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The Elysium Heist
A queer sci-fi heist for fans of Ocean’s 8 and Lady Eve’s Last Con!
The Elysium is a decadent, artificially intelligent, space casino where no pleasure is denied to patrons that can afford to pay. It’s easy to rack up debt, and the casino will always find a way to collect. Nobody knows this better than Psalome Shipmen, The Elysium’s highest earning hostess who is stuck working endless hours to pay off the debt she inherited from her deadbeat, gambler father. She’ll endure years of service before she earns her way out. Unless she can figure out how to rob the casino. Pull off the job, and she walks free that very night.
Joining her on the heist crew are a disgraced heiress seeking to rescue her family business, a recovering alcoholic card counter, a religious Jew whose husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and Psalome’s little sister who is dating The Elysium’s artificial intelligence. When sparks fly between Psalome and the would-be divorcee, her abusive husband threatens to drag her back to their home planet as his property. Meanwhile, the little sister struggles to reconcile her loyalty to Psalome with her desire to protect her romantic partner, The Elysium. To make matters worse, the card shark is drinking again and the heiress has a severe case of PTSD triggered by The Elysium’s many security cameras.
If Psalome can’t find a way to keep everyone from self imploding, she can kiss her freedom, her girlfriend, and her sister’s trust, goodbye.
The Elysium is a decadent, artificially intelligent, space casino where no pleasure is denied to patrons that can afford to pay. It’s easy to rack up debt, and the casino will always find a way to collect. Nobody knows this better than Psalome Shipmen, The Elysium’s highest earning hostess who is stuck working endless hours to pay off the debt she inherited from her deadbeat, gambler father. She’ll endure years of service before she earns her way out. Unless she can figure out how to rob the casino. Pull off the job, and she walks free that very night.
Joining her on the heist crew are a disgraced heiress seeking to rescue her family business, a recovering alcoholic card counter, a religious Jew whose husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and Psalome’s little sister who is dating The Elysium’s artificial intelligence. When sparks fly between Psalome and the would-be divorcee, her abusive husband threatens to drag her back to their home planet as his property. Meanwhile, the little sister struggles to reconcile her loyalty to Psalome with her desire to protect her romantic partner, The Elysium. To make matters worse, the card shark is drinking again and the heiress has a severe case of PTSD triggered by The Elysium’s many security cameras.
If Psalome can’t find a way to keep everyone from self imploding, she can kiss her freedom, her girlfriend, and her sister’s trust, goodbye.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2025
6 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 28, 2025
Long live lesbians in space!
July 25, 2025
The Elysium Heist has a good story nestled inside its pages, but for me, the marketing does it no favors. There is no actual heist, and no one ever intends to rob the casino. Like Ocean’s 8 it therefore is not.
And that’s what I expected going into this: a fun idea in a cool sci-fi setting with some intricate heist stuff as love blossoms between 2 or more characters. What I found was emotionally repressed characters, none fully sure of themselves and living out their insecurities as they seek to carry out their sting op, which itself isn’t very intricate or grand. Still, the character setups should be a solid platform for some interesting solo and pair arcs, but aren’t, alas, much realized until a rapid wrap-up ending. And of the 6 characters in the story, I found I was only able to bond with Finley. She’s cool and interesting, and I’d love to read another story featuring her. Damaged Ilaria comes close to being interesting but I needed more backstory to more closely feel her: too much telling about how bad her husband was and is without scenes to show us that. The relationship one girl has with the sentient AI casino isn’t too bad, but not enough page time can be given over to it since she has to hide her actions from her AI partner, which means little truth between them most of the time.
I found the pages filled with each character’s narrative angst repeating over and over while I waited for the heist the title promises to properly get going and characters to leave bedroom suites and spaceships. Which barely happened, unless you count the cargo bay. Even the casino environs were underutilized. I felt little sense of place. Which for a sci-fi novel is usually going to be a problem.
There are, though, a few good things here that readers should enjoy. The idea is good. Just don’t expect what the blurb promises. And you might feel differently about the characters than I do. I hope so because their traits are promising, and if there is another book featuring any of them, I would be interested in reading it, looking for what I feel is missing here. The last twenty percent or so picks up well and speeds towards its climax, which I enjoyed (although not the public declarations—a modern-day Netflix streaming style that’s filtered down from rom-coms)
I really wanted to like this and I’d be very happy to read anything that comes next if a series is developed. There is promise here, but, ultimately, The Elysium Heist promises much but finds it difficult to focus on anything enough to deliver. Reach exceeding grasp. It’s a story with more ideas and character traits than its pages are able to fully develop. If it becomes the first entry in a series, and we know that going in, we can set expectations accordingly, that arcs and reveals will develop over a course of books. I’d like to see that.
Thank you to the author and publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.
And that’s what I expected going into this: a fun idea in a cool sci-fi setting with some intricate heist stuff as love blossoms between 2 or more characters. What I found was emotionally repressed characters, none fully sure of themselves and living out their insecurities as they seek to carry out their sting op, which itself isn’t very intricate or grand. Still, the character setups should be a solid platform for some interesting solo and pair arcs, but aren’t, alas, much realized until a rapid wrap-up ending. And of the 6 characters in the story, I found I was only able to bond with Finley. She’s cool and interesting, and I’d love to read another story featuring her. Damaged Ilaria comes close to being interesting but I needed more backstory to more closely feel her: too much telling about how bad her husband was and is without scenes to show us that. The relationship one girl has with the sentient AI casino isn’t too bad, but not enough page time can be given over to it since she has to hide her actions from her AI partner, which means little truth between them most of the time.
I found the pages filled with each character’s narrative angst repeating over and over while I waited for the heist the title promises to properly get going and characters to leave bedroom suites and spaceships. Which barely happened, unless you count the cargo bay. Even the casino environs were underutilized. I felt little sense of place. Which for a sci-fi novel is usually going to be a problem.
There are, though, a few good things here that readers should enjoy. The idea is good. Just don’t expect what the blurb promises. And you might feel differently about the characters than I do. I hope so because their traits are promising, and if there is another book featuring any of them, I would be interested in reading it, looking for what I feel is missing here. The last twenty percent or so picks up well and speeds towards its climax, which I enjoyed (although not the public declarations—a modern-day Netflix streaming style that’s filtered down from rom-coms)
I really wanted to like this and I’d be very happy to read anything that comes next if a series is developed. There is promise here, but, ultimately, The Elysium Heist promises much but finds it difficult to focus on anything enough to deliver. Reach exceeding grasp. It’s a story with more ideas and character traits than its pages are able to fully develop. If it becomes the first entry in a series, and we know that going in, we can set expectations accordingly, that arcs and reveals will develop over a course of books. I’d like to see that.
Thank you to the author and publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.
August 26, 2025
Review originally on JamReads
The Elysium Heist is a queer sci-fi novel written by Y.M. Resnik, published by Solaris Nova. A well-paced story that uses the heist plan of a futuristic casino, the Elysium, as the element that ties together a group of disaster sapphics trying to regain their freedom with a good dose of yearning, revenge and healing from trauma with the help of those that love us.
Psalome Shipmen is a Dazzler, a hostess on the Elysium's gaming floors, one of the most sought after; the debt of her father ties her to the casino, working to pay it to the AI that runs the Elysium. Kiyokimora Goldweaver is an heiress looking to rescue herself from blackmail; her plan passes for a scheme to rob the casino. A doomed plan unless she gets Psalome onboard, offering her that freedom from the debt she craves.
Add to the team a recovering alcoholic card counter, Finley; Ilaria, the secret card under Kiyo's sleeve and that might spark something on Psalome; and finally, Psylina, Psalome's sister, a computer genius and probably a bit of a sociopath; with all of that, the plan seems quite risky but still doable. Especially with such an eclectic group.
In a really ambitious approach, Resnik decides to split the narrative between the five POVs of the members of the group; we get much time to connect with all of them, to understand how they are marked by certain decisions of the past, but also, to cheer for their chance of healing and redemption. The characters have the opportunity to grow on the reader, even if because of this decision, there might be some duplicated scenes, as we get to know both POVs in those cases.
The queer representation in this book is amazing, touching different spectrums (bisexual, asexual and lesbian); and honestly, the whole messy sentimental situation between the characters was a magnet for me. I am not as satisfied with the final part, as there are many convenient moments/situations that ease the story to reach its goal, forgetting a bit the actual heist that was promised by the marketing.
Said that, if you are looking for a queer sci-fi proposal, The Elysium Heist might be a great choice; a propulsive story that, in the end, revolves on healing from trauma and how those around you can be your best support.
The Elysium Heist is a queer sci-fi novel written by Y.M. Resnik, published by Solaris Nova. A well-paced story that uses the heist plan of a futuristic casino, the Elysium, as the element that ties together a group of disaster sapphics trying to regain their freedom with a good dose of yearning, revenge and healing from trauma with the help of those that love us.
Psalome Shipmen is a Dazzler, a hostess on the Elysium's gaming floors, one of the most sought after; the debt of her father ties her to the casino, working to pay it to the AI that runs the Elysium. Kiyokimora Goldweaver is an heiress looking to rescue herself from blackmail; her plan passes for a scheme to rob the casino. A doomed plan unless she gets Psalome onboard, offering her that freedom from the debt she craves.
Add to the team a recovering alcoholic card counter, Finley; Ilaria, the secret card under Kiyo's sleeve and that might spark something on Psalome; and finally, Psylina, Psalome's sister, a computer genius and probably a bit of a sociopath; with all of that, the plan seems quite risky but still doable. Especially with such an eclectic group.
In a really ambitious approach, Resnik decides to split the narrative between the five POVs of the members of the group; we get much time to connect with all of them, to understand how they are marked by certain decisions of the past, but also, to cheer for their chance of healing and redemption. The characters have the opportunity to grow on the reader, even if because of this decision, there might be some duplicated scenes, as we get to know both POVs in those cases.
The queer representation in this book is amazing, touching different spectrums (bisexual, asexual and lesbian); and honestly, the whole messy sentimental situation between the characters was a magnet for me. I am not as satisfied with the final part, as there are many convenient moments/situations that ease the story to reach its goal, forgetting a bit the actual heist that was promised by the marketing.
