Hacker + conman x (heist + romance) = breezy reading
Love Among Thieves
by Katrina Kwan
Toronto: Random House Canada, 2026
24.95 / 9781039014107
Reviewed by Sergio Espinosa
*
Love Among Thieves is a lush step-by-step heist that should have all the ingredients for a perfect enemies-to-friends-to-lovers relationship to flourish; yet due to how fast paced the story unfolds and how each character is not overtly developed, it lands as a flat rushed romance.
The story revolves around retaliation attempts against the big mafia lord Berruci, who has wronged countless people, in particular West, as his family gets dragged into Berruci’s illegal enterprises. Addy, or “Qwerty,” comes into the picture due to her posture of stealing from the rich to give to the poor with her hacking skills—which leads her to take money from one of Berruci’s accounts that West is monitoring. After West breaks into Addy´s apartment, they strike a deal to take Berruci down. And as the reader might be able to foresee their forced camaraderie will—true to formula—turn their initial animosity into something romantic and spicy.
One of the strongest points of the novel is Kwan’s writing. At times it is very sharp and poignant, especially in the scenes with Addy’s family drama and when Addy and West get to be vulnerable with each other, which makes the story feel more authentic and appealing. On top of this, the smart decision of having short chapters and two points of view keeps the reader engaged and makes it almost impossible to put the book down, given its addictive storytelling and prose.
Repetition might be the Achilles’ heel of the story. Kwan (Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love) constantly reminds the reader, for instance, how West is a good guy who will always choose what is best over either personal gratification or selfish endeavours. Because this reminder is found at least once every chapter in between, it loses the point the author is trying to get across about West´s characterization, and ultimately displays him as someone playing the part of the good guy just because it makes his character more of a catch.
This pattern is visible to a lesser extent as well with Addy, with Vancouver-based Kwan mentioning how she is the female Robin Hood and only cares about righting the wrongs of the world with no selfish goals or expectations. Kwan can trust her reader to retain such basic information.
The author’s exploration of the importance of validation and the transactional relationship between parents and their offsprings is undoubtedly an attraction in the story. I applaud Kwan’s realistic portrayal of how Addy realizes she needs to move on from her mother in order to acquire peace of mind—and be a functional adult. With details about Addy’s fractured relationship with her mother (which relates to Addy dropping out of school when her father dies) and how she barely speaks her mother tongue, Kwan adds welcome literary dimension to the story and nudges it away from boilerplate rom-com.
In terms of characterization, as previously mentioned, both main characters are not fully developed, mostly relying on the tropes each one of them represents to forward the plot and their “romance.”
However, not only the lack of depth in their personalities becomes aggravating within the story; the fact that both are above the age of 27 and behave so immaturely and child-like might confuse the reader into thinking both are in their significantly younger. This is another example of how because of trying to emulate a formula of what is popular in relation to main leads in romantic steamy novels at the moment, the characters end up being cardboard counterfeit versions of other stories.
The pacing is also somewhat confounding. On one side, it is the perfect pace for how a heist would happen with all the inconveniences that might occur, as well as how immediate some decisions have to be made in the spur of the moment. On the other side, on the last third of the story the conclusion of the heist is hasty; a lot of turns in the plot happen one after the other, and Kwan barely leaves room for the reader to acclimate to the revelations. This causes a lack of stability and impact because everything unfolds non-stop without developing each discovery a bit further, causing a disservice to the story as a whole.
Overall, Love Among Thieves had an amazing, intriguing premise that ultimately felt lacklustre because it didn’t reach its full potential. Still, it is a very entertaining fast read that undoubtedly offers a great time to dwell into a world of crime and violence, where anything is possible—even falling in love and getting the high-stakes mission accomplished.
*
Sergio Espinosa is a third-year English (Major) and Creative Writing (Minor) BA student at Thompson Rivers University with an interest in reading, baking, and running. [Editor’s note: Sergio reviewed recent books by Iona Whishaw and Kim Fu for BCR.]
*
The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors: Trevor Marc Hughes (nonfiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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