"The Dark Divine" by Bree Despain

Rating 5 out of 5
Where the book came from: Received as part of ARC Book Tours

Details:
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 22, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606840576
ISBN-13: 978-1606840573

Synopsis from Amazon.com:
Product Description

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.

My thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable and quick read. It had a lot of imagination and attention to detail. Before starting the book I didn't read any descriptions or reviews so that nothing would be given away ahead of time. That said if you are like me you might want to stop reading in case I reveal some spoilers! Not knowing where the book was going at one point when Daniel takes Grace to a memorial for angels I wondered if this book was going to be going down the angel track. Earlier this year I read a YA book about angels that I found very interesting. I liked how the author kept you guessing about different possible outcomes and kept giving surprises. There were things I saw coming but a few that I didn't. This was a different take on werewolves than I have read before and I enjoyed how it was handled. Actually I've read very few werewolf novels so this was kind of a fun change. The relationships between the characters seemed real and genuine, the high school students seemed like high school students and the parents sometimes had fights. No one was made perfect which helped them seem more real. I wonder if this might become part of a series since what happened to one of the characters is left up in the air at the end. I received the book in the mail yesterday and finished it this evening along with all my regular activities. Each time I had a chance I would pick it up to keep going. I really wanted to find out what was going to happen to Grace, Daniel and Jude. This is novel I plan on recommending to friends. I'm definitely glad I decided to read it!

About the Author
Bree Despain 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. This is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.breedespain.com.