Four more days until the launch of
THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS
by Michelle Madow!
I've previously reviewed Michelle's debut novel REMEMBRANCE and interviewed her about cover design!
Today is also the fourth day in:
Today's topic is:
MY FAVORITE DIAMOND
...Who is my favorite sister...and WHY??
Right now, I like Courtney the best. I feel like her and I would get along in real life and be friends. Plus, she loves musicals, and one of the first things she does in Vegas is see a show. My kind of girl!!!
That said, by the end of the first book, I think Peyton might start going for my heart when she begins to turn things around in DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH! Savannah's story was always fun to read, but also scary...you just want to wrap her up in cotton and hide her from Vegas!
THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS
by Michelle Madow!
I've previously reviewed Michelle's debut novel REMEMBRANCE and interviewed her about cover design!
Today is also the fourth day in:
Today's topic is:
MY FAVORITE DIAMOND
...Who is my favorite sister...and WHY??
Right now, I like Courtney the best. I feel like her and I would get along in real life and be friends. Plus, she loves musicals, and one of the first things she does in Vegas is see a show. My kind of girl!!!
That said, by the end of the first book, I think Peyton might start going for my heart when she begins to turn things around in DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH! Savannah's story was always fun to read, but also scary...you just want to wrap her up in cotton and hide her from Vegas!
O P E N I N G L I N E:
"Of course." Savannah shared a conspiratorial smile with Evie, knowing that "movies" was code for pretending to walk into the theater while Evie's mom was watching, then having Evie's current boy toy pick them up and drive them to the unsupervised party five minutes away. They could only stay at the party for three hours, but it was better than not going.
(pg. 9, US ARC edition)
THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS, off the bat, makes me think this might be a great series for fans of the Gossip Girl books and TV show. Granted, I've never read the books or seen the show, so I might be way off-base. But from what little I know about the series, there are a lot of rich kids that party a lot and there's an unknown narrator who dishes the dirt on everyone. You always know your narrator in THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS, as it revolves between all three Diamond sisters and a future schoolmate, Madison. Between these POV shifts, however, are glimpses at an anonymous school forum. Kids at the Goodman School are gossiping about the fact that the Diamond sisters have come to town. The readers have no clue who is saying what. And when the long-lost Diamond sisters arrive in Vegas and meet their dad, there's a lot of wealth surrounding them; they're rich overnight. So in these small ways, Gossip Girl popped into my mind as a "Like This/Like That" comparison.
Diamond Sisters Savannah, Courtney, and Peyton grew up never knowing their father. They were pretty poor, and couldn't always even afford three meals a day. Their mom always spent more money on alcohol than she did things like rent, electricity, and food. When their mom gets sent to rehab for an extended period of time, their father, Adrian Diamond, swoops in and brings the girls to his posh hotel in Vegas...on a private jet. Via limousine. Suddenly, the girls go from paupers to three of the richest teens in the world. They live in a penthouse in their father's hotel and have a blamex (A black, heavy American Express card with an unlimited threshold). Savannah is ecstatic. She can reinvent herself and buy all the designer clothes she only dreamed of owning in the past. Peyton is furious. She wants nothing to do with the father who was absent their entire lives, and makes sure he knows it. Courtney is torn. She's not happy with the situation, but there are perks to such a lifestyle, such as being able to spend less time working and more time studying to get into better colleges. The Diamond Sisters are about to experience life in a whole new way...for both better and worse!
THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS is absolutely a book about wish fulfillment. It has all the famous cliches that readers adore. Poor girl suddenly rich enough to get an amazing makeover and have super hot guys drooling at her heels? Check! Gorgeous bodyguards not much older than yourself with romantic potential? Check! An awesome (future) brother-in-law that you're forbidden to be with, but really want to make out with? Check! These are some of the most popular types of wish fulfillment novels, and Michelle Madow figured out how to roll them all together into one book, ensuring that the series will appeal to multiple types of readers. By rotating POVs between the sisters, readers will get a little taste of all this and more. The girls are naive and make mistakes along the way, and there are secrets they're still not privy too that are about to explode, making sure that readers stay tuned for the next book, DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH this coming fall!
Madow stated in a back-of-the-book interview that she got the idea for THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS after a trip to Vegas, when she wondered about the people who live in hotels and what their lives must be like. She goes to Vegas each year and adores all its quirks and features. She really made me want to visit Vegas by the time I was done reading, if only to see these amazing attractions such as themed hotels that look like the streets of Venice, amazing shows (I already wanted to see Le Rêve – The Dream at The Wynn because it had been featured last year on TV and looked awesome), and clubs with waterfalls and swim-up bars. So cool! Be forewarned as you embark on this adventure: You'll likely get the travel bug, too!
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C O V E R D E S I G N:
I like all the diamonds breaking up the image of the model and the attractions of Las Vegas and restructuring them into this pattern that matches the title of the book--and the last name of the characters! I think it will be a uniform look for the series that's easily identifiable.
I think my favorite element is the way the title, THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS, has an image of a diamond in the "O" for "Diamond:"
I like staring at it ^_^
I think my favorite element is the way the title, THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS, has an image of a diamond in the "O" for "Diamond:"
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O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS
Author: Michelle Madow
Release Date: Feb. 25, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Received: For Review
Received: For Review
SUMMARY:
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.
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.
~*~
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.
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