Reviewed by Samantha Clanton, aka "Harlequin Twilight" for TeensReadToo.com
Three years ago, Grace Divine saw her brother, Jude, standing on their front porch covered in blood. Three years ago, Daniel disappeared. Three years later, Grace still doesn't know what happened or why Daniel left.
Now, Daniel is back and those feelings that were buried just under the surface have come rushing back for Grace. Although not everyone is happy to see Daniel return - namely Jude, who has yet to forgive Daniel for whatever it was that happened three years ago. Now Grace must decide between being loyal to herself, or being loyal to her brother, and the consequences that both choices hold.
Lying within all the threats and warnings surrounding Daniel, and Grace being involved with him, is still a secret that she needs an answer to. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more Grace starts to miss the innocence her life held before Daniel came back and before she found out something that affects her and everyone she holds dear. Can she save the ones she loves without losing herself, and her soul, in the process?
This is one of those stories that is almost impossible not to fall into. Once I started, I couldn't put it down, not even for a minute. Daniel starts as your typical (ish) bad boy (I love when he's first introduced into the story!), and continues to push and pull you into this "is he or isn't he?" type of wonder throughout most of the story.
Grace isn't the typical "dumb girl falls for bad boy" character either; she's not as simple as we've come to know lately, and yet she's not so complex that she's unrelatable. I actually enjoyed Grace, as she's very real. She gets flustered and annoyed as anyone else would, she has conflict, and she doesn't just make her decisions and say to hell with everyone and everything else. Of course she has her impulse "don't think, just do" moments, but everyone has those, and she takes the time to think about how her choices are going to affect the people around her.
And like most of your bad boy types, Daniel is funny. He has these lines that just literally made me laugh (and get funny looks from the people/animals in the room), and he's not the only one. Each of the characters seem to have their moment(s) of amusement, even when it's not particularly supposed to be funny.
There are so many moments in THE DARK DIVINE that will make you laugh, and even more that will make you simply think. One of Grace's biggest struggles comes from her religious background and beliefs (and being the daughter of the local pastor doesn't really help her cause much), and that's something else that makes her as a character easy to relate to.
This is one of those books that has something for everyone; it's mysterious, romantic, fun, thrilling, and has a twist that made my jaw drop. It was like, I knew there was a twist, but I could never quite put my finger on what it was going to be, and that's very refreshing in a world where the twist is usually given away from the beginning.
This is not your typical novel, and it's not one you'll want to miss.
Three years ago, Grace Divine saw her brother, Jude, standing on their front porch covered in blood. Three years ago, Daniel disappeared. Three years later, Grace still doesn't know what happened or why Daniel left.
Now, Daniel is back and those feelings that were buried just under the surface have come rushing back for Grace. Although not everyone is happy to see Daniel return - namely Jude, who has yet to forgive Daniel for whatever it was that happened three years ago. Now Grace must decide between being loyal to herself, or being loyal to her brother, and the consequences that both choices hold.
Lying within all the threats and warnings surrounding Daniel, and Grace being involved with him, is still a secret that she needs an answer to. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more Grace starts to miss the innocence her life held before Daniel came back and before she found out something that affects her and everyone she holds dear. Can she save the ones she loves without losing herself, and her soul, in the process?
This is one of those stories that is almost impossible not to fall into. Once I started, I couldn't put it down, not even for a minute. Daniel starts as your typical (ish) bad boy (I love when he's first introduced into the story!), and continues to push and pull you into this "is he or isn't he?" type of wonder throughout most of the story.
Grace isn't the typical "dumb girl falls for bad boy" character either; she's not as simple as we've come to know lately, and yet she's not so complex that she's unrelatable. I actually enjoyed Grace, as she's very real. She gets flustered and annoyed as anyone else would, she has conflict, and she doesn't just make her decisions and say to hell with everyone and everything else. Of course she has her impulse "don't think, just do" moments, but everyone has those, and she takes the time to think about how her choices are going to affect the people around her.
And like most of your bad boy types, Daniel is funny. He has these lines that just literally made me laugh (and get funny looks from the people/animals in the room), and he's not the only one. Each of the characters seem to have their moment(s) of amusement, even when it's not particularly supposed to be funny.
There are so many moments in THE DARK DIVINE that will make you laugh, and even more that will make you simply think. One of Grace's biggest struggles comes from her religious background and beliefs (and being the daughter of the local pastor doesn't really help her cause much), and that's something else that makes her as a character easy to relate to.
This is one of those books that has something for everyone; it's mysterious, romantic, fun, thrilling, and has a twist that made my jaw drop. It was like, I knew there was a twist, but I could never quite put my finger on what it was going to be, and that's very refreshing in a world where the twist is usually given away from the beginning.
This is not your typical novel, and it's not one you'll want to miss.
