Engrossing, an extremely twisty Mystery that kept this reader guessing throughout, worrying about the victims, anxious for the survivors and loved ones. Not what I would have expected from a Librarian, but riveting, painful, heartwrenching. So much in this novel depends on Trust; life can't continue without it. The mystery behind the abductions is like a Gordian Knot: impossible to unravel. Internally I kept screaming, "Why? Why would ANYONE do this?" It didn't fit the "normal " criteria [hostage, ransom, sexual predation, revenge]. How complex is this Mystery!

This book was heartbreaking and releasing at the same time. I read this book in a few hours due to the fact I was drawn in and had to find out who the Gemini thief was. I thought so many times there was a good lead to whom the Gemini thief was, only to find out I was as wrong as Thea. This book really made me think. I could not count on my parents, so I learned how to cope in my own way. I could relate to these kids in a variety of ways. As the end of the book neared, I found myself holding back tears. I have a love/hate relationship with these kind of stories. I feel so deeply for the inflicted and despise the one who laid so much on the victims. Please read this book, it it very well written and so real.

Well, that's disappointing.

Part of the reason this was so difficult to read is because of the same issue that multiple other readers stated in their reviews-the formatting of this e-arc is almost unreadable. There are random pictures inserted in the middle of words, creating a jumbled mess and disrupted flow.

The story itself started out strongly, but proceeded to slog in the middle, with an ending that left too many unanswered questions and seemed to pull a reveal out of thin air. I think the idea behind this story is stellar, and I would happily try another book by this author, but I think overall this one just wasn't for me.

I will have to pick this book up at release. The story is so intriguing and I was enjoying it but I cannot get past the formatting. It is very distracting and is making it difficult for me to get into the story like I want. I would like to give an accurate review about the story and not have it affected by how awful it was to read through the formatting. From what I was able to read so far, which was a decent amount, I loved it and cannot wait to be able to fully enjoy this unique read!

I really liked Thea but unfortunately, that's about it. The premise of The June Boys is amazing which is why I was so disappointed. I think if the ARC had been formatted better my rating would be much higher. The letter formatting made it nearly impossible to feel a connection. Add that to the awkward relationships and unfulfilling ending, and you'll get a book with amazing potential but not quite enough substance.

I feel terrible for rating this so low and I do plan to give it another chance when it releases. Hopefully the formatting changes will make this one easier to read. I do enjoy Stevens as an author so plan on reading more in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a great mystery. It kept you guessing with the story being told in different timelines. Great characters and an emotional look at coping, grief, and surviving. I think this was a great thriller for this age group.

The plot seemed promising at the outset, but the execution left me a little disappointed. The writing wasn't for me and the pacing was off. The characters weren't altogether engaging. The only one's I enjoyed were Aulus and Tank and they weren't in the story enough to save it... even though they're both at its center. The relationships were stilted and didn't make much sense in, almost like they were included because they had to be. Nothing about them seemed natural. The resolution was somewhat satisfying but it seemed convenient.

It just wasn't my speed but it wasn't bad by any means.

A thrill ride you wont want to miss!!
Dark, and thrilling who done it vibes!! Edge of the seat the whole read!!! Plot twists were completely unexpected and placement/timing was spectacular!!
What if someone you loved committed horrible crimes?! Well one of our characters is soon to find just how close to home the terror is!!
Spectacular plot build, and characters were believable and relatable. Full of self observation from each unique character, and twists that will leave your jaw on the floor!! Everything about this book had me second guessing what I thought was real, true. It gave me goosebumps!!

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to have to go ahead and get the biggest issue out of the way first. This book was formated horrifically. While it's not fair that the formating is affecting my review, I'm sorry to say I think that it's a large part of why I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. First off, the publisher's logo is all over the pages sometimes more than once and it was very annoying to try and tune out while I was reading the story. Secondly, pretty much all of Aulus's chapters were a slog to read. Not because they aren't interesting (they were actually really interesting) but because the formatting was so bad that in most cases sentences would start in the middle of other sentences and make absolutely no sense until you read further ahead and realized it belonged to a separate thought later on in the sequence. This is because Aulus's chapters are letters and I think they're intended to be formatted in the book as text on a lined piece of paper and that formating just did not work on this ebook version. This version also really messed up the images he drew in the letters so we couldn't get a clear picture of what he was drawing because it was split into multiple parts and often cut off pieces of the images. I honestly believe had the formating been better my reading experience would have been much better and I would have rated this another star higher.

