September 13, 2013

Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

Heist Society (Heist Society, #1)


When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.


Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way



To get it out right away - I didn't love this book and it won't be a raving or ranting review. I was okay wíth the story and the plot, but didn't like the characters and expected a whole other kind of story to begin with.
I think that, my expectations, is always my main problem when I don't like a book. With this one, I expected the kind of storyworld that you fall in love with, that you start to live in, that stays with you for a while. I thought I'd tear through all three books in one sitting, not regret the fact that I bought them in the first place.
As I said, story and plot were okay. Good, even. It was entertaining to watch a couple of teenagers rob  a famous museum, but not the story I craved. It was too easy and too superficial. I wanted a story that got deeper.
I also wasn't a big fan of the characters. They were, in my opinion, pretty shallow and I couldn't relate to any of them. Clearly, the boys weren't swoonworthy enough, either.
I will cut this review short, because there isn't really a lot to say for me. I personally didn't like the book very much. I didn't find it funny or interesting or suspenseful or anything other, really, than a story I didn't care about.

However, and this is really important, it was more of  a "It's not about you" - situation. I know everyone (pretty much) around the blogosphere and in real life loved this book, the whole series, even. It just wasn't up my alley at all, so if you think this might be the perfect book for you, don't let my review hold you back!

4 comments:

  1. I do enjoy Ally Carter's books, including this one. Your review is very good. Don't you just hate it when you expect to like a book and you just can't? I do. Not only do I feel like a traitor to my fellow book lovers, but I used to even feel like I had to question myself. But, then, it feels pretty good to vent when a book fails to live up to our expectations. Keep up the good work!

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  2. Hmm interesting. I have this book and am hoping to read it soon. I don't have high expectations. But then again, I hardly ever believe all the hype and get my expectations up. It's just too painful then even if I would've liked a book I get disappointed.

    :)

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  3. I was really disappointed in Heist Society as well. I read it sometime early in the year and I didn't like it at all. I didn't understand how Hale could be swoonworhty. He was boring, just like Kat. The heist was pretty poor as well. You should watch the movie St. Trinian's- it came out before Heist Society was released and it's wayyyy better story with way better characters. The sequel is pretty good as well.

    Great Review!
    Cheers,
    Savindi

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  4. I'm glad you posted this. When I read "too easy and too superficial. I wanted a story that got deeper" I was nodding my head. This was my first Ally Carter book, and I have read the sequel, just not the third book yet. I thought this one was fun, but a 'light' read - not the sort of story you can sink your teeth into and which won't let you go. Needless to say I haven't tried her GG series yet. :-( And the synopsis just held so much promise! Erg!

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