Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger - in more ways than one.
Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her - not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung."
Review: The Dark Divine series has been a surprising read, one that I wasn't expecting to get me so engaged in the unfolding story of Grace Divine, her family, and her boyfriend Daniel. Having felt a bit burned out by paranormal stories recently, I wasn't sure that a book about a werewolf clan and curse would be up my alley, but I was wrong. In The Dark Divine, the story left off with a bit of a cliffhanger. The action was intense in the first book, so I was eager to dive into the second to find out what happened to Grace. Once again, the action in the second book was also pretty intense in certain scenes, and Grace's anger at being cursed was more than evident throughout the story. My feeling is that Despain really knows how to write action scenes that keep you flipping pages, because I'm not one to like drawn out action, but both books have had me eager to read more.
Obviously, there is a love story involved in both books; one that is developed mostly throughout book one. In book two, as with many YA romances, a conflict is introduced in the second that pulls the couple apart. Let me be honest in saying that putting a couple together, only to have the guy then turn moody because he's being protective but comes off going cold on the girl makes me want to scream. When the love interest is pulled apart because one or the other acts like they no longer care just makes me want to smack one of them for not communicating! Yes, it created a good deal of tension, and cast Grace out on her own to figure out how to deal with her curse, but it made me want to shake them at times. I get that sometimes teens like these "I love you. No, I hate you" twists, and it did give the story a good bit of added tension that had you hanging on to figure out why they were being so stupid to one another!
Overall, I really have liked this series and thought it was really well written. There is a lot of action, believable dialogue, and engaging characters. I was pretty into the story and thought it really stood out from many of the paranormal books I've read recently.
One funny side note to my review--I had my students in my Popular Fiction class read the first book in reading circles. First off, I overheard them trying to figure out if the girl on the cover was wearing any underwear (they decided she must be), but secondly, the boys in the reading group said it wasn't just a "chick book." I thought that was a pretty good two thumbs up for a bunch of teen boys to say they liked it and would recommend it to any reader!
*FTC Disclosure: This review was based on a review copy of the novel from the publisher.
You should have them read Wicked Lovely!
ReplyDeleteEven when I was a teenager I didn't have the patience for romantic plots that hinged entirely on misunderstandings and not talking. Blah.
I've got this one on my stack, looking forward to it. Glad to hear the guys liked it just as much as the girls.
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