Seven Black Diamonds audiobook

I regret not reading this earlier…This book was a wonderfully fast read and I enjoyed every bit of it. Lily is an amazing protagonist, probably even one of my most favorite female leads. Her character and personality were written very well and her upbringing made it even better.Lilywhite was raised by Nicholas Abernathy, one of the most renowned crime lords in the world. Her life is filled with bodyguards, rules, and training in weapons. Yet her father is one of the most loving people in the world when it comes to family. Lily refers to the rules as Aberthany Commandments and follows them whole heartedly, and at some point in the book I realised that I’ve been pretty much following these rules subconsciously all my life. Lily’s identity as a Crime Lord’s daughter is dangerous, but not half as much as the fact that she is a fae blood, the daughter of a human and a fae. Her father knows of her fae heritage and has protected it all her life (I love her father). Now, Lily has to attend St.Columba’s and in doing so reveals her identity to 6 other fae bloods. But these 6 kids are no ordinary fae bloods, they are the Black Diamonds, the Unseelie Queen’s most trusted sleepers. They believe that Lily is the seventh diamond, the one person who will complete their group. But to their shock, Lily is aware of her Fae heritage but not of her role as a sleeper.The war between the humans and the fae started with the death of the true heir of the fae courts. The Seelie King and the Unseelie Queen once had a daughter,one meant to rule both courts as one. One day due to an unfortunate accident and mistake on the humans’ part the baby died, leaving the two species in a war and the courts divided. The book shifts in perspective mainly between Eilidh, Lily, and Zephyr. Eilidh is the current heir of the courts, a girl who was supposed to die in childbirth, never accepted by the Seelie Princes. Zephyr, the leader of the Diamonds, who believes he has to marry Lily and make her the other leader for the diamonds. Lily, who has just been introduced to the diamonds, is not taking any of Zephyr’s marriage crap, and is attracted to Creed who she can’t seem to stay away from. Zephyr doesn’t truly want to marry Lily either, but will do so if the Queen orders him to. In all of this, each perspective shows us more about the loyalties, honor, love, and family of each of the characters.Every character played an important role in the story and I enjoyed getting to know them. Each of the Diamonds have amazing personalities and I look forward to seeing them again in the next book. As I already said, Lily is a great protagonist and enhances the story very well,she’s definitely the right lead for such a story. I loved the Seelie King and the Unseelie Queen both of them added a lot of intrigue to the book because of their personalities and status in the fae world.The story was narrated very skillfully and I look forward to reading more of Melissa Meyer’s novels. I give this book 4.5 stars and will hopefully finish One Blood Ruby soon.

