I don't think anything I can write can do justice to how much I loved this book. I have absolutely zero complaints . This Queer YA romance between an art thief and the son of the man he's been stealing from completely captured me . The vulnerability and emotion our main character goes through hurts your heart. The friendships he builds without even meaning to . The platonic love between the two that becomes his best friends. The way his classmates all looked out for each other behind the scenes. The portrayal of two different types of parental abuse both intentionally and unintentionally, physical and emotional , but trauma nontheless. Overcoming it and reaching for the future you want and deserve. In the end it was simply Perfect 🥰

Icarus has trained most of his life to steal artwork from the Black mansion and replace them with replicas. He keeps everyone in his life at a distance, until he's caught by someone on a mission.

I thought that this book was ok. The writing was really good and I love the short chapters. I also loved the characters and the heart that they had. I just felt that the plot was really lacking for me. If it was a shorter book, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Icarus by K. Ancrum is a brilliant and heartfelt novel inspired by the myth of Icarus. Ancrum writes complex and lovable characters who's relationships with each other are carried deeply throughout the whole story. This book shows how queer love and found family can flourish against all odds.The beauty and poetic nature of the writing is engaging and moving. Ancrum's writing leaves the reader wanting to delve deeper into their other works. I have and will continue to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in queer romance and modern retellings. I was truly blown away by the story, characters, and how much this book truly moved me emotionally.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy.

This books is very delicate, and sophisticated in ways that I trouble myself trying to best figure out how to explicitly explain my reasonings as to why.

The Writing is very poetic, it has ebbs and flows that keeps you intrigue in it's short chapters. The pacing on the other hand...is a bit hard to grasp. It's slow at some points...and almost too fast in other parts of the story.

Personally, I think I am not the right audience for the author's works, and Icarus is a good example of how as much as I can appreciate it...it's not very memorable to me.

This surprised me in the best way! I haven’t read K. Ancrum’s other work but now I am going to. I loved their writing and am so impressed.

This was the achillean romance with a bit of mystery and complex familial dynamics that I needed to explore and sit with :)

I wish that I could rate this book all the stars in the galaxy.
This is a wonderful story of found family, and I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of the book.

Icarus doesn't know how to love, but he's learning. He's learning how to hug and how to hold hands and how to open himself up to others and allow them in. He's learning how to touch and feel and belong. He is learning how to make friends and fall in love, and the reader gets the incredible privilege of learning alongside him. We as readers get to follow this young man's journey to self discovery. Every new milestone, you feel as if it's your own.
I felt a sense of pride for Icarus as if he was a real breathing person standing in front of me. His journey made me feel love right along with him. It made me feel love and hope and heartache and cozy and everything all at once.

This book is like a warm hug after a bad day. It's a cup of coffee in the morning while listening to birds sing. It's the cold side of a pillow, a snuggly fuzzy blanket. Whatever you think of as cozy, that's what this book is.

K. Ancrum weaved words together in a way that captivated my heart and soul. It left me speechless, with a deep sense of awe. I felt love deep in my soul and I do not know to express that feeling into words.

This isn't a favorite book in a way others are for me. I wasn't screaming at my kindle at 2am sweating or gasping at plot twists. This is a favorite in a different way, a peaceful way. I have no true excitement over the book and that's what I believe the point is. It's not exciting. It's peaceful. It's a boy trying to find where he belongs, trying to do mundane things like get coffee with a friend and hug his dad.
This book is a favorite in a different way, one that I think I really needed right now. The love that the characters all feel for each other, I somehow felt like I was included in that.
When I finished this book, I hugged my kindle close to my chest and just breathed, and let the beauty of this soak in.


Icarus flew close to the sun, but he didn't fall and he didn't burn. He glowed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was the epitome of the phrase “be gay and do crime”.

I genuinely liked the character development we got with Icarus because he very clearly experienced emotional and social neglect from the positions he was put in. The found family vibes truly made the story hit home because it showed us that the right people who come along will dismantle everything you thought about yourself and show you the love you deserved all along.

The main characters and supporting character were all complex and in depth. They didn’t feel shallow or as though they were just passerby’s in the story at all - I think the author did a great job to pace us when we were introduced to specific characters and the role they played in Icarus’s life.

Overall a wonderful read and the ending gave me all the anxious and exciting hope I was waiting for the entire time.

I listen to an audio galley of this with a synthesized voice and I wasn't a fan. It took me out of the story a little.
But this was still very very good, like all K. Ancrum's books tbh. It had vivid characters and a captivating plot. I believed it all, even the most unbelievable things. I wasn't as invested in the romance as I could have been though. I really enjoyed reading about the dynamics and the family drama though.
It wasn't my favorite K. Ancrum book but I still enjoyed it a lot and could not stop reading and I'll probably read it again with my eyes.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a ride of a story! Icarus succeeded at doing two very difficult things in the same story. One, K. Ancrum maintained the heart of the myth of Icarus without the plot or character development feeling stale or overly predictable. Two, at its heart, Icarus is the story of a very strong boy who has to learn to be soft. We see lots of stories that force their characters to toughen up and face the harsh realities of life, but Icarus has to learn to let love into his life, accept support from friends, and be vulnerable. To me, that is so much scarier.

I was rooting for Icarus and Helios the whole time, and I can't wait for you to do the same!

4.5 Stars rounded up! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

"Icarus grinned. 'Will you brighten my house with your light, Helios? Will you bring your heat to my hearth? Do you need me to say things poetically for you to take me seriously? Because I will.'"
My annotation: Goddamnit.

