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young adult book reviews & more

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark DivineGrace Divine always knew that something horrible had happened the night that Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in blood—his own. The problem is that she doesn’t know what, and now that Daniel’s back, years later, she doesn’t know how to act or who to listen to. Jude makes her promise to stay away from Daniel because he’s convinced Daniel is some kind of monster. Grace can’t bring herself to believe that, though. How could her childhood crush be monstrous? But the closer she gets to Daniel, the more she realizes that there may be a grain of truth to Jude’s wild accusations. Daniel’s incredible strength and speed aren’t humanly possible—so what does that make him? As Grace starts to uncover the truth—about Daniel, her brother, and that night long ago—she’ll be forced to make the ultimate choice to save the ones she loves.

Finally! It’s been a long time since I read such an original paranormal novel that, despite having a central romance, wasn’t overwhelmingly romantic. That is precisely why The Dark Divine was such a fantastic read for me. I do like romances, but it gets a little dull reading about just a star-crossed love between a human and insert-supernatural-creature-here with some other danger thrown in for kicks. In this novel, the romance takes somewhat of a backseat to the paranormal. This makes the plot undoubtedly danger filled and exciting. To make this even better, the story is also well structured, with relevant flashbacks to Grace’s childhood interspaced with her present narration and a well explained and realistic paranormal angle. This perfectly sets the story up for this huge paranormal element, which I can’t reveal because it would give the story away. I just love how Despain manages to tie everything together so smoothly. The mostly realistic characters, enthralling plot, and supernatural elements ensure The Dark Divine will be a page turner. On top of that even, the connection between religion and the supernatural is utterly fascinating. I really can’t wait to see where the story is going next.

The Dark Divine will be enjoyed by fans of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey, Sea Change by Aimee Friedman, Days of Little Texas by R.A. Nelson, and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from publisher EgmontUSA

2 munch(es) :

Anonymous said...

I absolutely loved The Dark Divine and I totally agree how original this story was. So much action and supense throughout the whole novel, definitely kept me turning the pages. I loved learning about the paranormal asspect and how it exists in religion. That was definitely a fascinating subject in the story. The Dark Divine was such an amazing read, one that I loved and one that everyone should read.

Jessy said...

I agree with the romance part of the book. I liked how Grace already knew Daniel and didn't fall for him so quickly like a lot of other YA novels out there.

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