Review: The Diamond Thief (The Diamond Thief #1) by Sharon Gosling

Title: The Diamond Thief
Author: Sharon Gosling
Series: The Diamond Thief
Genre: Historical fiction, Steampunk, YA
Publisher: Switch Press
Publication date: October 1st 2014 
Pages: 336 (hardcover)
Source: Netgalley






No-one performs on the circus trapeze like 16-year-old Remy Brunel. But Remy also leads another life, prowling through the backstreets of Victorian London as a jewel thief. When she is forced to steal one of the world's most valuable diamonds, she uncovers a world of treachery and fiendish plots.

- Goodreads -

When I read the description of The Diamond Thief I immediately knew that this was a book meant for me. Young Adult historical fiction mixed with some action and adventure, perfect for me.

The setting of it was vividly illustrated, it was like you were walking on the streets of Victorian London yourself. We followed Remy on her adventures in the Tower of London, the narrow streets were the poor live, the undergrounds… Together with Remy we explored the whole of London. The steampunk elements were a nice addition to this adventure.

Remy was brought up in the circus, she’s a trapeze artist by day and a thief by night. I loved that she was so independent and strong willed. The hand she has been dealt in life is not easy but she tries to make the best of it. A lot of the time authors claim that there characters are talented but you never see the evidence. But not in The Diamond Thief, Remy’s talent as a trapeze artist is well demonstrated in this book. Remy uses her talent in a lot of different situations, her tricks saved her live more than once.
Thaddeus Rec lives for his job as a police officer from Scotland Yard. Like Remy his upbringing was rather unusual. But while Remy decided that her life was as good as it good get Thaddeus decided to turn his life completely around. His moral clashed at times with Remy’s way of life but he learned that not everything is as black and white as he always thought it was.

Their romance is very sweet but a little under-developed. I can clearly see how they affect each other. But they don’t know each other well enough to speak of love. So I hope to see more development on this part in the next book.

Sharon Gosling also paid attention to her secondary characters. A lot of the time authors neglect them since they are not that important to them. But this was not the case here, I liked how we got to spend a lot of time with the secondary characters like J, the Professor and Desai. All of them together in one story are what made this book so special to me.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. The ending could have been better, because it was rather abrupt. But I noticed that there is a second book in the series so I’m really excited about that one. I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a good YA steampunk book. 

El