With that out of the way, I'll get into the book. I was so incredibly interested in this book! A serial kidnapper who takes three boys each year on June 1st and releases them the following June 30th sounds so cool. Add in that our narrator believes her cousin was taken by The Gemini Thief and she's beginning to suspect that her father might be the kidnapper and I was immediately hooked. I really loved our narrator, Thea, once her cousin Aulus gets kidnapped she becomes obsessed with The Gemini Theif and trying to unravel the mystery. There was a quote in the book by Thea that just really hit me, "I don't have room for...I don't know what it is I don't have room for. Sometimes I'm afraid it's happiness." As someone who's had some mental struggles I just felt this deep connection with Thea. I liked the established relationship in the novel between Nick and Thea. It was sometimes messy as any situation will be when your boyfriend's FBI sister is naming your father as a suspect in a kidnapping case that involves your cousin. However, the relationship between Nick and Thea felt real in a way that a lot of romance manages to miss in books. One of my favorite moments in the book is a scene where they're standing incredibly close, face to face, and almost kissing but not quite because the scene is more about them taking comfort in one another's presence.

Thea's dad was an incredibly interesting character. It's easy to see how a man like him could be accused of being a serial kidnapper. Calling him an odd duck might be too tame. He's spent the last ten years building an actual castle because he believed God told him to. The other characters weren't as fleshed out but I did still enjoy them. Aulus, I think I would have enjoyed a lot more had I been able to read his chapters without squinting and piecing together the improperly formatted sentences in his chapters. He had a good voice and I loved how much he cared about his fellow June Boys. He was such a good soul.

The mystery itself was very interesting and I always forget how much I love a good mystery until I start reading a new one. I did get the identity of The Gemini Theif half right (I'm not saying how I could be half right because spoilers) fairly early on in the book but this didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book at all. There were even several moments when Thea was trying to find alternate suspects that her logic started to convince me she might be right.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this book. I thought I knew who the kidnapper was right away, and I was disappointed. But wow, was I wrong! This book had me for such a loop. There were so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. I love when a book can take me on a ride, and I don’t know where it is going. I would definitely recommend this book to any teens or adults looking for a good thriller.

"You don't owe your truth to everyone."


› On June 1st, 2001 three boys were taken, kept for 13 months then released. Now it's 2010 and over the past decade 12 boys have been kidnapped. Always taken June 1st. Always 3 boys. Sometimes the Gemini Thief was dormant a year, sometimes two before taking another group. They've always been released. Until this year. Thea's cousin, Aulus, is missing and she's convinced he was taken by the Thief, even though the Thief has already taken 3 boys. The pattern is broken when one boy turns up dead with Aul's unique key chain in his mouth.

› Stevens is a talented writer. Like Dress Codes For Small Towns, The June Boys has a tight-knit group of friends living in a small-town. However, this book includes letters written from the perspective of Thea's missing cousin, Aulus, and it just MAKES the story. The flip-flop from everyone trying to find the boys to the boys hoping to be saved increases the tension and concern. We don't know if the letters are in the past, or present, or if the boys are still alive.

› Thea's boyfriend, Nick is really weird. I don't like the way he treats her. Thea's father is even stranger - he's been secretly building a castle for years and never told Thea. Throughout the story Thea is constantly discovering she cannot trust the people around her.

"Every man in my life sat on a throne of lies."


› The Kindle version of the ARC didn't load properly on my tablet. The letters written by Aul showed up all cut up. But then I switched to the pdf version and it was fine. If I hadn't done that I think the intimacy of those letters would have been lost on me. I was having a hard time connecting to Aulus, however, once I made the switch I found myself choking up every time it switched to his perspective.

› When the Gemini Thief is revealed I felt confused, then underwhelmed. The ending felt anti-climatic like all the air let out of my balloon.

