Book Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Title: The Dark Divine
Series/Sequel? The Dark Divine #1
Author: Bree Despain
Genre(s): Paranormal Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 375 (Hardcover)
Perspective: First Person (Female)

Summary from Goodreads: 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 his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy'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.

Review: This book was very well-written and perfectly plotted: a breathtaking romance, paranormal creatures, and a mystery that kept you on your toes make a for an amazing,wonderful book.

Religion, God, and the church were main points in this book, as Grace was the pastor's daughter, and went to a religious school,and so very involved in her religion, religious beliefs, and the church. I normally dislike fiction books that talk a lot and have to do with religion, because a lot of the times, it seems to me as if the authors are trying to shove their beliefs down your throat. However, this book wasn't like that. Religion played a major part in solving the mystery and the plot point finding a resolution, but there wasn't really any of the characters' beliefs being talked about or argued over or even brought up. And I like the book (and the author) just that much more for that.

The romance was fantastic. You were able to see the relationship grow and blossom between the characters naturally as the plot continued, grew, and changed. And, I must say, Grace and Daniel make a perfect match.

The characters were very well-written, each person having there own special niche and personality, making it easy to distinguish between them. Each person was unique, and with the number of characters in this book, that makes it hard to do.

As I said, the mystery kept you on your toes as well, with numerous twists and turns that you couldn't have possibly seen coming. Completely satisfying!

A wonderful, amazing book that I would recommend to fans of Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series.

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