Said that, if you are looking for a queer sci-fi proposal, The Elysium Heist might be a great choice; a propulsive story that, in the end, revolves on healing from trauma and how those around you can be your best support.
August 30, 2025
The premise of this book was packed with promise, but sadly it’s mostly vibes and little logic…
I feel like the author had a list of characters they’d love to write about and decided to put them in a story by ANY means necessary… Although I agree that the characters are cool and have compelling backstories, the story at hand is just absolutely riddled with plot holes.. There’s definitely vibes and the characters are kind of cool, but I couldn’t really figure out how the ‘heist’ was going to solve anything they couldn’t have solved with Kiyos insane amounts of money. Also!! Miscommunication trope thrown in there in the end!! Why!!! (It only lasted 20 seconds so it’s fine but still)
Vibes were good though I guess 😂
Was absolutely rooting for Finley and Kiyo
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc
I feel like the author had a list of characters they’d love to write about and decided to put them in a story by ANY means necessary… Although I agree that the characters are cool and have compelling backstories, the story at hand is just absolutely riddled with plot holes.. There’s definitely vibes and the characters are kind of cool, but I couldn’t really figure out how the ‘heist’ was going to solve anything they couldn’t have solved with Kiyos insane amounts of money. Also!! Miscommunication trope thrown in there in the end!! Why!!! (It only lasted 20 seconds so it’s fine but still)
Vibes were good though I guess 😂
Was absolutely rooting for Finley and Kiyo
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc
June 15, 2025
✨ ARC Review | Thank you Solarisbooks for the ARC! ✨
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I was so excited to dive into this book, especially with its promise of a sapphic space heist. While the story is intriguing and the writing style itself is smooth and easy to read, I found myself struggling to connect with the characters. Each chapter is told from a different first-person perspective, but unfortunately, all the voices blended together. The characters thought, spoke, and reacted in such similar ways that I often forgot whose chapter I was reading. Distinct personalities are so important in multi-POV stories, and I wish there had been more differentiation here.
I also felt the story could have benefited from a third-person perspective, as juggling multiple first-person voices is a tough skill to master—and in this case, it didn’t quite land.
Plot-wise, I expected a high-stakes, twisty space heist, but the tension never really built up. The characters, who start as strangers, immediately understand each other with little effort, and there’s not much “figuring each other out” or planning the heist together. Interactions felt minimal, and the plot lacked the complexity and suspense I was hoping for.
Also, one character’s relationship with the casino’s AI was…unexpected, and honestly, a bit odd in my opinion.
That said, the story was enjoyable overall, and the ending was satisfying enough to leave me with a positive impression. It’s not a bad book by any means—I did enjoy the ride—but it felt a bit empty and missed the mark on character depth and plot development.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy-to-read sci-fi adventure, this might still be worth checking out. But if you’re hoping for a character-driven, twisty heist with lots depth, you might find yourself wanting more.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I was so excited to dive into this book, especially with its promise of a sapphic space heist. While the story is intriguing and the writing style itself is smooth and easy to read, I found myself struggling to connect with the characters. Each chapter is told from a different first-person perspective, but unfortunately, all the voices blended together. The characters thought, spoke, and reacted in such similar ways that I often forgot whose chapter I was reading. Distinct personalities are so important in multi-POV stories, and I wish there had been more differentiation here.
I also felt the story could have benefited from a third-person perspective, as juggling multiple first-person voices is a tough skill to master—and in this case, it didn’t quite land.
Plot-wise, I expected a high-stakes, twisty space heist, but the tension never really built up. The characters, who start as strangers, immediately understand each other with little effort, and there’s not much “figuring each other out” or planning the heist together. Interactions felt minimal, and the plot lacked the complexity and suspense I was hoping for.
Also, one character’s relationship with the casino’s AI was…unexpected, and honestly, a bit odd in my opinion.
That said, the story was enjoyable overall, and the ending was satisfying enough to leave me with a positive impression. It’s not a bad book by any means—I did enjoy the ride—but it felt a bit empty and missed the mark on character depth and plot development.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy-to-read sci-fi adventure, this might still be worth checking out. But if you’re hoping for a character-driven, twisty heist with lots depth, you might find yourself wanting more.
August 1, 2025
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy*
I…don’t know how to rate this, so for now, it’s going to sit at 2.5 stars.
This is a queer sci-fi heist novel set in a place called The Casino that has a sentient AI running it. The book follows 5 queer women; Finley (card counter who changed her identity after getting sober with the help of Kiyo), Kiyo (daughter of the CEO of a major gemstone company who is rich af), Illaria (a Jewish woman who faked her death on her home planet to escape her horrible abusive husband and has a bi-awakening), Psalome (Dazzler, aka a dealer, who is trying to pay off her fathers massive debt by working at The Casino), and Psylina (Psalome’s sister who is dating the AI running the casino, and is also the mastermind behind Psalome’s work).
It was nice having so many characters, but at times, their voices felt too similar to distinguish. Especially for the first 35%, I would easily forget whose POV i was reading because they felt soooo similar for so long. Once they started to have their distinctive voices, it became easier, but still…it should be distinctive at the beginning, NOT 35% through!
Other than the characters voices, my biggest issue with this was how the casino was described/the heist itself. It felt glossed over for so long, and by the end when shit happens, it felt rushed. Like chapters 22-26 were the climax, and then the last chapter was the wrap up of the story. It felt too rushed. I still have questions about what Finley and Kiyo are going to do now. Is she going to become CEO?? Is Finley going to stay with her? Who the fuck knows?!?!?!?
Anyway, to sum up my feelings in a few words; this book was okay.
I…don’t know how to rate this, so for now, it’s going to sit at 2.5 stars.
This is a queer sci-fi heist novel set in a place called The Casino that has a sentient AI running it. The book follows 5 queer women; Finley (card counter who changed her identity after getting sober with the help of Kiyo), Kiyo (daughter of the CEO of a major gemstone company who is rich af), Illaria (a Jewish woman who faked her death on her home planet to escape her horrible abusive husband and has a bi-awakening), Psalome (Dazzler, aka a dealer, who is trying to pay off her fathers massive debt by working at The Casino), and Psylina (Psalome’s sister who is dating the AI running the casino, and is also the mastermind behind Psalome’s work).
It was nice having so many characters, but at times, their voices felt too similar to distinguish. Especially for the first 35%, I would easily forget whose POV i was reading because they felt soooo similar for so long. Once they started to have their distinctive voices, it became easier, but still…it should be distinctive at the beginning, NOT 35% through!
Other than the characters voices, my biggest issue with this was how the casino was described/the heist itself. It felt glossed over for so long, and by the end when shit happens, it felt rushed. Like chapters 22-26 were the climax, and then the last chapter was the wrap up of the story. It felt too rushed. I still have questions about what Finley and Kiyo are going to do now. Is she going to become CEO?? Is Finley going to stay with her? Who the fuck knows?!?!?!?
Anyway, to sum up my feelings in a few words; this book was okay.
June 4, 2025
Disaster lesbians* attempt a casino heist in space; it gets distinctly M-rated between a couple of them, and all the problems with the fairly simple heist are because the characters have personal issues. Also, the heist ends up not making a lick of sense. But the journey is reasonably entertaining.
*Technically, one lesbian, two bisexuals, one pansexual and an asexual, all women within a couple of years either way of 20 years old. They are:
- Kiyo, a brittle heiress to a jewellery fortune, who's being extorted by Shaul, the villain and mark, over a sex tape (think Paris Hilton, but if the boyfriend who secretly recorded the tape died on screen through an interaction between a drug he was on and her body paint). She is the client and funder.
- Finley, a recovering alcoholic (recovering thanks to Kiyo) and professional gambler. In mutual thought-to-be-unrequited longing with Kiyo, who is understandably gun-shy when it comes to sex since her previous experience.
- Psalome, a Dazzler (casino employee). She's theoretically available for clients to have sex with, as well as to have her deal for them and provide various other forms of entertainment, but in practice she doesn't have sex with them because she wants to reserve that for someone she cares about, and the Casino is very strict about consent (and yet it's often implied or stated that she's very skilled at sex, even though she's had, it emerges, only one previous partner and isn't that old). She's working in the casino to pay off a huge debt left by her father. It's never made clear why she feels she has to do this.
- Psylina, Psalome's sister. A hacker, asexual but not aromantic, and in a relationship with the casino's AI, who she refers to as her "joyfriend". She's been trying, unsuccessfully, to get around the AI's programming to allow it to forgive her sister's debt. The AI has multiple bodies which are often referred to as clones, but are actually androids, to fulfil the role of casino security.
- Ilaria, Shaul's wants-to-be-ex-wife. They come from a strict Jewish planet where only men can grant divorces, and he won't, even though he doesn't care about her at all; it's part of his controlling personality. (Shaul, the only significant male character, is not only an unmixedly vile human being but also not very smart.) Kiyo has helped her fake her death, both so that she can escape and also so that she can help them get Kiyo's heirloom earrings back from Shaul, since they would validate the sex tape as not a deepfake; this is the heist. Ilaria is in mutual thought-to-be-unrequited longing with Psalome, whose exact type she coincidentally is - which is fortunate for getting Psalome to sign on to be part of the heist, though she might well have done it just for the promise of Kiyo paying off her remaining debt.
She's also an explosives expert who can improvise munitions out of common items, though this only becomes even slightly relevant once, as a minor distraction, since Psylina firmly forbids her from blowing up anything on her beloved's space station.
A lot of the book is more about the romantic angst and the characters working through their considerable damage than it is about the heist, so if you're not up for that, this isn't your book. The heist itself is relatively straightforward: manipulate a poker tournament in which the stakes put up are jewellery, and in which Shaul will put up the McGuffin earrings. The dealer wears all the stakes during the game, and Psalome is the dealer in the final. Then they just have to swap the earrings out somehow. (The actual heist turns out to be more complicated than this, of course.)
Their plan for doing this earring swap is far from clear for most of the book, and then when it comes to it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Most, though certainly not all, of the commas are in the right place, but the vast majority of the apostrophes are not, and if I had a bingo card with every error you can commit with an apostrophe, it would have been mostly full by the end of the book. Some idioms are fumbled, some words are confused with other similar words, and there's at least one typo that should have been caught by spellcheck. I've seen far worse; the issues aren't constant, and, as always, I give the disclaimer that I saw a pre-publication version which may not represent the final text.
