**3.5 Stars**
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.

This was a very sweet book that pulled me in early on. I really loved Mari and her family. I really liked how this story puts others of its kind on its head. In most cases, this story would go the other way. It would be a normal teen getting sucked into the world of jewel stealing and in this one, we go the other way with a jewel thief being hidden out as a normal teen for the first time in her life. That made this book set apart from others and it made it awesome.

This one has some great action and wonderful pacing and I couldn't put it down. I do wish that it would have been a little longer. But I could see this becoming a great series as well set up wonderfully for a really interesting tv show.

I read a fair amount of YA, but this felt like it was meant for a very young audience. Probably this is appropriate and would be enjoyed by girls 11-14. I debated about letting my 9 year old try it. No profanity, two or three kisses and not too much violence. For me it felt silly and over the top. I was rolling my eyes for much of it. Just not for me,

A cute fun read but I felt like it could have had more of the backstory to make the relationships even stronger. I did enjoy it and I have some students who will as well!

Marisol comes from a generational line of jewelry thieves, so it's not new to her learning about heists and stealing jewels. The thing is that someone has betrayed the crew her family belongs to as they turn up to the same heist they are doing. It turns out that the guy who turned up is known for killing Marisol's dad and now he wants the whole family wiped and the journal that he supposedly left behind. Marisol's mother takes the pair of them back to New York where Marisol becomes Mari - a new transfer student. The pair of them in hiding trying to live a normal life. Well, that was Mari's goal to stay under the radar, but she has attracted the attention of hot guy Will Campbell. No matter how much she tries to stay away, he is there. The pair soon starts dating, and Mari believes that maybe the life of a Normal Teenage girl is something that she could get used to. That is until Marisol's Uncle turns up and then Will gets himself kidnapped but is it a trap to lure Marisol and her mother out into the open? What will happen when Marisol realizes that it's her diary that her father left her is the main prize?

A big Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC for my honest review.
This is not an adult book-this is for YA!!
This was a cute fun book that I think most teenage girls would like. I know that my juniors from the Marshall Islands would like it.

Mari gets to travel, has a romantic interest and has issues that are valid in real life. A good book for young teen girls. I gave it a 3.5.

I loved this book. It was such a quick and cute read. I liked how Mari comes from a family opposite side of the law. It's an enjoyable book full of twist and turns. It was an interesting book to read. Amazing.

Review posted to realm of the Sapphired Dragon 8/8/17

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.

Firstly, I liked this spin on the extraordinary teen hiding out as a regular teenager premise and Mari was a likeable main character. I thought the idea played out well in the story giving a plausible fun and intriguing story line. We got see both the jewel thief side of her in action as well as the regular teen and Ms Somers showed the contrasts well which really helped make mar are more rounded and believeable character.

The pace and flow of this story really hit the mark. I was in the story from the first page and quickly flew through this only putting it down briefly once. Mari's voice was relatable and I cared what happened to her and to Will. I liked the twists and surprises the author threw in and while i picked some of it, I still felt compelled to keep moving threw to the story to see how it all turned out.

Overall the story is great blend of sweet romance, action and adventure with feels a plenty and a satisfying conclusion to leave you smiling.

I really enjoyed this and gave it 3 3/4 stars :-)

Sapphired Dragon xx

Spoilers Free Review!
3.5 Stars!

Teens living unusual lives are on of my soft spots. I enjoy stories where teens 'have different jobs'. So, this was a book I knew I wasn't going to pass up. It was a good read, I kinda want a little more of the 'Jewel Thief' side of her life. We got a little bit, a little tease but other than that, it's just what I was looking for. The lead character Mari moves back to New York to go into hiding. Her father's side of the family comes from a long line of Jewel Thieves. ( World of love to know more about the history side of her family.) We follow her as she's in hiding and how that plays out. Her mother is a good side character who plays a role in the story than just a parents role. This is a swoony, action story with a strong girl who followers her heart.

Characters: We get to know the tips of these characters, there's so much more to these characters, I wish we got to know more of them. (This felt like a first book in a series so I hoping there's more.) The lead, Mari, journals a lot, and I found those parts to be the best-written parts.

Plot: This plot of simple, with a few little twist. I could see one of the twist coming, but it planned out different than what I thought was going to happen.

Writing: I really enjoyed author Rosie Somers writing. Her pacing of writing, flow and styles made this book great.

Didn't like: I found that the Mari and Will falling for each other happened a little too fast.

Other than that this was a cheesy swoon, with a little bit of kick-butting book.


Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief was read and reviewed part of a blog tour but all these thoughts are all mine and what I truly think of this book.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free ARC in exchange of an honest review. Thank you "Entangled Teen" for the opportunity to review this book.

I'm going to get straight to the point. I did not raelly enjoy this book. I feel like it had potential, but it fell very short. The synopsis is very misleading as the main plot happens in just the last 1/3 of the book. Most of the book feels like a contemporary, which would be fine and dandy if this was actually a contemporary novel, but it isn't, and the romance feels out of place and very insta-lovey. The main characters weren't enjoyable to read. Matter of fact, I really wasn't a fan of the narrator, Mari. She is so incredibly naive and stupid for a girl who is supposedly a master jewel theif.

