Review: Diamonds in the Rough (The Secret Diamond Sisters #2) by Michelle Madow

Book Title: Diamonds in the Rough

Author: Michelle Madow

Published Date: October 28th, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: Book Two in The Secret Diamond Sisters Trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

All-access doesn’t mean no problems.

The three Diamond sisters survived the summer in style after coming to live with their long-lost billionaire father. But making a place for themselves at their exclusive new Las Vegas private school is throwing them any number of gold-plated curves. Savannah’s YouTube stardom turns into a Sweet Sixteen reality show extravaganza—with complimentary enemies on the side. Dangerous flirtations don’t keep Peyton from a gamble that will risk far more than she planned to bet. And when Courtney and the sisters’ archenemy, Madison, uncover two explosive secrets, it will rock even this town of glittering illusion—and turn their lives upside down all over again.

Sisterhood, first crushes, and scandalous secrets explode in book two of Michelle Madow’s riveting series, The Secret Diamond Sisters.

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

Yes!

I wasn’t a huge fan of Book One, so I was nervous about continuing the series. I didn’t want to be disappointed, but thankfully I wasn’t. Diamonds in the Rough is a significant improvement over The Secret Diamond Sisters in many ways, so I was very excited about that.

It was no longer a problem for me to keep all the POVs straight. Each girl had their own distinct voice, and there was so much more character development for all three of them which really made me happy. There seemed to be a concentrated effort on Madow’s part to explore each of the sisters individuality in this second book, and I think that really helped out a lot. 

I am very character minded and if the characters are well developed, then I’ll definitely enjoy the book more. Character development was fairly weak in The Secret Diamond Sisters, but thankfully that issue did not carry over into Book Two.

I got answers to so many of my questions from book one, and the two explosive secrets were revealed. One of them I had guessed before I started the book and the other one came as a complete shock to me and left me in tears. That was another thing that the first book didn’t have. It didn’t have any truly feels-y moments so I was grateful for the feels-y moments in Diamonds in the Rough.

I really want to talk about two supporting characters from The Secret Diamond Sisters, who really became main characters in Diamonds in the Rough:

Adrian for starts, I was dying to know more about him after the first book, and while I did get to know a whole lot more about him in Diamonds in the Rough, I still feel like there’s something else we don’t know about him yet. I really hope the third and final book of this series will give me the answers I’m looking for about him.

Madison, I really did not like her at all in the first book, but man did I warm up to her significantly in the second book. She seemed much nicer and less bitchy overall and I responded well to that and she quickly became one of my favorite characters. She goes through an emotional roller coaster in this book, but I was happy to see that she was a different person and she was a different person due to the secret she had found out. I actually started to like the idea of her and Oliver together despite the fact that Oliver is a bit of a tool.

As for Courtney, Savannah & Peyton, they too go on a crazy ride full of ups and downs throughout this entire book. Courtney in particular struggles with certain things she learns in the course of this book. Savannah and Peyton willingly stand by her as she struggles to figure out how she should handle certain things.

This book was much better than the first book. I am giving it four stars and I am so excited to see where things go from here. I think Madow could take it in a lot of different directions, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. I am now eagerly awaiting book 3, Diamonds are Forever.

Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters (The Secret Diamond Sisters #1) by Michelle Madow

Book Title: The Secret Diamond Sisters

Author: Michelle Madow

Published Date: February 25th, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: Book One in The Secret Diamond Sisters series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Savannah. Courtney. Peyton. 

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip’s most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past.

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

I really really needed to read something fluffy after my last read and I had just rechecked this book out from the library. I really wanted to give this series a shot as the author, Michelle Madow is an absolute sweetheart. 

It was interesting at first to see how these girls reacted about being plucked from their poverty and being thrown into riches and glamour and excitement almost overnight. They never knew their father was a billionare Las Vegas hotel owner. I gotta be honest, I envied that. I had often wished that my biological father, who I never knew, was a billionaire.

I had never been to Las Vegas, but I was still able to picture it perfectly in my imagination. Madow described Las Vegas in a way that I could not only picture it, but imagine myself in it and that right there, is pretty darn awesome. So kudos to Madow for describing Las Vegas so vividly.

Now of the girls, Courtney was my favorite. She really seemed to have her head on straight, and she wasn’t overly distracted by boys and clothes like so many other teenage girls are. With that said though, Peyton is very similar to how I am. Like Peyton, I am outspoken, a night owl, a coffee nut and several other things. It actually felt like I was Peyton a couple of times so that was a wee bit disconcerting. Now Savannah is the least like me. We are complete opposites in basically everything.

I wasn’t into the romances all that much, I thought it added another layer to a confusing summer. An unneeded layer which to be honest bugged me a bit. I did like their soon to be stepbrother, but as a stepbrother, not as a love interest.

I desperately wanted more interaction between the girls and their dad and it bothered me a lot that he didn’t seem to be able to carve out any time for them. I really hope we see more of him in Diamonds in the Rough, because I think there’s a lot he’s not telling the girls and I cannot wait to see what that is. 

I am going to give this book 3.5 stars. It teetered more on the side of enjoying it than on the side of indifference and I am curious enough to continue reading the series.

Review: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

Book Title: My Life After Now

Author: Jessica Verdi

Published Date: April 2nd, 2013

Published By: Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it’s all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?

Now her life is completely different…every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.

Disclaimer: This book was a personal purchase.

Review:

This book was amazing. There, got that out of the way.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it despite the rave reviews it was getting from the bloggers and bookish friends that I trust. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to relate to it considering I have never been in Lucy’s position.

All of that didn’t matter because what Jessica Verdi did, was create a VERY important book that I believe everyone needs to read.The prose was beautiful,not stilted like some contemporaries are. Jessica Verdi created a book that deals with a tough subject and that include tough subplots under the main plot umbrella.

Lucy is a teenager who makes one mistake and it’s a mistake that she now must deal with for the rest of her life. My heart ached for her. She knew that she had royally screwed up and now she had to pay for it with her health status.This book debunked several myths,one myth being that you won’t get HIV the first time you have unprotected sex. Because that’s exactly what happens.

Lucy had been very careful during her 2 year relationship with her boyfriend but after the week from hell,she just wants to get away. She gets in over her head and suddenly her life is filled with doctors appointments and vials and vials of blood being taken from her. Not to mention a support group that her dads make her attend. It’s a whole new world to her.

Unfortunately it’s not a new world for her two dads. Her dads grew up just when AIDS was prevalent in the 1980’s. They even lost a friend to the virus. They each handle the news differently but what doesn’t change is how much they love Lucy. Thankfully they are the two greatest parents anyone can ask for. Instead of throwing Lucy out of the house when they learn of Lucy’s condition,they decide to keep her as healthy as possible.

Then of course there is Lucy’s drug addicted mom who flitters in and out of their life. She is now pregnant with another baby and she expects Lucy’s dads to take her in until the baby is born and maybe even after.I thought she was incredibly selfish and I really didn’t like her at all and it was clear that Lucy would rather that she disappear again.

Now Evan was a wonderful surprise. I didn’t realize how much I would end up liking him until the end. He was wonderful to Lucy as well. Courtney and Max were great too. Each of them had their own adjustment periods when they learned of Lucy’s condition. I felt that was totally understandable. HIV is still very scary. Especially since there are still so many misconceptions about it.

I really want to give this book a full five stars BUT  Lucy was a teeny bit obnoxious at the beginning of the book so I have to knock it down to a 4.5 but I would still insist that everyone read this wonderful book.