"Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief" by Rosie Somers is a delightful and engaging YA novel that sparkles with wit, charm, and adventure. Somers takes readers on an exhilarating journey alongside her relatable and spirited protagonist, giving us a peek into the thrilling world of high-stakes heists and teenage hijinks.

One of the novel's greatest strengths is its fast-paced and action-packed plot. From the adrenaline-pumping heists to the unexpected twists and turns, "Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief" keeps readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. Somers seamlessly weaves together elements of mystery, romance, and humor, creating a story that is as entertaining as it is unpredictable.

The characters in the novel are vibrant and well-drawn, each with their own quirks and motivations. Marisol is a particularly compelling protagonist, with her sharp wit and fierce determination making her a joy to follow. The supporting cast, including Marisol's friends and family, add depth and dimension to the story, providing both comedic relief and moments of genuine emotion.

Somers' writing is engaging and immersive, transporting readers into Marisol's world with vivid descriptions and clever dialogue. The diary format adds an extra layer of intimacy and authenticity to the narrative, allowing readers to experience Marisol's adventures firsthand. Whether she's plotting a daring heist or navigating the complexities of teenage life, Marisol's voice rings true and resonates with readers of all ages.

In conclusion, "Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief" is a gem of a novel that shines with humor, heart, and excitement. Rosie Somers has crafted a captivating story that will appeal to readers of all ages, from YA enthusiasts to fans of mystery and adventure. With its memorable characters, thrilling plot, and irresistible charm, this book is sure to steal the hearts of readers everywhere.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review.

I was so excited for the premise of DIARY OF A TEENAGE JEWEL THIEF, but this one unfortunately ended up not being quite what I was expecting.

This was not what I was expecting. I was expecting from the synopsis, the title and the cover, this novel was going to be similar to Ally Carter's Heist Society series, but it felt more like a high school contemporary drama with the added bit of the action and thriller on the end, just to make it the heist novel it was marketed to be. Sadly a case of don't judge a book by its cover.

From the get go I was uncertain about our main characters. Marisol's voice was certainly not that of a sixteen year old, and I really struggled to get past this when reading. Marisol's voice and narrative was too young, although Somers did try to mature Marisol, it sadly lacked presence and simply made her sound a little confused and as though she was trying to be older than she actually is. Apart from that, I didn't mind Marisol, she was okay. Marisol was friendly and nice. But there was nothing to make her stand out, I didn't feel like I was able to connect with her and that was a real shame; she was simply your standard protagonist, nothing more than a character shell.

The relationship from the beginning was far too insta-love. It was immediate, and instead of being cute and swoon worthy, it came across as rather awkward and cringy, making me feel rather uncomfortable at times. And because they seemed younger than they actually were, that made their relationship seem that much more uncomfortable and awkward.

As for the plot. It was okay, yet not what I was expecting. It started strong and I was really intrigued, but it felt like it quickly just turned into a normal contemporary, girl starts new school, girl has secrets, girl makes new friends, and meets new mysterious guy, something happens, secrets revealed, then happy again. We finally get to see the heist in the last 25% which was done brilliantly and I really wish this was included more in the actual novel as Somers wrote this fantastically; it was thrilling and dangerous, exactly what I had been hoping for throughout.

The last 25% of the novel really made up for the rest, it was just such a shame that you had to read for that long to read Somer's brilliant action thriller scenes.

Here is a book that I have been looking forward to for a long time! Can't wait to read more by this author!

This book was a pleasant suprise and in some ways reminded me of heist society books. Loved the details of the heist and the plot twist at the end revealing info about will. Mari and wills relationship might have been a bit fast to develop but it was mostly clean which I really appreciated. Overall great YA part suspense part romance.

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet and engaging from the very first chapter. 17 year old Mari is from a family with long glorious tradition of jewel thievery and that has been the life she has led so far. After finding out a dangerous rival is out to get them, Mari and her mother head to New York to hide out and Mari has to pretend to be a normal teenager for the first time in her life.

Awesome book with a great story and enough plot twists to keep you hooked.

Badass teens with secret life is one of my soft spots when it comes to books. It doesn’t matter if it’s as a secret spy, thief, assassin— I love them all. Which is why I immediately jumped onto the wagon when I saw this book.

I have to admit that my focus was divided when I started reading. But once I had my head on straight, nothing could make me put this book down aside from the time I did my chores.

While I’m not in love with the characters, but I do love their interactions with each other. And gosh, the puns. I love bad puns, it always made me laugh. Another thing I like is how Marisol’s mom is not just a prop like some other books.

