August 19, 2009

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain




Young Adult
Pages: 384
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release date: December 22, 2009

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.



I was so exited about this book! I think I was too exited. Ballads of Suburbia is a hard book to follow, I kept thinking about it long after I was supposed to be into this one. This book was not awfully trapping. Even though I really liked the romance part, I didn't feel so much the supernatural. I didn't quite feel the edge or the mystery. She waited to long to explain what was going on. The writing was awkward, some dialogs seemed to be not believable.

The plot is unsteady. I know its an 'uncorrected' ARC, but sometimes I wanted to stop reading it; and then other times, and here's the contradiction: I was trapped by the romance. She did a wonderful job making the love story yummy. What I liked the most was the ending, it will be great to see how the story goes on.

I've discovered while discussing this book, that I may have a dislike tendency for good girls as main characters. I tend to prefer bad-ass dangerous -Katniss/Katsa style- main characters. Grace is goodness personified, as the child of a pastor would be. To me, she was dull and boring (though Bella fans may find the appeal, I'm not a Bella fan myself) I did like Daniel a lot and Jude too.

I obviously have to mention the cover was absolutely beautiful and intriguing. I loved it since I first saw it. It brought my attention and curiosity to the book, that's a good thing. Then again, after reading it, I have no idea how it may have any connection to the story. None. Still, it is an interesting read for those of you who enjoy love story/supernatural. If you liked Evermore you'll enjoy this one too.


5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the honest review! I'm so with you, I prefer a kiss ass heroine then a good girl. Sometimes the good heroines do come off a little boring, but not always. I'm still looking foward to reading this.

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  2. I liked this one. I think it's refreshing to have a good girl character, but most of all, I think Grace's goodness is what makes the tension between her and Daniel palpable and (spoiler alert?) the story of redemption so meaningful.

    I guess it just depends what you are looking for. This book is a romance first and foremost. Some may be disappointed by the somewhat muted supernatural events compared to other paranormal books, but I connect with romance way more than paranormal any day.

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  3. Well, you are right. I forgot to mention the forgiveness message that the book offers. Yes, that part was wonderful.
    And you're also right on that it depends on what you're looking for. Even if I don't like the book, which was not the case in this one: it has 4 stars, I always say that if you like... You'll like this. I do connect with romance, and I emphasized that I loved it in this book, but if I wanted to read plain romance I would not pick a somewhat supernatural book. Now this is just MY opinion guys, I've heard wonderful comments about this book from other book bloggers. I love different opinions, that's why I like discussing books.

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  4. I'm just getting more and more curious about this book...I really hope I don't get disappointed!

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  5. I share your sentiments exactly on the idea of a herione. Katsa and Katniss are by far my ideal female counterparts in YA novels. Although I did like the idea about Grace forgiving Daniel and not judging him for something he couldn't control.

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