michaela95c's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing and sad. I really want another one!
fearoflung's review against another edition
4.0
**May contain spoilers!**
The Savage Grace by Bree Despain is the final chapter of The Dark Divine series, which follows the spiritual and paranormal journey of Grace Divine and her family and friends.
What drew me to this series initially was the Christian element in the books. It is very, very rare that you find a young adult book that deals with the subject in a way that is not poking fun or being flat out disrespectful. I remember reading through half of the first book and immediately texting a friend of mine and exclaiming, “This is actually a Christian book about something paranormal!” Paranormal books are my favorite to read most of the time, and too many lately have been poking fun at Christianity like having really stupid, clueless Christian characters that make us all look like idiots. This is not to say that I do not read books that do not have a Christian element. In fact, I would say that most of the books I read do not. But there is no call to be disrespectful about it.
The second thing that I found really refreshing is that there was no love triangle. I did notice that there was an obvious Talbot/Daniel/Grace thing going on, but what made it different from a lot of books nowadays is that Grace did not lead Talbot on like some character in some popular book series that I will not name. It was very clear to me at least in The Savage Grace where Grace stood on the subject. Despite everything, she was devoted to Daniel even while he was trapped in his wolf form.
Which brings up something else that I really liked about the book, the main character Grace. You know how rare it is to see a unicorn running around on the interstate with a leprechaun on its back wearing a pink tutu and singing Beatles songs? Well, that’s about how rare it is for me to actually -like- the female lead in any book. I can’t even number all of the times I have complained to my friends about how I love a book but cannot stand the female lead. Grace Divine is not perfect and even though she turns out to be this great ‘Divine One’ (which I have to admit, the fact that she is the Divine One and her last name does Divine irk me just a little), she does not suddenly have all of the answers nor is she immediately able to control all of the abilities that come with being the Divine One. She has problems, she has temptations, and she fails. At one point in the book she tries to use her new healing power to heal her father after he is severely injured in an accident. While I was reading this, I was groaning inside, thinking that she was going to be able to immediately heal him and everything would be all happy, but I was wrong. Because she has kept all of her anger bottled up and has refused to forgive people that have wronged her in the past, she is unable to channel her powers. It is only after she prays and learns to forgive that she is able to harness her abilities and save her father. And while Daniel is trapped in his wolf form, she does not curl up in a fetal position in the middle of a forest and cry her eyes out, she moves on with her life. She gets things done, she plans, and she keeps searching until she finds a solution. And last but most certainly not least in my book, she does not have sex with Daniel before they are married. She is tempted several times, but she resists. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to find a young adult book where there is a meaningful relationship WITHOUT SEX. Does this mean that there are no steamy scenes of our happy couple? Certainly not. While they do not have sex, they are not hands off either. There are plenty of nice kissing and cuddling scenes. Despain has found that nice balance between having the characters want to wait about sex, but not making them so strict that they can’t even kiss. I applaud her for that.
I was also pleased with all of the fight scenes in the book. They were not Saw level gory but at the same time they did not shy away from blood. It was a nice medium ground. At the final battle, I was concerned that I would not get to see any wolf action since one of the main points of the series is to not give in to the wolf and transform, but I was pleasantly surprised. While the main characters did not give into the temptation to become wolves to fight, others did, and the battle was a nice mixture of wolves, humans, and demons.
The Savage Grace is a book about the power of love and forgiveness. It shows that hoarding feelings of anger and hatred can be destructive and that the power of love can bring healing and life. During the story, Grace learns to forgive others and while she forgives most of the people she was holding anger against, she does not completely forgive everyone. At first I was annoyed that she was getting away with holding out her grudges against one of the characters, until I reached the end and saw that this grudge was addressed and had major consequences for her. If she had learned to forgive completely, the story might have turned out differently. But I liked the fact that she did not, because it made her more real. She wasn’t a perfect heroine.
The only thing that I do not like about this series is something that has nothing to do with the writing or the story. It is the font. In all of the books, the font is bolded the entire time, which for me is very distracting. I would have preferred that the book be in a more normal font, but aside from that minor annoyance, this is definitely a book series that I am going to be recommending to my friends who want something with a good story, good values, and lots of love and action mixed in.
