Monday, August 14, 2017

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief by Rosie Somers

Book Blurb:

Most sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t know where museums keep their rarest jewels (the basement) and they really shouldn’t know that vans make the worst getaway cars. But for Marisol Flores, a life of jewel thievery is a birthright handed down from generation to generation, even if she didn’t ask for it. So when a rival thief targets Mari and her mother, Mari’s more than happy to flee to the anonymity of bustling New York City.

Blending in is a dream come true for Mari, but keeping her former thieving ways a secret gets way more complicated when handsome Will Campbell sets his sights on her. She can’t help but like his terrible puns and charming grin…but when her past catches up with her, it’s not only her life—and her anonymity—that’s at stake.

Will could be the next target.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Entangled Publishing

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My phone rings. The tinny chime splits the silence and cuts through the romance of the moment, but I don’t move to answer it. Maybe if I stay just like I am, he’ll still kiss me.

“You gonna answer that?” Will’s voice is a breathy almost-whisper against my lips.

“No.

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My Review:

3.5 Out Of 5 Review

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Teen--

Marisol and her mother are in the process of their last jewel heist when something goes wrong and they are being pursued. They escape to New York and attempt to start normal lives, something Marisol has no idea about. Marisol has no idea how to be a regular teen girl, add in the fact that she has never had a boyfriend or real friends before and now she is thrown into the wilds of High School. Just when things seem to be looking up, with a cute attentive boy hanging around and the start of freindship, Marisol can't shake the feeling that something is coming.

I found this book to be a very fast, fun read. It was a quick plot, over just a few weeks and it was easily something that could be read in an afternoon. I was instantly interested in the story, enjoying the quirky awkwardness that was Marisol. As the book progressed I became a little less interested in the story because I kept picking at the things I found frustrating, instead of just letting this be an entertaining afternoon read. The thing is, I think reality has to take a backseat to plot to fully be able to enjoy this read, which for some reason I was not expecting (yes I know teen thief is not super realistic, but hey, it could happen!). The first half of the book felt very realistic, believable and engaging- a highly trained teen thief who was more equipped to steal a jewel than to manage the messy waters of high school, and I loved how awkward Marisol was. Add in the fact a murder occurs right in front of Marisol within the first few pages to add the danger aspect as she and her mother flee for their lives. Loved her starting school, the awkwardness and uncertainty was tangible and I felt for her. But then things became odd for me and I started to lose interest, and I had a lot of questions about the logistics of things that were never really explained or fit.

For example, her highly paranoid mother who wants to walk her teen-aged daughter to school and needs her to text her whereabouts suddenly doesn’t have her phone available to answer Marisol’s calls and doesn’t take her seriously when she says she is being followed. AND then she leaves her paranoid- refusing to leave the house daughter alone to go out of town for 4 days? What? No way. It was like a 180 personality reversal that made no sense and had no reasoning behind it.

And that brings me to Will who raised all my red flags when I was reading. The explanation the author used was totally reasonable, but until that happened, I found his behavior super suspect. I mean honestly, Marisol acted like a total crazy on multiple occasions, treating Will like he was a yo-yo, and yet he just rolled with the punches. Any normal guy would have been irritated, or at the minimum at least asked a question. But no, not Will, he just rolled with the crazy. As a side note, his suggestion at the end seemed like an interesting idea but really is super unnecessary and unrealistic- I am pretty sure people who were wronged know they were wronged, and telling them about it won't really solve anything except give you yourself a purpose, but sure, go ahead.

I loved that the last 20% of the book picked back up with the thievery aspect, which was nice to see Marisol's training in action. Overall this was a cute, fast read, great for someone wanting an adventure with a quirky teen girl who has no idea where she really belongs. The story was fun regardless of my observations and I look forward to more from the author.

I received this title in return for my honest review.

Author Bio:

Rosie Somers is a beach-going book addict who’s been crafting stories since before she learned her ABCs. When she’s not busy trying to bring the characters in her head to life on paper, she can be found volunteering with local animal rescues, crocheting funky hats for her friends, or eating herself into the poorhouse at Chipotle. Her fondest dream is to one day own a goat.

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