(3/5 stars)
(and what a lovely cover!)
No one performs on the circus trapeze like 16-year-old Rémy Brunel. But Rémy also leads another life, prowling through the backstreets of Victorian London as a jewel thief. When she is forced to steal one of the world’s most valuable diamonds, she uncovers a world of treachery and fiendish plots.
Meanwhile, young detective Thaddeus Rec is determined to find the jewel and clear his name. Will Thaddeus manage to rescue the jewel? Or is it really Rémy that he needs to save?
-Annie
No one performs on the circus trapeze like 16-year-old Rémy Brunel. But Rémy also leads another life, prowling through the backstreets of Victorian London as a jewel thief. When she is forced to steal one of the world’s most valuable diamonds, she uncovers a world of treachery and fiendish plots.
Meanwhile, young detective Thaddeus Rec is determined to find the jewel and clear his name. Will Thaddeus manage to rescue the jewel? Or is it really Rémy that he needs to save?
*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Okay, so this book has a lot of my favorite things: Victorian circuses, thievery, diamonds, and curses. Add on an adorable all-about-the-law police officer and I'm immediately hooked. So basically, premise-wise, I loved this book from the beginning, but unfortunately, it didn't really live up to my expectations.
What I liked: The story. Like I said, many of my favorite story tropes in one book is like a dream come true. It was fast paced and action packed and I loved seeing Rémy use her circus training to beat up on the bad guys. I also really liked her hesitation to fall in love and lack of hesitation in being fiercely independent and (not in a bad way) self-centered. Now, I think my absolute favorite thing about this book was little J. Can I get a J spin-off or novela or something pretty please? He's the perfect sidekick and I'm ready for him to have his own plot now.
What I didn't like: There was something about the way The Diamond Thief was written that kind of bothered me. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was, but it was there. I wanted to see more of the circus, more of the magic and mystery and romanticism that surrounds it (or maybe The Night Circus set my expectations too high). I also thought that there were some times when the plot was confusing and seemed a bit too much. There were times when it was super unrealistic (nobody can almost die that many times and not actually die), and the plot holes distracted from an interesting story. It was like everything was a bit too convenient and solved with ease.
It's worth a read, especially if you're into steampunk, historical, or fantasy. And the setting is vivid and there's magic that shows up every once in a while. Basically, it's pretty fun and fast once you can get over all the other problems.
It's worth a read, especially if you're into steampunk, historical, or fantasy. And the setting is vivid and there's magic that shows up every once in a while. Basically, it's pretty fun and fast once you can get over all the other problems.
-Annie
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