Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

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. 

TITLE: The Dark Divine
AUTHOR: Bree Despain
GENRE: Young Adult
SOURCE: library
AVAILABLE: now


My Thoughts:
I've been wanting to read The Dark Divine since I first heard about it sometime last year. The cover is striking, eye-catching. The premise is very mysterious. And it's YA (I think we all know by now that I love YA).

Daniel is the boy who grew up next door to Grace Divine. He was practically part of the Divine family. He even moved in with the Divine's for a while. Then something happened and Daniel had to leave town.

Grace knew something was up, something had gone terribly wrong, when Daniel left town 3 years ago. No one will talk about whatever it was that had happened. Then Daniel reappears, unrecognizable with his now-black, shaggy hair. Grace had had a crush on Daniel growing up and now those feelings have returned, even stronger than before.

There’s something very mysterious going on and Grace is determined to find out what it is. I was determined to find out what was going on.

When I first got The Dark Divine, I really didn’t know what it was about or what to think. The blurb on the book doesn’t really give anything away. I knew it had the dark, bad boy and the girl that was attracted to him. But I didn’t know what the guts of the story was really about. And to be quite honest, now that I do know, I'm not going to tell you. I can’t tell you because it would ruin the whole experience.

The Dark Divine is told in first narrative, from Grace’s point-of-view. Grace was a little annoying and naïve at times but her perseverance and courage made up for that. Grave is Miss. Goody-Goody. She always does the right thing. Always helping others. Very kind and good-hearted. Despain did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life. I felt like I really knew Grace; her actions, her emotions, her desires. Daniel, of course, is a mystery throughout most of the book.  

The chapter layout made The Dark Divine easy to follow. Each chapter is titled accordingly and is also broken down by moments of time (present and past).

Religion plays a big part in The Dark Divine but I did not find it distracting. Grace’s father is a church Pastor. Their family have a tight bond and they are the epitome of family values.

Despain brings romance (complicated at best), suspense, mystery, intrigue and coming-of-age all together in her debut novel. The Dark Divine kept me on the edge of me seat, desperately wanting to know what was going to unfold next. Despain knows how to capture a reader and pull them in with her writing. There were times when I had a fairly good idea on where things were headed. Then there were times when things would happen and take me completely by surprise. I’m definitely looking for more to come in The Lost Saint!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for an interview with Bree Despain and a giveaway! 

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