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.
Taken from princessbookie.com
My Thoughts: So I've been preaching on twitter about finding a book thats just as good as Shiver or the Twilight Saga. I love this. I was referred The Dark Divine a few times so I finally sat down to read it. It was a longer book, almost 400 pages and I didn't put it down longer than 5 minutes at a time. I read this book in one night! We meet Grace Divine and her family. Most importantly, her brother Jude. I liked Jude, but I just didn't connect with him very much. We also meet Grace's other family members, the boy Pete who liked her, her best friend April, etc. Most importantly we meet Daniel. Daniel is the boy who grew up with Grace's family but disappeared suddenly a few years ago. He's back, but why? Daniel is irresistible and Grace feels that connection to him once again. She had a crush on him as a girl and now that he's all grown up, she still feels drawn to him. Daniel has a lot of secrets that begin to unwind throughout the story. Jude resents him, and tries to make Grace stay away from him but she doesn't understand why. She wants to know all the details about what happened and why he left. She also wants to know why Jude wants him gone so bad. Daniel's past finally starts to catch up to him and Grace realizes she must do an undesirable task to keep him. I won't say much else. You just need to read the story. I was hooked within a few pages in, especially when Daniel is teasing Grace and tells her to kiss him! I melted right there. I could feel like I was really part of the story and I wanted to be Grace so bad. I loved this book with a passion. I didn't want the story to end. There wasn't a huge cliffhanger at the end but I hear there might be a sequel. I will definitely be reading that if so.
Overall: I loved it. Sometimes I wonder, if there should be a batch of cupcake that has more than 5 cupcakes that mean the book took my breath away that it deserves more than 5 cupcakes. hehe.
Cover: Its really pretty and I love the color of her toenails!
My Thoughts: So I've been preaching on twitter about finding a book thats just as good as Shiver or the Twilight Saga. I love this. I was referred The Dark Divine a few times so I finally sat down to read it. It was a longer book, almost 400 pages and I didn't put it down longer than 5 minutes at a time. I read this book in one night! We meet Grace Divine and her family. Most importantly, her brother Jude. I liked Jude, but I just didn't connect with him very much. We also meet Grace's other family members, the boy Pete who liked her, her best friend April, etc. Most importantly we meet Daniel. Daniel is the boy who grew up with Grace's family but disappeared suddenly a few years ago. He's back, but why? Daniel is irresistible and Grace feels that connection to him once again. She had a crush on him as a girl and now that he's all grown up, she still feels drawn to him. Daniel has a lot of secrets that begin to unwind throughout the story. Jude resents him, and tries to make Grace stay away from him but she doesn't understand why. She wants to know all the details about what happened and why he left. She also wants to know why Jude wants him gone so bad. Daniel's past finally starts to catch up to him and Grace realizes she must do an undesirable task to keep him. I won't say much else. You just need to read the story. I was hooked within a few pages in, especially when Daniel is teasing Grace and tells her to kiss him! I melted right there. I could feel like I was really part of the story and I wanted to be Grace so bad. I loved this book with a passion. I didn't want the story to end. There wasn't a huge cliffhanger at the end but I hear there might be a sequel. I will definitely be reading that if so.
Overall: I loved it. Sometimes I wonder, if there should be a batch of cupcake that has more than 5 cupcakes that mean the book took my breath away that it deserves more than 5 cupcakes. hehe.
Cover: Its really pretty and I love the color of her toenails!
Unlike the other reviewers, I fell totally in love with this book. Here's my review from my site readersenchantment.blogspot.com:
Finally! A book that has many layers of story and meaning, one that has some real answers in it as well as a very entertaining paranormal YA tale. Grace Divine is the daughter of a minister. In a lot of ways she is the normal, average high school student. Unlike some "preacher's kids" though, Grace has not chosen a darker path to learn her identity; on the contrary, she is very willing to always do what is right even when she does not want to.
Grace has some real insights into the workings of her family. She realizes that her family's way of coping is to avoid discussing anything bad that happens. She is not satisfied by this and yet she does not turn everyone's life upside down either. However, when a childhood friend comes back to town, things in her family are shaken up. Daniel left three years earlier, and Grace has always had a bit of a crush on him. He returns to their town for selfish reasons: he wants to get into art school, and their high school is one of the few programs that will ease his application process. But Daniel also goes out of his way to see Grace again. Their story, both what happened years earlier to make him leave town and what happens to them now, is a wonderful one.
My only complaint about the book is that I don't "get" the cover. I think one of Grace's or Daniel's drawings would have been a more suitable cover. But this is the publisher's fault, not the writer's. Writers, I have learned, have no control over their book covers.
Bree Despain is working on a sequel to this great book, and it's going to be called The Lost Saint. I'm looking forward to it! I highly recommend The Dark Divine, and rate it 5 stars out of 5.
Finally! A book that has many layers of story and meaning, one that has some real answers in it as well as a very entertaining paranormal YA tale. Grace Divine is the daughter of a minister. In a lot of ways she is the normal, average high school student. Unlike some "preacher's kids" though, Grace has not chosen a darker path to learn her identity; on the contrary, she is very willing to always do what is right even when she does not want to.