The writing was very basic and the plot was cookie cutter basic. The only reason why I'm giving this two stars and not ones is because there were a few cute moments that I liked. It's a shame. I really wanted to like this book because the premise sounded interesting and kind of reminded me of "Heist Society" by Ally Carter which is one of my favorite series from when I was in middle school, but this comes no where near as good as Ally Carter's books. Overall I'm glad this was a quick read and didn't take up too much of my time and this is not a book I would recommend at all.

"Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief" was a really fast YA (light) thriller! We follow Marisol, who has been raised in the family business of stealing jewels- although her mother and she have recently given it up and are trying to settle in New York City. Her father was killed by Petrov Rosinsky, a crime leader in Europe who has extensive influence. She and her mother are trying to escape his grasp by fleeing to NYC. At first, things look safe and all Mari has to worry about are normal teenage things, starting at a new high school- friends and classwork. Things are also changing as she finds she has a shadow in a hot boy named Will- and she might not mind too much.

Overall, it was a fast-paced and quick read that was enjoyable all the way through. I also see the ending was left as if a sequel is in the works, and I would love to continue with this interesting storyline in the next book (and the new characters we meet at the end). The first half of the book seems like it will just be another high school new-kid story, but then about halfway through, everything changes for the more intense! I liked both sides of the story, as Mari is an easily likable character, and we all know how hard it can be to fit in in a new school. The romance with Will was cute but really fast (which Mari herself admits), and even though it has a flair of insta-love, I liked it anyway.

At first, I didn't understand why it focused on her diary when so much of it is told through regular prose, but this became clear later, and I liked how everything developed/came together throughout the story. Mari and her mother were really sweet and had a great relationship, which is always refreshing to see in YA. Overall, it's a delightful and quick read that toes the edges of the thriller category without being too intense.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

marisol flores has had an unconventional upbringing in diary of a teenage jewel thief. she's the youngest in a line of jewel thieves, but her first job as point person ends badly and she must flee with her mom to new york city and try to fit into a normal life.

all she's wanted for years is a normal life. but starting a normal life by pretending that she and her mom aren't hiding from the man who killed her father means that she's jumping at shadows. fitting in at a normal high school is also a challenge. she doesn't know about being normal. nothing in her life has been normal.

so when she meets will campbell, who is charming and seems to be taken with her, she's not quite sure how to act. she wants to trust that he likes her and enjoys her company. but she has a hard time trusting anyone. and she also feels like she can't be totally honest with him.

as their relationship deepens it becomes clear that there is more to will than meets the eye. but it's not until the villianous petrov gets his hooks into will and all those that mari holds dear that all truths are revealed. and as they all work together to bring down petrov, the fact that mari can finally be honest about her true self with will frees her from so many of her worries. she realizes she doesn't have to fit into a prescribed version of normal. all she needs is to find happiness, and she has that with will.

will is a total dreamboat of a character. he's got his reasons for paying attention to mari, and they have more in common than mari realizes at first. his unconventional upbringing makes him the perfect match for mari. totally swoonworthy.

3.5 stars
Being posted on Aug 14th 2017 @ readingwithwrin.blogspot.com
Marisol has been taught her whole life how to pull of the perfect heist, but when things go wrong and she finally gets to be a 'normal' teenage girl she doesn't really know how to handle it all.
She adjusts to high school fairly easily, thanks in part to her having done online school, and from just blending into the background for the most part. With Will helping her get caught up in Math, and Jamie helping her find clubs to join to help her make friends. Marisol seems to start enjoying her new life. That is until a family member shows up and she realizes she's may be being followed by someone.
This causes her to panic and to doubt her new life completely. She realizes that there really isn't a way to get away from the world they've been a part of, and she may have put all of her new friends at risk too.
Overall I did enjoy this book, but I'm also not going to lie I was a little disappointed that this was more girl adjust to normal life and less heist related. Not saying this was a bad thing, just wasn't exactly what I was suspecting. Also how in the world did she not have any idea who Will was? Having said that, I really did like the beginning and the last thirty percent of the book. The middle part while important to show her new life, and how her connection to Will changed things, was also a little boring to me personally. I wish we would have either gotten to see more of her friends at school or her family dynamic because I felt like we didn't really get to understand it until almost the end.
I am interested to see if this gets any companion novels because that ending was the perfect setup for some, and they sound like they would be Amazing!

While this is not what I had excepted when I requested this book, I did find it to be a good read.

*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts/opinions are my own. Thank you!!*

Well, that was an entertaining and quick ride! Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief kept me intrigued the whole time, but there were a couple things that kept me from really liking this book.

