The Dark Divine (The Dark Divine #1) by Bree Despain

Rating: 3.5/5
This is Book 1 of The Dark Divine Series
Sequel: The Lost Saint

Synopsis:

A Prodigal Son

A Dangerous Love

A Deadly Secret

Grace Divine—daughter of the local pastor—always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.

Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.

Review:

I, for one thought that this book will be different, dark and Gothic when I picked it up. I was slightly slipping through the first few chapters before I actually liked this book. The was some kind of mystery at first, but when they slowly revealed the kind of fictional character, I felt disappointed. The plot seemed utterly common when I read through the first few pages, I feel like much of a critique now.

I didn't have a problem with the protagonist, not annoying-yet. But I'll have to say that I like how strong and vulnerable she is at the same time. I was looking for a leading man, somehow, that I will love in this book. But you know, I just didn't like the leading male as much as I liked the love interests in other books. He could still grow in the next books, though. I might actually like him by then.

For the plot, I think I liked the kind of mystery it portrayed at first, then conflicts from inside and outside characters, and a little bit of history. Though subtle, I do believe in Despain's ability to work it in such a way that her readers will keep anticipating what's next in Grace's adventure.