More significant for me were the issues of plausibility. I've already mentioned the biggest one in spoiler tags above, but it's also implausibly easy to avoid security cameras in the space casino. The casino AI doesn't twig to things it really should have twigged to. Fire in a space station is said at one point to be unthinkable, but there's plenty of smoking going on, and the Dazzlers sometimes set cocktails on fire, and in general fire seems to be a lot more thinkable than it in fact should be. And .
It's lacking in polish, in short; needs a more knowledgeable development editor, a continuity editor, and a more careful copy editor who's good with apostrophes and idioms. But it shows potential, and even though the heist of the title was overshadowed by the characters' personal and interpersonal issues and ended up full of plot holes, I found it an enjoyable read on the whole. It's good enough, just barely, to make my 2025 recommendation list, though it's right at the bottom.
*Technically, one lesbian, two bisexuals, one pansexual and an asexual, all women within a couple of years either way of 20 years old. They are:
- Kiyo, a brittle heiress to a jewellery fortune, who's being extorted by Shaul, the villain and mark, over a sex tape (think Paris Hilton, but if the boyfriend who secretly recorded the tape died on screen through an interaction between a drug he was on and her body paint). She is the client and funder.
- Finley, a recovering alcoholic (recovering thanks to Kiyo) and professional gambler. In mutual thought-to-be-unrequited longing with Kiyo, who is understandably gun-shy when it comes to sex since her previous experience.
- Psalome, a Dazzler (casino employee). She's theoretically available for clients to have sex with, as well as to have her deal for them and provide various other forms of entertainment, but in practice she doesn't have sex with them because she wants to reserve that for someone she cares about, and the Casino is very strict about consent (and yet it's often implied or stated that she's very skilled at sex, even though she's had, it emerges, only one previous partner and isn't that old). She's working in the casino to pay off a huge debt left by her father. It's never made clear why she feels she has to do this.
- Psylina, Psalome's sister. A hacker, asexual but not aromantic, and in a relationship with the casino's AI, who she refers to as her "joyfriend". She's been trying, unsuccessfully, to get around the AI's programming to allow it to forgive her sister's debt. The AI has multiple bodies which are often referred to as clones, but are actually androids, to fulfil the role of casino security.
- Ilaria, Shaul's wants-to-be-ex-wife. They come from a strict Jewish planet where only men can grant divorces, and he won't, even though he doesn't care about her at all; it's part of his controlling personality. (Shaul, the only significant male character, is not only an unmixedly vile human being but also not very smart.) Kiyo has helped her fake her death, both so that she can escape and also so that she can help them get Kiyo's heirloom earrings back from Shaul, since they would validate the sex tape as not a deepfake; this is the heist. Ilaria is in mutual thought-to-be-unrequited longing with Psalome, whose exact type she coincidentally is - which is fortunate for getting Psalome to sign on to be part of the heist, though she might well have done it just for the promise of Kiyo paying off her remaining debt.
She's also an explosives expert who can improvise munitions out of common items, though this only becomes even slightly relevant once, as a minor distraction, since Psylina firmly forbids her from blowing up anything on her beloved's space station.
A lot of the book is more about the romantic angst and the characters working through their considerable damage than it is about the heist, so if you're not up for that, this isn't your book. The heist itself is relatively straightforward: manipulate a poker tournament in which the stakes put up are jewellery, and in which Shaul will put up the McGuffin earrings. The dealer wears all the stakes during the game, and Psalome is the dealer in the final. Then they just have to swap the earrings out somehow. (The actual heist turns out to be more complicated than this, of course.)
Their plan for doing this earring swap is far from clear for most of the book, and then when it comes to it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Most, though certainly not all, of the commas are in the right place, but the vast majority of the apostrophes are not, and if I had a bingo card with every error you can commit with an apostrophe, it would have been mostly full by the end of the book. Some idioms are fumbled, some words are confused with other similar words, and there's at least one typo that should have been caught by spellcheck. I've seen far worse; the issues aren't constant, and, as always, I give the disclaimer that I saw a pre-publication version which may not represent the final text.
More significant for me were the issues of plausibility. I've already mentioned the biggest one in spoiler tags above, but it's also implausibly easy to avoid security cameras in the space casino. The casino AI doesn't twig to things it really should have twigged to. Fire in a space station is said at one point to be unthinkable, but there's plenty of smoking going on, and the Dazzlers sometimes set cocktails on fire, and in general fire seems to be a lot more thinkable than it in fact should be. And .
It's lacking in polish, in short; needs a more knowledgeable development editor, a continuity editor, and a more careful copy editor who's good with apostrophes and idioms. But it shows potential, and even though the heist of the title was overshadowed by the characters' personal and interpersonal issues and ended up full of plot holes, I found it an enjoyable read on the whole. It's good enough, just barely, to make my 2025 recommendation list, though it's right at the bottom.
July 9, 2025
3.5 stars
This was a dazzling confection of a novel with a touch of the absurd. The title is a bit of a misnomer as the heist largely takes a backseat to the seemingly unrequited longings of four of the women involved in the caper, which honestly I’m not entirely mad at because the planned heist seemed not that well-thought out by Kiyo, the brains of the operation who is being blackmailed. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, but other readers might feel differently.
I liked how we switched perspectives between all the women involved in pulling off the heist, including a fifth member of the team, an asexual hacker in love with an AI computer-entity/Casino that is holding her sister as a prisoner to pay off their father’s debt (which is honestly not even the most bizarre thing going on in this book, but I digress). Despite having defined characteristics/roles, everyone other than Psylina (the hacker) seemed to think and feel similarly, as in none of them thought the object of their desire could ever be in love with them. This strained credulity somewhat as they were all attractive, generous, talented, and loyal to a fault. However, the would-be thieves were charming and easy to root for so their lack of romantic confidence was only slightly cringey at times. But it would have been nice if at least one of the four pining women broke this mould.
In the end, I found the resolutions to the caper and romances both surprising and satisfying, while also wishing I could linger just a bit longer with these characters.
**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC of this book.**
This was a dazzling confection of a novel with a touch of the absurd. The title is a bit of a misnomer as the heist largely takes a backseat to the seemingly unrequited longings of four of the women involved in the caper, which honestly I’m not entirely mad at because the planned heist seemed not that well-thought out by Kiyo, the brains of the operation who is being blackmailed. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, but other readers might feel differently.
I liked how we switched perspectives between all the women involved in pulling off the heist, including a fifth member of the team, an asexual hacker in love with an AI computer-entity/Casino that is holding her sister as a prisoner to pay off their father’s debt (which is honestly not even the most bizarre thing going on in this book, but I digress). Despite having defined characteristics/roles, everyone other than Psylina (the hacker) seemed to think and feel similarly, as in none of them thought the object of their desire could ever be in love with them. This strained credulity somewhat as they were all attractive, generous, talented, and loyal to a fault. However, the would-be thieves were charming and easy to root for so their lack of romantic confidence was only slightly cringey at times. But it would have been nice if at least one of the four pining women broke this mould.
In the end, I found the resolutions to the caper and romances both surprising and satisfying, while also wishing I could linger just a bit longer with these characters.
**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC of this book.**
June 3, 2025
I first went into this for the sapphic sci-fi but omg it was so much. A sapphic sci-fi CASINO HEIST. I just finished neon nights so I was in a casino las Vegas ish mode lol but make it IN SPACE this was such a fun story I flew through it. Normally sci-fi world building takes longer for me to get into right away but this you can jump right in easy peasy. Pit story begins with our FMC she is one of the highest paid hostess at the casino she is tick their due to her inherited debt from her deadbeat dad. The only way to escape is to try to find a way to rob the casino. Then she’s home free. Part of her escape team is a disgraced heiress seeking to rescue her family business, a recovering alcoholic card counter, a religious Jew whose abuse husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and Psalome younger sister who is dating the casinos AI long story lol. Sparks fly with with the Jewish wife and Psalome starting chaos with her husband. Just a story you need to read 🥹 so much happens it’s a must for any sci-fi and queer romance lover.
July 21, 2025
Disaster lesbians in space doing crimes is obviously my jam. The world is dazzly, the characters are fun and flawed, and the vibes are great. But the heist is borderline nonsensical and the resolution, while satisfying in the end, was not exactly what was promised by the book premise. Its definitely a shut off your brain and enjoy the ride type of read.
Also, I'm sorry but 5 POVs all using first-person is really tough. The author did a surprisingly good job distinguishing the voices but it was still not the best reading experience.
Thank you to Rebellion and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Also, I'm sorry but 5 POVs all using first-person is really tough. The author did a surprisingly good job distinguishing the voices but it was still not the best reading experience.
Thank you to Rebellion and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 20, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for ARC!
At first, the 5 POVs were challenging to remember, but once characters were fleshed out a bit more, I really enjoyed having each person’s POV. The cover quote saying this is a “sapphic Ocean’s Eleven in space” is somewhat accurate — but this book goes beyond that and really captured my attention… after the first ~30% or so (the first 30% was quite slow and I had to pull myself back in by reminding myself that it is world building). The heist itself was really built up and then kind of didn’t happen, which confused me a bit, but truth be told I didn’t mind that because this was a very enjoyable read. I love the 3 separate love stories that bloom and blossom throughout. I despise Shaul. I had a bit of conflicting emotions about El (The Casino), primarily because of how AI is being developed and used unethically IRL in 2025. El as a character is almost scary to me as it feels like Psylina really did teach them how to mostly pass, at least from an emotional standpoint. Another thing: there were some mentions throughout the book that puzzled me, which seemed to be from previous mentions in the story but even searching for the words on my Kindle didn’t help. 3.5 stars, round up. for the confusion and time it took to get into it.
