Comeuppance Served Cold

CW: According to the author's note - patriarchal, racist, and ableist violence, both verbal and physical.
Also attempted sexual assault.

I only got to know about this book a few weeks ago while browsing netgalley and I was immediately taken in NG it's bright cover and that super fun title. And I was quite excited when I got the arc. This totally lived up to that quirky title.

The writing is engaging right from the get go and I didn't feel like putting it down once I started. It also helped that it was short because I was happy to finish such an entertaining story quickly. The setting of 1920s Seattle felt realistic with its Prohibition, stock market crash, the underlying racism, the speakeasies and more. The author does a great job giving us just enough world building and magic system details to propel the story, and never let us feel like she is infodumping. We also have a bit of timeline jumps and I'm not always a fan of this kind of storytelling style, but I think it worked well for this story which involves a heist and multiple players.

While it is a heist story, the planning and execution of it all mostly takes place in the backdrop in a way we know it's happening, but we don't go into the nitty gritty of it. Which was definitely fun once we realize how it all plays out towards the end. But it's the characters who make this story so engaging. Dolly is a mysterious character, a great con artist, excellent at talking herself out of situations and getting her way, but also principled and empathetic in her own ways. I just loved how she finagled the whole thing right beneath everyone's noses.

She is ably supported by many other wonderful characters. Violet is a Black woman and owner of a speakeasy - not an easy position to be in during those times, but she is strong and protective of her family. Her brother Philippe is a shapeshifter, who can be impulsive at times but ultimately has his heart in the right place. Gabe is his partner who also happens to be a magical tattoo artist. Fiona is another interesting girl who is privileged and rich, doesn't see the faults in her family, doesn't have the freedom that she wants, but can be kind in her own way. We also have some loathsome antagonists but they were written quite well and I wouldn't wanna give them away.

In the end, how the stories of all these characters converge gives us a thoroughly entertaining story. It's a heist, but it's also personal in some ways for the players, so it makes for a more intriguing plot. This was total fun from beginning to end and I remained hooked. I wouldn't mind if we get more stories featuring Dolly and her shenanigans.