› Final Thoughts
• With a somber atmosphere, The June Boys is a whodunit about parental relationships, betrayal, friendship, forgiveness, and following your intuition that leaves you wondering if the end justifies the means. It reminded me of Find You In The Dark by Nathan Ripley, One of us is Lying by Karen McManus, and The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. It's not my favourite work by Stevens but I think this is the first Mystery/Thriller from her and I have a feeling that her next one will be even better. ★★★

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*

*I received a free copy from Netgalley and the publishers for an honest review, so thank you!*

First off, the synopsis grabbed my attention. I immediately thought of the Zodiac killer, and maybe that’s because it’s called the Gemini thief.
Secondly, I try to not read synopsis’s fully because some can be spoilery or say something that when you head into reading it’s not exactly what you thought. That’s how this book was.
There is a Gemini thief out there who takes three boys and holds them captive for a year; June 1st-June 31st. And no one knows he this person is, because they are really good at hiding their tracks.
It’s dark and twisty and creepy for a YA thriller. The kind I really like that keeps you up and thinking. I read this at night time and don’t recommend if you jump easily by shadows lol. My only downside was the formatting. I get it’s unedited early draft and shouldn’t take that into effect, but it did throw me off at times. It also became confusing with the back and forth dialogue and that got me a bit lost. But all in all, I like the uniqueness of the story that the author was trying to deliver.

I had high expectations for this one and it owned up to it.
From the very beginning, I was invested in the story, caught up in the mystery and the terror next to Thea, the main protagonist.
I liked her for she was mature, empathetic and was able to reassess everything and everyone around her in spite of her feelings. She was a likeable character.
The atmosphere was perfect: suspenseful, sordid and terrifying. The chapters with Aulus's letters were hard to read but a good addition to the plot and suspense.
I liked the writing style, very captivating from the get-go.
The plot moved fast enough to never lose interest. A couple of plot twists at the end turned up to be startling. The logic was never off and I enjoyed my reading very much.
Would highly recommend!

"The Gemini Thief could be anyone. Your father, your mother, your best friend’s crazy uncle. Some country music star’s deranged sister. Anyone."

The Gemini Thief always operates the same way. Three boys are kidnapped on June 1st, they boys are then returned a year later, unharmed. Last June the Gemini Thief may have kidnapped four boys instead of three. Why did it change? Last June Thea's cousin Aulus went missing, he was the fourth boy to disappear. No one is sure if he was part of the Gemini Thief's kidnappings, but no trace has been left behind. Leading up to June this year one of the boy's showed up dead. Why did the kidnappings change? Thea and her friends are determined to find the Gemini Thief and rescue her cousin Aulus.

I have been a big fan of the Court Stevens' books that I have read. One of my favourite parts of Stevens writing is her ability to write about friendship groups. She writes friendship groups that are powerful and strong, that are intense and loving. This book is no different. Even though it is a different genre than I am used to seeing from Stevens, the powerful friendship comes through. I loved the friendship that Thea, Nick, Gladys and Tank had. You could see that they loved and cared for each other immensely.

The June Boys was an interesting take on a YA Thriller, and I really hadn't figured out the ending until it was revealed. I like this in a thriller, it's not a necessity, but definitely welcome. I did find the pacing slow at times, and the moving around between times was a little jarring. Near the end of the book however, it seemed to wrap up quickly. There was a lot of time spent on building up on the story, but it seemed to stop short when it came an in depth explanation of the why behind the Gemini Thief. I also think that at time some of the characters (especially the adults) and situations were not developed as in depth as I would have liked. Though I could feel the love and friendship with Thea and her friends, I didn’t feel I knew enough about them individually.

Overall, I found The June Boys a solid book. I would have liked to see more individual character development, but found myself guessing enough to stay entertained. I look forward to reading more from Stevens. 3.5/5

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve heard wonderful things about this author and was excited for The June Boys to be my first read from her. I loved the focus on friend and family relationships throughout the book and was surprised by how unique the dynamics were to others I’ve read. the family dynamics specifically had found family elements that were challenged and strengthened over the course of the story. The mystery of the story was engaging and kept me guessing until the end. Reading this book was exciting, emotional, and unexpectedly heart wrenching. The prospective from one of the June Boys allowed me to connect emotionally in a way I hadn’t expected to when going into this novel. If you’re looking for an emotional thriller, then this one is for you!

