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

ebook received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: February 25th 2014

Publisher: Mira Ink (Harlequin)

Description:
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.

My Opinion

The Secret Diamond Sisters was an OK read but that is really the only word that comes to mind besides "meh." I think I went into this book expecting a lot more than it delivered and I came away from it feeling frustrated as the potential is there and the story could have been so much more.

I liked the setting of Vegas, it was slightly different to the usual books I read and I liked that there was a small Gossip Girl aspect to the book. The Secret Diamond Sisters focused on the elite and there were a few web forums dispersed throughout the book talking about the sisters.I also thought the overall premise of girls moving to Vegas to live with a father they've either not seen since infancy or never met who happens to be a billionaire was good and interesting. There was a lot of potential for drama and secrets and there were things hinted at from the past that kept me reading to find out if they ever appeared.

Sadly, that was about it for how far my likes went with this book. I felt the execution is what let The Secret Diamond Sisters so much and stopped it from being a great read. There seemed to be so much crammed in to the book and so many different strands that I felt none of them were really developed in enough detail. There were lots of tiny things but not one solid constant in the book and for me it kind of felt like the story didn't go anywhere. I was waiting for some big reveal or drama that would impact the sisters' lives but it just never arrived. Just a few strands were; issues with the sisters' mum, coping with moving, relationship (sort of/flirting), the father's lifestyle, adapting to lives, hotel deals, clubs, a hotel opening and then secrets from the past. For me there was too much to keep track of and it felt too slow as nothing was continuously building drama.

I also think that the way in which this book was written didn't help the development or pacing at all--it actually felt very weird. The book is written with each chapter being on a different character (Savannah, Peyton, Courtney or Maddison). Normally this is fine because they are written in first person and you get to know the characters and their thoughts. There is also normally only two or three so less to keep up with. However, in The Secret Diamond Sisters the book is written in 3rd person and follows 4 characters-each having chapters of their own. Personally it just felt very stiff and choppy doing this; I was distant from the characters because of the 3rd person narrative and the fact it changes character every chapter meant you never really develop feelings for them.

Doing this also meant that the timeline was all over the place with the book constantly jumping back and forth in time to describe what happened to individual characters at the same point in the book. I feel that there was a lot of unnecessary detail and that this would have been better condensed and used as the start of a book as there wasn't enough drama to keep me hooked. At one point the author hinted at a secret Adrian was hiding and I thought everything was going to pick up. I was turning pages hoping for a reveal but sadly nothing happens and by the look of the interview in the back of the book, you'll have to wait for book 2 for it to maybe revealed.

Overall The Secret Diamond Sisters could have been so much more. It has the potential but I found in this state that the execution was lacking and that it was repetitive with no solid plot line that you could sink your teeth into.

2.5