Novel Review: The Dark Divine (The Dark Divine, #1) by Bree Despain

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Publisher: Egmont

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. I think it's really pretty, simple and eye-catching. I don't think it leads too much to the actual book, to the supernatural aspect, but I'm okay with that for the most part, especially since it's not a cheesy romance cover.

Review:

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a long time, and it was actually better than I expected.

When Daniel shows back up in town, Grace is forced to either ignore him and push away the past, or let him back in her life and find out what really happened between him and her brother all those years ago.

It’s definitely frustrating the way they’re all keeping Grace in the dark about it, but it’s a surprise when she finally figures out what happened. It makes sense why they kept it a secret, and why Daniel disappeared. I wasn’t terribly surprised by who was behind it all, but it’s still a surprise how it went down and who all knew.

This was better than I thought it would be; it kept me interested through the whole book, and I liked the relationship between Grace and Daniel. I liked him. And the plot was actually pretty interesting, and makes me a little intrigued for the next book. I don’t know if I’ll be picking it up, but I definitely would have enjoyed it more when I was in high school.

Novel Review: Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

Rating (Out of 5): ~1-1.5

Genre: YA Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Moonlight can totally change your life.

And it all starts so simply.

You. Him.

The moon.

You're toast.

Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately (how was she supposed to know Wes had "borrowed" that Porsche?). But her stepmother totally overreacts when she catches Shelby in a post-curfew kiss with a hot senior: Suddenly Shelby's summer plans are on the shelf, and she's being packed off to brat camp. It's good-bye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.

Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there's more to Austin than crush material—his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby's help guarding it. Shelby knows that she really shouldn't be getting tangled up with another bad boy . . . but who is she to turn her back on a guy in need, especially such a good-looking one? One thing's for sure: That pesky full moon is about to get her into trouble all over again.

The Cover:

The cover is all right. It has a very high school feel to it, which is fitting. But it also looks dark, like she's maybe in danger, which I don't think fits at all and is more misleading. An all right cover, but not for this book.

 Quotes:

• "Lost. Yeah, right. Why do we always say lost when we mean people died on us? Mom was not lost. And I’d spent the last three years trying hard not to lose myself. That’s what really happens when people die—the family left behind loses a part of themselves. A tiny piece. A tiny piece you never get back.” (Paperback, pg. 77)
• "Brave and fearless are totally not the same thing. Brave is like being fearless for an actual reason.” (Pg. 177)

Review:

I did not enjoy this book. I picked it up years ago, back when I would have enjoyed it more. Sadly I didn’t get to it until now, when I have outgrown these types of books.

I didn’t believe the character from the beginning. Shelby isn’t fleshed out. I had a hard time believing both that she was the type to help people, and that she wasn’t the spoiled rich kid everyone else she knew was. Mainly because those characteristics could have easily been swapped for something else and nothing would have changed. All of the characters were one-dimensional and none of them seemed real to me.

Which means that the plot didn’t seem all that believable, either. Shelby helping Austin because she’s nice didn’t work, and Austin telling Shelby his secret so fast didn’t seem realistic at all, especially when he made a big deal about not telling anyone and trusting her. Their attraction didn’t make sense to me, either. They look at each other, like, twice and supposedly feel a connection, when I felt absolutely nothing. And then Shelby was afraid of him being a wolf one second and then fighting her attraction the next.

And then the ending had no resolution. Nothing happened with her parents, Austin’s problem was mostly solved I guess, but mostly it just seemed like they were in the same position as when they started. Supposedly Shelby learned a lot, but I didn’t believe that.

All of the characters, including the camp setting and counselors, was hugely stereotyped, as well. The girls especially, and everyone’s problems, but also the therapy sessions and the fact that the counselors took away makeup and push-up bras. Every bit of it was ridiculous.

It also didn't seem very paranormal to me, the werewolf aspect was so small aside from the supposed fear. And I thought it was supposed to be similar to Little Red Riding Hood, and I didn't see that at all, either.

Nothing in this book worked for me, and I even debated on DNFing three times. I’m glad it’s over. To be fair, though, I probably would have enjoyed this more when I was in middle school.