Book Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow

Title: The Secret Diamond Sisters
Author: Michelle Madow
Series: The Secret Diamond Sisters #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: February 25th, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance

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Synopsis: 

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 Diamond Sisters, Savannah, Courtney and Peyton have grown up all their lives with their alcoholic waitress of a mother. When their mother finally hits rock bottom and is sent to rehab, the girls are whisked away to Las Vegas by the father they've never known, Adrian Diamond, who they discover to be the billionaire owner of Diamond Hotels and Casinos. 

The Secret Diamond Sisters is a novel that is often compared to the Luxe Series, or even Gossip girl, at a glance it comes across as fun, flirty and packed with drama. Which it was. Although when I look back at this book all I can think is that it had great potential. Extremely great potential. It just lacked depth, both in plot and in characters. I stopped reading roughly halfway through the novel because I felt like the only thing that was keeping me going was wanting to read more about the girls' relationship with their father.

One would expect that the majority of the novel would be spent with the girls learning about their fathers past, and developing a relationship with him to make up for the last fifteen years, but this book hardly scrapes the surface of anything about Daddy Diamond. I felt like so many questions arised about him, but hardly any were ever addressed and none seemed to be answered. 

Instead of developing a relationship with their father the Diamond Sisters spend most of the novel in the city's most exclusive clubs, hooking up with rich boys, or drinking. After reading about their mother being an alcoholic I felt that this was a very strange move for the girls, who I expected would be entirely opposed to alcohol, but there was alot of drinking in this book. Alot. And it felt a little bit unrealistic to me to read about teenagers who drink that much.

My issue with the characters was that I couldn't seem to connect with them no matter how hard I tried. As teenage girls they were bound to be stupid at times, but I felt like the girls kept making the same mistakes and creating drama for themselves. I couldn't get past their flaws, mainly because they really didn't grow or develop at all throughout the book. Savannah, the youngest daughter was incredibly naive, greedy and oblivious. Really all she cared about was money, clothes and boys. Courtney was a little bit too perfect to be true, she was intelligent, funny and kind. The perfect daughter really. And then there was Peyton, who was bitchy and sassy and did everything she could to piss of her father. All three of the girls were some kind of stereotype, which would have been fine if they had eventually developed as characters and had a little bit more personality.

Overall, I had really high hopes for the Secret Diamond Sisters, and it had extremely great potential. I feel that it definitely could have been a knock-out novel if the characters and the plot had been a little bit more realistic and had a little more depth. I did not hate this book, it was somewhat enjoyable, and I think it is suitable for those who want a quick, dramatic and not overly emotional read. 

This is the first in a trilogy. The second book, Diamonds in the Rough is to be published on October 28th, 2014. 

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.