Many years ago, I walked into a Borders Outlet with my mom and confessed to one of the workers that I was starting to become obsessed with books about faeries. She told me how she enjoyed a book named Wicked Lovely that just came out, and then proceeded to totally convince me to buy it. I've been a Melissa Marr fan ever since that day, and I thank her and that wonderful Borders Outlet employee for helping flourish my love for books about fae. So, obviously, I couldn't not read this book. “I like knowing that my heart has found its home.” Seven Black Diamonds is very reminiscent of Wicked Lovely, even though it's set in a completely different fae world. Unlike Wicked Lovely, this book doesn't have season courts, but has (my favorite) Seelie and Unseelie courts. Yet, in this world, these two courts, and the Hidden Throne - which is all fae not living in one of the other two courts, are somewhat combined with the Seelie King just being King Leith of Fire and Truth and the Unseelie Queen, the true leader, just being Queen Endellion of Blood and Rage. The Queen and King have five children in total, but only two together, which means one of those two are the only one worthy to be heir.Right now that heir is Eilidh, but she wasn't meant to be the heir. That was her older sister that went missing at birth's place. A lot of fae do not accept or approve of Eilidh because she is scarred all over her body. Like, people legitimately call her Patches and it makes me so sad. Meanwhile, the Queen is eradicating many human lives for punishment because of her missing daughter (view spoiler)[a human ship crashed into her while giving birth in the sea (hide spoiler)], and because humans vastly outnumber fae. The Queen refuses to let go of her vendetta.She has a secret army of soldiers that she called Sleepers. These Sleepers are half fae and half human and live to do the Queen's bidding. Not many people know about them, and even they do not know the truth behind themselves. The Seven Black Diamonds are the most important Sleeper group there is, but up until this point they have never been complete, since they've only have six members. That is, until Lily Abernathy's father make a decision that his very protected and sheltered daughter should be around more kids like her. AKA: Fae.Lily is not only the star of this book, but will also become the most important member of the Seven Black Diamonds. Yes, she has been protected by her mob-boss father her whole life, but she is strong all on her own and won't be a pawn for anyone or any court. She also constantly makes the reader reminisce about Wicked Lovely with her father's set of rules. Creed is the swoon-worthy famous fae musician of the group, and instantly got Lily's attention. Zephyr (Lord, help me with not giggling at these names) is the actual leader of the Seven Black Diamonds and faithfully will always serve the Queen of Blood and Rage. AlKamy is a rock star and Zephyr's love interest that can never be. Violet is my second favorite Diamond and a force to be reckoned with. I loved her free-spirit, yet also her devotion.Will is a politician's kid who we don't learn much about other than his boyfriend is also in the Seven Black Diamonds.Roan is the boyfriend and is a future CEO that likes to stay out of the limelight of the other five that are famous in this world. They explain it like, fae are so gorgeous and talented that they have to live in this world as actors and singers, or people would never believe they were regular humans. This is also probably another reason Lily was so protected growing up.Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but I can recognize that I am complete Fae trash and a sucker for any book that involves the Seelie and Unseelie courts. This book not only reminded me of Wicked Lovely, obviously, but also really reminded me of Vampire Academy for some reason. I will for sure be continuing on with this series, because, as started before, I'm Fae trash that cannot be stopped.Blog | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

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I am kicking myself for not reading it sooner! This was quite good, and I am surprised it doesn’t get talked about more! Seriously, this checks so many boxes for me:- Seelie and Unseelie court fae- Wicked royals- A lost heir- Ruthless political machinations- The fae have a vendetta against humans- A secret team of fae hidden in the human world- Top tier banter!- Swoony, fun romance (multiple couples!)This book was such a delight, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for fans of YA fantasy and stories with fae, alike!