I can’t wait to read more by Despain!
The Savage Grace by Bree Despain is the final chapter of The Dark Divine series, which follows the spiritual and paranormal journey of Grace Divine and her family and friends.
What drew me to this series initially was the Christian element in the books. It is very, very rare that you find a young adult book that deals with the subject in a way that is not poking fun or being flat out disrespectful. I remember reading through half of the first book and immediately texting a friend of mine and exclaiming, “This is actually a Christian book about something paranormal!” Paranormal books are my favorite to read most of the time, and too many lately have been poking fun at Christianity like having really stupid, clueless Christian characters that make us all look like idiots. This is not to say that I do not read books that do not have a Christian element. In fact, I would say that most of the books I read do not. But there is no call to be disrespectful about it.
The second thing that I found really refreshing is that there was no love triangle. I did notice that there was an obvious Talbot/Daniel/Grace thing going on, but what made it different from a lot of books nowadays is that Grace did not lead Talbot on like some character in some popular book series that I will not name. It was very clear to me at least in The Savage Grace where Grace stood on the subject. Despite everything, she was devoted to Daniel even while he was trapped in his wolf form.
Which brings up something else that I really liked about the book, the main character Grace. You know how rare it is to see a unicorn running around on the interstate with a leprechaun on its back wearing a pink tutu and singing Beatles songs? Well, that’s about how rare it is for me to actually -like- the female lead in any book. I can’t even number all of the times I have complained to my friends about how I love a book but cannot stand the female lead. Grace Divine is not perfect and even though she turns out to be this great ‘Divine One’ (which I have to admit, the fact that she is the Divine One and her last name does Divine irk me just a little), she does not suddenly have all of the answers nor is she immediately able to control all of the abilities that come with being the Divine One. She has problems, she has temptations, and she fails. At one point in the book she tries to use her new healing power to heal her father after he is severely injured in an accident. While I was reading this, I was groaning inside, thinking that she was going to be able to immediately heal him and everything would be all happy, but I was wrong. Because she has kept all of her anger bottled up and has refused to forgive people that have wronged her in the past, she is unable to channel her powers. It is only after she prays and learns to forgive that she is able to harness her abilities and save her father. And while Daniel is trapped in his wolf form, she does not curl up in a fetal position in the middle of a forest and cry her eyes out, she moves on with her life. She gets things done, she plans, and she keeps searching until she finds a solution. And last but most certainly not least in my book, she does not have sex with Daniel before they are married. She is tempted several times, but she resists. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to find a young adult book where there is a meaningful relationship WITHOUT SEX. Does this mean that there are no steamy scenes of our happy couple? Certainly not. While they do not have sex, they are not hands off either. There are plenty of nice kissing and cuddling scenes. Despain has found that nice balance between having the characters want to wait about sex, but not making them so strict that they can’t even kiss. I applaud her for that.
I was also pleased with all of the fight scenes in the book. They were not Saw level gory but at the same time they did not shy away from blood. It was a nice medium ground. At the final battle, I was concerned that I would not get to see any wolf action since one of the main points of the series is to not give in to the wolf and transform, but I was pleasantly surprised. While the main characters did not give into the temptation to become wolves to fight, others did, and the battle was a nice mixture of wolves, humans, and demons.
The Savage Grace is a book about the power of love and forgiveness. It shows that hoarding feelings of anger and hatred can be destructive and that the power of love can bring healing and life. During the story, Grace learns to forgive others and while she forgives most of the people she was holding anger against, she does not completely forgive everyone. At first I was annoyed that she was getting away with holding out her grudges against one of the characters, until I reached the end and saw that this grudge was addressed and had major consequences for her. If she had learned to forgive completely, the story might have turned out differently. But I liked the fact that she did not, because it made her more real. She wasn’t a perfect heroine.
The only thing that I do not like about this series is something that has nothing to do with the writing or the story. It is the font. In all of the books, the font is bolded the entire time, which for me is very distracting. I would have preferred that the book be in a more normal font, but aside from that minor annoyance, this is definitely a book series that I am going to be recommending to my friends who want something with a good story, good values, and lots of love and action mixed in.
