chapters alternate in first-person between Will and Vaughn. I highly prefer reading Will's chapters because his voice is much more relatable. Vaughn, on the other hand, borders somewhere between formal British aristocrat and someone who likes saying the cheesiest, sappiest lines. Unfortunately, Vaughn's chapters are a bit too over-the-top for my liking? I'm not a feelings person, so it was hard to connect with Vaughn, even on an emotional level. Vaughn is a conundrum. He's rich, but sweet. He will manipulate everyone around him because he is rich and powerful in society. Vaughn is an interesting character, for sure. I kind of wish he could be fleshed out to be more...I don't know. On the level with Will?
We see that Vaughn has a sweet side, and everything he does is always done with the best intentions, but I found it hard to relate to Vaughn in general. I loved Will. He definitely has his concerns about dating someone who knowingly flirts with the law, and I would have loved the rift between them to be more pronounced, if you will? More ethical questionings of their being together in the first place? They have strong sexual chemistry, but emotionally, I guess it didn't have as big an impact for me.
"Well, you can't steal me," he said roughly. "And you can't buy me. So you better hope I'm not a work of art, or I doubt you'd know what to do with me."
The book starts off enemies-to-lovers, but quickly turns into just a sweet little romance. There's not much tension to speak of between the two. I loved seeing their interactions with one another and I certainly enjoyed reading about the progression of their relationship, but I can't help but feel like that spark between them wasn't quite like it was in the beginning.
This is a fun, lighthearted book overall. William Fox is a darling, and I enjoyed reading the Heart of the Steal.
***Thanks to Judith at Binge on Books/A Novel Takes PR for providing an ARC as part of a bookstagram tour***
iam's review against another edition
3.0
Well this was a kind of weird reading experience.
Content warnings include: art theft, larceny, sex on-page, homophobia, manipulation, rich people being ridiculously rich and rich'ing around.
The first 40% or so didn't work for me at all. They just felt ridiculous and I couldn't get into this setting at all.
Will, an FBI agent, meets rich philanthropic Vaughn at a fundraiser, where they hook up after talking about a painting. The next day, said painting is in front of Will's apartment together with an invitation from Vaughn. For some reason that is never explained, Will just assumes Vaughn stole the painting and goes to arrest him - without trying to find any proof, despite having spent the previous day witnessing how rich Vaughn is and how everyone at the fundraiser was trying to climb up his a**???? Why didn't he a) even consider that Vaughn might have bought or been gifted the painting and b) try to find any sort of proof???
This already threw me off, but it got worse when Will goes to arrest Vaughn.... just to not actually do it. Instead they hook up again. And I'm sorry, but are you trying to tell me Will, who was 100% convinced he was about to catch a criminal, let himself be distracted on the job because the other guy, who's pretty much a stranger, was hot???? Go quit your fucking job, dude.
It continues along that art-thief and FBI agent forbidden romance thing for a while, and I really wasn't feeling it.
Except then when they decide to actually date it just... shifted completely. The whole art theft thing is more or less forgotten (and really, it wasn't that big of a thing in the first place) and the mood shifts more cozy and domestic romance, with a side of extremely rich and snobbish guy and normal dude trying to find their ground while dating.
There was a certain charm to it, with both characters having their nuances that I ended up liking a lot.
Yet I can't quite get over that beginning, as well as the fact that there were a few threads that were just completely forgotten halfway through. Most of them were tied to side-characters that were mentioned once or twice, just to never appear again in any capacity, which was super weird.
Content warnings include: art theft, larceny, sex on-page, homophobia, manipulation, rich people being ridiculously rich and rich'ing around.
The first 40% or so didn't work for me at all. They just felt ridiculous and I couldn't get into this setting at all.
Will, an FBI agent, meets rich philanthropic Vaughn at a fundraiser, where they hook up after talking about a painting. The next day, said painting is in front of Will's apartment together with an invitation from Vaughn. For some reason that is never explained, Will just assumes Vaughn stole the painting and goes to arrest him - without trying to find any proof, despite having spent the previous day witnessing how rich Vaughn is and how everyone at the fundraiser was trying to climb up his a**???? Why didn't he a) even consider that Vaughn might have bought or been gifted the painting and b) try to find any sort of proof???
This already threw me off, but it got worse when Will goes to arrest Vaughn.... just to not actually do it. Instead they hook up again. And I'm sorry, but are you trying to tell me Will, who was 100% convinced he was about to catch a criminal, let himself be distracted on the job because the other guy, who's pretty much a stranger, was hot???? Go quit your fucking job, dude.
It continues along that art-thief and FBI agent forbidden romance thing for a while, and I really wasn't feeling it.
Except then when they decide to actually date it just... shifted completely. The whole art theft thing is more or less forgotten (and really, it wasn't that big of a thing in the first place) and the mood shifts more cozy and domestic romance, with a side of extremely rich and snobbish guy and normal dude trying to find their ground while dating.
There was a certain charm to it, with both characters having their nuances that I ended up liking a lot.
Yet I can't quite get over that beginning, as well as the fact that there were a few threads that were just completely forgotten halfway through. Most of them were tied to side-characters that were mentioned once or twice, just to never appear again in any capacity, which was super weird.
emjm's review against another edition
3.0
Do you know what happens when you have a story about an FBI agent in the White Collar Crime Division (more specifically, art crimes) and a generationally wealthy southern gentleman who happens to look like Lucius Malfoy and have needlessly sticky fingers when it comes to priceless works of art?
You have a pretty solid winner, if a bit niche, story on your hands. It evoked memories of one of my favorite shows, White Collar, which then evoked images of Matt Bomer, which is always nice. Ironically, Matt's character was both a perpetrator of art crime AND a shill for the FBI, but I feel like this author must have drawn inspiration from that when they created these two characters.
All in all, this was so enjoyable and made me thankful to live in a world where there are thousands a books out in the ether about super-specific people and plots that scratch weird itches in our brains.
You have a pretty solid winner, if a bit niche, story on your hands. It evoked memories of one of my favorite shows, White Collar, which then evoked images of Matt Bomer, which is always nice. Ironically, Matt's character was both a perpetrator of art crime AND a shill for the FBI, but I feel like this author must have drawn inspiration from that when they created these two characters.
All in all, this was so enjoyable and made me thankful to live in a world where there are thousands a books out in the ether about super-specific people and plots that scratch weird itches in our brains.
faustin2nd's review against another edition
4.0
Full review to come one day.
In short: loved it. I like that it's a standalone. I loved the MCs.
In short: loved it. I like that it's a standalone. I loved the MCs.
emmascc's review against another edition
3.0
There were things about this that I really enjoyed and things that I disliked. Half of this book was sex scenes and I wish there had been more plot to make up for it. I felt like we could've got a lot more from the whole art thief vs FBI agent premise than we did. Otherwise, it was a fun and light read.
papercranestitches's review against another edition
3.0
*** 3.5 Stars ***
I liked this one in the moment, but ultimately it wasn't enough of any one thing for me to think that it'll be all that memorable in the long run.
Both authors individually have produced MUCH better stories, but I would totally be willing to read another by this duo.
I liked this one in the moment, but ultimately it wasn't enough of any one thing for me to think that it'll be all that memorable in the long run.
Both authors individually have produced MUCH better stories, but I would totally be willing to read another by this duo.