Gift of Diamonds: Roberta Seret

Title: Gift of Diamonds

Author: Roberta Seret

Publish Date: February 23rd, 2021

Publisher: Wayzgoose Press

Source: Huge thank you to Smith Publicity for providing an ARC for review!

Seventeen-year-old Mica is a determined aspiring actress living with her parents in Romania as Nicolae Ceausescu begins his reign. Her parents are covertly political and influential, which makes them a perfect target to be stopped by the Secret Police. They’re soon arrested, leaving Mica to flee the country with her father’s rare—and possibly cursed—diamonds. With her parents imprisoned, it’s up to Mica to investigate the terrorism involving Ceausescu and his nuclear business partners. Will revealing the truth to the world finally bring her the peace she seeks? Gift of Diamonds reveals hidden secrets of how Fascism led to Communism which began the seeds of modern-day Terrorism.

Penelope's Review

Wow. This is quite a powerful book. I'd like to commend the author for her exquisite use of the English language and her ability to seamlessly fuse fact with fiction in creating this world. 

This book is outside of my usual go-to genres, as you may have noticed, but something about it made me realize I needed to read this book. I have long been fascinated by Romania and its cultures and traditions and perhaps that is why I decided to delve into the realm of historical fiction. Whatever it was, I can say that I am so glad I did. This book was a testament to the creative genius of Roberta Seret and her outstanding writing abilities.

The premise for the book was quite intriguing. It follows the story of a young girl, Mica, as she escapes from the communist regime of Ceausescu in Romania to the promising land of America. Once there, she does everything she can to rescue her parents from Romania and bring them to America with her. The book tells the story of how she gets from Romania to America and what happens once there, and everything in between in vivid detail. What I love about Seret's writing is that she was able to give so much detail and insight into each scene without ever slowing the book down or making it boring. I felt like was dancing right alongside Mica, feeling her emotions, struggling and persevering with her through each stage of her life.  It was both fascinating and disturbing to read about life under a communist regime. While I know that Seret mixed fact with fiction, I believe many of the lifestyle conditions she described were accurate. The book also tied in the horrors faced by Jews in Auschwitz and connected them to Romania's reign at the time, all of which is historical fact! I loved getting a glimpse of real history mixed with the fictional aspects. 

In terms of characters, I enjoyed reading the book through the eyes of Mica. Mica is independent, strong-willed, and has a knack for survival. She faces challenges head-on and keeps going even when the odds are stacked against her. I felt scared when she did during her daring escape, hopeful when she did as she fought to get to America, and happiness with her when she finally achieved her dreams. I felt like her manner of speaking was true to her character as an immigrant and appreciated the author making her as authentic as possible. I wasn't sure how to feel about her uncle and aunt at first. But as the story evolved, they grew on me and I came to like them. The only piece that felt a bit unfinished to me was what Mica did with the knowledge she had on Ceausescu and his allies. There was quite a bit of attention brought to the conversations that Mica overheard during this book, but then we never really see what becomes of this information. There is discussion on whether or not she will divulge what she knows to the world, but I don't think that that ever actually happens. It's the only loose end I found, and I found it a bit odd that so much attention was given to this information but nothing was really done with it. This is a pretty minor detail however, and does not impact the enjoyment one gets out of reading this book.!

Overall, I found this to be a very powerful, compelling read. I feel that I have a better understanding of the history surrounding communism in Romania and Romania's connections to Nazi Germany. Even if you are not a lover of historical fiction, I encourage you to give this book a try! You may be surprised at how much you enjoy the journey alongside Mica. I am excited to see what happens next as the trilogy continues. Keep in mind that the three books do not have to be read in order as they are each focused on a different main character (though all main characters from each book become supporting characters in the others). 

Rating: 4/5 Devils!