Monday 26 July 2010

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

5th July 2010, Egmont
384 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Cushions: 3
Daggers: 1
Paperclips: 3 (teen romance)
Smiles: 4
Tissues: 2
Nayuleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥

Summary from Egmont 


A prodigal son. A dangerous love. Haunted yearning . . .

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.


Simple covers work wonders. It's simple yet effective. I like the added touch of Bree's name being written in purple.

Grace's life in the story is far from simple. Her brother is hiding a lot of secrets, but he isn't the only one. Because Grace doesn't want Jude finding out how much she see's Daniel, she's also keeping secrets. They aren't as horrifying as the secrets she discovers about Daniel. Curiosity draws Grace into both areas of town her parents would not approve of her visiting, and into realms of society which will impact her life forever. She's not one to stay on the sidelines and wait for other people to help her.

I think I'm a character driven reader. If I don't like the characters, I don't enjoy the book. I loved Grace's character. I may not have personally made all the choices she did, but I hung on to every page as she sought to help her family. For when her younger brother goes missing, it is Grace who goes after him. Only it wasn't a random kidnapping. No, there was a darker purpose, which involves Daniel, and to some extent Jude.

Although I was able to guess one or two of the plots in the story, it was still fun reading it and watching Grace's reactions. Her voice is strong and often funny. I got chills up my arms at the scarier moments. I liked how her family was involved quite a bit (instead of being an orphan or on holiday/some other absence). That appeals to me a lot, having something different to make a book stand out from the others that I read. Grace might go off on her own, but she always goes home. It is her family who look after her, who protect her. As well as the mysterious Daniel, who has lots of rumours going around about him, and who alternates between being favoured by Grace, and being hated by her.

The story does centre around Grace and Daniel's growing relationship, but it isn't solely about them. It is about the impact on the community they live in. It's the larger impact on Grace's family (which is a huge one once all the secrets are out). I liked seeing how all the different people (including the sheriff) react as events unwind. If enough people think something, others act like it is true, even if it isn't. Life will never be normal for Grace again. But it's a life she's happy to lead.

You can find Bree Despain over at her website.

Similar reads to look forward to: Low Read Moon by Ivy Devlin (not out now) or Fallen by Lauren Kate (with another Daniel as a main character).

1 comment:

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

Ooh. I'm looking forward to this one!