Secret Diamond Sisters (The Secret Diamond Sisters, #1)

by Michelle Madow

Three sisters with Big secrets.
Get ready to meet...SAVANNAH COURTNEY PEYTON

The Diamond sisters never knew their father and never could catch a break. But 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 and live in a gorgeous penthouse suite.

Suddenly they have access to all that their dad's money can provide, meaning it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusions, fitting in is nothing compared with finding out the truth about their past...

• ISBN10: 1306360684
• ISBN13: 9781306360685
• Publish Date: 1 January 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 21 April 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nicole Lynn]

Something was missing from this story for me. I didn't like the characters as much as I thought I would. Review to come.

--
This review previously appeared on my blog, PopCrunchBoom Books

Savannah, Courtney and Peyton are three sisters who grew up on some hard times. They’ve never known their father, their mother is an alcoholic, and they’ve ended up taking care of themselves most of the time. But then things got way worse with their mom and she ended up in rehab. Since they’re all minors, their unknown father decided to make an appearance to take care of them. Turns out their dad is actually a billionaire who owns a string of hotels based out of Las Vegas. Now all three of them are swept off to live on the infamous Strip for the summer and possibly longer. They’ve been given a penthouse suite, unlimited credit cards and personal body guards for their safety. They should fit in no problem, right? With some unlucky encounters, backstabbing neighbors, and a distant father, these three sisters have a lot to learn about living in Vegas. But more importantly they have to learn how to be themselves in this fast-paced, no-rules environment with secrets hidden around every corner.

I was so excited to read this book. The premise set up a lot of mystery and scandal to be had and I wanted to jump in with two feet. I am, after all, a huge Gossip Girl fan and I couldn’t wait to see if this story had the same scandal appeal. However, not even half-way through I began losing interest. I desperately wanted to like this book, but things in the story just held me back.

The sisters were given three separate personalities that stayed true throughout the novel–giving each of them a separate and clear voice. What I found lacking in the characters was their substance. Their personalities just didn’t work for me. Savannah was young and impressionable, but she came off a bit too spoiled for me. It didn’t really make sense to me that she went from having almost nothing to feeling like it was okay to go-to-town with her credit card right away. I do understand that a girl at her age wouldn’t think much about it especially having a best friend who had a lot of designer things. She just annoyed me I think. She was very insecure which I could relate to, but she instantly went into make-over mode just a bit too hard for my liking. Then again, you can’t like every character.

Courtney was the sister I thought I was going to relate to the most since she was the responsible one. Although I did connect with her character, I still wasn’t fully invested in her. I did, however, enjoy her storyline the most. She didn’t stray too far from her original self, but also grew as a character when she began relaxing and opening up. Her love interest was also sweet.


Peyton was a character I thought I’d really like as well. My first impressions of her was that she was a strong older sister who had a bit of rebellion in her. However, she was one of my biggest disappointments. She was described at one point as being strong and mature–taking care of her mom when she got really bad so her two younger sisters wouldn’t have to see her like that and fending off one of her mother’s “boyfriends.” Then other times it was Courtney who took care of everyone and Peyton just rebelled and couldn’t be bothered. I was a bit confused with the separate descriptions. Which one was Peyton? Her actions were also confusing. She was described as having a bit of a “wall” in place relationship wise and never really connected with the guys she was seeing, but then she seemed overly emotional with her “love interest(s).” Her character overall was too out of sync for me. I couldn’t connect with her and ended up being disappointed with how her character turned out.

The book was told in alternating points of view between the sisters and a girl named Madison who was the reigning “Queen Bee.” I applaud Madow’s ability to tell the story in this way. Each voice, as I mentioned above, was clear and distinct which let this writing style succeed. However, I was a little thrown when Madison became one of the points of view. I wasn’t expecting her to be a central character when the story’s premise never really mentioned her. I was expecting the story to be more focused on the Diamond sisters themselves. Madison was an alright character. I didn’t really connect with her either, but she seemed to be the truest character for her environment. She grew up in the rich world of social elite in Vegas and it was clearly written in her character. I just didn’t like her all that much, but began to sympathize (just a tad) with her towards the end.

