Heiress Takes All

Olivia Owens is a teenage heiress. Or at least she was, before her dad, millionaire Dashiell “Dash” Owens, cheated on her mom and then kicked Olivia to the curb. Olivia wants revenge, and she plans on getting it. . . at Dash’s third wedding. She puts together a crew of high schoolers hungry for a huge cash grab—hacker Cass, jock and baker Deonte, charismatic Tom, plus her former English teacher Mr. McCoy—and plans a heist to steal millions from Dash while he’s getting hitched. “The Plan” involves phases, including sneaking phones into the wedding, detaining Dash’s lawyer Mitchum’s daughter to ransom her in exchange for the codes to the safe, breaking into the safe and transferring the money to the thieves’ accounts, and then, of course, the epic getaway. 

But not all goes to plan. Olivia’s ex-boyfriend, Jackson, who cheated on her (allegedly), is an unplanned distraction. Mitchum’s son Kevin sticks his nose into Olivia’s plan, and Olivia is forced to recruit him so he won’t snitch. Mitchum reveals that the safe contains not just money but incriminating evidence against Dash for an unknown crime. Dash’s second wife, Lexi, shows up to get revenge on Dash, breaking into the safe before Olivia can. Lexi is holding the codes to the bank accounts hostage until Olivia produces evidence of Dash cheating. To get what she wants, Olivia is forced to adjust and then abandon “The Plan” altogether. Will Olivia and her crew be able walk away millions of dollars richer? Or will they walk away in handcuffs? 

Olivia appears to be a character readers are supposed to sympathize with, but her actions and words come off as whiny, entitled, and unrelatable. She also doesn’t speak like a typical teenager, as she often uses unnecessarily advanced vocabulary that would likely baffle most teenage readers. Additionally, she speaks like a caricature of Gen Z, rather than an actual Gen Z kid (this is also true of other teenage characters). Olivia doesn’t feel real. Nonetheless, she has her positive moments, such as wanting to get justice for her mother. Ultimately, Olivia fails to be an enjoyable or realistic protagonist.  

Olivia’s crew is full of interesting, but underused characters, yet they do not make up for Olivia’s failings. Tom adds some much-needed snark and realism to the book, and Kevin brings the party by being the “dumb rich kid” who’s not as dumb as he seems. Deonte is a superstar jock who is also a magnificent baker, an intriguing combination, but he’s not a major presence in the majority of the book. The crew members take a backseat to Jackson, who adds a romantic subplot that is distracting. 

Heiress Takes All has some positive aspects. The setting of a wedding heist is intriguing, and some of the wedding-related elements of the story, such as sneaking phones into the wedding via a wedding cake, add a unique, playful element to a heist book. The twists are entertaining, keeping the heist exciting. After all, if the heist went off without an issue, it would be uninteresting. However, the writing is inconsistent in quality, especially in the first half of the book—some sentences are worded strangely, sometimes to the point of incoherence. The genuinely entertaining high points of the book simply can’t make up for the faults. The flawed portrayal of Olivia, along with hints of messages about family, work ethic, or class, fails to make the book meaningful. Heiress Takes All has its moments of delightful heist antics, but it’s bogged down by an irritating main character, confusing writing, and a misuse of side characters. If you’re looking for a fast-paced book that will capture your attention, check out the Heist Society Series by Ally Carter or the American Royals Series by Katharine McGee. 

Sexual Content  

• Cheating is a pivotal subject, as Dash cheated on Olivia’s mother and allegedly cheated on his second wife, Lexi. Additionally, Jackson allegedly cheated on Olivia.  

• Olivia fantasizes when she sees Jackson at the wedding. “Curls you could rake your fingers through forever, which then you decide to do, until fifteen minutes later, you have no idea what’s going on in the Netflix episode and oh hey, how did our shirts end up on the floor?” 

• To have an alibi, Olivia makes out with Tom in the boathouse. “When I close the door behind us, my mouth on Tom’s, the wonderful rush of my heartbeat is very real.” The scene lasts two pages. 

• Olivia reminisces about the romance she had with Jackson before he cheated. “The lips I remember whispering I love you into my neck whenever we had sex.” 

• Jackson needs to change into a tuxedo, and Olivia doesn’t leave the room. She observes, “he undoes his tie and starts unbuttoning his shirt. Objectively, it’s sexy.” She recalls their relationship, saying, “He was my first in every way. The first time we had sex was perfectly planned.” This scene lasts eight pages. 

• Olivia trips and Jackson catches her, causing an awkward yet romantic moment: “—when Jackson catches me, his grip gentle on my waist. The hot shock of him holding my hips is merciless, supplying me with memories like notes shoved under locked doors.” 

• Olivia makes out with Tom again to not get caught looking suspicious during the heist. “He really can kiss. The way he presses me up the wall, the dark heat in his eyes the perfect contrast to the cool paint behind me, has me feeling like he could offer classes.” 

• When staging a breakup with Tom for her father to witness, Olivia yells, “Screw you, Thomas! …I never should have slept with you.” 

• When Jackson confronts Olivia about her stealing, he softly grabs her wrist, and she thinks about their past relationship. “He pushed strands of hair behind my ears, held the small of my back when we were going through doors or upstairs, slid dress zippers down so slowly, I would shiver.” 

• Olivia kisses Jackson upon receiving the news that they have successfully stolen the money from her dad’s offshore accounts. “Without hesitating, I press my lips to Jackson’s, operating on pure impulse. . . as if he’s made entirely of rogue hunger, he kisses me back fiercely.” 

• Olivia implies that her father, Dash, is predatory, as he met Maureen (who is much younger than he is) when she was a TA in university. “He’d [Dash] been hunting for prospective employees, technically, but really, he’d been hunting for prospective Maureens [romantic partners].”

Violence  

• Olivia’s mom got into a car accident. “Her car. . . skidded on ice into the highway divider. . . Her head hit the window hard. Her wrist crumpled from the impact. She was unconscious for fifteen hours.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• At the wedding, wedding guests consume alcohol. Drunken behavior occurs various times. There is no underage drinking. 

• At the bachelorette party, Olivia (who was drinking virgin mimosas) pried information about the wedding from “Maureen, who was five or six very real mimosas deep.” 

• A young adult suggests Olivia and her crew join him in smoking marijuana, saying, “We could get high and watch Kung Fu Panda.” 

• Dash and his groomsmen smoke cigars and drink liquor before the wedding. Olivia notes, “Cigar smoke and the raucous laughter of drunk groomsmen greet me.” 

Language  

• Profanity is used sometimes. Profanity includes hell, ass, damn, dick, shit, and fuck.  

• “Oh my God” and variations are used as exclamations occasionally.

Supernatural  

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None