Title: Seven Black Diamonds
Series: Seven Black Diamonds #1
By: Melissa Marr
Genre: YA Dystopian/Urban Fantasy
Lilywhite Abernathy is a criminal. Her father’s “unconventional” business has meant a life of tightly held secrets, concealed weaponry, and a strict code. But Lily’s crime isn’t being the daughter of a powerful mob boss. Her guilt lies in the other half of her DNA—the part that can coax ancient rumors from stones and summon fire with a thought. Lily is part fae, which is a crime in her world.
From the time before she was born, a war has been raging between humanity and fae. The Queen of Blood and Rage, ruler of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts, wants to avenge the tragic death of her heir—a death that was the fault of reckless humans.
Lily’s father has shielded her from the repercussions of her ancestry…until she is sent to the prestigious St. Columba’s school, straight into the arms of the Black Diamonds.
Mysterious, glamorous, and bound together in their mission but constantly at odds, Zephyr, Creed, Will, Roan, Violet, and Alkamy are a Sleeper cell of fae, planted in the human world to help destroy it from within. With covers as rock stars and celebrity children, the Black Diamonds carry out the queen’s war against humanity. And unbeknownst to Lilywhite, she’s been chosen to join them.
Now more than ever, Lily’s heritage puts her in peril, and even the romantic attention of the fae singer Creed Morrison isn’t enough to keep Lily from wanting to run back to the safer world of organized crime.
Melissa Marr returns to faery in a dramatic story of the precarious space between two worlds and the people who must thrive there.
Snag your copy now!
Mel’s Review-
Seven Black Diamonds is the first book in the series of the same name by the incomparable Melissa Marr. I thought it was something of an urban fantasy when I picked it up, but I was wrong. It’s more a dystopian tale with fantasy elements. In this age, the world knows all about faeries existence, and humanity is at war with them. Being part fae is literally a crime in the human world and those who share that heritage spend their lives hiding to the best of their abilities to avoid being arrested. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the faery queen of blood and rage. She rules the fae and plots dark endeavors to pay humanity back for not only poisoning her planet but murdering her daughter. Danger lurks around every corner and it’s a riveting, tense read.
We see the story unfold from multiple points of view (which I love) and as this is book one, of course there is the world building needed to lay down the bones of the story. This always makes me happy because you know a solid foundation will benefit future installments. It was great to see things from the different perspectives, see how they’re all dealing with the hands they’ve been dealt. It adds depth to the characters and to my enjoyment of the story as a whole. This is one of the many things I enjoy about authors like Melissa Marr, she takes the time to show you the whole picture and it makes for a richer story.
The majority of the story revolves around Lilywhite Abernathy. The daughter of a crime boss and a criminal because of her own faery blood, Lily’s whole life is about protecting herself from those who would harm her. She’s strong and she knows her own mind, she’s kickass. I adore her. Marr has a talent for crafting these intriguing, badass heroines, I think. It’s one of the many reasons I love her stories. My second favorite is Creed, though. He’s devoted and sweet and swoon-worthy. I ship Creed and Lily pretty hard.
The writing, as always, is flawless and I was wrapped up in the story from the very start, waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next. This group of teenagers is stuck in the middle of a war that none of them really want any part of. Who can they trust? Will they ever be able to decide their own fates? So many questions flew through my head as I read and I absolutely loved every moment of this book. I can’t wait for the next one, One Blood Ruby, which releases on February 28th.
My recommendation is if you love dystopian or faeries, if you love Melissa Marr, intricate storylines and characters that make you laugh and cry, pick up this book NOW. You won’t regret it.
My Rating:
Melissa grew up believing in faeries, ghosts, and other creatures. After teaching college literature and writing for a decade, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing her own books.
Melissa writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages to date and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as various countries overseas. She is best known for the Wicked Lovely series for teens and Graveminder for adults.
Wicked Lovely was her first novel; it was simultaneously released in the US and UK by HarperCollins in 2007 (with translation rights also sold in twenty-some countries). It debuted as a NY Times Bestseller and evolved into a multi-book series with myriad accolades and international bestseller lists.
Her debut adult book, Graveminder, released to strong critical reception in 2011. Following that she has edited anthologies with Kelley Armstrong (Enthralled and Shards & Ashes) and with Tim Pratt (Rags & Bones), and released a second adult novel (The Arrivals) in 2013.
With Kelley Armstrong, Melissa is the co-author of the Blackwell Pages trilogy (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), a children’s trilogy about the Norse myth of Ragnarök. Loki's Wolves released in 2013; it was followed by Odin's Ravensin 2014 and Thor's Serpents in May 2015.
Her HarperCollins 2014 release, Made For You, utilizes both her graduate degree in Southern Literature and her personal experience with stalkers in a story about a killer who terrorizes a small North Carolina town.
Her first picture book (Bunny Roo, I Love You) was released in April 2015. It was written while she was in the hospital with her baby, who was very sick. Her second picture book, Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon!, will release in 2017. Both picture books are with Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books.
Under the name Ronnie Douglas, Melissa has written several adult romances as well-- the self-published Unlawful, as well as Undaunted and Unruly (via HarperCollins).
2016 brought the release of her newest YA book, Seven Black Diamonds, which is the first in a new two-book faery series. (It has no relation whatsoever to the Wicked Lovely series.) The sequel, One Blood Ruby, releases in 2017.
Currently, Melissa resides in Arizona.
Stalker Links:
Website- http://www.melissamarrbooks.com/
*We receive NO payment of any kind for our reviews---we review books we've bought, or books that are provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Cool review.The next book is just as good but ends on an odd note.
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