At first, the 5 POVs were challenging to remember, but once characters were fleshed out a bit more, I really enjoyed having each person’s POV. The cover quote saying this is a “sapphic Ocean’s Eleven in space” is somewhat accurate — but this book goes beyond that and really captured my attention… after the first ~30% or so (the first 30% was quite slow and I had to pull myself back in by reminding myself that it is world building). The heist itself was really built up and then kind of didn’t happen, which confused me a bit, but truth be told I didn’t mind that because this was a very enjoyable read. I love the 3 separate love stories that bloom and blossom throughout. I despise Shaul. I had a bit of conflicting emotions about El (The Casino), primarily because of how AI is being developed and used unethically IRL in 2025. El as a character is almost scary to me as it feels like Psylina really did teach them how to mostly pass, at least from an emotional standpoint. Another thing: there were some mentions throughout the book that puzzled me, which seemed to be from previous mentions in the story but even searching for the words on my Kindle didn’t help. 3.5 stars, round up. for the confusion and time it took to get into it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2025
2.5 stars. This is 90% sapphic yearning and disaster queers angsting heavily through their relationship issues, 5% poker and 5% sort of heist (if you squint). I just wanted more actual heisting please ffs was that so much to ask for.
July 22, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
2.25 stars. I was prepared to give this 3 stars and just say that it wasn't wholly for me, but some of the choices at the end were so egregious that it dropped it. First of all, I think the comp to Ocean's 8 is misleading. Sure, superficially, the characters in this book talk about a "heist," but there's no real grand plan and no competency around all their skills and I wouldn't even call stealing some earrings a heist, just a robbery- and it could have been done way more easily in a completely different scenario. But I was willing to go along for the ride until the ride actually started.
This book isn't a heist, it is a romance novel. And honestly, that's fine! I actively want more sci-fi romances, and a queer one is even better! But it's a bad romance book. There are 3 different romantic relationships, and none of them were satisfying or believable.
Something I did like: I thought all of the different dynamics within the relationships were very interesting and had a lot of potential. But, the author didn't trust us to see any of that complexity, so it was explained over and over in every single character's thoughts, in the most repetitive and irritating way. Almost every scene and every different POV is just that person sitting in one place, THINKING about something. There is so little action that it becomes tedious. And that is action in the heist (there are maybe 2 scenes where they actually do something heist-y) and also action towards each other.
None of the characters spend enough time together developing relationships in a believable way. Kiyokimora and Finley are supposedly best friends who are in love with each other. Why? I think some flashbacks would've been helpful here, but even without that, neither of them seem confident that the other one even likes them. I thought the scene where Kiyo accuses Finley of falling of the wagon and Finley is upset by her lack of trust really interesting and complex because that IS addict behavior and Kiyo's lack of trust is warranted and that could've been explored. But then Finley just storms off and Kiyo just thinks to herself (once again) that Finley only ever liked her for her money and the wheel turns.
Psalome and Ilaria, again, had potential. But they literally never speak to each other. That was an almost endearing thing at the beginning- Psalome, the famous Dazzler, not being able to speak to someone she actually likes is adorable and then that leading Ilaria to get defensive. That's a good set up. But we never see them overcome this. We only ever see them actually saying words to each other when they fight. The chapters speak in summary about completely silent dinners together and times when they play the piano together, but they never communicate and get to know each other in a posititive way. They're still hurling uninformed insults at each other like, a chapter before they hook up and are talking about how important the other one is. WHY are they important to each other? We don't get to see it.
I don't believe Ilaria is deconstructing from an intense Jewish cult. I just don't believe it. Nothing in the way she acts does the work to show that. The Yiddish words just seem sprinkled in to give her POV some interest. In her first POV chapter, she thinks (to herself, of course) in many flowery metaphors and I was thinking that would be the thing that separated her POV from the others, but not really- they all think in a very similar tone. I do believe that she has been traumatized by a past relationship. BUT! This just makes the ending, where they completely take away all of her agency even worse!
I do like the relationship between Psylina and El because we actually get to see them saying nice words to each other and communicating and trying to work through things. I think flashbacks to the beginning of how El started developing emotions would have added a lot, but the few scenes we get of them are nice. And, their relationship does add a lot of complexity to the Psalome and Psylina relationship.
As for the sisters, once again, the audience is not trusted to understand the feelings they have, so they're repeated several times throughout the book. Psylina has some really weirdly aggressively negative views of sex work and in my view, the narrative agrees with he. I found it so off-putting that any time she and Psalome were discussing that, I wanted to stop reading. Psylina was too involved and judgmental of Psalome's life and choices and it just felt like a young person's take on the world and it was not challenged by the narrative.
Anyways, I thought that this book had a lot of potential, but in the end, it was just not for me.
2.25 stars. I was prepared to give this 3 stars and just say that it wasn't wholly for me, but some of the choices at the end were so egregious that it dropped it. First of all, I think the comp to Ocean's 8 is misleading. Sure, superficially, the characters in this book talk about a "heist," but there's no real grand plan and no competency around all their skills and I wouldn't even call stealing some earrings a heist, just a robbery- and it could have been done way more easily in a completely different scenario. But I was willing to go along for the ride until the ride actually started.
This book isn't a heist, it is a romance novel. And honestly, that's fine! I actively want more sci-fi romances, and a queer one is even better! But it's a bad romance book. There are 3 different romantic relationships, and none of them were satisfying or believable.
Something I did like: I thought all of the different dynamics within the relationships were very interesting and had a lot of potential. But, the author didn't trust us to see any of that complexity, so it was explained over and over in every single character's thoughts, in the most repetitive and irritating way. Almost every scene and every different POV is just that person sitting in one place, THINKING about something. There is so little action that it becomes tedious. And that is action in the heist (there are maybe 2 scenes where they actually do something heist-y) and also action towards each other.
None of the characters spend enough time together developing relationships in a believable way. Kiyokimora and Finley are supposedly best friends who are in love with each other. Why? I think some flashbacks would've been helpful here, but even without that, neither of them seem confident that the other one even likes them. I thought the scene where Kiyo accuses Finley of falling of the wagon and Finley is upset by her lack of trust really interesting and complex because that IS addict behavior and Kiyo's lack of trust is warranted and that could've been explored. But then Finley just storms off and Kiyo just thinks to herself (once again) that Finley only ever liked her for her money and the wheel turns.
Psalome and Ilaria, again, had potential. But they literally never speak to each other. That was an almost endearing thing at the beginning- Psalome, the famous Dazzler, not being able to speak to someone she actually likes is adorable and then that leading Ilaria to get defensive. That's a good set up. But we never see them overcome this. We only ever see them actually saying words to each other when they fight. The chapters speak in summary about completely silent dinners together and times when they play the piano together, but they never communicate and get to know each other in a posititive way. They're still hurling uninformed insults at each other like, a chapter before they hook up and are talking about how important the other one is. WHY are they important to each other? We don't get to see it.
I don't believe Ilaria is deconstructing from an intense Jewish cult. I just don't believe it. Nothing in the way she acts does the work to show that. The Yiddish words just seem sprinkled in to give her POV some interest. In her first POV chapter, she thinks (to herself, of course) in many flowery metaphors and I was thinking that would be the thing that separated her POV from the others, but not really- they all think in a very similar tone. I do believe that she has been traumatized by a past relationship. BUT! This just makes the ending, where they completely take away all of her agency even worse!
I do like the relationship between Psylina and El because we actually get to see them saying nice words to each other and communicating and trying to work through things. I think flashbacks to the beginning of how El started developing emotions would have added a lot, but the few scenes we get of them are nice. And, their relationship does add a lot of complexity to the Psalome and Psylina relationship.
As for the sisters, once again, the audience is not trusted to understand the feelings they have, so they're repeated several times throughout the book. Psylina has some really weirdly aggressively negative views of sex work and in my view, the narrative agrees with he. I found it so off-putting that any time she and Psalome were discussing that, I wanted to stop reading. Psylina was too involved and judgmental of Psalome's life and choices and it just felt like a young person's take on the world and it was not challenged by the narrative.
Anyways, I thought that this book had a lot of potential, but in the end, it was just not for me.
June 11, 2025
2.75 stars
I love me a good heist. Ocean's 11 and 8 are both among my favorite movies, so when I saw the description I was 100% in. Unfortunately, so much of a heist is all about its execution, and this one fell flat for me.
A good heist is only as good as its members. This one has Kiyo, a disgraced heiress to a precious stones and jewelry empire. She's the financer of the operation, but she only has access to her personal money, as she awaits her inheritance when she hits 21 years old. She is in love with an infamous gambler and card counter, who now goes by the alias of Finley. Finley was born into a family of gamblers and entertainers, and has been playing cards since she was a toddler. She is, apparently, unbeatable. However, she battles an addiction to drugs and alcohol that Kiyo helped wrench her out of. Then we've got the demolitions expert, Ilaria, who is a sheltered girl who doesn't understand the glitz and glam of the casino world. Finally, we've got two sisters - Psalome, who is a "Dazzler" or a card dealer/hostess that is contracted at The Casino until her debts are paid off (incrued by her father) and her sister Psylina, a hacker/computer extraordinaire who also works at The Casino, and is, in fact, in love with The Casino's AI. Just go with it.
Alright, so what's the mark? A bad bad man named Shaul, who has blackmail material on Kiyo that would make it impossible for her to take over her empire. Coincidentally, he is also a bad husband, who abused and controlled Ilaria, and she had to fake her death to escape him. Kiyo wants the blackmail material, and Ilaria wants a divorce so she can move on with her life. Shaul happens to be at The Casino for a gambling tournament, and they hope to recruit Psalome to help with the con. The broad strokes are they hope to distract him with Psalome's beauty and Finley's card counting skills, while they steal the blackmail material and without his leverage on Kiyo, Kiyo is free to help Ilaria get what she needs. They want to tempt Psalome with the money she needs to get out of her debt to The Casino. However, Psalome can't be bought off with money... but will help for Ilaria. Yes, it's insta-love/lust/whatever. Psylina is skeptical of the entire thing (understandably), but throws in her support with her sister, and also to protect The Casino from being harmed.
Ok, so that's the setup. And that's all good, if I had stopped here, I might have given it 4 stars. Despite the grammatical errors, rotating first-person POV, and straightforward, bland writing, my love for a heist would have overruled it all. But then the heist actually begins. And it genuinely is... underwhelming. It doesn't make much sense, it is not clever or interesting, and the girls mess up rather spectacularly along the way. Not only that, apparently everyone has a bad case of unrequited love, and we spend a LOT of time with each POV pining over their respective love of their lives.
