Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I'll be honest. I had to drag myself through the first half of this book. It wasn't bad, but it just lacked that oomph that made me want to continue picking it up and making it apart of my day. Court Stevens is a great writer, and she made this story based on true events. That's difficult to do, so for that I give her props. I do think that the first half of the book lacks what the second half of the book has: intrigue.
I understand that the first half was designed to introduce the reader to the characters, their backstories, the history of The June Boys, and all other necessary information to become hooked on this story. But I must have missed my bait because it didn't hook me. Yeah I was somewhat interested in who the Gemini Thief was and why they had been taking boys for ten years. I wanted to know where Aulus was and how he disappeared. I wanted to know all of the information that I assume all other readers want to know, but not to the point where I couldn't set this book down until I figured it out. No.
After I got to the halfway point, things started to heat up. Thea got closer to figuring out the case and more suspects and information ruled out suspects along the way. And wow was it a twist that I didn't see coming, but since I wasn't that invested it went more like "Oh okay that's who it is."I feel like I didn't care much because I wasn't invested in the characters at all. I cared about the plot and who The Gemini Thief was, but that was it.
There was also a lot of details and things that made this story confusing. I didn't understand a lot of detail that was added. I still don't understand the point of the castle and why it was so important. I don't understand how Constance just came back. I don't understand a lot. But that's fine, my questions can just be questions.
I would recommend this book to people simply because I think the idea is good and because Court Stevens is a great writer. I would be interested to see if anyone agrees with my opinion that the first have lacks and if they are confused by a lot of the details.