The plot line was okay. I did enjoy seeing who would end up with who, but I was expecting more of the mystery the original promise promised. The whole question of trying to find out about their past. And while one thing was answer early (a bit too early for my liking actually) and some hints were dropped here and there about more secrets, I didn’t really see this mystery being at the forefront of the plot as I would have liked.

What I did really like about the story was that the love interests weren’t really a rushed love and that the assholes stayed assholes. There was no pretense that some of those elite-circle guys were users and players and acted accordingly. I think staying true to that kind of character was a positive in this book and played into the Vegas setting well.

Overall, the novel wasn’t a bad read, it just wasn’t to my liking. I’ve heard that a lot of people did enjoy this book and I’m happy they did. The author sounds really sweet and the idea for this book is very alluring. I think maybe if this story took place while they were at the new private school, with some more fleshed out characters and a heavier mystery plot this might have been a more enjoyable read for me. I don’t mean to say make it a Vegas Gossip Girl, but just…I don’t know…something more. I think the biggest reason I didn’t enjoy the book was because I felt something was missing the entire time. Not a “wow” factor or anything, just that little spark that sucks me into a book and makes me care about the characters. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series or not. I’m debating that. I do think if you want to give the book a try, go for it. In the end it just wasn’t my kind of read, but that isn’t to say you won’t like it. Her other trilogy sounds good and I’ll most likely give them a try as well.

*I was given an ARC e-book version of this book through NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate the opportunity that NetGalley, Michelle Madow and Harlequin TEEN provided me. All opinions are my own and not influenced by any outside factors.*

[bookishzelda]

I’ve never seen a book written the way that The Secret Diamond Sisters is. Four different point of views which of course are the three Diamond sisters Savannah, Courtney and Peyton. I was surprised though when I reached mean girl Madisons part in the book. I was like this is such a cool idea. We get to be in the mean girls head too! I also really liked how the Campus buzz was placed in there throughout the book as well. I really liked the set-up.

The story had a Gossip Girl in Vegas feel going for it. I also felt like Morgan, Damien and Oliver reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons a bit. (maybe the Cruel Intentions version) The cool thing is that the sisters are coming from a very different rough background and trying to adjust to this new glamorous life. Trying to get to know a father that they knew pretty much zilch about for their entire lives. It gave it a very different feel.

All four girls are very different for very different reason. I went through phases with them with the exception of Courtney, I always loved her.

Savannah is that girl who wants so badly to fit in. She’s the youngest out of the three sisters with an absentee mother and a best friend that always gets the spotlight. She sees Vegas as her chance to finally shine and gain some confidence in herself. Now she goes about this in the wrong way and at first I liked her, then her naivety drove me nuts and then I found her endearing again. She’s learning maybe the hard way.

Courtney is the responsible one who has always had twenty jobs and trying to be the best she can at school. She goes to Vegas and suddenly all these doors open for her and all this weight is lifted off her. She almost in a way doesn’t know what to do with herself and I think is a little lost.

Peyton is angry so very angry. She’s had to clean up her mom’s messes and take care of things more than her sisters know. Now she’s transported to Vegas and I think she is bitter at Adrian for not being there for them. For not stopping the things that were going on. I did not like Peyton for most of the book but by the end I had a feeling things are going to be different in book 2 and I’m freakin’ excited to find out how.

Morgan. Oh Morgan. I’m sorry I don’t like you, I don’t even feel sorry for you. You blame everything on everyone else except yourself. Nobody has the power to ruin your life if you don’t let them. So ya I liked reading Morgan’s perspective even though I couldn’t like her no matter what she did.

Let’s talk about boys. Oliver, Damien, Nick, Brett, Jackson...am I forgetting anyone. I like how something would be going on with one boy then another boy would pop up out of nowhere. They were weaved into the girls lives in different ways. Not just interacting with one but sometimes all of them.

Michelle does an awesome job of recreating Vegas in your mind. I’ve been there many times and have experienced some of the things the girls did. I laughed my ass off when Courtney walks into The Imperial and says this place is a dump. I’ve actually hung out there and watched Karaoke. Although the hotel has since changed hands and is now called the Quad. I think you haven’t ever been to Vegas you get a great taste of it. Of course now I want to live in an awesome condo with a blamex. I can’t imagine experiencing Vegas that way. I totally miss Vegas now.

