The Dark Divine [Hardcover]

Bree Despain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2009 | Series: Dark Divine

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Grace Divine, a pastor's daughter, doesn't think she lives up to the name that her father tells her means "heavenly help." Her brother, Jude, a church volunteer whose faith seems unshakable, has always seemed to be the more "graceful" Divine. When his friend Daniel returns to town after a long and mysterious absence, Jude recognizes Grace's attraction to him but urges her to stay away with unusual vehemence. Against his advice, Grace begins a relationship with Daniel, whose reluctance to discuss his disappearance piques her curiosity. As she attempts to uncover the mystery of Daniel's past, Jude discourages her investigations with oblique references to an ancient evil and a transforming curse. The novel builds to a dramatic climax involving the surprise revelation of a Divine family secret and a violent confrontation that suggests a possible sequel. Despain's first novel mixes romance and the supernatural and offers true love as the ultimate defense against lycanthropes. This long novel is a slow starter, but as Grace discovers unexpected local connections to the mystery of Daniel's absence, the pace picks up and the suspense builds. Although not a novel of Christian fiction, the book's thematic investment in faith and sacrifice distinguishes it from traditional supernatural romances.—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

With its eye-catching cover (pale, slender legs with purple toenails entwine with purple chiffon on a black background), intriguing title, and the hook of werewolves in love, comparisons to Meyer’s Twilight series are inevitable. However, Despain roots her story firmly in the faith of her protagonist’s family. Sixteen-year-old Grace Divine is a pastor’s daughter and has heard every joke possible about her name. But her family practices what her father preaches: community, caring, and forgiveness, including taking in a neighbor’s abused child and raising him as their own. That boy, Daniel, and Grace fall in love, and when Daniel reveals that he is a werewolf, Pastor Divine searches for remedies while trying to keep his family safe. Though the romantic passages are predictable and characterization sometimes weak, Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated. Grades 7-11. --Debbie Carton

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606840576
• ISBN-13: 978-1606840573
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.3 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

THE SHORT VERSION
Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. THE DARK DIVINE is Bree's debut novel.

THE LONG VERSION
As a kid, Bree would staple folded papers to make her own "novels." As a teen, she wrote stories in notebooks while her friends waited for the next page to be finished. Her teachers told her she should be a writer. But Bree thought only special people could be writers, so as the years past, she settled into the idea of becoming a lawyer or something else just as ordinary.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner city teens from Philadelphia and New York. With a renewed passion for story, and the young adult audience, she returned to Brigham Young University, filled her schedule with creative writing and literature classes, and started writing stories again. But regular life kicked in, and she soon found herself married with a new baby, working full-time, and with very little writing done.

That's when the universe threw a pick-up truck in her path. The car accident left Bree with an understanding that life was too short to not do what you absolutely love. A few days later, her husband brought home a used laptop computer, placed it by her bedside, and said, "You'd better start writing." Her life has never been the same since.

In a moment of karmic perfection, Bree received the offer to purchase The Dark Divine on the 6th anniversary of the car accident that put her back on the path to becoming an author.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dark Divine, December 28, 2009

By 

Jenny, Wondrous Reads (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Divine (Hardcover)

I read The Dark Divine without knowing anything about the story, the characters, or what I was in store for. All I'd read was the description on the inside cover and, just like the first half of the book, it gave nothing away. I was intrigued to say the least.

The first half of the book sets things up nicely, and introduces us to Grace Divine, her overly perfect brother Jude, and the mysterious Daniel Kalbi. I instantly warmed to the Divine family, and loved the way they supported and bounced off one another. Grace is a great female lead, and has a strong sense of loyalty and independence that I find many YA characters lacking. Daniel has to be one of the most frustrating bad boys I've come across -- I just couldn't figure him out. I knew there was something off about him, but could I guess what? No, I couldn't, and I think that more than added to my enjoyment of the book. It was almost like every page had the ability to uncover a new secret, and I couldn't wait to find out what it was.

I'm not going to even mention what the sinister secret is, as it's definitely something you need to discover at the same time as Grace. I'll just say that I think it's brilliant, and the mythology and lore crafted into the legend is fascinating, and different to anything I've read previously. If you let the story unfold as it should, I think you'll be just as surprised as I was when I finally found out what was going on. Stay away from spoilers, you won't regret it.

The Dark Divine is a compelling, addictive debut, and I absolutely loved it. All the time I was reading it, and even when writing this review, I was excited, and I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. It effortlessly stands out in the sea of supernatural YA fiction, and Bree Despain should be very proud of herself. Now, where can I find me a Daniel...?

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The predictable plot is forgivable - but the poor writing is not., July 28, 2010

By 

Erin K. Simons "Aspiring writer, voracious re... (Central Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dark Divine (Hardcover)

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.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paranormal Romance with Intelligence, December 22, 2009

By 

D. Cootey (Utopia, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dark Divine (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, especially Grace Divine. As a heroine, she was plucky enough to get herself into trouble and then out of it, but her vulnerable nature, born of doubts and insecurities, made her real and grounded to me. Although Grace was often rescued during pivotal scenes by the love interest, Daniel Kalbi, I didn't find her helpless as much as simply in over her head. Any strong lead, male or female, can do the same, so I never found myself thinking of Grace as an incapable damsel.

The dynamic between the family members, especially in regards to Daniel, felt real to me. The dialog was often delightful and balanced. Grace had just enough sarcastic wit to be snarky when called for, but never so mean as to lose my connection with her. The mystery of the story was paced well without feeling held back artificially, and the descriptive text didn't bog the story down in exposition and distraction. Good, solid concrete details helped me visualize the narrative consistently.

About 4/5ths through the book I felt the story began to drag for me, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I felt I'd need a reread before knowing for sure.

And therein lies the main point of this review for me. Despain has written a paranormal romance not weighted in pretentious dialog or scenes of maudlin angst. It is a tale of paranormal adventure, mystery & romance, filled with secrets engaging enough to propel the reader forward in search of their revelation. I couldn't put it down and look forward to reading it again.

Highly recommended.