Review: The Dark Divine

Grace Divine is the pastor's daughter.  The perfect kid with the perfect family and the perfect life.  But then comes Daniel.  Daniel was the childhood friend of Grace and her brother Jude.  Daniel disappeared years ago, and now his hair is dyed black and he's a whole new person - a scary person.  And Grace can't help but be drawn to him...

But Daniel's return is the catalyst for a series of changes.  The buried past is being unearthed.  Grace's "perfect" family is crumbling, her brother seems different and darker, everybody is keeping secrets... and Daniel's secrets are the most dangerous of all.  Or are they?

Entertainment: ★★★★★

I basically loved The Dark Divine.  It's full of drama, secrets, romance, darkness, and all kinds of fun.  There's a wonderful plot twist that really stunned me.  A really good read.  And I absolutely loved the wordplay with the title.

Plot: ★★★★

Some books are so straightforward: there's the good guy and the bad guy.  Not The Dark Divine.  It's twisted, in a mostly good way.  I had no idea how this book was going to end, and when it did I was stunned at what happened.  And happy, but mostly stunned.

Characters: ★★★★

Just about every character is a shade of grey.  Even Grace finds herself questioning the darkness inside her as she tries to save everyone.  The ultimate villain - and of course I can't give away just who that villain turns out to be - was really well-written.  And even the side characters like Grace's mother and friends have their own depth and their own secrets and their own darknesses to deal with.

Writing: ★★★

I don't think I really have bad to say here, except that some of the hints dropped early on were a little obvious, and so the "big reveal" of the supernatural element wasn't really a surprise.  But overall, a well-written book.

End Result: four stars.