This book made my heart hurt in the best way. I'll admit, I was on the fence about it for the first like 5-10%. I liked it, but it wasn't grabbing hold of me. Enter Helios. I'm not typically a fan of instalove, but this was just on the other edge of it. Instafriendstolove?

The story was told in 3rd person, but we still got a lot of what was going on in Icarus' brain. We heard his thoughts, we felt his fear, we got to understand him. I'll be thinking about this story for a long time.

DNFed at 28%.

Icarus is a very specific kind of book. The writing style is very unique and, unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. Icarus is told in very short chapter, sometimes less than a page and I don't really think it works for this book. There are times when the chapter break just leaves the characters in the exact same position as the end of the previous chapter, which just broke up the momentum of a scene. There are other times when the next chapter is kind of a tangent, maybe explaining a space or the way Icarus thinks, but that also slowed me down, because I felt like it could have been information we are given while reading about the character in the space or his thought process in the moment.

Overall, I thought the story was interesting, but there's something kind of fantastical about a father and son slowly replacing art in one man's house with forgeries. Anytime the story went back to Icarus being in school, it felt jarring. Icarus also tries to say that he's being an extremely average student, when he doesn't temper his athletic abilities to the point that other student athletes are trying to get him to join their team even when he's a senior. It seems like an oversight.

Overall, I think there were just a lot of parts that don't work for me. However, I could see some readers being obsessed with this book and I think it's a super interesting concept.

Oh man oh man, K. Ancrum writes grand queer contemporary novels. This book hurt my heart and my bones (and at points, my joints). Icarus is an art thief by trade, high school loner by day. Suddenly his break ins at the Black house are transformed into a boy trying to break into his heart, and it's history from there. The chapters are so short, making this novel utterly devourable. The discussions on abuse and inner suffering were so poignant and painful. The theme of kids noticing things that adults don't is entirely accurate. Unfortunately I felt like there weren't any consequences at the end of the book though and that was just unfulfilling.

*Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Thank you Harper Collin’s and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Icarus is part of the world but has separate life, one that keeps him from connecting with others. He’s lonely. He spends his time stealing, mostly from Mr Black, who his father blames for Icarus’ mother’s death. One night, while once again stealing from Mr. Black, he meets Helios, Mr. Black’s son. Now Icarus has a change and friendship and maybe more. But with the hatred his father has will he really ever be able to build a relationship with Helios? Filled with tension and tender moments! A story of loneliness, complicated family dynamics, love, growth! Definitely recommend checking this one out!

As a big fan of K. Ancrum, I was excited to read this retelling of the Icarus tale. Ancrum's short chapters and blunt, poetic writing are as enchanting as ever, as is this young adult tale of a young art thief falling in love with the son of one of his victims. While this one isn't my favorite of Ancrum's - it takes a bit to get going - I nonetheless enjoyed this warmhearted tale that focuses on getting out from under the thumb of abuse.

This book made me ache someplace deep in my chest and the emotions I experienced cannot be easily summarized in this review. I have loved K. Ancrum's work for years and this is just one more example of her genius. Her short, evocative passages sharply render the loneliness and the struggles of what is it like to be a strong independent child who craves nothing more than to be soft and vulnerable and able to rely on someone for once. Icarus was a fantastic protagonist, fascinating and charismatic, with a vibrant cast surrounding him, a night job that requires some suspension of disbelief and a beautiful love for a boy trapped in the highest room in the tallest tower. Ancrum's work always features fierce friendships that leave me breathless and a true sense of community. The love and strength that can be found within a collective in her work that never fails to make me sob. I could write somewhat endlessly about this book and what made it work for me but I want you to read it for yourself so I will leave things here. Please read it if you're looking for a touching, heavily poetic, YA novel.

DNF 56% - ⭐⭐⭐

Following my rule of 3 starring any DNF books.

I honestly had no investment in any of the characters, everyone was flat for me. I am not even sure if there was a plot.

I struggled to over 50% and simply could not pick the book up again.

Icarus is a boy who wants the whole world but isn't allowed to touch it. And when he steals touches anyway, it hurts. It burns.

K. Ancrum is a master of chemistry, story, strangeness, and love. I was so captured by these characters and the magnetic prose that paints their world. The friendship! Art! Details! I loved this as much as The Weight of the Stars which is saying quite a lot.

I really liked the plot of the story and was couldn't put it down until I finished it to find out how it would end. I loved the small gestures he made for Helios such as bringing him coffee because he said he could not have any. While overall I enjoyed the book it wasn't what I thought it would be. I wouldn't call it a thriller or even a heist book like it was marketed. He does steal but it's not the main plot of the story in my opinion. It has a nice flow to it but I wish the chapters were not so short. It made it choppy and frustrating to read and I ended up skipping over the chapter titles altogether. I will definitely be purchasing this to add to my collection.

More a reimagining than retelling, this contemporary YA is equal parts queer romance and high stakes thriller. ICARUS follows the blossoming love between a young art thief and the son of his target; Helios. With perfect pacing and a believable tone of voice for the modern high school senior, you’ll find yourself having a hard time putting this title down. Beyond the surface there is a highly compelling generational connection between these families, one laced with love, betrayal, death and deception.

I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't get into it.

I got around 50% before I had to stop.

The characters were good, I just couldn't get into them or care about them. I might have to try this again at a different time.