I was honestly very happy with this book. It did take me a little while to get into, however that was mostly due to personal reasons instead of the book itself.

First of all, I liked Elizabeth’s character. Her reactions felt natural and she was a character that I could connect to in some ways. She had flaws and wasn’t some overly powerful being from the beginning, and it was entertaining for me to get to know her as we progressed through the book. I wasn’t the largest fan of her relationship with Faisal but this is mainly because it wasn’t a large plot point of the book and so it didn’t have an effect my feelings.
I really liked the plot and as someone who loves world-bulding, this was fun for me to read. I love learning about new forms of magic and mythical creatures as well so this was definitely something that I enjoyed within the book. There were parts of the story where I felt as though the story was getting a bit slow, but things picked up and that made up for the slower aspects.

I’m afraid this is a did not finish. At 30% I still hadn’t connected with Elizabeth, the main character. When we headed off into a demon mirror world where what you see is only your own representation and the beings visiting would fight .... for what purpose? I simply wasn’t intrigued enough by the discovery of of magic and where it might lead.
I think this would work for a lot of people but although the composition is good with few errors I didn’t connect enough to continue reading when I have a sky high to be read pile.
I voluntarily received a copy of the ebook to review via Netgalley.

A Grimoire for Gamblers, (The Trove Arbitrations Book 1), Amanda Creiglow

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Sci-fi and Fantasy

This sounded unusual, and that's good in a market saturated with so many fantasy reads that are almost copies...so I dived in.
The magic here is different, very different to the usual, and I liked that, it was good to read a protagonist that wasn't instantly transformed into someone more skilled than others hundreds of years older. Magic here – for humans at least – relies on skill, practice, accuracy- and intention. I really felt that part was one of the things that sets this novel above so many others.

I liked Elizabeth, and understood her grief for her father even though he'd been trying to end his life for some time. Her curiosity – that would be me, I couldn't leave such interesting papers and items alone either....The grief provides a convenient excuse for her not being at work too, which gives her time to sort out this mess she's inadvertently involved in. I didn't see the point of the boyfriend, Faisal, he's away for most of the novel and doesn't add anything. Their relationship doesn't feel like a very solid one, there's no real pull between them, they feel more like flatmates than lovers.

I did get a little confused by all the different magical creatures, and I'm still not entirely sure what/where the Gravelings come from. That kind of brings up the weakness in the story for me, I have several unanswered questions. I didn't understand the relevance of some incidents, felt others were too slickly glossed over. Max seems almost manic at times, yet terrified of his masters – why? What was the significance of the train, other than to begin events? The solutions occasionally seemed a bit slick, though the end result, the big problem, worked excellently for me. Complex enough to make me think, yet with a logic that I could understand.

Overall this was a fun read, and the issues I had could easily be put down to first in series syndrome. Those books have a tough ask, delivering a story interesting enough to hook the reader, but a world wide enough to carry future books. I think its successful here, I'd certainly like to read more.

Stars: Three and a half, its a fun fantasy, but with some darker edges. Holds promise for an interesting series.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

A grimoire for gambles is an interesting and new urban fantasy. The worldbuilding done by the author is fantastic. She gradually takes the readers with the protagonist in to a dark and magical world where mythical creatures live secretly among humans. Especially the magic system is very refreshing and unique.

At times I found the solutions to problems to be a little be too convenient, especially towards the end. In addition, there were a couple of loose ends I would like to have learned more about, like the voodoo train. All in all, a pretty good start of a series and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

A Grimoire for Gamblers is an enjoyable and well written book. World building was done gradually, maintaining story flow whilst avoiding the pace killing information dump. Written first person and entirely from Elizabeth's POV this easily held my attention throughout. It perhaps wasn't the most complex of plots but it worked AND it did still manage to spring a few surprises. The foreshadowing was subtle, I loved that it wasn't too obvious yet resolutions felt entirely plausible.


Elizabeth is a pretty determined and resourceful heroine, at times she stumbles and there were occasions when she really hadn't thought things through. As someone new to the world of magic, and one also lacking all the necessary information to make a sound judgement, these errors were not only forgivable but were eminently believable. I'm really quite excited for the next book and can't wait to see what adventures Elizabeth will face next.

A Grimoire for Gamblers is the first installment in author Amanda Creiglow's The Trove Arbitrations series. The main character of the story is Elizabeth Baker. Elizabeth is dealing with the fact that her father just recently died. He had mental issues for years and made it known that everything he owned should be burned to the ground. No reason left behind for the request. Needless to say, Elizabeth ignored his request and it was deemed unenforceable. In this world, there is no such thing as a coincidence.

After going through his things, she finds a mysterious box, as well as train set that has been running non-stop for at least 8 years. Elizabeth’s father had always been an eccentric man with his model trains and other hobbies, but when she finally gets up the gumption to go into the attic she finds a trove of evidence. Evidence that magic is real. When the train tips over, there's a real train derailment in her town, but thankfully, no one was hurt. Elizabeth is thrown into a world of magic, deals, and dangers beyond comprehension.

