Monday, November 8, 2010

Review - The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Title and Author: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publication Date: December 22, 2009
Paperback: 372 Pages
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Summary:
Grace Divine—daughter of the local pastor—always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.
Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother.
As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul. (goodreads.com)

Review:
This book turned out to be a good surprise, even though I already had a pretty good idea of what it was all about.
Grace’s family members are the good doers in their community. They are respected, well intentioned and hold no secrets. Or at least that was what Grace thought until a childhood friend, Daniel, who had disappeared several years ago, returns.
When Daniel returns everything around Grace seems to change. She had always been close to her brother Jude but suddenly their relationship becomes strained. People in the community start showing up dead and she is warned to stay away from Daniel.
She doesn’t, though. She always had a crush on him and that crush only seems to grow stronger. There’s something about him that pulls her in, even if she doesn’t know exactly what he is up to most of the times.
Grace is a good main character. She was a little too much of a good girl for me sometimes, though, and I would’ve liked to see her interact a little more with other characters besides Daniel.
Daniel is one of those characters you can’t help being drawn to. He’s comes off as a bad boy you’ll want to keep learning more about as the story progresses and you realize what he’s been through. He’s the best character in the book, in my opinion.
There are some religious tones in this book that sometimes almost overpower the story but never actually do.
The book starts with a mystery that is slowly revealed and there are some good twists, which will make you keep reading just so you can find out what will happen next. Grace wants to make everything right in her family and with Daniel but her decisions have a cost and not everyone is exactly who they seem to be.
The characters were well written and so was the plot, even though it got a little unsteady sometimes. I appreciated the fact that Grace’s life didn’t completely stop because she found herself in love. It was a nice change from some books in which all the main character seems to be able to do is think about and swoon over her new boyfriend. Of course Grace did swoon a little but the romance was written in an interesting and captivating way.
All in all, I quite enjoyed this book even though I’m still not completely sure how I feel about the end and how things turned out for Daniel. I can’t wait to read the Lost Saint now and see what happens next.
                After her mother and father's divorce, Zoey is determined to live the perfect life, everything and everyone in it's place. However, when her mother attempts suicide Zoey's world is thrown out of whack. To further complicate matters, Zoey is in an accident and can't remember what happened the night it happened. But she needs to remember and fast, because when she wakes up her love life is upside down.

Things that irked me about the novel: I had a hard time sympathizing with Zoey at ti
...more
Rating: Somewhere between Readable and Well Worth Your time (3 ½  stars)

6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this one because the tone felt different from most of the YA books out there. I really liked that the family was close knit and I liked the religious tone because I grew up in a religious household so it was easier for me to relate and connect with the characters.

    Thanks for linking at Saturday Situation!

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  2. @Candace
    I enjoyed the fact it was different as well and that the family was close. I'm not particularly religious but as I said the religious part didn't take over the book so it was okay with me. :)

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  3. For some reason I didn't really like this one. The Dark Divine
    seemed a little typical for me.

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  4. I really liked the entire trilogy, although I felt like the first book was only okay. The second book was much, much better, with the third to finish things off fantastically.

    I have to agree with you on where Grace was just too good. I mean, how's that even possible? You're a teenager. You're supposed to be imperfect.

    Grace
    Lust For Stories

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  5. I liked how dark this book was. I totally didn't expect that.

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