1) All the characters weren't developed or as complex as I wanted except for the MC. Though Mari was a nice narrator, the book is very much focused on her and we don't learn much about the other characters. This led me to not really care about anyone. I had this sense of detachment as I read the book because of it. I would have loved to see more scenes between Mark and her mother so that their relationship was more heartfelt, and some more of Maris interactions with high schoolers to see that juxtaposition between jewel thief and awkward teenager.

2) The romance had this weird ownership quality to it that really rubbed me the wrong way. There's instances where phrases like "my will", "I'm his", "you're mine", "you belong to me" are used. This was meant to be swoony, but really irritated me. No one should own another person, and I couldn't block out my irritation.

3) there's this big sequence of events at the end in which Mari is facing down a bad guy, and it was really entertaining. Throughout the whole book were told (but not really shown, mind you) that Mari is this kick ass girl who can scale buildings, knows Krav Maga, and is fluent in multiple languages. And yet when the climax happens she's always sheltered. I wanted her to do something, but she's pretty helpless. I think what she did was pretty kick ass, but I wanted her to do more. One character (won't say who bc of spoilers) always protects Mari and puts her life above theirs, and it's their "classic move" I wanted to shove this person over and let Mari be a badass!

BUT

Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief had a really good premise. While I would have loved to see the relationships developed more, the writing was good and kept me going! There's room for improvement, but nothing's perfect. I would read for of this author for sure.

3 out of 5 Stars

*Review will be published August 1st on Stellar Kitten Book Reviews / will update with link at that time

❝ The life of a professional thief is glamorous. That is, if you consider attending five high schools in three years, possessing my own personal collection of ski masks, having better knife-throwing skills than social skills, and not having a close friend since elementary school glamorous.❞

This was a really light and fun read that you could easily get done in a day. Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief is a contemporary YA romance that follows Marisol (Mari) and her mother after they escape a rival thief and move to New York. 

Based on the title and description I was expecting to see more of Marisol's skills come into play, or see her getting into trouble using her skills to help others. Something along those lines. While there weren't too many instances where Marisol went on heists or did unexpectedly epic things, I still really enjoyed this book just for the romance aspect. 

As can be expected, Marisol is nervous about starting up school and trying to fit in. She's never really had any friends or done anything "normal", so she struggles with her social life and some of her schoolwork. It's in seeking help for her math class that she gets to know Will Campbell, her sidewalk Romeo.

❝ Well, maybe I'm scared and want you around for protection." His grin crooks to one side, and he winks. He's teasing me. 

And it's working. "Well, come on then. Lag behind and I'll leave you to fend for yourself.❞

What I liked about Marisol trying to be "normal" was that she really put in the effort. She talked to the teacher about getting extra help, she took the initiative to join a club at school, she pushed herself to go out and hang out with her friends, and she chose not to let Will take over her life completely. She still went to her club meetings and everything else. 

What I liked about Will? He accepted Marisol as she was! He didn't demand that she stop hanging out with other people just because he wanted to walk with her after school.  He waited for her, brought her coffee, texted her. He just genuinely cared and showed it with the little things. He was also really adorable in that "I'm a flirt, but when you flirt back I'm going to blush" kind of way. I loved it <3

The only thing I think that might be a little disappointing, again, is that we don't get to see much of Marisol as a thief. I was also left wanting to know more about the rest of the thieves in Marisol's family. There were also other side characters introduced that weren't mentioned very much for the rest of the book because the romance between Will and Marisol was the obvious focus of the book. So, if you liked romance, this is great and you should pick it up. If you were hoping for more action then this might not be for you. 

The action-y stuff in this book happens more in the beginning with the first heist and then progresses some more towards ending of the book. I think the book did a good job of tying together loose ends and answering a lot of the questions behind Marisol's father and Will's interest in her.

This lovely book comes out on August 8th <3 Go check it out!

DNF. 54%

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this novel in exchange for a honest review.

Hate to DNF it, but I don't feel like continuing. Maybe I'm not being picky enough on NetGalley.. But it just was not really something for me. Think I'm too old for this ? (Ha that feels awful to say..) But I'm no teenager, haven't been one for almost 10 years.. And this is just to childish for me.
I would have hoped for more action and actual thievery.. But after the beginning scene it just went downwards. And honestly ? The guy she is falling for is kind of creepy in a bad way and there is ZERO chemistry ? Just no..

Please note: I received DIARY OF A TEENAGE JEWEL THIEF on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to both the Publisher and author.

I read this story in ONE night. I couldn't put it down because Mari is a smart, sassy- yet sweet- heroine and I wanted to know what happened to her and hella-hot Will. Rosie Somers wrote a fantastic story about a girl trying to keep true to herself while simultaneously trying to blend into her surroundings. It's hard to ignore your birthright when it's also your family's livelihood, yet Mari does just that in order to fly below the radar from her family's past until her two worlds collide and everything falls apart. The tug back and forth between Will and Mari is spot on and I couldn't put the book down until I found out if they got together, what happened to her mom and uncle, and what would happen with Mari and Will's future on top of everything else. Be prepared for a thrill ride as you turn the pages of this story. :) Highly recommend this book.