I wished there’s more action side of the story though. It always give me a second hand adrenaline rush. But the pace of the story as it is is great too.

I think readers who enjoyed reading Also Known As by Robin Benway, and Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott would enjoy this book.

I rate this book 4 over 5 stars.

This was a longer than usual read for me. I started, stopped for a long time, came back because I had nothing else to read. I know! Already not a winning start-stop-continue.

I stopped in the 1st place because the author dropped us in the middle of action that felt jarring. My reaction was I felt as if I was missing something, such as a lead up to background, character, etc. Sure, I read the summary before NetGalley gave me access, but I can only imagine if someone picked this up to read without some background, would've came in cold and confused. Without any sort of character warm-up, I just couldn't connect. Especially as the opening starts with her in the thieving action and then jumps to a diary entry. It just didn't compute in my head what was happening.

The hunky insta-love, the shy outsider teen-thing, etc. was your typical wishful thinking YA stuff.

At the HEA, it seems as if the author sort of left the door open for more action in these characters' future. I'm not sensing an immediate sequel, but if there is, I don't plan to come back for more.

The only reason I gave this book five stars is because I can't give it more!

* eARC received from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

I expected to enjoy this book but sadly this book isn't for me because I totally hate insta-love romances and this one is full of it. They're major book turn-off's for me. I hoped we get some thrilling thieving action but it disappointed me in that aspect too. Some parts in the plot isn't fleshed out well and the relationship between some characters seemed forced to me. Story-wise it's not a bad read if you're into sweet teen romances with some clichedness. For me, it was an okay read but nothing amazing enough to fangirl over.

Marisol Flores is a sixteen year old teen who comes from a family of thieves. Because of their profession, Marisol and her mom are constantly moved more one place to another. Unlike other girls of her age, her whole life was spent on learning the locations of museums where rare jewels are kept, and training on escape tactics. She has no friends and zero social life. When a rival thief targets her family, they both escape to New York city to start a new life. Marisol is glad that she can finally live a normal life that she always dreamed of and she enters into a high school where she makes new friends and there she meets the handsome Will Campbell whose grin gives her butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't reveal her real identity to him or her new friends but what happens when her past finally catches up to her and Will becomes the next target.

Except for Marisol, I can't connect with any of the characters in this book. Marisol is an interesting protagonist! Despite being a skilled thief, she's still a teenager who longs for a normal teen girl life. Even though I hated her insta-attraction towards Will which always annoyed me, I really liked her character. Will seemed like a typical love interest and I didn't cared much about him. His character wasn't fleshed out well and It would've been great if the author has provided more info on him. The sweet romance between Marisol and Will was totally meh. I didn't enjoyed the insta-attraction between them and their way too fluffy romance made things even worse for me. Marisol's inner thoughts towards Will's handsome looks always made me roll my eyes. As for the secondary characters, they aren't memorable enough to describe. It seems like the author didn't paid much attention to them and some relationship between the characters seemed forced.

The Plot is good but sadly, some parts of it fell flat for me. The story starts with a great start but slowly it takes downhill when nothing exciting happens until the ending part. To be honest, I only enjoyed the first part and the last part of this book. The surprising twists at the end are unpredictable but they didn't thrilled me much. I wish there was more thieving scenes and action in the plot. The plot is mostly centered around Mari and her mom hiding from the bad guys, and the cute insta-romance between Will and Marisol. If you love insta-love romances then you might enjoy this book more than I did. The whole story is told from Marisol's POV. The writing style was simple and easy to understand.

Overall, it was an okay read for me but I'm certain others would like it more than I did. Despite my issues, I think this would make a cute YA contemporary romance.

Marisol isn't your normal teenager.

She has a gift for stealing things.

After all, she should since she's been trained as a professional jewel thief.

This was an interesting YA book. It followed a new idea and premise - Marisol has to restart her life in NYC to hide from her parent's old rival and employers. It includes a lot of adjusting and normal teenage issues of fitting in.

There's enough action to keep you interested enough to finish out the story.

This book was odd. It was written as if it was intended for a younger audience (think Ally Carter) but the main character was 17 (almost an adult) and it dealt with some adult themes (someone dies within the first chapter). Written well though and aside from the intended audience being a little confusing, was generally okay.

A fun spy read that fans of Ally Carter will love. It had me turning the page wanting more and I loved how I never quite knew where the story was going.

