A good teen read, but nothing more than a tease. I loved the Divine family and every detailed scene created in this neive world. Family first drives this story, and fueled by the forbidden bad boy love that only Grace Devine can save, we are plunged into a predictable plot that has been done better on MTVs TeenWolf. I enjoyed reading this quick read. I just wish it was a little more meaty. There are nuggets of awesomeness in this....but they spiral downward into disappointment. I am still shocked at the author's decision to this ending.
Reviewed by: bibliophile-bestiary.blogspot.com
There has been much popularity of supernatural beings, vampires, werewolves, witches etc, but in my opinion, there is always room for more! Grace Divine is the daughter of the pastor in the town, and usually she acts the way her family and the Lord expect her to. The story starts off very abruptly, jumping right into the awkwardness of Daniel being back in Grace's life. You slowly find out what happened to cause it, and different aspects of Grace's and Daniel's past. It is very well written in that aspect, because you really want to know what happened to have these current events going on. The one downside of the book that I didn't like, was that it seemed like a constant back and forth for Grace to find out what was going on. It almost seemed like a filler for the book, but just when you were getting really annoyed with it, the author would give you some tidbit or clue. It was a great book, and I wont give away anything about what supernatural thing might be going on, because it actually took me a while to guess myself! 4 out of 5 stars! The sequel, The Lost Saint: A Dark Divine Novel will be out Dec 28, 2010, and I cant wait to read it!
There has been much popularity of supernatural beings, vampires, werewolves, witches etc, but in my opinion, there is always room for more! Grace Divine is the daughter of the pastor in the town, and usually she acts the way her family and the Lord expect her to. The story starts off very abruptly, jumping right into the awkwardness of Daniel being back in Grace's life. You slowly find out what happened to cause it, and different aspects of Grace's and Daniel's past. It is very well written in that aspect, because you really want to know what happened to have these current events going on. The one downside of the book that I didn't like, was that it seemed like a constant back and forth for Grace to find out what was going on. It almost seemed like a filler for the book, but just when you were getting really annoyed with it, the author would give you some tidbit or clue. It was a great book, and I wont give away anything about what supernatural thing might be going on, because it actually took me a while to guess myself! 4 out of 5 stars! The sequel, The Lost Saint: A Dark Divine Novel will be out Dec 28, 2010, and I cant wait to read it!
I have a really hard time writing a negative book review. It's kind of like saying someone has an ugly baby. There's so much time and sweat and love that go into a novel (even a bad one) that it just seems impolite to say "it's bad."
So, I'll try to expand on that a bit.
The Dark Divine is a very predictable story about a Very Good Girl and a Very Troubled (Bad?) Boy with a Very Dark Secret. Of course, they have a Very Forbidden Love that brings about Very Big Trouble.
The plot is recycled, unimaginative and transparent. But I can forgive that. There isn't a lot of original thought out there, and a familiar story retold with a spark of magic can be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, Ms. Despain missed the mark in her effort to breathe new life into her story, built on a classic, universal monster legend. There's nothing new here, and only the youngest and most naive or unread readers will find anything to raise their pulse between the covers of The Dark Divine. The spiciest thing about this book is the cover -- which, incidentally, seems totally random and unrelated to the story. Beautiful art, though.
The real problem with The Dark Divine is the writing. (I say the real problem, because truthfully, the book is chock full of problems. This is the foundation upon which the problem house is built, though.) The book is plodding, the dialogue is abrupt and unnatural and the characters are two-dimensional stereotypes. Not one character has a shred of sparkle, even the laughable bad boy Daniel, whose secret is teased with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It's just... bad, from start to finish. Even the typeface used was offputting -- it's bold and a little too large, and further creates the feeling that seasoned readers should put this book down and back away slowly.
I don't say this often, but I regret the time I wasted on this novel. I should have given up 100 pages in, but I persevered, sure it was about to get better - until the very end. Don't make the same mistake I did, and spend your hard-earned hardback money on something with a little more substance.
So, I'll try to expand on that a bit.
The Dark Divine is a very predictable story about a Very Good Girl and a Very Troubled (Bad?) Boy with a Very Dark Secret. Of course, they have a Very Forbidden Love that brings about Very Big Trouble.
The plot is recycled, unimaginative and transparent. But I can forgive that. There isn't a lot of original thought out there, and a familiar story retold with a spark of magic can be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, Ms. Despain missed the mark in her effort to breathe new life into her story, built on a classic, universal monster legend. There's nothing new here, and only the youngest and most naive or unread readers will find anything to raise their pulse between the covers of The Dark Divine. The spiciest thing about this book is the cover -- which, incidentally, seems totally random and unrelated to the story. Beautiful art, though.
The real problem with The Dark Divine is the writing. (I say the real problem, because truthfully, the book is chock full of problems. This is the foundation upon which the problem house is built, though.) The book is plodding, the dialogue is abrupt and unnatural and the characters are two-dimensional stereotypes. Not one character has a shred of sparkle, even the laughable bad boy Daniel, whose secret is teased with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It's just... bad, from start to finish. Even the typeface used was offputting -- it's bold and a little too large, and further creates the feeling that seasoned readers should put this book down and back away slowly.
I don't say this often, but I regret the time I wasted on this novel. I should have given up 100 pages in, but I persevered, sure it was about to get better - until the very end. Don't make the same mistake I did, and spend your hard-earned hardback money on something with a little more substance.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a fun read, I read it in one sitting. I found it to be so much more different than all of the other werewolf books you'll find in stores. Can't wait for the sequal!
Took me several days to read this book. Wasn't bad,just wasn't interestig either.
