The Diamond Thief (The Diamond Thief, #1)

by Sharon Gosling

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.

• ISBN10: 1782024530
• ISBN13: 9781782024538
• Publish Date: 28 January 2016 (first published 14 February 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 August 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Curious Fox
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[limabean74]

My Review:

I received this book last year at BEA and I am not sure what took me so long to read it. This was a really good story with very likable characters. I even read most of the book with a french accent, I was totally unaware I could even do a french accent so it was a surprise when I realized it.

Remy and Thaddeus are great characters. Thaddeus was a little frustrating because he was a policeman and he wanted to do things by the book but really Thaddeus give the girl a break and his listening skills I want to bop him in the nose. Remy was a strong female character this girl could do anything and I loved when she put her knowledge of the circus to use in the cave. So intense but I also felt for her being stuck in a situation that wasn’t her fault. I do wish they had a little more depth to them and also their relationship wasn’t as strong as I thought it could be however once I got to the end I realized these two have a lot of growing with each other to do and I think in that perspective it works out a lot better.

I found the story to be really interesting with lots of action, adventure and a bit of suspense. I loved the twists with in the book and I thought they other characters made this a very enjoyable read. The end really blew me away since I thought like a typical romance YA this would have a predictable ending but I honestly like it the way it was done and look forward to reading the next one to see how the characters grow.

I enjoyed both characters and look forward to watching their relationship blossom more in the next book. I am going to have to brush up on my French accent.

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Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my review

Hope you have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

[Katie King]

**I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

**2.5 stars**

Gosling is gifted in her world-building. Vivid descriptions abound of places, people, and events. Everything is imaginable with crystal-clear quality...almost to a fault. In a few instances I found the descriptions tiresome and boring. However! The story itself is far from boring. Reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes (perhaps because of the similar time period), the plot is full of intrigue. Not to Doyle's standard but a great effort nonetheless.

Thaddeus also made for a strong supportive character, if not misguided by a forced romance. In the beginning he was marked by sound moral character and conviction...by the end, he was flimsy like plastic wrap, bent to Rémy's wishes.

One of the biggest problems is that the romance felt very inauthentic. Rémy wants nothing to do with love but mere pages later she is casting furtive glances in Thaddeus's direction and he was telling her he loved her. I didn't buy it.

Other problems were more minor. J's voice was awful. There is a line between authentic and overdone and Gosling landed far on the latter side. The Professor, Thaddeus, and Desai all lacked any real backstory and seemed to me to merely serve a function and be done with it. The traitor, the lover, and the sage. How did Desai get his powers? That was never explained, and all the characters seemed to accept that. Another issue was that I often felt like I was being told what to feel or think instead of being shown, something universally frowned upon in literature.

I also didn't buy the ending. Everything wrapped up really nicely and way too cleanly with too little effort for my taste. How did Rémy and Thaddeus escape? They just happened to be on the shore? The mute just happened to tell everyone where Rémy was taken to after someone guessed where she was at and took her home?

Abernathy wasn't a believable villain. Because his plans were rejected by his peers, he suddenly turns mad and decides to take down the entire government of the British Empire. That's convenient. He never scared or shocked me. Most of the time I thought he was a bit silly and I was waiting for the real villain to appear.

Summary
This book was just okay for me. It had a lot of potential but fell short when it really mattered. Superficial characters, a too-perfect ending, and a weak villain made this book suffer. Not an awful read, but not anything to get overly excited about. A good read if you don't expect too much.