| Title: The Dark Divine Paperback: 384 pages
Review Copy Source: Bought |  |
Book Description
A Prodigal Son
A Dangerous Love
A Deadly Secret
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.
Review
I had read a few overzealous reviews before reading this book, so I knew going in what the big secret was (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for anyone just in case), but even without that element of mystery, I still thought that THE DARK DIVINE was a really good read.
I was a little leery about this book despite the largely positive reviews (including one big rave from my younger sister) because I was expecting a heavy handed, inaccurate depiction of the Christian Divine family portrayed by Mormon author Bree Despain. In reality, the religious characters were not overdone, if a little too perfect in a 1950’s sort of way (even their imperfections were turned out to be perfect). But religion didn’t play nearly as big a role as I was expecting. Little nods, however, like the prodigal son parable and the character names, were well used and added a level of authenticity to the story.
The writing felt a little lite, even for YA, not ever really creating scenes as vividly as similar titles (e.g. TWILIGHT, SHIVER). And some of the characters were a little cliché (Don might as well have been called Lennie from OF MICE AND MEN). What was vivid was the relationship between Grace and Daniel. Grace’s desire to redeem bad boy Daniel mixed with a growing doubt and suspicion about his past, and his hot and cold behavior towards her. We’ve seen this romantic interplay in dozens of books but when done well, as in THE DARK DIVINE, it’s magic.
Overall, THE DARK DIVINE is sort of like the little sister of TWILIGHT and SHIVER: lots of promise and a strong romance, but still some growing to do. All of which makes me hopeful for THE LOST SAINT when it’s published on December 28, 2010
Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex.
My Rating:
3/5
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from THE DARK DIVINE
Previous books in the series:
- N/A
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Great review. I can't wait to read the next book.
ReplyDeleteSavannah - I'm looking forward to TLS too...and I really want the new nail polish :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteThis book seems pretty good!!
Kelly - It is. I enjoyed the romance especially and I'm looking forward to seeing where Grace and Daniel go in TLS.
ReplyDeleteI was actually quite surprised by how much I liked this book and I also cannot wait for "The Lost Saint" (ps. what a silly release date, why wouldn't they release it before Christmas so that people, I don't know, could actually get it for Christmas?)!
ReplyDeleteAvery - The release date is unfortunate as I would have put it on my Christmas list too.
ReplyDeleteI started this back in November, got to about page 150 and stopped. It really moves slow, and I'm usually a fan of build up. I plan to get back to it again, but it was just dead on the page for me.
ReplyDeleteShera - It is a much slower paced story than I'm used too. It does pick up though. I hope you decide to gibe it another chance.
ReplyDelete