Grace has some real insights into the workings of her family. She realizes that her family's way of coping is to avoid discussing anything bad that happens. She is not satisfied by this and yet she does not turn everyone's life upside down either. However, when a childhood friend comes back to town, things in her family are shaken up. Daniel left three years earlier, and Grace has always had a bit of a crush on him. He returns to their town for selfish reasons: he wants to get into art school, and their high school is one of the few programs that will ease his application process. But Daniel also goes out of his way to see Grace again. Their story, both what happened years earlier to make him leave town and what happens to them now, is a wonderful one.
My only complaint about the book is that I don't "get" the cover. I think one of Grace's or Daniel's drawings would have been a more suitable cover. But this is the publisher's fault, not the writer's. Writers, I have learned, have no control over their book covers.
Bree Despain is working on a sequel to this great book, and it's going to be called The Lost Saint. I'm looking forward to it! I highly recommend The Dark Divine, and rate it 5 stars out of 5.
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.
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!
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.
Took me several days to read this book. Wasn't bad,just wasn't interestig either.
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!
Pastor's daughter Grace Divine knows that something is not right with the reappearance of Daniel Kalbi, her older brother Jude's old best friend and almost-brother, who disappeared one night several years agoâthe same night Jude came home covered in his own blood. But she doesn't expect how embroiled in the affairs she ends up being when she falls in love with Daniel, who possesses a powerful and dark secret.
As Grace struggles to live up to her name and help Daniel love himself, she also deals with Jude's increasingly disturbing behavior towards her and Daniel, and she must decide where she stands after learning Daniel's devastating secret. Grace may hold the power to save or destroy Daniel's soul in her handsânow she must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice for him.
THE DARK DIVINE is an interesting but ultimately underwhelming read that will still be eagerly embraced by paranormal romance fans of Twilight, Shiver, and other similar books.
The best thing about THE DARK DIVINE was the way it rewrote the typical werewolf story and infused it with history, magic, religion, and the balance of good and evil. Unfortunately, the characters were for me rather difficult to connect with, as most of them felt like types I've read many times before. Grace was an extremely passive protagonist who elicited little sympathy from me. The tension between Grace's parents often felt forced and unexplained. Daniel started out as stereotypical, but as the plot finally built and his background was finally revealed, he turned into a much more believable character.
As for the romance, it felt like one that I've read many times before: good girls feels undeniable attraction with bad boy, who acts like a jerk initially but actually reciprocates the feelings, and True Love Ends Happily Ever After. The familiarity of the course of the romance was unimpressive and rather disappointing to me. Overall, THE DARK DIVINE was perhaps not the book for me, but fans of Twilight-esque true love paranormal romances will find it a great addition to the genre.
As Grace struggles to live up to her name and help Daniel love himself, she also deals with Jude's increasingly disturbing behavior towards her and Daniel, and she must decide where she stands after learning Daniel's devastating secret. Grace may hold the power to save or destroy Daniel's soul in her handsânow she must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice for him.
THE DARK DIVINE is an interesting but ultimately underwhelming read that will still be eagerly embraced by paranormal romance fans of Twilight, Shiver, and other similar books.
The best thing about THE DARK DIVINE was the way it rewrote the typical werewolf story and infused it with history, magic, religion, and the balance of good and evil. Unfortunately, the characters were for me rather difficult to connect with, as most of them felt like types I've read many times before. Grace was an extremely passive protagonist who elicited little sympathy from me. The tension between Grace's parents often felt forced and unexplained. Daniel started out as stereotypical, but as the plot finally built and his background was finally revealed, he turned into a much more believable character.
As for the romance, it felt like one that I've read many times before: good girls feels undeniable attraction with bad boy, who acts like a jerk initially but actually reciprocates the feelings, and True Love Ends Happily Ever After. The familiarity of the course of the romance was unimpressive and rather disappointing to me. Overall, THE DARK DIVINE was perhaps not the book for me, but fans of Twilight-esque true love paranormal romances will find it a great addition to the genre.
I was leery about reading this book. Was it going to be yet another Twilight knock-off? Still the synopsis intrigued me and the cover was beautiful, even better the reviews were saying it was really good. So was it? I have mixed feelings about it. I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was very well done.
Grace Divine (yes she is a preacher's daughter) is the perfect girl with the perfect brother and a wonderful family. The only event that scars there their family is something that happened one night three years ago. This event left her brother with physical scars and drove her best friend Daniel away...no one will tell her what happened. Three years later Daniel shows up in her art class. Her brother makes her promise not to associate with Daniel, but Grace can't help it she is drawn to him. As people start turning up dead and small animals are found mauled in the streets, people have started whispering about a monster that lurks in the streets. The question is what does this all have to do with Daniel's re-appearance if anything? What does it have to do with that fateful night three years ago?