I felt the middle if the book lagged a bit without much forward action as the plot lingered on one suspect. In addition, the younger June Boys were difficult to distinguish between at times and I had trouble remembering specific characteristics about them, such as age and appearance as they were seldom referred to after the boys’ introduction.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I’m looking forward to reading more from Court Stevens.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I hadn't personally head of The June Boys before stumbling across it on NetGalley, but once I read the synopsis I was instantly intrigued. I have loved a lot of young adult thrillers in the past, and I knew I needed to read this one. I was prepared for a spine chillingly, scary story that would keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. However, that wasn't the experience I ended up having with this one, and I have to say that it left me extremely disappointed.

To start with, I really couldn't get into the story. I found the beginning dragged heavily, and it never really did pick up. While it does get a bit more interesting as more details of the kidnapping are revealed, the plot never really did grab my attention, and I basically had to force myself to want to keep reading this one. I've never personally read any of Courtney C Stevens' other novels before, so I'm not sure if this book is characteristic of her usual writing style or not. However, I found the writing in this one to be too character driven, especially since most of the characters are never developed enough to make the reader truly care about them. The writing was also extremely confusing for me, and I felt a lot of description occurs for details that never mattered, but actual information that would have helped to better engage me with the plot was left underdeveloped and on the sidelines.

I basically forced myself to keep reading this one, as even though I was not enjoying it, I still wanted to find out who the mysterious Gemini Thief was. However, I thought the ending was so disappointing, and not the huge surprise reveal I was wanting. While I don't think the thief was completely obvious, it definitely wasn't what I prepared for, and I think anyone paying close attention throughout will probably end up feeling the same. I'm also usually a fan of when extra storytelling details are scattered throughout stories, since I'm a huge fan of books that are told in epistolary style. However, I didn't think the letters used to tell part of the story worked well within this one, and only left this reader more confused than anything. I will say that since I did read an advance copy of this one, I'm hoping most of the formatting issues with the letters will be fixed before it's released, but I still didn't think they added much to the story.

When the ending does happen, and part of the big reveal is made, I didn't think that all of the questions I had were truly answered, and I ended up still feeling confused on certain parts of the story. Plus, I really could have done without the various letters devoted to giving the reader details on how the boys were surviving on drinking urine.

All in all, when I picked this one up, I expected a thrilling, and exiting story that would have me thinking about it for weeks to come. However, I wasn't expecting the story I got, and I'm honestly disappointed as I think so much more could have been done with this amazing story idea. I personally don't recommend this one, and I can't say that I will prioritize reading a book from this author in the future.

Final Rating: 2/5

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity to advance read this!

I received a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel that I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give a positive review.

Thirteen months. The Gemini Thief kidnaps three boys on June 1 and keeps them for thirteen months before returning them, unharmed, to their families. The Gemini Thief has been outsmarting the authorities for a decade, capturing twelve boys in total. Now, Thea Delacroix believes her cousin, Aulus, was the Gemini Thief’s latest victim, and unfortunately, one of the previous June Boys has turned up dead.

What’s worse, evidence is leading the police to believe that Thea’s father could possibly be the kidnapper. Thea enlists the help of her boyfriend and her best friends to crack the case of the Gemini Thief and find her cousin before it’s too late.

This book enthralled me from the start. I felt connected to the characters, felt the disbelief, anguish, and fear that Thea felt trying to determine if her father was involved in the kidnappings. I was rooting for Aulus to get out alive, for the Gemini Thief to be revealed, and justice to be served.

I enjoyed the fact that at the end of the chapters, there was a letter from Aulus while he was held captive. Kind of a sense of hope from his perspective, describing all the things that were happening, all the things he was thinking and hoping.

I found it hard to put this book down once I started reading. I needed to know what happened next, who the Gemini Thief was, and what Thea was going to uncover next.

The only issue I had with this book (and don’t worry, this does not reflect my rating of the book as I know it is not the author’s fault. It should also be mentioned that I had an ebook advanced copy version) was that those letters and drawings Aulus was writing, the images in the book were all distorted. There would be a drawing of three boys, with their names and captions above the heads. The heads and words would be at the bottom right of one page, the next page would be completely blank, the next would have the legs of two boys in the top left corner, then the next page would have the leg of the last boy in the lower right corner. The Thomas Nelson logo was also in the middle of the pages, sometimes twice, which was distracting, and at times interfered with sentence flow. A sentence would stop in the middle, a new paragraph would start and finish, another paragraph would start, and in the middle, the remaining words from the missing sentence would appear. This made it a little difficult to follow and comprehend in some places, and I felt that not being able to see the letters and drawings from Aulus took a little away from the emotion of the story.

