Book Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

*ARC provided by publisher*

The Dark Divine begins when Grace is shocked to find her old friend Daniel has returned after being gone three years.  When her brother warns her to keep away from Daniel, Grace is both intrigued and upset.  No one will tell her just what happened the night Daniel left, the night Grace found her brother Jude covered in blood.  However, Grace wants to do everything she can to help Daniel get his life back, even if it means putting her life in danger.

Things I Liked:
This is the kind of book that you pick up and have to devour in one day.  I couldn't put it down and kept wanting to read more, to find out what new twist of plot would happen next.  I was quite impressed with Despain's ability to write about religious characters and supernatural aspects together.  The story went places I definitely did not expect.  An excellent debut by one of our fabulous Utah authors :)

Things I Didn't Like:
I would have liked a little more explanation about the paranormal stuff that went on and some more info on the night Daniel left.  However, I still find myself thinking about the ideas and characters days after I read the book.

Read-alikes:
It felt like Fallen by Lauren Kate
Reminded me of Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (review coming soon!)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
some scattered throughout

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->->
definitely some violence, but not gory

Overall rating: *****

Do you find yourself being partial to certain authors even before you've read their books?  I was really excited about this one, mostly because she is a local author for me!

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