Review of Diamonds and Deceit by Leila Rasheed

Title/Author: Diamonds and Deceit (At Somerton #2) by Leila Rasheed
Publisher/Date published: Disney-Hyperion, January 7th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: One house, two worlds... book two in our sumptuous and enticing YA series about the servants and gentry at Somerton Court.

A house divided...

London is a whirl of balls and teas, alliances and rivalries. Rose has never felt more out of place. With the Season in full swing, she can't help but still feel a servant dressed up in diamonds and silk. Then Rose meets Alexander Ross, a young Scottish duke. Rose has heard the rumors about Ross's sordid past just like everyone else has. Yet he alone treats her as a friend. Rose knows better than to give her heart to an aristocrat with such a reputation, but it may be too late.

Ada should be happy. She is engaged to a handsome man who shares her political passions and has promised to support her education. So why does she feel hollow inside? Even if she hated Lord Fintan, she would have no choice but to go through with the marriage. Every day a new credit collector knocks on the door of their London flat, demanding payment for her cousin William's expenditures. Her father's heir seems determined to bring her family to ruin, and only a brilliant marriage can save Somerton Court and the Averleys' reputation.

Meanwhile, at Somerton, Sebastian is out of his mind with worry for his former valet Oliver, who refuses to plead innocent to the murder charges against him - for a death caused by Sebastian himself. Sebastian will do whatever he can to help the boy he loves, but his indiscretion is dangerous fodder for a reporter with sharp eyes and dishonorable intentions.

The colorful cast of the At Somerton series returns in this enthralling sequel about class and fortune, trust and betrayal, love and revenge.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES***

YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK! I totally love this series!! It's historical romance in YA form and I LOOOOOOOVE IT! It's the thing I've been wanting for ages and which never seemed to fully happen and I'm JUST SO HAPPY!

I was sick when I was reading this and it was so good that it managed to distract me from feeling wretched. That is how good this book is.

There's a whole bunch of characters to keep track off and at times I was just trying to keep up with the constantly changing POV, but after a while I settled into it and I was ok. I think the only thing that I can say that isn't praise for Diamonds and Deceit is that I would have liked it even better if it had focused on maybe 2 or 3 of the characters instead of ALL of them in turns. Though it did offer some perspective that we otherwise wouldn't have gotten. So I think I'm actually ok with it after all.

Same as with Cinders and Sapphires, Rose, Ada and Sebastian are the characters I liked best. They are just so full of passion and spunk, though Ada lost some of it due to her situation in Diamonds and Deceit. But by the end she picked it up again and I was cheering her on towards the end! I even started liking Charlotte, because while she may not be expressing her feelings in the best way and is being kind of mean, towards the end she redeems herself and I love seeing a bit of growth in a character.

And man, while I wasn't a big fan of Laurence Fintan in Cinders and Sapphires, Diamonds and Deceit made me REALLY annoyed with him. I mean, seriously?? SERIOUSLY? That guys just does something that makes me want to bitchslap him and made all my douche alarms go off. Just. UGH.
On the other hand, there was this other guy that I could totally swoon over, so my little romantic heart was happy.

Leila Rasheed definitely does dramatic the way I like it and there's a whole lot of stuff going down and OMG THOSE ENDINGS! That's right, multiple endings for multiple storylines and some of them made me want to scream and some made me smile and pretty much all of them make me wish for the next book in the series! And also: really worried because it is 1913 and WW I is on its way and EEEP!

My rating: 5 stars