This was a cute, yet lacking type of story. It was a fun one that I can see many teenage girls enjoying, especially with a young, kind girl as the protagonist, and receiving the attention from a sweet, cute guy.

Mari is kind and someone that I’m sure many teenagers wouldn’t mind being friends with. Unfortunately, I found her character to be incomplete in regards to her jewel thieving ways. The title, the opening, and the fact that Mari and her mom are hiding is all contributed to the fact that their “profession” is jewel thieving. However, it is difficult to fully understand the dangers involved in being thieves due to the focus quickly shifting to something else. After the opening, the author explains Mari is adjusting in “normal” teenage life, which was disappointing because I wanted more of how and where she stole jewels.

Also, I felt that the beginning was captivating showing how physically strong and resourceful Mari was. Right after, though, I honestly forgot that Mari was very physically capable and that thieving was a big part of her life until the very end. The story just turned into a teen romance for a while. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when the hype of this book is jewel thieving, then I expect that to be the main focus.

In some ways, I felt the relationship between Mari and Will a bit forced and underdeveloped. Part of the reason might be because Will’s character isn’t really fleshed out and he is pretty one-dimensional. Because of this, their relationship wasn’t very exciting and I felt it took away from the plot’s progression.

Overall, the book was fairly enjoyable and light, but was lacking in a few areas. I would perhaps recommend this read teenagers who enjoy sweet romance novels with a bit of action.

When we first see Marisol in Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief, she's mid-heist, taking the lead on a job for the first time ever. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, and when next we see her she's attempting to live the life of an ordinary NYC teen for the first time ever. Her fish-out-of-water issues are endearing, but I was a little bummed that her jewel thief skills didn't end up getting more of a workout in the rest of the novel (though her solution to forgetting her locker combination was fantastic!)

Will is a likable character as well, but it didn't feel like we (or Mari, for that matter) really got to know him well enough. Both their relationship and the main suspense part of the plot felt as if they could have been more fleshed out, given us more. The resolution of both felt a bit too pat and easy. The ending did make it seem like this is the potential first book in a series, though, so possibly future books will give us more--more chances for Mari to show her stuff, more character and relationship development, and more involved suspense plots. Fingers crossed!

Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief is a cute YA story with an engaging main character, and though it's a little lighter on the suspense and romance than I'd like, it was still a fun way to pass a few hours.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

this summer has been a true crime summer for me. so much murder and so much dark, dark, subject matter.

i was very happy to get the opportunity to review diary of a teenage jewel thief so that i could read something a little less serious and cleanse the pallet so to speak.

this book was a super fun read. i thought it would be super predictable but i was pleasantly surprised at the well placed twists and turns!

This is definitely a fast paced, exciting read. Even though Mari is a jewel thief by birthright, she is written in a believable way. Rosie's characters are authentic, real-life people. I mean, if I knew any former jewel thieves, I imagine that they would be very similar to Mari and her family.

I definitely recommend throwing this book in your beach bag! It is quick, witty, and was just the book I needed when it hit my radar!

4/5 stars from this girl!

What can I say, I’m a true romantic at heart :) And that is one reason why I enjoyed this book. Even though I was hoping for a bit more jewel thievery, I loved the romance aspect of it. Will and Mari definitely made a great couple. That being said, I did want to see more of Mari’s jewel-thief life, other than just the botched heist at the beginning where Petrov (the bad guy) finds them and then the blip at the end. The real meat of the story focused on Mari and her mom hiding from Petrov in NYC, trying to have normal lives.

Of course, I loved the ending (no, I’m not going to tell you what it is!) because I thought it wrapped everything up perfectly.

The pacing of this book was spot on, as well. I didn’t notice any lulls and I actually flew through it. I read this in only a couple days (with two small kids, that’s sometimes a challenge) and, especially toward the end, I had a hard time putting it down. The one thing I would like to see, however, is a companion novella that maybe shows what Mari’s life was like before New York? But that’s just my inability to let characters go. I always want more :)

3.5 Stars

I went into this book expecting it to read like a teenage Penelope Blue filled with heists, antics, and awesome ninja/jewel thief stuff.

I liked it, but it wasn't what I was expecting. This had a light romance, and was more about Mari being lonely, fitting in, and trying to be "normal" when all she knows is the life of a jewel thief. It does have some action during the second half of the book, but even then it feels almost out of place because of how the beginning of the book went.

I don't normally read books about general teenage issues because I'm way past that point of my life but I think that the target audience would enjoy this book.

I received an advance reader copy of this book that I have chosen to review.