After returning to work after a bereavement leave, she encounters a stranger (Troll) who gives her an envelope claiming that the contents are hers. When Elizabeth opens the envelope, she uncovers a mystery of dead bodies left behind all 3 days after the first one. The first one being her father. To make matters more intriguing, a warlock named Maxwell Jones shows up unannounced and tries to remove all of Elizabeth's memories which doesn't work. Elizabeth later meets Gigi who takes her to a demon gambling ring with humans betting their souls, and learns that her father's magical classes make things that more curiouser.

Like Alice jumping into the rabbit hole, Elizabeth isn't one to shy away from getting the answers she needs. Even though Max is clearly trying to side track Elizabeth from getting in deeper than she already is, she knows that Max may be her only friend when it comes to uncovering what happened to her father, and those who have died since his suicide. Max is both foe and friend depending on the circumstances and when Elizabeth is forced to face her own reckoning in a life or death battle, she will have to use whatever moxie she can conjure up in order to survive another day.

The reasoning behind my rating is the lack of they boyfriend in the book. Elizabeth allegedly has a boyfriend named Faisel. Faisel, it seems, is always traveling and missed nearly the entirety of what happens to Elizabeth and the fact that it seems as though she will become a human arbitrator for the supernatural world which includes demons and trolls and others that haven't been revealed as of yet.

I had never read this author before, and I was anxious to read this one as the blurb sounded fun. I dived in, and it didn’t take long to get engrossed in the book. I loved how the author didn’t always take me where I thought she was going, and the premise is a little different than I expected it to be. Not that either of those are bad things, because they are not; I like to be surprised sometimes. I at times found the solutions to problems to be a little be too convenient, and I got a little confused at times at what was going on. However, I really did enjoy this little darker urban fantasy, and I am all in to read the next in the series. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

After losing her father to suicide, Elizabeth finds some interesting things while going thru his stuff. Knowledge of magic! A series of suicides connects to her father's and sets Elizabeth on a path. Elizabeth is an interesting character that is very likable. I enjoyed this book very much! Thanks #netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Exciting new urban fantasy series. Well written, with an intricate plot, interesting characters and terrific world building. I’m eagerly anticipating book 2!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

Elizabeth, has been on leave from her job as an assistant to the mayor of her small town. A couple of weeks earlier her father had committed suicide, leaving her quite adrift, mentally. As she returns to work, she is approached by a stranger who hands over a file with news articles about several local suicides with a curious pattern. She soon realises she's not quite ready to be back at work and takes further leave. Meanwhile, while going through the attic of her childhood home, she discovers a side of her father totally unknown to her, magic. It's not long before she has learned a bit of it herself and she is knee-deep in figuring out connections and makes the acquaintance of several who might assist her. She must keep a step ahead, though, as there's the wizard Max, who has insinuated himself into her life with the goal to erase her mind of all knowledge of magic. At the same time, it becomes obvious she needs his assistance too. it all becomes quite a balancing act and figuring out who is friend or foe becomes quite important.

This was a delight to read, being quite easy to get into and having a good adventure along the way. Elizabeth is quite clever and she uses her wits to get on with things. But she's also smart enough to realise she can't do it all on her own. Max is both foe and friend depending on the circumstances. We only get a few glimpses of his history which I suspect will become more known in future books. As the title suggests, there's gambling involved in this story and it's not necessarily about money. There are small gambles when approaching characters to know if the real intent is help or harm. And then there are the big ones on which her future depend upon.

I pretty much devoured this book within a day or two and really loved it. Overall I give it four stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for sharing an advanced reader copy. My review is totally voluntary.

This quickly became one of my favorite urban fantasies. The setting is dark and intriguing, the characters are larger than life, and the world is complex and ever changing.

The story begins with Elizabeth, struggling emotionally after her father has committed suicide. After going through his things, she finds a mysterious box, which leads her to places she could have never imagined. All of a sudden, Elizabeth is thrown into a world of magic, deals, and dangers beyond comprehension. While dealing with new revelations, Elizabeth has to work through the discovery that there may be more to her father's death than anyone realized and it could all be connected to numerous unexplained and mysterious suicides happening around her.

The world-building in this and the magi system were superb! The writing is so immersive and you really feel like you are by Elizabeth's side experiencing all the magic and craziness with her. The world is complex but not overwhelming. The magic system is really unique and so interesting that I even started making notes about how things work as I read.

The characters also shined in this book, especially Elizabeth. She is a very entrancing character and so easy to like and relate to. I really liked how she initially reacted to the existence of magic and once she got past the impossibility of it, she took it like a champ, diving straight in for more answers. Elizabeth was fun and witty and strong and I cannot wait to read more of her story.

I received a digital ARC via Netgalley in return for my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

4 stars - Great urban fantasy with an excellent heroine!

Okay, I really enjoyed this one even though urban fantasy does not always work for me, so I'm really glad I gave this one a chance.

We follow Elizabeth, who has just lost her father to suicide and moved into his house. Upon going through his things she finds a trove of magic knowledge - something that non-wizards really should not get their hands on if you ask the local wizards.
The trove and and a series of suicides that cannot be coincidence and might be connected to her father's death draw her quickly into the world of wizards and supernatural creatures. And it is not a world for the faint of heart. It is strange, hostile and Elizabeth has to learn to navigate it without getting herself killed while at the same time trying to solve the murder mystery at hand.

