Review: The Wishing Pearl - Book #1 The Diamond Estates Series - Nicole O'Dell - October 2011 Those who follow my book blog will recall that I am trying to make an effort this year and read books that have been sitting on my kindle for years. This particular one The Wishing Pearl by Nicole O'Dell, I have had since 2012-2013. What I loved about this series was even though it is a Christian YA series, it touches on the edgier subjects of drinking, drugs, and even the uncomfortable issue of sexual assault. In this book, Olivia is sixteen and has been trying to tell her mum how she feels about her stepdad Charles, but her mother has been blinded by the amount of wealth that Charles has and provides her with everything she needs and ever wanted. Olivia's mother wasn't always like this but now she has become accustomed to life as a "Stepford Wife". When Olivia is finally brought home by the police, that is the last straw for her mother and on the advice of an offic...

      Review: The Embittered Ruby - Book #2 Diamond Estates Novel - Nicole O'Dell - April 2012 Something that is often shied away from is the genre of Christian fiction. It seems to be only the " Christians ' that go for it as the others believe it will either be not something that they will enjoy or they believe it will be all up in the trying to convert and bible bash you. The thing is that what most people don't realize is that today's Christian Fiction for the YA audience holds an edgy feel to it and reflects issues that go on in the lives of Christian and non-Christian teens. A series that I had first discovered back in January 2013 was Nicole O'Dell's Diamond Estate Novels. I was hooked after reading Book #3 and decided to go back and check out Books #1 and #2. The Embittered Ruby is Book #2 in the series. In this one, we meet sixteen-year-old Carmen Castillo who has a wealthy boyfriend, belongs to a country club and has tw...