Melissa Marr is an amazing writer but I think she has found a rut that she can't get out of. I really loved this book. I also loved the Wicked Lovely series. There's no shame in writing about the same type of mythical creature but both stories so closely resembled each other that you could tell that this is new time same story. Don't get me wrong though, I think the story and plot is great on both books but you can tell that she hasn't come up with something new yet. Both involve Fae which I love, both involve a king and a queen, and both involve unsuspecting humans that end up being dragged into a "war". I do love the drama and the characters in this story. I do have a hard time with the repetitive aspects such as Lilys commandments, that are very much like the rules in Wicked Lovely. I did read this book in a day so it was a nice read, but there are a lot of names to remember so don't try reading it while your minds on other things or you will end up confused. I will definitely be buying the sequel and any other books in the series, because I am very interested in the characters and the progression of the plot! I am hoping book two offers up some more originality. All in all I thought this was a great book especially for anyone who read and loved the Wicked Lovely series.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: An addictive start to what I can predict will be a fantastic series.Opening Sentence: “You were created to serve.”The Review:Seven Black Diamonds had me hooked from the first chapter. The storyline was fast paced, the characters were energizing and well developed and it all just ‘clicked’, if you get what I mean.Lily is a brilliant female protagonist. Raised by The Crime Lord, she’s more than capable of looking after herself in sticky situations. Lily knows that she isn’t quite human but until she meets the other sleepers, she has no idea how much fae blood resides in her. I loved how fiercely protective she is of her friends and her loyalty to her human father and his upbringing.Lily couldn’t say that she was surprised by Zephyr’s choices. She suspected he wasn’t truly surprised by hers. They’d both been raised to believe certain truths. For him, that meant unerring loyalty to the faery queen; for her, it meant that she would fight for her own beliefs and choices.It would take forever to describe each of the other sleepers but my favourites were Creed and Violet. Creed, because he had the whole moody, singer thing going for him and the romantic plot between him and Lily was super cute. Violet, because of her incredibly short but fiery temper. Even her insults were hilarious!“Easy choices, as far as I’m concerned.” Creed looked at her. “I pledged myself to you once, Lily. I can say it again if you need, but the reality is that if you need me to buy you time to escape, I’ll gladly do so.” He gestured to Torquil. “I won’t have him or Vi doing it.”“Back up, boy.” Violet’s temper finally sparked, setting off a mini light show in the dark cavern. “One of us can set fires to idiots, and one of us sings pretty songs. Guess which is more useful?”My least favourite was probably Zephyr. I sympathised with his situation, always knowing that he must marry Lily but falling in love with Alkamy regardless. However, it was so funny when Lily found out about the arranged marriage but didn’t even give him a second thought! Zephyr acts like he’s the martyr, protecting his friends from the queen, giving up his life to serve her and so on. But, personally, I thought he was trying too hard to prove himself as the group’s leader and show off to the queen, irrespective of how his actions affected his friends. If he loved Alkamy so much, why doesn’t he ever fight for her? He was too rule-orientated for my liking.“I’d never let anything happen to you,” he promised her yet again. No one else understood him the way she did. Alkamy felt like his other half. He met her eyes. “Ever. I’d die before I’d let you get hurt.”Alkamy sighed. “You’ll die for the queen’s cause; you’ll die for me…Maybe you should try finding something or someone to live for instead.”“Is it so wrong to have a purpose?”There’s also an excellent villain in this story, the Queen of Blood and Rage. She was scary enough for everyone to be terrified of disobeying her but I could see elements of humanity showing through at the end, so I wonder if all is not lost for the sleepers and their dreams.The story itself is fascinating because it’s not just about the war between human and fae, but also about the unspoken rivalries and power struggles between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. What I enjoyed most was that there was so much taking place. Despite this, the events flowed smoothly and there were a lot more secrets unveiled than I would expect from the first in a series.The world building was pretty good too but I would have liked to know a little more about the school they attend and some more detail on the hidden fae world, especially the two courts, but I imagine this will be covered in the next book.I should probably stop gushing about this book now but my gut intuition is that this series will be huge!Notable Scene:Alkamy nodded, but she didn’t speak again until Lily was at the door to her room. “None of us want this, Lily. Not even Zephyr. He thinks we don’t know how he feels, but I see his doubts. We’re trapped. None of us want the queen’s guards to kill us in our sleep, either. They tell us we were born to do this, that we’re special, and there is no choice.”Lily turned back. “There are always choices, Kamy. I don’t know if they’re good choices, but there are some. We can find them.”FTC Advisory: HarperCollins provided me with a copy of Seven Black Diamonds. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