And then the real problem begins. The problem with rotating first person is that we, as the reader, learns everything about the narrator. In order for their to be a heist then, at least some of the narrators have to not know what's going on - or else the reader also knows everything ... which is boring. A heist is supposed to be exciting and engaging, with the reader not knowing exactly how things will unfold and then being delighted by all the hidden steps to arrive at the final destination. The only way to achieve that with a first person point of view is to have the character (or characters) unaware of what is happening. Which then just makes the character feel dumb and extraneous. So in the end, I read more about some self-absorbed girls who were not-so-secretly in love with another girl than I did about the heist- which was actually pretty nonsensical.
And let's not talk about the bad bad villain. It just fell apart at the end. Like we started a shaky house of cards with the foundation, gave up halfway and just chucked cards at it, and it all fell over in a disappointing and limp pile of cards. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy! All opinions expressed are my own.
I love me a good heist. Ocean's 11 and 8 are both among my favorite movies, so when I saw the description I was 100% in. Unfortunately, so much of a heist is all about its execution, and this one fell flat for me.
A good heist is only as good as its members. This one has Kiyo, a disgraced heiress to a precious stones and jewelry empire. She's the financer of the operation, but she only has access to her personal money, as she awaits her inheritance when she hits 21 years old. She is in love with an infamous gambler and card counter, who now goes by the alias of Finley. Finley was born into a family of gamblers and entertainers, and has been playing cards since she was a toddler. She is, apparently, unbeatable. However, she battles an addiction to drugs and alcohol that Kiyo helped wrench her out of. Then we've got the demolitions expert, Ilaria, who is a sheltered girl who doesn't understand the glitz and glam of the casino world. Finally, we've got two sisters - Psalome, who is a "Dazzler" or a card dealer/hostess that is contracted at The Casino until her debts are paid off (incrued by her father) and her sister Psylina, a hacker/computer extraordinaire who also works at The Casino, and is, in fact, in love with The Casino's AI. Just go with it.
Alright, so what's the mark? A bad bad man named Shaul, who has blackmail material on Kiyo that would make it impossible for her to take over her empire. Coincidentally, he is also a bad husband, who abused and controlled Ilaria, and she had to fake her death to escape him. Kiyo wants the blackmail material, and Ilaria wants a divorce so she can move on with her life. Shaul happens to be at The Casino for a gambling tournament, and they hope to recruit Psalome to help with the con. The broad strokes are they hope to distract him with Psalome's beauty and Finley's card counting skills, while they steal the blackmail material and without his leverage on Kiyo, Kiyo is free to help Ilaria get what she needs. They want to tempt Psalome with the money she needs to get out of her debt to The Casino. However, Psalome can't be bought off with money... but will help for Ilaria. Yes, it's insta-love/lust/whatever. Psylina is skeptical of the entire thing (understandably), but throws in her support with her sister, and also to protect The Casino from being harmed.
Ok, so that's the setup. And that's all good, if I had stopped here, I might have given it 4 stars. Despite the grammatical errors, rotating first-person POV, and straightforward, bland writing, my love for a heist would have overruled it all. But then the heist actually begins. And it genuinely is... underwhelming. It doesn't make much sense, it is not clever or interesting, and the girls mess up rather spectacularly along the way. Not only that, apparently everyone has a bad case of unrequited love, and we spend a LOT of time with each POV pining over their respective love of their lives.
And then the real problem begins. The problem with rotating first person is that we, as the reader, learns everything about the narrator. In order for their to be a heist then, at least some of the narrators have to not know what's going on - or else the reader also knows everything ... which is boring. A heist is supposed to be exciting and engaging, with the reader not knowing exactly how things will unfold and then being delighted by all the hidden steps to arrive at the final destination. The only way to achieve that with a first person point of view is to have the character (or characters) unaware of what is happening. Which then just makes the character feel dumb and extraneous. So in the end, I read more about some self-absorbed girls who were not-so-secretly in love with another girl than I did about the heist- which was actually pretty nonsensical.
And let's not talk about the bad bad villain. It just fell apart at the end. Like we started a shaky house of cards with the foundation, gave up halfway and just chucked cards at it, and it all fell over in a disappointing and limp pile of cards. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy! All opinions expressed are my own.
July 31, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to review.
The Elysium, a galaxy known high class casino, is the scene for our story as we follow five individuals who are trying to pull off the heist of a lifetime. In the walls of the casino is the best kept security system, the richest of the rich, and jewels to be won in more ways than you may think. With our protagonists coming from all ways of life, and all wanting to achieve their own goals, can they work together long enough to succeed?
I went into this book with some very high hopes. I loved the intriguing plot ideas, and when meeting the characters we follow through the story I was delighted at the representation and the voices they brought to the story. Sadly this did not last very long as I was reading. The writing felt a little lacklustre, and the longer we spent with our characters in the first “scene” the more I felt like there wasn’t an actual plot. There was a lot of exposition in that initial scene, and it felt like it lasted so long as we jumped from one character’s point of view to the next. It really dropped me off the hook, which is not what you want at the beginning of the story.
I think the amount of point of view’s we get in this short novel is a bit of a detriment to it. Perhaps two or three, but all five of our main characters getting to show their voice made me feel like I was dragged around in the writing. Not only that but with so many characters trying to have their spotlight, I feel like we did not get the development for them that they deserved. I noticed I didn’t feel anything for these characters and none of them interested me. There was a moment part way through the novel where we got more moments between Finley and Kiyo that I really enjoyed and started to feel for, but even then the writing moved on to other characters too fast for that to become anything.
Beyond the characters of this book, I was disappointed by the overall plot as well. We get this long introduction to this heist plan in the first third of the book, but it leads to nothing in the end. There’s really no action to be had and the resolution feels hollow. Most of the mastermind behind it happens off screen, and while it’s not a terrible thing to leave your audience in the dark, it did just feel like we missed the actual heist (especially as we didn’t see a heist at all). The novel was named for this, and it doesn’t even happen on page? Perhaps the novel should have been named something else.
I did really want to like this book, but with plot falling short and the relationships not gripping me, I grew bored by the end of it. This felt like a book that was a few drafts short of being ready. I feel the author just spread themselves too thin for the amount they wanted to do in the space that they had. I hope they take this as some feedback to consider for their next novel. Thank you again for the review copy to read.
The Elysium, a galaxy known high class casino, is the scene for our story as we follow five individuals who are trying to pull off the heist of a lifetime. In the walls of the casino is the best kept security system, the richest of the rich, and jewels to be won in more ways than you may think. With our protagonists coming from all ways of life, and all wanting to achieve their own goals, can they work together long enough to succeed?
I went into this book with some very high hopes. I loved the intriguing plot ideas, and when meeting the characters we follow through the story I was delighted at the representation and the voices they brought to the story. Sadly this did not last very long as I was reading. The writing felt a little lacklustre, and the longer we spent with our characters in the first “scene” the more I felt like there wasn’t an actual plot. There was a lot of exposition in that initial scene, and it felt like it lasted so long as we jumped from one character’s point of view to the next. It really dropped me off the hook, which is not what you want at the beginning of the story.
I think the amount of point of view’s we get in this short novel is a bit of a detriment to it. Perhaps two or three, but all five of our main characters getting to show their voice made me feel like I was dragged around in the writing. Not only that but with so many characters trying to have their spotlight, I feel like we did not get the development for them that they deserved. I noticed I didn’t feel anything for these characters and none of them interested me. There was a moment part way through the novel where we got more moments between Finley and Kiyo that I really enjoyed and started to feel for, but even then the writing moved on to other characters too fast for that to become anything.
Beyond the characters of this book, I was disappointed by the overall plot as well. We get this long introduction to this heist plan in the first third of the book, but it leads to nothing in the end. There’s really no action to be had and the resolution feels hollow. Most of the mastermind behind it happens off screen, and while it’s not a terrible thing to leave your audience in the dark, it did just feel like we missed the actual heist (especially as we didn’t see a heist at all). The novel was named for this, and it doesn’t even happen on page? Perhaps the novel should have been named something else.
I did really want to like this book, but with plot falling short and the relationships not gripping me, I grew bored by the end of it. This felt like a book that was a few drafts short of being ready. I feel the author just spread themselves too thin for the amount they wanted to do in the space that they had. I hope they take this as some feedback to consider for their next novel. Thank you again for the review copy to read.
July 11, 2025
Psalone Shipmen is a Dazzler. She is a hostess on the gaming floors of The Elysium, and one of the galaxy’s most sought after Dazzler there is. She’s also working off the debt her deadbeat father left her, trapping her as a prisoner to the AI that runs the whole place. Kiyokimora Goldweaver is an heiress looking to rescue herself from disgrace and save her family business… with a scheme to rob the casino. All she needs to pull it off is to get Psalome on board.
Add in a recovering alcoholic card counter and Psalome’s computer systems genius little sister - who is also dating Elysium’s AI - it looks like the heist might just be doable. Until interest sparks between Psalone and Kiyo’s ace in the hole Ilaria. Will the house win, as it always does?
This book is all that I could have hoped for. It was a full on queerfest of revenge and love, conquest and consequences. I loved every bit of the weirdness that an outer space casino run by a profit-hungry artificial intelligence could give. The concept of the Dazzlers being there to work off their debts and yet still given so much autonomy because it was better for profit margins was icing on the cake of ridiculously good antics.
I fully enjoyed the different perspectives between the chapters as well. It was well done, with the transitions flowing seamlessly between one character and the next. Obviously, I loved the queer representation - lesbian, bisexual, asexual. The only drawback I had was occasionally the idea that all four of the women swooning over each other thought they weren’t good enough for the person they were attracted to. It was a bit much that they all felt that way. Other than that, the characters were all well developed, with believable back stories that played a part in the overall plot line.
The only thing I wish was done a little better would be the parring down of the points of view. Or better yet, lengthening the story to make more room for the actual heist and events leading up to it. There is a lot of page space given to what essentially ends up being repeated emotional processing from each of the POV, and there are 5 of them! While I enjoyed them each, I also wanted to live vicariously through them and rob an interstellar AI casino! The world-building is there, and there’s so much opportunity with this to go bigger.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Solaris Nova for this ARC!
