Book Review: Black Diamonds

GENRE: Crime and Detective

 

BLURB:

Within the last year, acclaimed fashion designer, Carmen Davenport, has witnessed the ups and downs of being romantically linked to one of New York’s most prominent men. On the heel of her engagement to Jay Santiago, a Puerto Rican businessman, she learns her oldest daughter has been kidnapped. A direct result of an ongoing war between her fiancé and a disgruntled drug kingpin, Carmen becomes determined to put an official end to the conflict.  She sets out to track down her daughter only to be met with unforeseen obstacles. A criminal investigation, led by her soon-to-be ex-husband, Michael Kane, leaves her fiancé behind bars. Due to Jay’s incarceration, Carmen is placed in the care of his estranged cousin, Gully. He constantly reminds Carmen of the price of fame, ultimately forcing her to take matters in her own hands. Determined to bring her daughter to safety, she takes a no holds barred approach to ensure her daughter’s return.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Vogue’s journey through the world of creative writing first began in middle school with poetry and songwriting. While the mix of rhythm and words was the initial passage to self-expression, it was the discovery of prose that opened the door to a world of endless possibilities. An avid reader of Urban Fiction, Vogue felt the need to create literary works that had an equal balance of street lit, drama, romance, and faith-based undertones.

A graduate of Winthrop University (Rock Hill, S.C.), possessing a bachelor’s degree in social work, Vogue, first birthed the idea of The Diamond Collection in the halls of her alma mater. In 2003, she put pen to paper and thus was created, Diamonds In The Rough, part one of The Diamond Collection series.

By 2010, Vogue had written drafts of the entire ten book series and in June of 2010, Diamonds In The Rough, was published for her to share with the rest of the world. Soon followed by Diamonds Are Forever in October of 2010 and The Ace of Diamonds in February of 2013, Vogue joined the league of other writers, determined to make her mark in the literary world.

Still writing, Vogue released the fourth book in the series, Black Diamonds, on July 4, 2015. She is currently working on Diamonds N’ Roses, the fifth installment of the series.

Official Links:

Website: www.simplyvogue.net

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SimplyVogue

Twitter: @SimplyVogue_B

Instagram: marilyn_monrho1922

MY REVIEW:

The book has a great amount of action and it starts with the first pages. We are offered with a perspective from all the main characters and their emotions are well depicted.

Carmen’s love for her family is very well presented and all her actions are driven by it. Once finding out her daughter has been kidnapped, she will do all in her power to find her and bring her home safe. Police involvement is reduced to a minimum, so she takes matters in her hands. While Jay seemed more concerned to save his business and prevent Blu to discover (or obtain) his secret, he sends one of his trusted men to look over his future wife and help her when needed.

Kane is a concerned father, trying to get over his divorce with Carmen. He is well aware that this affected as well their children. Joggling between saving his daughter and his career, he must have a clear mind to find a way out of his issues.

To be honest, I was a little lost in the family relations; this can be probably because this is the first book I’ve read in the series. I was also under the impression that several characters appeared too much, even though they had little to contribute to the plot. As well, some scenes were presented though they were not related to the story. I will not get into details as I want to avoid spoilers.

All in all, this was an entertaining read and if you are a fan of this kind of books, I do recommend you give it a try. My advice is to start with the entire series, as you will better understand why things happen the way they do. My rating: 4 stars (3.5 actually).

And now the good news : 

Vogue will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter:

Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you like the book, feel free to Purchase it or any other works by Vogue:

Links to Purchase Black Diamonds:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble

Diamonds in the Rough: Amazon      Barnes & Noble

 

Diamonds are Forever: Amazon        Barnes & Noble

 

The Ace of Diamonds: Amazon     Barnes & Noble

 

 

Excerpt :

“So you want me to accept the fact that my daughter has been kidnapped?”

Carmen looked over at Kane and shook her head. “I don’t even want to accept that. I most definitely wouldn’t tell you, too. All I know is what I’ve told you already. I guess we’re going to have to wait and see what the detective says. He probably knows more since they’ve been running tests.” Carmen bit her lip out of fear only because she knew she was withholding information from Kane. She was wrong in not telling him that Kristian’s kidnapping was a result of the beef between Jay and Blu, but she knew if she did, Kane would demand they return to Malik’s house. He would shoot Jay dead, Carmen thought. Humph, like I don’t want to do the same. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I’m in love with him.

“Kristian never mentioned anything to me about having a problem with someone. She didn’t say…” Kane paused as he made a right turn, starting to remember a conversation he shared with his daughter. Shortly after Carmen announced she wanted to separate, he had come home to remove his items from their bedroom. Kristian had tried to talk to him about someone who was bothering her, but he had pushed her away. Now, she was gone and the only thing he had left was her cell phone and purse, which were miles away in Georgia.