I want to love this, but the writing style made me feel so distant from the characters and narrative, so while I'll recommend this to teens, it was not my favorite.

I loved this book. Did it feel a bit pretentious? Sure. Do I care? Not in the slightest. It worked for me. It was poetic, touching, and made me think about it long after I put it down.

I like the idea of this book, but I think the fact that it's a teen that's being implicated makes it a little harder to believe. I'm a teacher and while this feels far fetched I can only partially see something like this truly happening in real life. The way Icarus functions amongst his peers is realistic. I also like that his 'friends' try even though he is so insistent he's not worthy of the love they try to give him. I also like the lesson of how people are always more connected than you assume. Would I read again... probably not, but I am glad to have at least given it a chance and read something that'd be on my TBR for a while. I know teen readers would enjoy this for the 'forbidden' romance trope alone and the queer angsty teen vibes (meant in the best way, that's not a dig).

K Ancrum excells in compelling characters and lyrical writing. This queer modern take on the story of Icarus is like nothing I have read before.

This was a beautiful yet heartbreaking story of two teens, one being trained as a thief and art forger, and the other trapped inside a house. The two meet and gradually become friends, then more, as they hope for and seek a way to be together. I loved the mythological names as they were unusual but very interesting, and drew me to the book at first. The story then grabbed my attention from there! A great read with lots of twists and conflicts throughout, and an excellent resolution.

Another compelling story from K. Ancrum. Enjoyed getting to know these characters and spending time with her language.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m a sucker for all retellings and this one was done so well, exploring the deep themes of found family and the trials and tribulations this can bring.
The book formatting was really interesting and drew you in immediately with incredibly short and fast paced chapters.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it almost in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. K.Ancrum has a really interesting writing style that I found it really easy to get lost in. I can't wait to read more of their work.

First off I will say that any book with short chapters is an automatic win. This book says so much with few words but does it so well. The plot moves fluidly, there really isn’t any point where you’re hoping to rush through or feel like it’s moving too fast.

Now, found family? This book has got it and it’s done beautifully. Sneaky art heists as part of a bigger familial revenge story? Got it. Father son trauma? It’s all there. I absolutely loved this modernization of the Icarus myth, and quite frankly I feel like Icarus finally gets what’s owed him in this story.

This book had my heart racing and breaking page to page. I loved the character relationships, and they were written so raw and real. The story, following a teen who steals art for his father, seemed so believable and plausible yet was equally unrealistic in the best way. I can also recommend the audiobook, the narrator does a beautiful job with it.

If you’re a K. Ancrum fan, you know why she deserves a place on our March books list. Her award-winning novels are diverse and thrilling. Icarus is a queer YA reimagining of the myth and is as suspenseful and lyrical as her previous books.

I was drawn to this story because of the premise. I love retellings and this was the first one I’ve ever seen and was able to get based on the story of Icarus.

However, the story didn’t really draw me in as I hoped. I think a huge reason for that was the formatting of how the story was told. It was written in small chapter beats, ranging from a single page to at most five. It was extremely distracting to wade into a scene and start to get invested, only to be yanked out into another scene or exposition. Imagine a movie where you get one minute of a scene before it drops to another scene. Not a different camera angle, but a whole different thing and it does that for the whole movie.

I also don’t feel it worked out to make us like any of the characters beyond a surface level and even the danger and the sad abusive situation the main character lived in was dulled. I didn’t feel the urgency of breaking into someone’s home or any real emotion regarding the son’s treatment from his father. Also the whole thing about revenge seemed just petty at best, manufactured at worst.

A strange but hugely fascinating story, where K. Ancrum once again showcases their unique writing style in the most wonderful way.

A strange but fascinating story about family, art history, secrets, and friendships. Though at time it felt too intense to be a YA novel, this literary-lite fiction is sure to please audiences.

Thank you Harper Collins and K. Ancrum for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing style is beautifully wrote and poetic at times I can tell K. Ancrum is a very talented author.