Overall, I loved this book and I can’t wait to see it skyrocket on the market. I think this will be a book that is talked about a lot this year, and for good reason! 4 stars, highly recommend!

Though I don't typically read much young adult fiction, the description of this one drew me in and I knew I had to give it a read. I must admit though, it took me awhile to get into the story. Part of that, I do believe is based on the formatting. For those unfamiliar, oftentimes the advanced reader e-books reviewers receive are not 100% formatted as they would be in the final copy you purchase. Sometimes that means logos placed in weird places or weird line breaks, etc. That can certainly impact the flow of the story. In this particular book, there were a few formatting issues but the most noticeable occurred in the Elizabeth Letters found throughout. From what I gather, in the finished copy these will be featured as images of the letters... with drawings, etc. While I liked this insight into the mind of one of the kidnapped boys in theory, in this version there were random paper images that broken up with the words written separately, making it distracting and a bit hard to follow. Now, typically I don't make note of any type of formatting issues within my reviews, because I know these will be fixed but in this one it truly did impact my enjoyment of the story. While I would still give it a solid 3.5 stars, I do believe it could have been higher had those issues not been there.

That aside, the story was very unique and interesting. Each year on June 1, boys are kidnapped. They are unharmed and then returned one year later. Intriguing, right? More intriguing was the idea that this kidnapper could be absolutely anyone. Throughout the book, doubt and suspicion was cast in all directions keeping me guessing right up until the final reveal. It's much different than any other suspense or mysteries that I typically read, but I found the story itself to be quite fascinating in the end. While some of those previously discussed issues had me questioning whether or not I should finish it, I was very glad I pushed through to see all the answers revealed.

At 32 years old, I'm certainly not the target audience for a young adult novel, but I feel like this is a story that you could enjoy at any age. To me the only thing that really made it feel even slightly like a young adult novel was Thea's age. Though it talked about graduation and being a senior in points throughout, the content of the story made it easy to forget that she is in fact still a teenager. If you have an older teenager that enjoys suspense, this is one you can feel confident doesn't have language or inappropriate content... or enjoy it yourself with that same assurance.

Overall, this was an interesting read that is worth checking out.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The June Boys by Court Stevens.

Aulus is missing and another "June boy" has just turned up dead. Because this town has what they call The Gemini Thief, otherwise called the Welder by the victims. And normally the boys don't die, they disappear June 1st, and turn up a year later, June 30th. So to have a dead victim is new and frightening.

The best way I can describe this book is that it's different. The writing style is different, and in a way that was intriguing to me, but I'm not sure how. I thought it was interesting how the author did not play on the teen romance at all. I also thought the way the two characters launched immediately in their suspicions was also unique. I have to say I really liked this book. I could kind of see the ending coming, but not all of it, so that was also fun.

A dramatic read, the June Boys revolves around The Gemini Thief: a mysterious and unknown person who kidnaps boys in June and returns them a thirteen long months later. Because of the mystery, everyone begins to suspect the person near them. It doesn't hit home until Thea's cousin disappears. As bodies appear from the last time the Gemini Thief came around, Thea begins to worry that her cousin may be one of them. She makes it her choice to try to find the Gemini Thief herself, but she may not like where the signs point.

I can't put blame on the author, but the ARC I received wasn't formatted well at all, making it tough to get through this. I was initially interested in this novel because of the suspense and drama. After reading the blurb, you're drawn in wondering who the Gemini Thief will actually be. You have the town's suspicions and Thea's and have to read between the lines to figure out who is capable of committing such atrocious kidnappings and murders. The book starts in one of my favorite ways: with a death. It reels you in with such strong suspense early on and keeps you engaged throughout. As Thea finds clues, you begin to piece them together yourself until you want to solve the problem as bad as she does.

I definitely enjoyed the sense of mystery throughout, but I was looking for more character background and personality. I wanted to know Thea inside and out, but I think that's what adds to a mystery book: believing the narrator is unreliable and being forced to make connections and see past the limited view you are given. Though mystery and realistic fiction have never been my favorites, I did enjoy reading this one and recommend it for those who enjoy mystery and high suspense novels that require just a little bit of problem solving.