Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe

     Diamonds really are a girl’s best friend, or sometimes what leads to a few enemies, as you will find in this novel. This was my first book by Louise Bagshawe, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. The first time I read it I had no idea what was happening, and who all of these characters were, or why they being introduced, but I was hooked from the start. This novel, while similar to some of her others, stood out to me the most, and having read them all, it still does. There is so much happening at once in this novel, that all unfolds together perfectly. The twists! (And Turns!) are unexpected and at the same time all come out to make perfect sense. You get that “Aha!” feeling in this book that is lacking in so many other novels today. I have no idea how someone would write a book like this, other than with a great deal of planning and work. There are many that say this book is a great beach read, and, quite frankly, unless you’re planning on having an uneven sunburn, it is not. I could not put it down the first time I read it, and now four years later (having approximately read it 25 times at least), it has still not gotten old, and I still don’t want to put it down.

     This book is very much worthy of receiving a five. The characters are perfectly created. They are realistic, and also reminiscent (to me, at least) of fairy tale characters. The story alone in this novel is worth a five. It was captivating, exciting, funny at times, sad at times, and wonderful 100% of the time. There is nothing negative I can say about this book, I wish I had the capability to have written (or really even thought of) something as good as this. 

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