{ARC Review} The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow

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.

Wow! This book was so much fun. It made me feel like I was living it up on the Las Vegas Strip right along side with Peyton, Savannah, and Courtney. The three Diamond sisters are each so unique. The book was split up into multiple different characters views. The chapters each alternated between the diamond sisters and the resident "it" girl at their soon to be high school, Madison. There were also little sections scattered throughout from a school online website, where people were posting rumors and things that were going on. It reminded me of part Twitter, part Gossip girl blog. I thought it was a perfect add in to the atmosphere that the Diamond sisters found themselves living in.

Peyton, Courtney, and Savannah are uprooted to live with their absentee father in Las vegas, and overnight their whole lives changes. I appreciated how well the girls each handled this huge change. Sure Peyton was a little grumpy, and sure Savannah was a little spend happy with all of her new money, but I thought overall, they handled themselves really well in this tough situation. I also thought that the celebrity lifestyle was portrayed to a t! Michelle Madow did such a fantastic job creating an atmosphere that seemed to realistic to how teenage/celebrity lifestyle seems to be. It is like the Las Vegas Gossip Girl. I ate it all up.

I really liked all of the Diamond Sisters because they were each so different and I feel like we got to know each of them really well, but if I had to rank them I like Courtney the most and Peyton the least. Courtney seemed like the most level headed of the three and i thought she made the best decisions overall. I liked Savannah, but I wish she was just one year older. She seemed so young at just 15, and everything she was doing just made her seem so much older. I think that is why I like the idea of her with Nick because he seemed to treat her the best. Peyton just seemed like such a sourpuss all the time and in some ways she acted the most immaturely. I understand where she was coming from, but attitude still bugged sometimes. At the end of the story, I started to get a glimpse of a much nicer Peyton, and that made me like her a lot more.

And then there is Madison. I have no idea what to think of her. I guess she was the "mean girl". And by I guess, I mean that she can be one heck of a B, but for some reason, I just want to believe her soft underbelly. I'm still deciding on who the real Madison is. I will have to get back to you on that one after I read the next book. And you better believe, I will be reading the next book. I am hooked on the world of the Secret Diamond Sisters and I can't wait to go back for more.

 

Michelle Madow wrote her first novel, Remembrance, in her junior year of college. Remembrance is the first book in the Transcend Time Saga, a three part series about reincarnation and true love that Michelle successfully self-published. The series was inspired by Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video. Michelle's upcoming YA trilogy, The Secret Diamond Sisters, about three sisters who discover they are the secret heirs to a Las Vegas billionaire casino owner will be published by Harlequin TEEN in Spring 2014.
Michelle graduated from Rollins College in 2010, cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the International English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta. She received the Charles Hyde Pratt Award for Excellence in Creative Writing in 2010.
She lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she is writing more novels for young adults. She loves reading, spending time with family and friends, traveling, shopping, sunshine, Disney fairy tales, Broadway musicals, and spends way too much time on Facebook and Twitter (@MichelleMadow)
You can visit her at http://michellemadow.com