Originally posted on City of BooksI haven't read any of Marr's previous books, but after this one I really want to get started on them! Seven Black Diamonds is an exciting novel full of intrigue, romance, action, and a bunch of awesome characters. I love fae books, and this is probably one of my favourites.The Seelie and Unseelie faerie courts are currently united as one, although it's a very precarious situation. Lily is half human, but she's suddenly put right in the middle of everything. After she meets Creed, a member of the Black Diamonds, Lily wants answers about the fae side of her, and the Black Diamonds can give them to her. Except that Lily doesn't want to join them, doesn't want to answer to the fae queen, and definitely doesn't want to kill humans. But there are things about her abilities she doesn't understand, and to figure them out, she needs to embrace her fae side.This book is told in several POVs, mostly Lily's and Eilidh, the queen's daughter and heir to the throne. We also get POVs of the other Black Diamond members, which was confusing at first but after I got to know them it was alright. The POVs actually helped to understand what's going on in the other members' heads.This is quite a character-centric novel, so I'll probably talk mostly about them rather than plotlines. Lily is great - her father is the head of an important criminal organization, so she knows how to take care of herself. She's resourceful and independent, but there are so many secrets she's hiding. Her fae powers, for example. Lily has a list of 'Abernathy Commandments' that she follows, and they keep her on track. But though she's tough, she's also compassionate and she has honour. Also, I liked that she doesn't really show a soft side of herself. Lily is a total badass, and it was a crazy ride being in her head.There are six other members, and we get to know a few of them quite well. Creed is Lily's love interest (no love triangle, don't worry), and he's a rock singer in the mortal world. He and some of the others live a life of luxury in the spotlight, without a care. But camera Creed isn't the real Creed. I loved getting to know the real Creed! He's sweet and protective and also kind of intense. I'm definitely hoping there's more Creed-Lily interactions in the next book.Zephyr is another member we meet, the leader of the group. He's kind of a wild card.. moody, jealous, but also kind and good at heart. Lily was 'supposed' to be with him, to lead the group with him, but instead she falls for Creed. So that impacts Zephyr, obviously, but there's another girl who matters more to him than anything else, and he won't admit it. Yeah, there's a lot of romantic tension everywhere. We also meet Alkamy, Violet, Will and Roan. All very different characters, and I hope we get to know them better later on. I already love Violet, though. She's snarky and smart and just as badass as Lily.Each of the members have a fae affinity to an element, or even two. It was interesting to see how they used them and how often they came in handy. This book was more of an introduction to the series and characters, but I was glad we got some nice action scenes towards the end, with the fae using their powers.Does this sound like too many characters in a book? Well, there are a few more! The other main POV we get is Eilidh, the queen's daughter. She resides in the fae world, so we get to know what that's like, and what the queen is really like, too. Eilidh has only two allies with her - her half-brother Rhys and her best friend Torquil. The three of them are opposed to whatever machinations the queen is planning, and the two separate storylines of the novel soon converge, which is when everything makes a lot more sense.The plot isn't devoid of cliches, but everything was done well in my opinion! There were also a few surprises I didn't see coming. I thought the larger-than-normal number of main characters would be annoying, but it really wasn't. I just wish some of them had more focus in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I can't wait to see what comes next!*Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with an eARC for review*

've read Melissa Marr in the past so I wanted to try this new fantasy series. I didn't realize it was YA going into it, as I don't read a lot of YA. But - it's done well - not the most action-packed book but she introduces us to fun characters including a really bitchy Fae queen.The title refers to seven half-fae, half human people, living in the human world who work as the Queen of Blood and Rage's soldiers. They all appear human, and have been placed with human families to grow up. There is Creed, a rock star. Vi, an actress. Zephyr, Roan, William, and Kamy. These six (I'll get to the seventh one in a minute) do the Queen's bidding in the human world. The Queen (who rules over both the Unseelie and Seelie courts) blames humans for the world's pollution and corruption. She lost a baby long ago and holds a major grudge with the human population. So, she named these seven half-fae as her "Sleepers" and once in a while gives them a mission, which usually involves killing a lot of people. These six don't enjoy killing at all - it makes them sick. But - the Queen would not hesitate to kill them or anyone close with them, so they are forced to obey her.And then along comes number seven.Lily has grown up with only her father, a very notorious crime lord. Although he deals in crime, he has loved Lily and given her an amazing life. When she leaves home to go to school, she meets the other six - who have all been waiting for her. Lily knows she is different - she can command water, earth and plants - and has hidden this. She has no idea about the Queen or the other six though. So when she is face to face with them, and they are telling her she has to go meet the Queen and start getting missions, etc.. Lily puts on the brakes. She may be naive about the fae world, but her daddy raised her strong.There is so much going on in this story - Lily is the main character but we get to know all seven black diamonds plus others in the fae world that greatly intrigued me. Marr writes really engaging characters in this one. The Queen of Blood and Rage is aptly named. She kills - a lot. She has no remorse and no forgiveness. She rules her land with great command. She has a son Rhys who I came to really liked. A daughter, Eilidh who has a big storyline with a man named Torquil. I could have read just about these two for the entire book.The other six Black Diamonds are fun too. Even though they have Fae power, they act human. They act like young twenty-something humans. (or maybe even a little younger). Drinking too much - fighting with each other. Protecting each other. They have an extremely close bond, yet also bicker. Creed and Zephyr walk around like sex on a stick. There is a bit of a love triangle but it gets resolved before the book ends.There is romance in this book, although it's more that the romance has been building up before the book starts, and once we get to the story it's just a matter of cementing the "I love you" between some of the characters. It's sweet and made me smile.Since there are a lot of characters, we get to know them all, but there isn't a ton of action. There is the promise of big things to come as the seven must decide if they truly want to keep killing for the Queen and live by her strict rules. They also explore their family tree which gets quite large in this book. I think now that we are introduced to everyone and have learned their dynamics, the next book will explore a little more action.This is fun - I really enjoyed the characters. Like I said, not the most action-filled but a good start.