It's a very sweet YA, with some sad moments and funny ones too. Some parts were quite emotional.

The chapters are very short and sometimes it feels like they've finished too quickly, I would have liked them a little longer.

I liked how we had representation to disabilities; particularly EDS. It isn't wrote much in books usally so it's refreshing reading about it. I did like how it was explained. We got intersex representation too, another representation I rarely see in books!

Definitely an author I would pick up again. The authors note was eye opening too, and makes you really think about what others are going through, it reminded me how fortunate we are to age and how much pressure the younger population are under in society.

A beautifully written YA that pulls its name from Greek mythology. Between the art heists, the aching romance, and lyrical writing readers will fall straight into this novel. It's the kind of story that pulls at your heart and leaves you wanting more.

I’m sure this will work for someone else. I did appreciate the short chapters as it felt like I was reading more than I was. I also liked how lyrical the writing was but I’m not sure if im going into a reading slump but I couldn’t get into this book. Will def try again soon

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher HarperTeen for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: emotional and physical abuse, death, cancer, drug addiction, violence, touch sensitivity

Seventeen year old Icarus Gallagher is the son of a famous art restorer but also a brilliant thief: he and his father have been stealing from one particular patron, Mr Black, for years, replacing his originals with perfect forgeries and selling them to the highest bidder as revenge for Mr Black’s part in the death of Icarus’ mother. He works hard to please his father and even as his commitment to the cause begins to wane, Icarus sticks to the rules he created for himself despite his popularity at school. He’s intent on making sure no one can ever get close to learn the truth, that no one will ever touch him and that he’ll never be caught. This all changes when he is, but not by Mr Black. Instead, Icarus is discovered by Mr Black’s son, Helios, who is being held in the house as punishment for bad behaviour for a year. Rather than reporting Icarus’ crimes to his father, Helios makes a deal with him: in exchange for Helios’ silence, Icarus must return and be his friend. This breaks every rule Icarus has ever created for himself and as things deepen into romance, they both become determined to escape the cages their fathers have trapped them in. However, Icarus’ father is intent on their revenge against Mr Black and soon Icarus is forced to choose between his freedom or the boy he loves.

There are aspects of this book that I loved and that I wish there’d been more of, some, in particular, being that there wasn’t enough art being stolen or enough art in general. Despite this, I did like “Icarus” a lot, it’s a light-toned, sweet YA that deals with some heavy themes in incredibly short, interconnected chapters. I wish we’d seen more scenes before Helios and Icarus met, simply because I felt like the story moved too quickly once they did. However, I loved how Icarus has been so careful with himself for years, protecting his father’s career as a forger until he begins to blossom at school in part because of his relationship with Helios. I can see why this was compared to “The Goldfinch” (one of my all-time favourite books) but ultimately I don’t think it’s fair to either work- “Icarus” is a breath of fresh air, about finding love and recovery and freedom after being trapped in the dark. I loved the scenes with Helios and Icarus sitting with the Chicago Art Institute book especially, they were beautiful. The writing style is romantic and gentle, combining a slice of life style with an exploration of abuse and the impact of long term isolation. This is pitched as a retelling of the fall of Icarus myth from Greek mythology- Helios being the name of the Sun that he flies too close towards- and I really liked how this was reimagined into modern day.

i wanted to like this book - pretty writing! sweeping romance! art thievery! - but unfortunately, there was too much going on and i didn't find any reality to ground me. i've really liked books by this author in the past for their real-feeling rendition of being a teenager, but this felt quite the opposite.

Icarus is an insightful and multi-faceted story. The retelling aspect in particular felt so beautiful and immersive talking about ambition, revenge and betrayal as this backdrop to a story about vulnerability and love. I immediately fell in love with Icarus and how he feels so isolated. His story is about opening up, the power of friends to support and cherish us. It’s also a story about love and whether it’s a source of weakness or strength. Whether our love for someone inspires us to fly or is a pressure point against us.