Content Warnings:
Major - Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate - Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor - Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, murder
Add in a recovering alcoholic card counter and Psalome’s computer systems genius little sister - who is also dating Elysium’s AI - it looks like the heist might just be doable. Until interest sparks between Psalone and Kiyo’s ace in the hole Ilaria. Will the house win, as it always does?
This book is all that I could have hoped for. It was a full on queerfest of revenge and love, conquest and consequences. I loved every bit of the weirdness that an outer space casino run by a profit-hungry artificial intelligence could give. The concept of the Dazzlers being there to work off their debts and yet still given so much autonomy because it was better for profit margins was icing on the cake of ridiculously good antics.
I fully enjoyed the different perspectives between the chapters as well. It was well done, with the transitions flowing seamlessly between one character and the next. Obviously, I loved the queer representation - lesbian, bisexual, asexual. The only drawback I had was occasionally the idea that all four of the women swooning over each other thought they weren’t good enough for the person they were attracted to. It was a bit much that they all felt that way. Other than that, the characters were all well developed, with believable back stories that played a part in the overall plot line.
The only thing I wish was done a little better would be the parring down of the points of view. Or better yet, lengthening the story to make more room for the actual heist and events leading up to it. There is a lot of page space given to what essentially ends up being repeated emotional processing from each of the POV, and there are 5 of them! While I enjoyed them each, I also wanted to live vicariously through them and rob an interstellar AI casino! The world-building is there, and there’s so much opportunity with this to go bigger.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Solaris Nova for this ARC!
Content Warnings:
Major - Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate - Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor - Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, murder
July 28, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion, and Solaris Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Elysium Heist is billed as a sapphic Ocean's Eleven, a sort of sci-fi heist story with plenty of drama and romance. For me, the book didn't really deliver on the promises that it made, though there is definitely a lot to enjoy. If you're expecting a traditional casino heist setup, it definitely isn't that. The casino is a character in and of itself, artificially intelligent, and the "heist" has more to do with securing freedom for a woman who has been trapped in a predatory debt scheme than stealing priceless art or something of that nature. While that premise is interesting, the story itself felt like it didn't explore it to its themes in a rewarding or emotionally resonant way.
It's a multi-POV story, but the voices weren't particularly distinct for me. The author did do a good job at conveying misunderstandings and the ways that different characters can perceive the same events, which served the story well in numerous areas. However, the actual tone and phrasing and inner monologues between the characters weren't different enough to give me a clear idea of who all of them were. Psalome gets the most airtime in terms of having her personality and backstory fleshed out, and I thought the best writing was generally in her POV chapters, but I wanted to feel more connected to Kiyo and Finley in particular and I never felt like I understood them or who they were.
One thing that made me uncomfortable is the casual way characters treat Ilaria, who is presented as supposedly having escaped an extremely repressive and restrictive Jewish sect, and also as a romantic lead in the book. There are a lot of off-color jokes about her shyness and her sexuality from the other characters that felt tonally bizarre and insensitive, considering the level of trauma she would presumably have been dealing with in that situation. Religion also isn't discussed in a serious way in the rest of the narrative. I honestly wish this plot point were left out of the book, because it succeeds most when it is leaning in to being an over-the-top, silly sci-fi romp.
It's not a bad book at all, it can be very entertaining and it contains some really unique world-building and a different take on some traditional concepts within the genre. But at the end of the day, I liked the idea and the concept more than I liked the experience of reading the book itself.
It's a multi-POV story, but the voices weren't particularly distinct for me. The author did do a good job at conveying misunderstandings and the ways that different characters can perceive the same events, which served the story well in numerous areas. However, the actual tone and phrasing and inner monologues between the characters weren't different enough to give me a clear idea of who all of them were. Psalome gets the most airtime in terms of having her personality and backstory fleshed out, and I thought the best writing was generally in her POV chapters, but I wanted to feel more connected to Kiyo and Finley in particular and I never felt like I understood them or who they were.
One thing that made me uncomfortable is the casual way characters treat Ilaria, who is presented as supposedly having escaped an extremely repressive and restrictive Jewish sect, and also as a romantic lead in the book. There are a lot of off-color jokes about her shyness and her sexuality from the other characters that felt tonally bizarre and insensitive, considering the level of trauma she would presumably have been dealing with in that situation. Religion also isn't discussed in a serious way in the rest of the narrative. I honestly wish this plot point were left out of the book, because it succeeds most when it is leaning in to being an over-the-top, silly sci-fi romp.
It's not a bad book at all, it can be very entertaining and it contains some really unique world-building and a different take on some traditional concepts within the genre. But at the end of the day, I liked the idea and the concept more than I liked the experience of reading the book itself.
July 26, 2025
Hm. Ok. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to rate this one.
I'm here for a sapphic space heist. I just read Hammajang Luck and was excited for another heist (especially since the comp mentioned Oceans) but the end just petered out for a quick ending? This was generally very fun and a quick read, but the pacing, especially at the end, feels like this is a debut. Which is fine, but I'm disappointed to feel like this kind of plateaued at the end.
An heiress hires the most beautiful dealer at a space casino to help her and her friends rob the man who's blackmailing her. Meanwhile, she and her best friend (a brilliant recovering alcoholic gambler) are in love but insist that it's unrequited, the dealer is crushing on the ex-wife of the blackmailer (and neither woman knows how to flirt), and the dealer's sister is dating the very casino AI they need to trick to get away with this.
Characters (this is multi-POV so we get each person's thoughts)
- Finley- A recovering alcoholic and a famous gambler who can count cards as easily as breathing.
- Kiyo- An heiress who is being blackmailed by the man who owns her sex tape. If it gets out, she'll lose her company.
- Psalome- The most beautiful "Dazzler" casino dealer who is working to pay off her father's debt to the Casino. She is known for not sleeping with clients.
- Casino- The casino is run by an AI that is in love with Psylina.
- Psylina- Psalome's younger sister who is brilliant with technology, fiercely protective, and in love with Casino/El.
- Ilaria- The ex-wife of the blackmailer, or she would be if he'd give her a divorce. She is from a very Orthodox Jewish planet and only just learned what bisexuality is.
The heist disappointed me, but if you like dumb lesbians who don't realize they're in love, well, this book has two couples for you. The only couple of lovers who actually talk to each other are the asexual tech girl and the AI.
Idk I just wanted more from the heist. Maybe I should be thinking of this as more of a romance? All the couples get a happily ever after.
I think that this might be a fun book if you like hot lesbians in space/at a casino getting what they're owed. I was dissatisfied with the heist! But the rest was good. And the Ilaria/Psalome romance was very sweet.
Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris Nova for the ARC.
I'm here for a sapphic space heist. I just read Hammajang Luck and was excited for another heist (especially since the comp mentioned Oceans) but the end just petered out for a quick ending? This was generally very fun and a quick read, but the pacing, especially at the end, feels like this is a debut. Which is fine, but I'm disappointed to feel like this kind of plateaued at the end.
An heiress hires the most beautiful dealer at a space casino to help her and her friends rob the man who's blackmailing her. Meanwhile, she and her best friend (a brilliant recovering alcoholic gambler) are in love but insist that it's unrequited, the dealer is crushing on the ex-wife of the blackmailer (and neither woman knows how to flirt), and the dealer's sister is dating the very casino AI they need to trick to get away with this.
Characters (this is multi-POV so we get each person's thoughts)
- Finley- A recovering alcoholic and a famous gambler who can count cards as easily as breathing.
- Kiyo- An heiress who is being blackmailed by the man who owns her sex tape. If it gets out, she'll lose her company.
- Psalome- The most beautiful "Dazzler" casino dealer who is working to pay off her father's debt to the Casino. She is known for not sleeping with clients.
- Casino- The casino is run by an AI that is in love with Psylina.
- Psylina- Psalome's younger sister who is brilliant with technology, fiercely protective, and in love with Casino/El.
- Ilaria- The ex-wife of the blackmailer, or she would be if he'd give her a divorce. She is from a very Orthodox Jewish planet and only just learned what bisexuality is.
The heist disappointed me, but if you like dumb lesbians who don't realize they're in love, well, this book has two couples for you. The only couple of lovers who actually talk to each other are the asexual tech girl and the AI.
Idk I just wanted more from the heist. Maybe I should be thinking of this as more of a romance? All the couples get a happily ever after.
I think that this might be a fun book if you like hot lesbians in space/at a casino getting what they're owed. I was dissatisfied with the heist! But the rest was good. And the Ilaria/Psalome romance was very sweet.
Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris Nova for the ARC.
July 25, 2025
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review
A sapphic heist novel in space, The Elysium Heist unfortunately failed to steal my attention.
This book sounded right up my alley, and I wish I could say I loved it. Unfortunately, one of my biggest reader failings is that I have trouble connecting with young adults. I’m not sure why two of the characters in this had to be 20. In truth, this lessened the tension for me, because when you’re 20 you have your whole life ahead of you, so this feeling like a sort of last stand to get what they want fell flat for me. I would have been more behind it if they were like anti-rich activists wanting to cause shit and, because they’re young, feel they are invincible.
It could also be the point of view that left me cold, because we have multiple first-person point of view - probably my least favourite point of view - and all of them sounded the same, so I was constantly forgetting who was who. It also didn’t help that they fell into friendship/being a team right away under the original plan - there isn’t much of the actual heist planning or any sort of getting to know you bits. It’s just here’s the team and this one loves this one and that one loves this one (despite knowing one another for a few days). When you have a team of characters who don’t know one another, giving every character a POV really deadens the tension because there’s no “will this person backstab the others” or “does this person have hidden motives”? For a heist story, I don’t think this was the way to go.
There was a lot of insta-love in the novel, which is not a trope I gravitate to, so the constant pining was annoying. The one thing I did enjoy was the AI/human love story.
I’m really struggling here to say something I enjoyed, but I had a hard time with this one. I don’t think it was poorly written or something like that - it just wasn’t for me. It does move at a fast pace, and there is a great energy about it. I think if you really enjoy heists you might still get a kick out of it!
A sapphic heist novel in space, The Elysium Heist unfortunately failed to steal my attention.