Rating: 3.75/5Review coming soon!

This is a story of the world of the fae. Lilywhite Abernathy lives in a very unusual world surrounded by crime lords. She has been sheltered all her life. Now on her birthday celebration she finds the she is something that has been hidden but not hidden. She meets the rock star of her dreams which will lead her to a new world. Is she really what she's been told? How will she cope with this information?Love any story about the fae world. The author did a fantastic job in presenting this story. Thank you Melissa Marr.

I love Melissa Marr's work. She has a way of bringing darker elements of faeries to life. From Wicked Lovely to Seven Black Diamonds, I adore her storytelling. Seven Black Diamonds is full of interesting turns that keep the book moving. This story is different from Marr's previous works, focusing on two new courts: the Seelie vs the Unseelie. Mix in parents you don't realize are parents and powerful faeries who are only teenagers... I really enjoyed this read.

Title: Seven Black DiamondsAuthor: Melissa MarrAge Group: Teen/Young AdultGenre: FantasySeries: Lilywhite Abernathy, book oneStar Rating: 4 out of 5 StarsI borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.I'll be honest here: Melissa Marr is one of my favorite authors, so when I saw that Seven Black Diamonds was in our library system, I wasn't exactly impartial. After all, her debut, Wicked Lovely, was one of my very first fantasy novels about faeries, and to this day it remains one of my favorite young adult series of all time. (Does it count if I haven't technically finished it yet? Lol.) I was so excited to read this: I mean, a brand new journey into a world I thought I knew! This isn't technically a sequel or a standalone--more a spinoff, set in a familiar but still different world, a world in which humans and faeries are in the middle of a bloody, centuries-long battle for the earth they both share.At the center of it all is Lilywhite Abernathy, the daughter of a notorious crime lord--a fae crime lord, no less. She is used to being at her fae father's side, and she lives a privilged, happy life. That is, until she is thrust into the dangerous realm of faerie politics, and into a sleeper cell of half-fae, half-human terrorists who work for two of the most powerful faeries in existence. Tangled up in a web of intrigue, secrets, and danger, Lilywhite must learn how to truly be herself and master her power, or else the consequences will be steep... I loved this book, plain and simple, for pretty much everything. I loved the pacing--I was immediately thrown into the narrative, and its short, breakneck chapters, shifting between characters, helped with the overall effect. If there wasn't heart-stopping action and gore, there was plenty of political intrigue and secrets for me to ponder on, as well as sweet, heartbreaking romance. God, I want more! There better be a sequel, or I'll die! (Please!?) But what really sold this book for me were its characters: hard-as-nails Lilywhite, the angsty, swoon-worthy Creed, sharp-tongued Violet, quiet, obedient Zephyr, sweet, supportive Alkamy, and last but certainly not least, Roan and Will, mysterious and often quiet. And then there were characters outside of the Diamonds themselves: The King and Queen, their family, and the fae that live out of the human realm. If a book has characters that I care for and grow to love, I'm going to love the book itself. The bottom line: What can I say? This fantasy book has something for everyone: faeries, political intrigue, sweeping romance, heart-stopping action--I loved it, and I can't wait for the sequel! Next on deck: Riders by Veronica Rossi!literatureobsessed.blogspot.com

Just as good reading it the second time around! Now off to the sequel!

I really truly did enjoy this book! The only downfall it had to me was that the plot didn't pick up till over halfway through the book but once it did I couldn't put it down!