So I can’t wait for the next book now to see how things play out. I’ve got a feeling things are going to be different with Peyton. Plus there is still some mystery surrounding Adrian and the girls past.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber


I went into The Secret Diamond Sisters expecting some Gossip Girl in Vegas, and that’s precisely what I got! I just love it when a book meets my expectations, don’t you? The Secret Diamond Sisters is a story awash with rich people and their drama, which is why I get to use my favourite term to describe it: Rich People Drama.


I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of any of the characters. There is nothing about Savannah, Courtney, nor Peyton that appeals to me. They are more like cardboard cut-outs than real characters with real personalities. They’re very generic, and very cliché. And, surprisingly, with this story that is completely fine by me!

The three girls go to live in the penthouse of their super rich father’s hotel, and from there all the delicious drama that made Gossip Girl and It Girl so appealing to me ensues. There are even little segments between chapters, showing posts from an internet forum where people gossip about what’s been going on with the rich Las Vegas teenagers.

It’s all very standard, and I don’t feel that The Secret Diamond Sisters brings anything new to the table. That said, I still enjoyed it, because RPD is my jam. My lady jam. I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series to see what other craziness happens, but that doesn’t come out until October so in the meantime I plan on maybe rereading the It Girl series. That was always my favourite because it merged the Gossip Girl style with boarding school, which is another of my favourite things.

To wrap up: The Secret Diamond Sisters is nothing outstanding, but if you’re looking for a quick read to get you through a hot summer’s day, I would recommend this one. Especially if, like me, you love a bit of teenage high school drama, but with millionaires.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips

1.5 Stars

It breaks my heart to write this review. I feel like I'm about to rip the book to shreds, and that saddens me. I actually met the author (very, very briefly) at BEA last year. She was SO SWEET and so excited about her upcoming book, The Secret Diamond Sisters. When I saw what it was about, I was excited too! It sounded AMAZING! Now, months later, I've finally read the book and I didn't like it... and that really upsets me. :(

There are two big problems with The Secret Diamond Sisters: the characters and the plot.

The Characters

I hated two of the three characters. Courtney was actually pretty cool, but Savannah's naivety made her annoying, and Peyton's bitchy attitude made her unbearable.

Savannah

Compared to Peyton, Savannah wasn't so bad. Her main problem was that she was a 15 year old girl obsessed with being popular and looking amazing. I know a lot of 15 year old girls are like that, so the portrayal is pretty accurate. But the way she acted really made me roll my eyes sometimes.

[Now Savannah] could be more than Evie's second-best. She could buy the expensive bags and shoes the cool girls flaunted around school, so she wouldn't feel like an outsider. She would finally fit in—more so once she got her new wardrobe, highlights and hair extensions.

Of course, this Savannah Diamond needed the hottest, most desirable boyfriend by her side.

SO many teenage girls think this way. They feel they have to do everything they can to fit in, and appearances are everything. Even if this is an accurate portrayal, it didn't make it fun to read about. It's hard to like and admire a main character who doesn't have the self confidence to just be who she is, without needing expensive clothes or popular friends or the hottest look. And I don'to feel like she ever changed, even towards the end, so that made it all the worse.

Then the other annoying parts come in when Savannah gives into peer pressure. The girl is 15 and she tried alcohol once and didn't like it. She also avoids hard alcohol because her mother is an alcoholic. Then a hot guy invites her to do shots and she accepts, even though she doesn't want to, because she wants to fit in and be cool. Well that is not cool!!

But Savannah wasn't about to argue with Damien. She would stop at one and pretend she didn't mind the taste when it was setting her throat on fire.

So even though she doesn't want to do it, she drinks anyway. Not cool, Savannah.

This goes a step further when Damien advances on her sexually, Savannah pulls back, then sees that Damien is upset, and Savannah believes she was being stupid and "should have gone along with it". That's basically a roundabout way of saying, "I didn't want to have sex, but clearly he's upset so I should have sucked it up and gone with it." That's one step away from letting a guy rape you. Dear Savannah: it's okay if you don't want to let a guy feel you up! Especially if you only met the guy YESTERDAY! There's nothing wrong with not wanting it.

Then there are a few other scattered instances of Savannah getting overly "made up", like putting on makeup to go to the gym in case she sees Damien there. Do girls seriously put on makeup when going to the gym? Nothing is wrong with having an un-made-up face while you work up a sweat (or even just on a normal day out...)! All these things combined just made Savannah look so materialistic, all about appearances, and very naive.

