One Last Heist Kindle Edition

I loved this book so much, I am reading it again. Truly, Dahlia Donovan is one of my favorite indy authors. Her ability to weave plot lines together as well as giving the characters such growth and personality is my idea of perfection. I have many favorites, but this one is at the top. Toshi and Mack are probably the best and most well written couple. They work together, their personalities play off one another, the romance, sex, trust, literally everything between them just works... and works well.

I hate giving away plots and spoilers, so I'll just add a basic idea. As modern day thieves with a conscience, the story develops right from the beginning with them preparing for a heist, all while Mack is quietly suffering from accepting a diagnosis, which will cause him to lose his sight. The strength between the characters remains consistent throughout the novel. This is not the typical trope of H argues with H because of miscommunication, etc. The reader gets to watch the characters develop and strengthen their relationship, all while taking us on an adventure through thievery and lies from those they once trusted. So much fun. So well written. So worth the purchase. If you are looking for a true love story, buy this one.

Mack and Toshiro light up the pages with their banter, chemistry and love! This book just has all the feels for me! A group of friends, dedicated lovers, good guys and bad guys and a mystery that will keep you engaged.

I just loved how creative, hot and steamy Mack and Toshiro were. This book also pulled at my heart as they dealt with some real world sadness and challenges. The writing was great and the characters were so beautifully drawn that you will be looking for them in your dreams. Just a terrific read!

Dahlia Donovan is one of my favorite authors and she has done it again. One Last Heist is suspenseful, intriguing, and chock full of action and love. This story is more than the romance and emotion that I've come to expect and love from this author. The plot and suspense pull you in and will keep you wanting to turn page after page. Trust me when I say that you are going to want to pick up this 4.5 star read for yourself.

Mack and Toshiro are thieves, but there is a twist. What they didn't expect was to be dragged into a conspiracy. Are they going to be able to make it through? You have to read to find out. One-click this book today!

This review was very tricky to write. There were a tremendous amount of interesting pieces and parts to this story that were wonderful, but the way they pieced together overall just didn’t work for me.

Gregor ‘Mack’ Ueda-Easton and Toshiro Ueda-Easton are a happily married, long-term couple (as in elementary school long-term) who have really nifty front jobs. Mack is a philanthropist and Toshiro is a traveling writer, while secretly they are running a Robin Hood-esque business behind the scenes with Toshiro’s twin sister Charlie and the love of her life, Dominica. They happily steal priceless things from the not-so-rightful-owner and deliver them to where they should be, while keeping some extra loot for themselves and using discreet fencing to transfer said baubles to cash. These four characters play from start to finish as a team even though the story focuses on Mack and Toshiro, and each of them is a delight on their own.

The premise of the story is amazing. Mack’s sight is spiraling down due to a genetic disease, so if the team wants to complete One Last Heist, it needs to be done now, before it’s too late for Mack. They have the perfect heist plans underway and now just need to finish practicing and go do it.

Unfortunately, there was much more ‘wait’ than there was action. The pace of the story was herky-jerky as a result, and overall it was just too muted for me. I had a hard time staying interested in the story despite the interesting cast of characters because of this.

There is too much ambiguity on aspects involving information-sharing to learn about these various jobs and so how they were selected for me to piece it together in any satisfying way. There is also a marked enmity toward one of the secondary characters (Rafe) due to damages caused to another secondary character (Jude) in a past job, and while there is repeated mention of it, there is no real background information. It made me feel like I was missing a previous book that could have explained how this team worked together in the past, what happened between these two specific characters to cause this divide, and why Mack would still rely on Rafe as a mentor and information source after whatever treachery Rafe committed that left Jude wheelchair-bound.

On another front, the passion that Mack and Toshiro have for one another is undeniably strong, even after many years together, and the easy camaraderie and support of and for each other is lovely. The way they go about showing Charlie support, allowing her to function so brilliantly through the parameters dictated to her by her autism, is also quite beautiful.

My dilemmas regarding this book made me really need to stop and ponder before writing my review. I also went hunting to see if I perhaps had missed a first book, but found nothing. This author is one of my favorites, so it almost felt like a betrayal to criticize this book. However, I simply don’t write what I don’t feel, so I’m being honest with myself and with anyone who reads this review. I’m rating this book at 2.5 stars. Perhaps one day there will be a prequel to this, and I could potentially re-review this one. In the interim, remember that your mileage may vary, so if you want to give it a try, go for it.

I voluntarily read an ARC copy of this book for Divine Magazine from the author, Dahlia Donovan, with hopes for but no obligation to provide a review.

**Same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.**

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is a mixture of a bit of romance, a lot of suspense, slivers of angst, and tons of fun. The story is moving along at a very fast speed. It made me turn the pages effortlessly, but at the same time, I had some trouble following the story. There is a lot of things going on, lots of action, but not always fully explained. It didn’t diminish my pleasure of reading this book in the slightest, though.
It reminded me of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, and women in this case. Married couple, Mack and Toshiro, are gentleman thieves. Thieves with a conscience. Only stealing from the bad guys or re-stealing and returning objects to the appropriate owner. As Mack is slowly losing his eyesight, they decide to go for one last heist. What follows is a whirlwind of action and surprising events that had me sitting on the edge of my chair, fearing the worst.
They get help from a stellar secondary cast. Charlie, Toshiro’s autistic twin, who sees the world and people differently; Dominica, her girlfriend, a very talented artist and, if necessary, forger; Jude, wheelchair-bound and a wizard with computers.
Then there are Mack and Toshiro. Inspiring characters who are cute together and obviously are very much in love. Dealing with the impending blindness of Mack, they still have the capacity of laughing at the other and themselves. Often self-deprecating humor as the implications of his disease are becoming more and more evident. Still, the banter between them and, in fact, their group was a delight to read. Knowing them, I don’t think this will their final heist, though.