I can’t wait to read more by Despain!
kaylameaux's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, it is a good series. I struggled through the middle for some reason but the third book was really good. I'd give the trilogy as a whole- 3.5 stars.
randomly_kait's review against another edition
4.0
Ohh, crap crap crap! I liked it but I also wanna throw the book up against the wall!!
bibliophile_booklover's review against another edition
5.0
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG Thats all i have to say
exhaleartist's review against another edition
4.0
After the terribly cruel ending of The Lost Saint, I (and my sister) have been dying to read this book. Then, of course, there was the changing release date. From December to March, that is just too long to wait! However, I was elated, no make that ecstatic, when I received an ARC copy from the publisher (for which I must say THANK YOU!!). I read this the day I received it, taking only one break in the middle. I could not put it down.
All of the fantastic characters are back for this conclusion. The first chapter starts shortly after the end of The Lost Saint. Daniel is still stuck as the white wolf, which is heartbreaking for Grace. Grace’s emotional state is so raw; it’s hard not to want to cry with her. Grace’s family remains an important element of the story as well. Her father is still one of my favorite parental figures in YA literature. There are also some new characters, “the lost boys”. Werewolves that left Caleb’s “gang” to follow Daniel. They add a humorous element to the overall serious, dramatic tone of the story. I fell in love with Grace and Daniel’s “little family”.
This book is probably the most intense, dramatic of the series. The stakes are so high for everyone, and in the end not everyone will survive. It is hard to say much about the plot without giving away anything, so this review will likely be short. Haunting, beautiful, and with one of the best romances in YA this is a series you do not want to miss!
Overall, this may not be my favorite book in the series, but it is a fantastic conclusion. Although the ending is rather ambiguous, so I am hoping for more at some point. If you have not started reading this series, I recommend that you do so immediately. It is unique, engaging, and a gorgeously written series that standouts amongst the many paranormal books in the YA genre today. Fans of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater would probably enjoy this one as well.
All of the fantastic characters are back for this conclusion. The first chapter starts shortly after the end of The Lost Saint. Daniel is still stuck as the white wolf, which is heartbreaking for Grace. Grace’s emotional state is so raw; it’s hard not to want to cry with her. Grace’s family remains an important element of the story as well. Her father is still one of my favorite parental figures in YA literature. There are also some new characters, “the lost boys”. Werewolves that left Caleb’s “gang” to follow Daniel. They add a humorous element to the overall serious, dramatic tone of the story. I fell in love with Grace and Daniel’s “little family”.
This book is probably the most intense, dramatic of the series. The stakes are so high for everyone, and in the end not everyone will survive. It is hard to say much about the plot without giving away anything, so this review will likely be short. Haunting, beautiful, and with one of the best romances in YA this is a series you do not want to miss!
Overall, this may not be my favorite book in the series, but it is a fantastic conclusion. Although the ending is rather ambiguous, so I am hoping for more at some point. If you have not started reading this series, I recommend that you do so immediately. It is unique, engaging, and a gorgeously written series that standouts amongst the many paranormal books in the YA genre today. Fans of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater would probably enjoy this one as well.
holly_tree's review against another edition
5.0
The best in the series!!
There was a little teaser in the end... perhaps a fourth book, or a spin-off series?! I'd love to see it!!
However, I do have to mention my one qualm with it... I met Bree Despain once, at a writer's conference in Provo, Utah. Took a class from her. She, like myself, is LDS. In our religion, we're kinda against swearing. So it was a little disappointing to see that she chose to include so much swearing in this book. Obviously, she has her own agency to chose to do whatever she wants, but it was still disappointing to see. The book would have been just as fantastic without it.
There was a little teaser in the end... perhaps a fourth book, or a spin-off series?! I'd love to see it!!
However, I do have to mention my one qualm with it... I met Bree Despain once, at a writer's conference in Provo, Utah. Took a class from her. She, like myself, is LDS. In our religion, we're kinda against swearing. So it was a little disappointing to see that she chose to include so much swearing in this book. Obviously, she has her own agency to chose to do whatever she wants, but it was still disappointing to see. The book would have been just as fantastic without it.
suey's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty awesome and exciting end (is it really the end though?) to this trilogy. Lots of werewolf fighting if you are into that sort of thing!
melissasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Great ending to a fun werewolf series. Better than Twilight with no love triangles!