What really shone for me in this book was our heroine Elisabeth. She is smart, compassionate, thoughtful, perceptive, courageous and tough. I could relate to her thought processes a lot which is always helpful for getting immersed in a story. There is also a colourful ensemble of side characters who are all complex - neither cookie cutter good nor bad guys. The world of supernatural creatures and magic carries plenty of promise, as does her relationship with her boyfriend Faisal and I am very much looking forward to any next parts in this series.

Interesting magical urban fantasy.

The story began slowly and it took a bit longer to buy into than I expected.

Characters and world building is multi layered - characters dealing with grief, coming to terms with a parent's frailty, learning about the alternate reality of magic and finding one's own strength.

I would give a sequel a serious try if the author dives more quickly into the main plot.

A Grimoire for Gamblers did a wonderful job of dancing a line between believable, realistic urban fantasy and being something light and fun to read. How the topics they covered didn't bog down the story continues to amaze me. I found it really refreshing reading about a cynic pulled into this world who balanced reasonable distrust and not fearing things that looked different more than other non-human creatures. I flew through A Grimoire For Gamblers and am almost disappointed it's new because the next book will involve waiting.

This is an excellent book and I can't wait for the next in the series

A multilayered fantasy peopled with interesting, relateable characters.

The author entwines magic, loss and grief and creates a quirky yet immensely readable novel.

I received a free ARC. I am leaving my honest review

A big thank you to NetGalley and Books Go Social for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the first book in a new series-Trove Arbitrations. I believe this author is new to me. I found this to be very slow and I just couldn't get into the story. Beth seems interesting, and has a great partner Faisal. But I started getting confused when the trolls and demons started appearing. I guess urban fantasy is not really my thing. I keep trying and hopefully I will find one I just absolutely love. I think if you enjoy a unique story and like urban fantasy this might be for you. For me it was a 3 star.

An interesting read, though it wasn’t for me.

Elizabeth is grieving the loss of her father following his suicide. She inherits his house and belongs. In her exploration of the attic she discovers the hidden world of magic her father was a part of. This launches her into an investigation that introduces her to green-eyed wizards, demons, trolls and other magical beings.

Elizabeth was a strong, smart and logical main character, who was faced with difficult situations throughout the story.

I found that this story, for me was difficult to get into. It felt like every time I was started to get into it, there would be an interaction that irritated me or took me out of the story. There were descriptions that I didn’t understand, though I believe this is due to my lack of knowledge of the American references.

I enjoyed the magic system, which was different to the usual -point and say magic word- standard. The fact that things didn’t work first time for Elizabeth made her more relatable. She could be me.

There were parts of the story that I felt were not discussed enough; the bewitched train being the main one. This could be addressed further in the coming releases. Also, the addition of her boyfriend seemed a little pointless. She could just as easily been single.

ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review

This was a DNF for me at 40%. I found it dry and boring. I could not connect with Elizabeth, the side characters were lackluster, worldbuilding thin. Obviously this was not for me. The best I can say is that there were no editing errors to the point I gave up. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC form Netgalley.

A cut above the usual made-from-box-mix urban fantasy, with a sensible, capable (sometimes to the point of ruthlessness) protagonist. It's darker than I really prefer, with a number of tragic deaths of innocents that the protagonist has some unintentional responsibility for and is unable to prevent. The supernatural world is hostile and dangerous to a medieval degree, and only an extraordinarily gutsy move by the protagonist is able to resolve the plot.

There were some weaknesses and unanswered questions for me. For example, the voodoo train. Why would someone make that, and having made it, why would they leave it active, literally an accident waiting to happen?

I groaned when the handsome wizard with green eyes turned up, because that's the universal signal for a love interest, and the protagonist already had a boyfriend who seemed like a decent guy - by her account, anyway; he was absent elsewhere for almost the whole book, and even when he returned he felt like he didn't have much heft to him as a character. He functioned more as an aspect of the protag than a person in his own right. Hopefully the author will figure out what to do with him in future books in the series and give him his own independent reality. I hope he doesn't just become a genderflipped damsel in distress/hostage to fortune/motivating factor/fridge inhabitant. Anyway, the green-eyed-love-interest trope was invoked only to be averted, and I sincerely hope that continues.

The protagonist is smart, and a good problem solver, and while she narrates in a version of First Person Smartass, it's not overdone. She has some genuinely tough stuff to cope with, and does so bravely and resourcefully. I'm not sure if it's a Covid side-effect, a phenomenon whose time had come regardless, or just good luck or good management on my part, but I'm loving the fact that I'm finding so many really competent, pragmatic female protagonists lately.

I'll definitely be looking out for a sequel, though I hope the author manages to make more of the boyfriend next time.

When we think of the term "origin story," we typically think of it in reference to superheroes, though I've found that urban fantasy protagonists typically have them too. This is a good one. And Elizabeth is a good protagonist too, along the lines of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson and Ilona Andrews' Dina Demille. I'm looking forward to seeing where her story goes, what new creatures she meets and obstacles she overcomes.