Review! The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine
Bree Despain
EgmontUSA 
December 22, 2009 
ISBN-10: 1606840576
ISBN-13: 978-1606840573

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.

On the surface, Grace has the perfect life. As daughter of the town's pastor, she is expected to have the best grades, follow the rules and pretty much be the perfect little daughter. But there's one thing - or rather, one person - that haunts her. Daniel Kalbi. They grew up together, and while Grace and Jude had the most caring parents, Daniel's weren't. Until one day, Daniel disappears, the same night when Jude almost dies.

Now, three years later, Daniel is back and Grace's feelings about him just come tumbling back, as well. She's torn between wanting to be close to him and staying away as her brother wants her to. But the pull is too strong and as she gets closer to Daniel, she's bound to find some hard truths. Some of which might threaten her family and her very life.


The Dark Divine left me with conflicted feelings. It's not that I hated it, I really didn't. The beginning was great, the middle did fizzle out a bit but the ending picked up enough - in a very unsuspecting way - to leave me with a good feeling, albeit, not exactly what I wanted. 


I feel that Grace at time was incredibly naive thinking that she could fix anyone - anyone! - with a few flicks of her hand and some words. That highly annoyed me. I just couldn't relate to any of the characters, even Daniel, who admittedly, quickly became my favorite. 


I'm a sucker for the damaged boys. 


All-in-all, it's a good story and I'm sure other will highly enjoy it. For me? Grace was two-dimensional, Daniel was the only highlight in the book and unfortunately, The Dark Divine just didn't do it for me.