  | Seven black diamonds Author: Marr, Melissa | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Lilywhite Abernathy is a criminal-she's half human, half fae, and since the time before she was born her very blood has been illegal. A war has been raging between humans and faeries, and the Queen of Blood and Rage, ruler of the fae courts, wants to avenge the tragic death of her heir due to the actions of reckless humans. Lily's world changes when she is delivered to a fae Sleeper cell, the Black Diamonds, who are assigned to destroy the human world from within.
Reviews:
School Library Journal (12/01/15)
Booklist (11/01/15)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/16)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 11/01/2015 Marr returns to her roots after the thriller Made for You (2014) with this tale of warring faerie courts. The Summer and Winter Courts, at least temporarily, settled their differences when their rulers, the Unseelie queen and the Seelie king, married and produced an heir. Years earlier, the queen’s first daughter disappeared as an infant, and the queen declared war on humans, blaming them for the loss. In that human world, Lilywhite Abernathy is just waking up. She’s half human, half fae, and the daughter of a human crime lord. Lily was raised apart from the world of faerie and is hardly expecting to be thrust into a group of the queen’s trained soldiers (and assassins) and told she’s one of them. As she navigates court politics and tense relationships, Lily learns about her own muddy ancestry and that she might have more stake in this war than she ever would have anticipated. The large cast and complicated plot become occasionally convoluted, but Marr’s trademark use of suspense and romance will make this irresistible for her legions of fans.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Marr has been a hot commodity ever since her Wicked Lovely series, and this return to the world of faerie will no doubt capitalize on that popularity. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 12/01/2015 Gr 9 Up—Contemporary issues are woven into a futuristic story in this exciting urban fantasy. Eilidh is a faery princess in a world at war. Her mother, the Queen of Blood and Rage, declared war on humans many years ago. In response, anyone containing even a drop of faery blood was banished to the Hidden Realms. Humans have nearly ruined the natural world with their horrible environmental policies, while the faeries have sustained a brutal terrorist campaign. The seven black diamonds are "sleepers," carefully bred humans with faery blood, brought up in human families in preparation for future service to the Queen. Abernathy is unaware that she is one of those seven black diamonds. As she discovers more about her role in the faery kingdom, Eilidh struggles to find a way to leave a legacy apart from her mother's endless war. As their story lines begin to connect, secrets are revealed and surprising coalitions are formed in the effort to bridge the divide between faery and human. Once again, Marr has built an urban fantasy world that readers will find irresistible. The contemporary issues brought up throughout the book are not always dealt with in the most elegant way; however, readers will find that the realistic dialogue and teen emotions make it easy to relate to the characters, both human and faery. Several romantic relationships develop, which adds levity to the nonstop action of this violent tale. VERDICT Recommended as a first purchase.—Sunnie Scarpa, Wallingford Public Library, CT - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
