When I was wandering around the young adult section, I saw this book waiting on the shelf. The premise was enough to draw me in, and the reviews seemed good. While this book ended up not being for me, I can see why others might enjoy it.  

“There are so many books written about the weak learning to be strong and not many about the strong opening themselves up to weakness and vulnerability.” 

Premise of the book:

Icarus Gallagher is an art thief, replacing all of the art he steals with his father’s impeccable forgeries. However, he and his father only steal art from one man: Mr. Black, who has been their target ever since Mr. Black played a role in the death of Icarus’ mother. To be able to keep this secret, Icarus has some rules to follow: don’t let anyone close, don’t do anything to have people be interested in him, and don’t get caught.

One night, he breaks one of his rules by getting caught. However, he wasn’t caught by Mr. Black, but by Mr. Black’s son, Helios. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios offers to keep his secret if Icarus agrees to talk to him. It breaks all of Icarus’ rules, but he had no other choice. Soon, this friendship shifts from distrustful to something more. Icarus now must decide if he wants to escape his life as he planned, or if he wants to be with the boy he loves. 

“Love is never a sin, and rules of men who don’t understand that don’t matter.” 

Pros/positives:

*Main character*

I like how the main character isn’t a shy one. While he’s forced to be alone, it added a lot of depth to his character to have him be sociable. He mentioned many times that he liked hanging out with others and that he wished he could grow closer to people, but he couldn’t because of his thievery. 

His growth was nice to read. He went from being completely fine with following his dad’s orders to wanting a life of his own. It was enjoyable to see him stand up for himself after years of yielding to his father’s demands. 

I liked his skill sets as well. It’s not every day that you get to read about someone who can easily climb walls, be super sneaky, and be amazing at art.

*Some side characters*

The side characters were quite enjoyable, especially with their friendship with Icarus. They showed that they actually cared for Icarus’ health in their own ways. Julian would bring Icarus drinks when he noticed that it helped Icarus wake up in first period; Luca taught him how to hug; Celestina would make him take a nap if he looked tired. It was so nice to see Icarus slowly open up and accept the support from others. 

Helios was also interesting to unpack. I thought he was going to be a rich, spoiled brat when I picked up the book, but I quickly learned that he was actually just a normal teenager. I loved seeing how he has a hobby of dancing. It is not a hobby we see enough in books, let alone in major characters. It was refreshing.

*Relationship between Icarus and Angus*

The relationship between Icarus and his father, Angus, was an intriguing dynamic to have. You could tell that they both cared for each other, but they were also both stuck in their own lives. Icarus wanted to be able to have a life of his own, while Angus was so caught up in grief that he struggled to show his love for his own son. Watching them try to dance around this issue before finally being forced to face it added heavily to my interest in the story.

“I wish that I could hate you. I wish that I could. But I can’t and that makes it worse. Understanding you has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” 

In between/neutral:

*Super short chapters*

The super short chapters were both nice and not. I enjoyed how they made the story feel faster, as it was easy to just continue reading knowing that the next chapter was going to end in a page or two. However, I thought it also kind of messed up the pacing of the book. It felt weird for the chapter to end mid-scene or for the next chapter to begin when the last one just started. There were some scenes where Icarus had a brief interaction with someone, like Helios, for like a page, and then the next chapter he was alone. I couldn’t immerse myself in a scene when it ended in half a page. It was a different format than I was used to.

*Romance*

The romance between Helios and Icarus gave me mixed feelings. My issues come from how there is absolutely no buildup. One day, we see Icarus at Helios’ house, and all of a sudden they love each other. It felt like they had two short conversations with each other and then they wanted to date. In the beginning half of the book, Helios didn’t even show up that much, with the other side characters getting a lot more attention than he did. But for the second half, the reader got to see more of their relationship and how they are in a sort-of Romeo-and-Juliet situation. 

You could tell they loved each other deeply, with them both admitting some of their own insecurities to each other. I just can’t get over the fact that they basically started speed dating. I wanted to care more than I actually did. It’s hard to care when you can’t see the relationship grow. 

“No one is born knowing how friends work. You figure it out as you go along.” 

Cons/negatives: 

*Icarus and Luca*

What was up between Icarus and Luca??? I’m serious when I ask this. The book hints many, many times that Luca has a crush on Icarus (including characters literally saying word for word that it seems like Luca has a crush on Icarus), but then Luca is starts dating Celestina, so???? I swear their relationship was a lavender marriage or something. It was barely even shown and only sometimes acknowledged. It seemed like the author added it only so that Luca and Icarus couldn’t start dating. Like, every time Luca and Celestina were together, it was semi-mentioned that they were dating, but they didn’t do anything that normal couples do. It seemed awkward, if anything.

The other issue is that there was no conversation between him and Icarus about Luca allegedly having feelings for Icarus. Luca shows all the signs of liking Icarus romantically, but nothing ever came from it. Luca would blush and be nervous around Icarus, yet Icarus avoided talking to him about it. Could be a hot take, but I think that Luca and Icarus had a better romantic development than Helios and Icarus did. Justice for Luca!

Overall, there were some weird dynamics between Luca, Celestina, and Icarus. It seemed like they all liked Icarus romantically, but nothing ever came from it. I have to admit, it made me laugh at how ridiculous it all was. 

*Other side characters*

While some side characters were great, like Luca and Celestina, others (*cough* Aspen and Sorrel *cough*) were pretty useless. Both Aspen and Sorrel were mentioned enough to be present in the story, but they did absolutely nothing to the plot. I don’t mind if they were referenced once or twice; it would have been fine. However, they were part of some scenes that added nothing to the book. Like, every time there was a scene of Aspen and Icarus talking, nothing more would come of it. Or when Sorrel has Icarus paint his grandmother. It didn’t move the plot forward or change Icarus’ character. It did nothing real for the story. 

I just don’t get introducing these characters and giving them quite a bit of story time if it isn’t going to amount to anything. There is no need for a huge cast. 

Not enough art theft

For a book that has a premise of art thievery, there isn’t a lot of art theft. There’s a lot of breaking into Mr. Black’s house, but Icarus steals art like three times in this book. I guess I just expected more in that department. I liked seeing the process that Icarus had, and I’m kind of sad that there wasn’t more.

“Meeting him feels like learning about a part of myself that I haven’t been allowed to understand until now.” 

Conclusion: 

Pros – Main character, some side characters, relationship between Icarus and Angus.

In between – Super short chapters, romance.

Cons – Icarus and Luca, other side characters, not enough art theft.

Overall – 2.75 out of 5

“I was yours before we even met and I’ll be yours until we die.”