I actually liked this book in the beginning. The setting is, of course, high school and Grace is a good girl who tries to do what's right. She has a sharp sense of humor at times, but it is inconsistent throughout the book. Daniel, of course, is the dark and dangerous type. I also liked how Despain dealt with the pressures of being the preacher's daughter and how trying to set an example for the whole community was a strain on the family. I liked that Grace's whole family is involved in the story and that Despain didn't try to separate Grace out somewhere (like boarding school, which is what a lot of these types of books do). It was great that Daniel and Grace actually have a past and reason to love each other, the whole love at first sight thing kind of drives me crazy. The ending was very good, it resolved most of the main threads neatly but wasn't completely fairy tale happy. Despain's writing style is very dreamy and mysterious, people who are set on good crisp action scenes should stay away.
Overall this story is very much another girl and boy love each other, boy says girl can't love him because he's dangerous, but girl will find a way to fix all his problems no matter the cost to herself or her family. Once we got into this mode the eye-rolling began. Where the plot was initially mysterious and gripping, half-way through the book it became very predictable. Despain tried to mislead you with foreshadowing, but even that wasn't very misleading. About one third of the way through the book I could have predicted almost everything that happened in the end; I thought the deal (I won't say what) with Grace's brother was extremely transparent. Also half way through the book Daniel feels a need to get all emo and walk around spouting his contradictions of emotions at Grace; I am glad Daniel likes to share his feelings but it was overdone.
Then there was Grace's wishy-washiness. First she hates Daniel and tells him to leave, then she loves him and begs him to stay...then she is all like "I hate you Daniel, get out of my life" then a couple chapters later she is all like "I love you Daniel, please don't leave." Personally if I was Daniel I would have left because Grace was one confused girl. Having a change of heart once or twice is understandable, but I kid you not this sequence of events occurred at least three (if not more) times throughout the story.
As I mentioned above I did like the ending. There was one thing that happened that I didn't predict ahead of time and it was a pleasant surprise. It does look like this book will be left open for a sequel, because a couple things were unresolved. Overall I thought this was just another mediocre entry into the young adult paranormal romance category. If you like the House of Night series or the Evernight series, you might like this book. I personally think both of those series are mediocre for both writing quality and story, but this book is similar. To be honest I am a bit disappointed that there aren't more exceptional books in this area. Try out Holly Black's Modern Fairy Tale series if you want a great series with some heart, some humor, some action, and a great plot.
Grace Divine (yes she is a preacher's daughter) is the perfect girl with the perfect brother and a wonderful family. The only event that scars there their family is something that happened one night three years ago. This event left her brother with physical scars and drove her best friend Daniel away...no one will tell her what happened. Three years later Daniel shows up in her art class. Her brother makes her promise not to associate with Daniel, but Grace can't help it she is drawn to him. As people start turning up dead and small animals are found mauled in the streets, people have started whispering about a monster that lurks in the streets. The question is what does this all have to do with Daniel's re-appearance if anything? What does it have to do with that fateful night three years ago?
I actually liked this book in the beginning. The setting is, of course, high school and Grace is a good girl who tries to do what's right. She has a sharp sense of humor at times, but it is inconsistent throughout the book. Daniel, of course, is the dark and dangerous type. I also liked how Despain dealt with the pressures of being the preacher's daughter and how trying to set an example for the whole community was a strain on the family. I liked that Grace's whole family is involved in the story and that Despain didn't try to separate Grace out somewhere (like boarding school, which is what a lot of these types of books do). It was great that Daniel and Grace actually have a past and reason to love each other, the whole love at first sight thing kind of drives me crazy. The ending was very good, it resolved most of the main threads neatly but wasn't completely fairy tale happy. Despain's writing style is very dreamy and mysterious, people who are set on good crisp action scenes should stay away.
Overall this story is very much another girl and boy love each other, boy says girl can't love him because he's dangerous, but girl will find a way to fix all his problems no matter the cost to herself or her family. Once we got into this mode the eye-rolling began. Where the plot was initially mysterious and gripping, half-way through the book it became very predictable. Despain tried to mislead you with foreshadowing, but even that wasn't very misleading. About one third of the way through the book I could have predicted almost everything that happened in the end; I thought the deal (I won't say what) with Grace's brother was extremely transparent. Also half way through the book Daniel feels a need to get all emo and walk around spouting his contradictions of emotions at Grace; I am glad Daniel likes to share his feelings but it was overdone.
Then there was Grace's wishy-washiness. First she hates Daniel and tells him to leave, then she loves him and begs him to stay...then she is all like "I hate you Daniel, get out of my life" then a couple chapters later she is all like "I love you Daniel, please don't leave." Personally if I was Daniel I would have left because Grace was one confused girl. Having a change of heart once or twice is understandable, but I kid you not this sequence of events occurred at least three (if not more) times throughout the story.
As I mentioned above I did like the ending. There was one thing that happened that I didn't predict ahead of time and it was a pleasant surprise. It does look like this book will be left open for a sequel, because a couple things were unresolved. Overall I thought this was just another mediocre entry into the young adult paranormal romance category. If you like the House of Night series or the Evernight series, you might like this book. I personally think both of those series are mediocre for both writing quality and story, but this book is similar. To be honest I am a bit disappointed that there aren't more exceptional books in this area. Try out Holly Black's Modern Fairy Tale series if you want a great series with some heart, some humor, some action, and a great plot.