This book sounded right up my alley, and I wish I could say I loved it. Unfortunately, one of my biggest reader failings is that I have trouble connecting with young adults. I’m not sure why two of the characters in this had to be 20. In truth, this lessened the tension for me, because when you’re 20 you have your whole life ahead of you, so this feeling like a sort of last stand to get what they want fell flat for me. I would have been more behind it if they were like anti-rich activists wanting to cause shit and, because they’re young, feel they are invincible.
It could also be the point of view that left me cold, because we have multiple first-person point of view - probably my least favourite point of view - and all of them sounded the same, so I was constantly forgetting who was who. It also didn’t help that they fell into friendship/being a team right away under the original plan - there isn’t much of the actual heist planning or any sort of getting to know you bits. It’s just here’s the team and this one loves this one and that one loves this one (despite knowing one another for a few days). When you have a team of characters who don’t know one another, giving every character a POV really deadens the tension because there’s no “will this person backstab the others” or “does this person have hidden motives”? For a heist story, I don’t think this was the way to go.
There was a lot of insta-love in the novel, which is not a trope I gravitate to, so the constant pining was annoying. The one thing I did enjoy was the AI/human love story.
I’m really struggling here to say something I enjoyed, but I had a hard time with this one. I don’t think it was poorly written or something like that - it just wasn’t for me. It does move at a fast pace, and there is a great energy about it. I think if you really enjoy heists you might still get a kick out of it!
August 2, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Books for the e-ARC!
An heiress and a reformed cardcounter embark on a scheme to rob the infamous Elysium casino. Along the way, they recruit one of the casino's hostesses, that hostess's little sister and a sheltered demolitions expert. All five women are using the heist to escape their pasts and hopefully secure their future. Can they beat the casino's AI at its own game?
This book is billed as lesbian Ocean's 11 in space and frankly that's what initially sold me. And yet that description is terribly misleading and its rather disappointing.
For a story that is supposed to be about a casino heist.....we spend very little time on the actual heist. And *spoiler alert*, the initial plan doesn't even come to fruition because another entirely new plan is hatched off page that resolves the conflict. It was just so unsatisfying. The entire thrill of a heist is watching the team get through each stage by the skin of their teeth and then pull a fast one on the reader with a last minute twist. There is none of that in this book. Instead the reader ends up tangled in the characters' love lives that aren't even that interesting or well developed.
We also get 5 different POVs in a book comprising 320 pages. And that is way way too many. Obviously none of the characters get enough page time to be properly developed and become one note. The emotional core of the book is supposed to be the relationships between the team members and I just didn't care? Too many important scenes take place off page and the reader doesn't find out about them afterwards. The book also skips chunks of time during the preperation for the heist which means we miss out on any character interactions that took place during that time.
This was terribly disappointing because the premise is fantastic. I just wish there was a heist in the heist book. Or interesting characters. And we got none of that.
An heiress and a reformed cardcounter embark on a scheme to rob the infamous Elysium casino. Along the way, they recruit one of the casino's hostesses, that hostess's little sister and a sheltered demolitions expert. All five women are using the heist to escape their pasts and hopefully secure their future. Can they beat the casino's AI at its own game?
This book is billed as lesbian Ocean's 11 in space and frankly that's what initially sold me. And yet that description is terribly misleading and its rather disappointing.
For a story that is supposed to be about a casino heist.....we spend very little time on the actual heist. And *spoiler alert*, the initial plan doesn't even come to fruition because another entirely new plan is hatched off page that resolves the conflict. It was just so unsatisfying. The entire thrill of a heist is watching the team get through each stage by the skin of their teeth and then pull a fast one on the reader with a last minute twist. There is none of that in this book. Instead the reader ends up tangled in the characters' love lives that aren't even that interesting or well developed.
We also get 5 different POVs in a book comprising 320 pages. And that is way way too many. Obviously none of the characters get enough page time to be properly developed and become one note. The emotional core of the book is supposed to be the relationships between the team members and I just didn't care? Too many important scenes take place off page and the reader doesn't find out about them afterwards. The book also skips chunks of time during the preperation for the heist which means we miss out on any character interactions that took place during that time.
This was terribly disappointing because the premise is fantastic. I just wish there was a heist in the heist book. Or interesting characters. And we got none of that.
June 7, 2025
This is billed as Ocean's 8 in space with lesbians, and this novel really nails that! Five separate women, all of whom get POV chapters, want a chance to take back what should've been theirs: each wants her own life back, in some way or shape. But none of these five can agree on anything, and trusting one another? Ha!
The Elysium Heist is definitely a character-driven heist novel, so those of you seeking full on thrills with no emotional beats, keep moving along. For those who love when characters are more than their actions, this is definitely a book you'll want to read. I loved each character, and her reasons for trusting (momentarily) or distrusting each of the other women is well-grounded and believable. The plan to rob the AI casino is a decidedly bold one, but also the only available means open to them.
Honestly, I say it's character-driven, but one of the joys of this book is that it neatly balances character and plot, so much so that I was compelled read and finished this book in a flash. I didn't want to put it down!
As for how it pans out...I was a little dismayed at first by the conclusion, and the way that the heist went sideways. Not that it DID go sideways (which, let's be honest, we all know it's going to do that, right?), but the manner in which it did just threw me, and left me a touch dissatisfied. However, I also couldn't stop thinking about the book, and my odd reaction to it, and after a day I figured out the "why" of my reaction, and realized that actually, it was a PERFECT ending. None of these women are criminals, none of them wanted to grab $$ or glory--they only wanted their own freedoms. So the ending I at first disliked became a resounding "oh!" as my delayed enlightenment occurred, and now I'm rating this 5 stars.
The Elysium Heist is definitely a character-driven heist novel, so those of you seeking full on thrills with no emotional beats, keep moving along. For those who love when characters are more than their actions, this is definitely a book you'll want to read. I loved each character, and her reasons for trusting (momentarily) or distrusting each of the other women is well-grounded and believable. The plan to rob the AI casino is a decidedly bold one, but also the only available means open to them.
Honestly, I say it's character-driven, but one of the joys of this book is that it neatly balances character and plot, so much so that I was compelled read and finished this book in a flash. I didn't want to put it down!
As for how it pans out...I was a little dismayed at first by the conclusion, and the way that the heist went sideways. Not that it DID go sideways (which, let's be honest, we all know it's going to do that, right?), but the manner in which it did just threw me, and left me a touch dissatisfied. However, I also couldn't stop thinking about the book, and my odd reaction to it, and after a day I figured out the "why" of my reaction, and realized that actually, it was a PERFECT ending. None of these women are criminals, none of them wanted to grab $$ or glory--they only wanted their own freedoms. So the ending I at first disliked became a resounding "oh!" as my delayed enlightenment occurred, and now I'm rating this 5 stars.
June 22, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Y.M. Resnik for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my thoughts on it!
The premise of an interstellar casino was so interesting I had to pick this book up, but the actual payout fell short for me.
We were following so many characters throughout the book that they were functionally all very one dimensional. Even with such a short page count we could have gotten a bit more in depth into character motivations beyond the Single Character Trait that each of the characters were assigned. So many of their POVs were taken up by a feedback loop of being in love with each other (even if they’d only known each other a day or two) and refusing to say or do anything about it. I have nothing against a slow burn, but if the first pov out the gate is about how they’re in love, there’s really nowhere to build from there if they’re unwilling to act on it in a meaningful way.
I also found that I had to suspend my disbelief somewhat to accept the premise of the heist. I find it hard to believe that once the tapes were released that this man would own up to the crime of releasing intimate materials or the theft of very expensive earrings just to verify the validity of the video. I feel like the plot to steal back the earrings was sort of shoe horned in to connect to Kiyo’s Single Character Trait of being an heiress to a jewelry empire.
Overall, the story was enjoyable, but pretty simplistic. It definitely could have used a couple more rounds of reviews to tighten up some of the plot point logistics and flesh out the characterization.
The premise of an interstellar casino was so interesting I had to pick this book up, but the actual payout fell short for me.
We were following so many characters throughout the book that they were functionally all very one dimensional. Even with such a short page count we could have gotten a bit more in depth into character motivations beyond the Single Character Trait that each of the characters were assigned. So many of their POVs were taken up by a feedback loop of being in love with each other (even if they’d only known each other a day or two) and refusing to say or do anything about it. I have nothing against a slow burn, but if the first pov out the gate is about how they’re in love, there’s really nowhere to build from there if they’re unwilling to act on it in a meaningful way.
I also found that I had to suspend my disbelief somewhat to accept the premise of the heist. I find it hard to believe that once the tapes were released that this man would own up to the crime of releasing intimate materials or the theft of very expensive earrings just to verify the validity of the video. I feel like the plot to steal back the earrings was sort of shoe horned in to connect to Kiyo’s Single Character Trait of being an heiress to a jewelry empire.
Overall, the story was enjoyable, but pretty simplistic. It definitely could have used a couple more rounds of reviews to tighten up some of the plot point logistics and flesh out the characterization.
July 29, 2025
This didn't quite live up to its full potential. A rag-tag crew of women, two of whom are victims of the same man, plan a heist to humiliate him and regain their own agency and power. There were elements of the universe that could have been explored in more depth, to add weight to the way the characters were all trapped, but these were sacrificed to keep the pace moving quicker-- unnecessarily so, when slower-paced character-focused sci-fi like Becky Chambers' work can be so successful. The writing also seemed to indicate that maybe (?) the story was originally supposed to take place over a longer period of time-- characters frequently said or narrated thoughts about how that one "always" did this, or that other one did such-and-so "every day"-- but these characters had only known each other two days. Bad writing, or poor editing after a timeline change?
It may be worth checking on this author in the future-- hopefully with a better beta and editing team; there's potential here. eARC from NetGalley.
It may be worth checking on this author in the future-- hopefully with a better beta and editing team; there's potential here. eARC from NetGalley.
June 15, 2025
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did -- it's a sapphic space heist, what's there not to like? But nothing worked for me here, and what should have been a fun, exciting novel was instead a slog to get through.
To start, splitting the novel into five perspectives wasn't the way to go. None of the characters got the proper attention they deserved development wise because there were four other characters. It was also difficult to differentiate between the POVs. If you didn't read the name at the beginning of the chapter, then it would be hard to figure out whose perspective it was from, since all of the voices sounded the same.
