I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

This was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases because the idea of Chinese and Chinese Americans forming a heist team to return stolen Chinese artifacts was an interesting premise. 

Sadly, while the writing was beautiful, the plot fell short. There was so much happening between the heists that could honestly be considered filler. When the heists actually occurred, there was little to no conflict and when there was conflict, it went away just like that. Beyond that, the heists on page were so short. Take out some of the repetitive filler and give us more of the action. So much would happen off of the page that everything felt disjointed - particularly around their time in Stockholm and Paris. 

What is a heist without really conflict?

Just like the title suggests, Portrait of a Thief is a portrait of the five thieves in the way that the reader doesn't learn anything beyond surface level character information that is then repeated throughout the book. So much so that it took my attention away from the book and I lost my interest. 

The biggest downfall was the repetiveness of both the character information as well as the same conflicts happening between the characters. So much of this was repeated when those pages could've been used to give us more heists or even showing the reader the development of the relationships between the characters that we didn't get to see because that happened off page. 

I do think that the relationship between Daniel and his father was done well as well that Li did a great job of explaining the history of the art to a reader that didn't know that background. 

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the Asian American diaspora in this one, so please reach out own voices reviewers for that. 

Respectfully…no.

This was sitting at a solid 2.5 stars until the last few chapters and then this really went of off the rails into something that made me want to throw my phone while walking my dog since I was listening to the audiobook. 

I loved the first two books in the series (both got five stars), but this has got to be the most jumbled disappointment in a series I’ve read in awhile. 

I’m not sure if the ALS/disability rep is the best in here so look at own voices reviews for that. Some things about the rep just didn’t sit well with me. If you know you may be sick, you go to the doctor and take care of yourself. Period. 

I KNEW those symptoms seemed more like something pressing down on a nerve.

I liked Adrian, but man that man was an idiot. The insta friendship to the quickest “I love you” was questionable at best. 

I think Abby may have tried too many things in this one and coincidentally- most of them are probably triggers so those will be below. This resulted in a book that was too long and too jumbled. 

I’m still so excited to read the fourth installment soon. 

TW: ALS, parental abandonment, addiction, hoarding, flight anxiety, disability, alcoholism, dementia, car accident, death of loved ones, and OCD.

Hello new addition to my top books of 2022 👀

It's a bookstagram hyped book that is actually worth the hype!!

I can best describe this has a witchy feminist novel with some badass women putting misogynists in their place with the perfect additions of revenge fantasy and suspense and romance. 

The Change had my attention from the start with a trio of women who develop powers around their menopause. Each woman finds herself growing into her powers will digging into a mystery -who killed the three girls found by the beach?

I've seen some people compare this to The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and I'm not sure I can cosign that comparison since I didn't like that one- but there is women getting revenge to take that as you well. 

This would be a fantastic option as a book to pick up if you're looking to dip your toes into fantasy/magical realism as it's not too heavy. It would also be a perfect book to discuss with your book club. 

If you're looking for the perfect revenge novel after the recent BS - THIS IS IT!!

I aspire to be as badass as Jo, Nessa, and Harriet even if I won't have any of their powers. 

Pick this one up ASAP and discuss with friends.

I know that a lot of people, and even myself, expected that I’d hate this one. Sorry to disappoint!

Only thing I hated was the overuse of the word, ‘sissy’. I’d love to never hear that again. 

All around - a solid debut. I would say that at first it started out very slow paced so whoever said it was fast paced lied. Thankfully, it quickly picked up at part two and kept strong going into part three. It was honestly hard to put down once I got to part two because I was pulled in. 

If you are having trouble with part one, try picking up the audio. That was a huge help to me. I do think that this could have been much shorter as some things seemed just a tiny bit repetitive or over the top for no reason. 

My main complaint besides the slow start would be that I'm really tired of seeing mysteries and thrillers with super smart female characters that repeatedly do stupid things. I know there wouldn't be a plot without the main character doing something stupid, but come on - give the reader something to bite onto. I also would have liked to see some actual lawyer action besides her saying she could be disbarred? 

Overall, I recommend this one if you're looking for a solid debut with a lawyer who has secrets of her own. I can't wait for the sequel for Vera's story. 

P.S - Save yourself some time and don't look at the 1 star reviews. They are mostly DNFs for being too slow (which I understand) or crusty, white people who are mad someone addressed how racist some white people in the south can be and think that this FICTIONAL legal thriller is CRT?