Diamonds in the Rough by Michelle Madow Pages: 488
Published by Harlequin, Harlequin TEEN on October 28, 2014
Genres: General, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Source: Paperback from Author
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.
Diamonds in the Rough is the perfect follow up to The Secret Diamond Sisters. It is just as gossip girl-y, fun, and scandalous as the first book. I really liked that we got to know each of the sisters a lot better. As well as Madison and the whole cast of secondary characters. Just like the first book, Diamonds in the Rough is told in multiple points of views between the Diamond sisters and Madison. Each of the chapters was clearly labeled and it was really easy follow along. It was cool to read the book this way, because Michelle Madow’s writing style and voice changes with each of the sisters. It added to their very distinct personalities. Madison stereotyped the sisters and dubbed them as follows: Peyton- the slut, Courtney- the goody two shoes and Savannah- the wannabe. And I have to say, at first glance, I can see why she put them in those categories, but throughout the course of the story I watched each of the sisters grow and disprove their stereotypes. I loved that.
Courtney is still my favorite. I just have a soft spot for her. I like Savannah and Peyton too, and I like them each a lot more than I did by the end of the first book, but Courtney is the closest to me, so I think that I relate to her the easiest. When I read The Secret Diamond Sisters, I thought Peyton had a bit too much of a bad attitude and that Savannah acted a little too old. Diamonds in the rough turned these opinions around completely. I loved how Savannah conducted herself. I still like Nick, but Damien wormed his way into my heart too. He really seemed to be there for Savannah and care about her. I am still a little wary, but I might just be overprotective of her. Peyton showed another side of herself too. She mellowed out a bit, and I think she is starting to trust Adrian and Rebecca. And she should. I absolutely love how awesome Rebecca is with the girls. There are far too many books with “evil” step-parents. But Rebecca is so genuine and nice and there for the girls. It was great to see.
Diamonds in the Rough is such a fun read. Since there are multiple main characters, we only got snippets of romance from each of them. It was a pretty romance light book actually, but there is so many other things going on that it never felt like it was lacking in the romance department. We got to see each of the girls romantic interests and some of them made progress and some of the girls took a couple of steps backwards, but each of them are not set up for an interesting romance in the next book.
I wanted to grab some snacks and sit down and enjoy this book like my favorite shows. It is addictive and chock full of rumors, and drama in the best way. If you like Gossip Girl or the A-List books, these books are perfect for you. I can easily see them being made into a tv series. I am actually kind of surprised that it hasn’t been picked up for one yet. I would watch it in a heartbeat. And I love the writing. It is fun and Michelle Madow incorporates many different story telling techniques that really work with the tone of the book. I love the way she works in posts from the anonymous high school forum website. Not only are they fun to read, but they aren’t just fluff and filler; they actually advance the storyline. It was a really cool way to weave certain facts into the story, without us simply being told what was happening in a chapter. I also loved the numerous pop culture references, and the names she used for the celebrities. Not to mention all the soap opera level secrets throughout the story. Some of the bombs dropped were crazy! I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next.
Other books in the Secret Diamond Sisters Series:
Have You Entered these Giveaways Yet?
Click on the banners to enter
I have hear really good things about this series and I am excite to start it. I am so glad that the second book did the first justice.