Peyton

Peyton was the "rebel". She desperately wanted to go against the norm, and once she learned about her dad she decided she hated him and had to piss him off as much as possible. Fair enough, because the guy wasn't involved in most of her life so I get why she was pissed off, but Peyton took it a few steps too far for me to handle. Here are a few of the ways she tried to piss off her dad:

Peyton skimmed over the menu as Rebecca ordered her food, zeroing in on the most expensive dish on the menu. Maine lobster—seventy dollars. Perfect. That would do a good job of pissing Adrian off.

The dude is a BILLIONAIRE. A seventy dollar food item is not going to make him bat an eyelash. But the fact that she thought it would and went ahead and did this was my first real sign that she was a stupid brat. I don't like people who go out of their way to do stupid stuff like this.

[..] so Peyton turned to Brett with a brilliant idea—flirt with her future stepbrother. That would surely piss Adrian off.

This was about 4 pages later... just... seriously? Then about 10 pages later she started flirting with her bodyguard too. She's just toying with guys to piss off her dad. THAT'S NOT COOL!

Then, later, Adrian gave them the rules of the house. Which were more or less:

* You can use your unlimited credit cards for anything you want. But if you're going to buy a yacht or something, you need to talk to me first.
* Don't cause any bad press.
* You can drink alcohol despite being underage, just don't go overboard and like, black out.
* You can go clubbing and you don't have a curfew, just come home at night.

Peyton's reaction to these ridiculously lenient rules?

[Peyton] was sick of listening to this lecture. She ignored the rules at home, especially since her mom didn't follow through with punishments, and she would continue doing whatever she wanted here, no matter what boundaries Adrian tried to place on her.

Yeah, because these "boundaries" are sooo unreasonable... At this point she was just looking for ways to cause conflict. THERE'S NOTHING HERE TO ACTUALLY BE ANNOYED ABOUT!! The dude is giving you loads of freedom.

Adrian is engaged to a woman named Rebecca, and one day she came to the girls explaining that they were attending a dinner party and they should dress up and look nice. So naturally Petyon decided to be a bitch about it.

"I'm going to get ready, and I'll make sure to pick an outfit that definitely wouldn't have met Rebecca's approval."

Then she proceeded to put on a see-through outfit that was totally inappropriate for a nice, business dinner party.

Plus, I hated how Peyton acted around guys. Before the story starts, Peyton was cheated on, and it destroyed all her future relationships. She hated it, she was humiliated, she was devastated. Then, naturally, she cheats on her own boyfriend.

Peyton didn't like how she'd cheated on [her boyfriend], but it was nothing that hadn't been done to her before.

Just because it happened to you (with a different guy) doesn't mean it's okay for you to do it.. Don't you remember how upset and devastated you were?

After she was cheated on, she decided to never let a guy get close to her. She dated a new one every month (or less), had one night stands, etc. Once the guys got too close, she pushed them away. Then, in the book, she has sex with one guy and thinks now they're kind of dating.. but the guy basically told her that wasn't the case. Then Peyton was pissed because HE was the one to end things instead of HER and:

"she was the one who ended things with guys, not the other way around."

Yes, how awful that he got the draw on her and broke it off first.

Overall, Peyton was a massive bitch. She did things to her dad just to try to piss him off, and they were so stupid and unnecessary. Then she was a massive hypocrite when it came to guys. She was allowed to break their hearts, but they weren't allowed to break hers. Awesome logic.

The drinking—is this real?

The girls in this book are fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, if I remember rightly. All the people who they hang out with are around that range as well. But EVERYONE drinks. ALL THE TIME. Enough that I'm pretty sure one of the seventeen year olds had a legitimate drinking problem (he constantly carried around a flask to drink from and got hammered like every day).

I mean, this is Vegas, so maybe this does really happen.. but I was floored by the sheer amount of underage drinking and lack of carding at the clubs. Maybe that's a real thing in Vegas. Maybe sixteen year olds really do go clubbing at 18/21+ clubs every night, never get carded, and always do tons of shots. I don't know. But geeze. It seemed unreal to me. At least Savannah had the sense to start ordering sodas after her little peer pressure shot escapade.