The romances progressed too quickly and were too insta-love for me. I'm not a fan of love at first sight, which was essentially the main focus of one of the three romances. In general, all three of the romances lacked depth and chemistry. This can likely be attributed to the overabundance of POVs, since none of the characters got proper development that they should have over the course of the novel.
I also struggled with the overall narrative and heist plot. It was all very straight-forward and there wasn't any mystery to it. It played out how I thought that it would and then it was over. It left me wanting more, which seemed to be a recurring theme with this novel.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
To start, splitting the novel into five perspectives wasn't the way to go. None of the characters got the proper attention they deserved development wise because there were four other characters. It was also difficult to differentiate between the POVs. If you didn't read the name at the beginning of the chapter, then it would be hard to figure out whose perspective it was from, since all of the voices sounded the same.
The romances progressed too quickly and were too insta-love for me. I'm not a fan of love at first sight, which was essentially the main focus of one of the three romances. In general, all three of the romances lacked depth and chemistry. This can likely be attributed to the overabundance of POVs, since none of the characters got proper development that they should have over the course of the novel.
I also struggled with the overall narrative and heist plot. It was all very straight-forward and there wasn't any mystery to it. It played out how I thought that it would and then it was over. It left me wanting more, which seemed to be a recurring theme with this novel.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
August 1, 2025
There are seeds of a brilliant story in this one, but the writing style was not quite able to get me to where I thought we could go. There are 5 POV characters and while each of them has a distinct voice and personality, it was almost too much to see it through everyones perspective. I think this could be improved by being 3rd person with a focus on each character in the various chapters. Also somewhat implausible that these characters are all like 20 years old?? Petition to let characters with crazy skills actually have the time to develop them. I guess many of them were supposed to be prodigies but like everyone is a prodigy??
There is a lot to like here, there is a lot of great representation and complicated, interesting relationships. But for all the "dazzle" of the casino setting, it doesn't really come across as much as it could. I have so many more questions about this world that were not only unanswered, but didn't feel as though there were answers at all. The magic of a well realized setting is not necessarily that everything is fully explained within the pages, but that it could be. That you could turn a corner and it would be fully realized universe even if the author never takes you around that corner.
As compelling as this was in the beginning it gets very repetitive and the end is remarkably rushed for how much set up we sat through.
Overall this is fun, but felt unfinished.
There is a lot to like here, there is a lot of great representation and complicated, interesting relationships. But for all the "dazzle" of the casino setting, it doesn't really come across as much as it could. I have so many more questions about this world that were not only unanswered, but didn't feel as though there were answers at all. The magic of a well realized setting is not necessarily that everything is fully explained within the pages, but that it could be. That you could turn a corner and it would be fully realized universe even if the author never takes you around that corner.
As compelling as this was in the beginning it gets very repetitive and the end is remarkably rushed for how much set up we sat through.
Overall this is fun, but felt unfinished.
July 22, 2025
This was a fun enjoyable read with a cool premise and an engaging cast of characters. I loved the setting, and the concept of Elysium and the AI mechanics and definitely felt a sense of being there amongst it all.
The reason this wasn't a higher rating is that I did go into this expecting a little more from the heist, and I ended up feeling a bit lost with some of the plot and plausibility with what was happening there, as so much of the book was focused on the relationships. I'd have liked to see more detail on the mechanics and interplay of the plan, and I struggled to suspend my disbelief at the ending as a result.
That said, the relationships between the characters kept me engaged enough throughout, and I enjoyed the interplay between them. I also appreciated the exploration of future indentured work, bodily autonomy and identity, as well as different kinds of loving relationships and intimacy. Sometimes, with the switch between POVs I did find some of it a little repetitive, and I would personally have liked to spend more time in the action but possibly this was slightly influenced by a preconceived idea of the book based on the description.
Thank you to Solaris/NetGalley for the ARC!
The reason this wasn't a higher rating is that I did go into this expecting a little more from the heist, and I ended up feeling a bit lost with some of the plot and plausibility with what was happening there, as so much of the book was focused on the relationships. I'd have liked to see more detail on the mechanics and interplay of the plan, and I struggled to suspend my disbelief at the ending as a result.
That said, the relationships between the characters kept me engaged enough throughout, and I enjoyed the interplay between them. I also appreciated the exploration of future indentured work, bodily autonomy and identity, as well as different kinds of loving relationships and intimacy. Sometimes, with the switch between POVs I did find some of it a little repetitive, and I would personally have liked to spend more time in the action but possibly this was slightly influenced by a preconceived idea of the book based on the description.
Thank you to Solaris/NetGalley for the ARC!
June 19, 2025
got this arc from netgalley!
delightful!!! honestly that's the most important thing to know, this book is fast-paced, energetic, and loads of fun. there's some intense emotional stuff in there as well, but the ratio (to me) definitely leaned more into the crazy heist (in space!!!) energy. super fun, compelling cast of characters, i just wish ilaria had been allowed to blow stuff up some more.
i have some minor complaints, but they are super persnickety. there were some instances, particularly during emotional moments, where there was a strong case of People Don't Talk Like That. also, why was everyone like 20. these people are not twenty-year olds. maybe i am just old now? because of the fast pace, some of the resolution felt a little rushed, but honestly that fits with the way the rest of the book was written so i guess i am fine with it. ilaria was a bit too passive for me, because why would you make a character whose whole deal is exploding stuff and then not let her explode anything? cowardly, that's what that is.
but really, this is a super fun read that really grabs you and takes you on the journey with it. an excellent addition to the heist genre (trope?)
delightful!!! honestly that's the most important thing to know, this book is fast-paced, energetic, and loads of fun. there's some intense emotional stuff in there as well, but the ratio (to me) definitely leaned more into the crazy heist (in space!!!) energy. super fun, compelling cast of characters, i just wish ilaria had been allowed to blow stuff up some more.
i have some minor complaints, but they are super persnickety. there were some instances, particularly during emotional moments, where there was a strong case of People Don't Talk Like That. also, why was everyone like 20. these people are not twenty-year olds. maybe i am just old now? because of the fast pace, some of the resolution felt a little rushed, but honestly that fits with the way the rest of the book was written so i guess i am fine with it. ilaria was a bit too passive for me, because why would you make a character whose whole deal is exploding stuff and then not let her explode anything? cowardly, that's what that is.
but really, this is a super fun read that really grabs you and takes you on the journey with it. an excellent addition to the heist genre (trope?)
July 25, 2025
1/5 stars: This is Resnik's stand-alone 2SLGBTQIA+ Science Fiction Thriller Romance that features a decadent, artificially intelligent, space casino's highest earning hostess, who's stuck working endless hours to pay off the debt she inherited from her deadbeat, gambler father, her little sister who is dating the casino's artificial intelligence, a disgraced heiress seeking to rescue her family business, a recovering alcoholic card counter and a religious Jew whose husband refuses to grant her a divorce as they join together to rob the casino. When relationships start getting messy, loyalties are tested and everyone starts falling apart, the hostess will have to find a way to keep this heist from imploding or she can kiss her freedom, her girlfriend and her sister’s trust, goodbye. Resnik touches on some sensitive topics; so take care and CWs. This book's written in multiple POV and while Resnik's writing and character work are well done and this is an intriguing plot this just wasn't a book for me; leading me to DNF it at 11%.
I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion | Solaris Nova in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.
I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion | Solaris Nova in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.
July 1, 2025
2.5-3ish...?
I wanted to like this so much more than I did. For a book whose description leaned heavily onto the heist, this book is primarily about romance and oh yeah there was a heist happening. I was hoping to get scheming and covert plots, but the plots were unfortunately so covert even the reader didn't witness them.
I could forgive that if I enjoyed the romances, but I really didn't. Somehow despite the book spending almost no time on the heist, I also felt that we didn't really get enough depth in any of the relationships. I think this was because, with 5 POV characters, we didn't spend enough time in any one person's head. Even when we got to see someone's thoughts for a bit of time, I think we just harped on the same one-two character traits and backstory points the entire time.
This book had a lot of pieces of a great story, but it ended up delivering very little because it tried to do so much.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc of this book!
I wanted to like this so much more than I did. For a book whose description leaned heavily onto the heist, this book is primarily about romance and oh yeah there was a heist happening. I was hoping to get scheming and covert plots, but the plots were unfortunately so covert even the reader didn't witness them.
I could forgive that if I enjoyed the romances, but I really didn't. Somehow despite the book spending almost no time on the heist, I also felt that we didn't really get enough depth in any of the relationships. I think this was because, with 5 POV characters, we didn't spend enough time in any one person's head. Even when we got to see someone's thoughts for a bit of time, I think we just harped on the same one-two character traits and backstory points the entire time.
This book had a lot of pieces of a great story, but it ended up delivering very little because it tried to do so much.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc of this book!
August 4, 2025
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of The Elysium Heist.
While there is certainly a heist in this book, it’s not the central focus in the way that readers might expect from a book touting that it’s for fans of Ocean’s 8; however, I found the book engaging and enjoyable to read.
The five MCs all get their own space to narrate this story, which was a lot to take in at times, but I understand why Resnik chose to write this story this way. Without each character getting chapters devoted to their POV, some information may be lost.
To be honest though, I found myself drawn more to the chapters that were narrated from Psalome’s and Iliria’s perspectives. It was their story that kept me fully engaged, and I wanted them to have their happy ending.
The other characters were intriguing and their backstories and current situations were also engaging; I just didn’t find myself rooting for them in the same way that I rooted for Psalome and Iliria.
While there is certainly a heist in this book, it’s not the central focus in the way that readers might expect from a book touting that it’s for fans of Ocean’s 8; however, I found the book engaging and enjoyable to read.
The five MCs all get their own space to narrate this story, which was a lot to take in at times, but I understand why Resnik chose to write this story this way. Without each character getting chapters devoted to their POV, some information may be lost.
To be honest though, I found myself drawn more to the chapters that were narrated from Psalome’s and Iliria’s perspectives. It was their story that kept me fully engaged, and I wanted them to have their happy ending.
The other characters were intriguing and their backstories and current situations were also engaging; I just didn’t find myself rooting for them in the same way that I rooted for Psalome and Iliria.
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