The Plot

The other problem with The Secret Diamond Sisters was the lack of plot progression. Nothing actually happens in this book. There's not really a big story arc. The entire book is just about the three girls running around Vegas and each experiencing it a little differently. Naturally they each have their romance dramas, but that's it. Nothing actually happens with their dad. There was no climax. Nothing gets revealed at the end. And apparently this book is a series, but I was given no indication of where the series was actually heading.

If you like the idea of a book that's about three different girls having different romance dramas, then maybe you'll like The Secret Diamond Sisters. I thought I was liking it for a while, but when I realized that none of the stories were actually heading anywhere, I got bored. I finally realized that there was no more to the story than what I was getting. It's just about one girl (Courtney) falling for the one guy she can't be with, another girl (Savannah) falling for the playboy who is less into her than he appears to be, and another girl (Peyton) falling for her one night stand. Then see where that all leads (nowhere, really).

[Angie]

I adored this author's previous series, but The Secret Diamond Sisters just did not do it for me. The premise sounds so fun, but unfortunately the characters really dragged it down. It's all about the three Diamond sisters who find out that their dad is the owner of one of the most luxurious hotel chains in the world. Their mother is being sent to rehab for alcoholism, and their grandmother isn't able to take care of them while also taking care of their dying aunt, so their long lost father takes them in. He lives in Vegas, which is a huge change for the girls, and they each take to the Strip in different ways.

The Secret Diamond Sisters is told from four POVs and has little snippets from a message board. I was expecting to get chapters from each of the three sisters, but we also get Madison, who is the evil, queen bee of the Vegas teenagedom. I honestly don't get why her perspective was included. It added nothing to the story, since we learn about her schemes from one of the Diamonds anyway. I found myself skimming a lot of her parts. I did really like the forum threads. They were a fun addition.

The first sister we meet is the youngest, Savannah. She's very upbeat and is excited to be moving to Vegas and meeting their father. Becoming filthy rich overnight and getting a limitless credit card doesn't hurt either. She's the most materialistic of the sisters and I found myself annoyed with her a lot because of this. She goes absolutely crazy with the shopping because, why not? She also wants to be a Pop Star, but is too scared to even sing for her sisters. Makes no sense. She also clings to every guy who pays attention to her. I just could not bring myself to care about her.

The middle sister is Courtney, and I did like her for the most part. She's the responsible, studious one. She's the one to take on a part-time job to help cover the bills when their mother spent the rent money on alcohol. She's not exactly thrilled by her new lifestyle, but she's willing to give her father the benefit of the doubt. I also liked how she tried not to use her credit card too much, and focused on things she might need and a few small luxurious. However, I had to roll my eyes when she tried to apply for a barista job at the hotel she's now living in. I get that she doesn't want to sit around idly and wants to make her own spending money, but come on, there are people who actually need to work and could use her position.

Finally, there's Peyton. She's the worst of them all. I hated her from her very first chapter. She thinks she's so hardcore with her leather dresses and black eyeshadow. It's her goal to be unhappy with her new life and to make her sisters and father miserable, just to make a point. All she's doing is embarrassing herself and by extension, her father. She has absolutely no respect for anyone. She only attempts to get her act together when she overhears her father's business partner say she looks like a prostitute. She's also not the brightest bulb: ordering lobster to piss off billionaire daddy, using a fake ID where everyone knows who she is, and getting mad when a guy calls her easy after sleeping with him the very night she met him.

The rest of the The Secret Diamond Sisters cast isn't much better. Madison is a raging bitch for no reason. Or maybe it's because she's always hungry after only consuming 800 calories a day? Then there's the three guys: Damien, Oliver, and Nick. I honestly couldn't keep them straight. They were pretty interchangeable to me. The only person I did like was Brett, who is the future stepbrother of the Diamond sisters. He's nice, and I actually loved the whole step-sibling blossoming romance.

Just one nitpicky thing: Why does everyone keep referring to Fairfield as if it's some teeny town in the middle of nowhere? It's not! Sure, it's hardly huge, especially compared to other cities in California, but it's certainly not small. At all. I know it doesn't compare to Las Vegas, but the sisters should know better since they're from there.

The Secret Diamond Sisters was just really disappointing. There's no central plot, so it's all about the characters. Too bad all of them were awful.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.