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A review by stephxsu
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
3.0
THE DARK DIVINE is an interesting but ultimately underwhelming read that will still be eagerly embraced by paranormal romance fans of Twilight, Shiver, and other similar books.
The best thing about THE DARK DIVINE was the way it rewrote the typical werewolf story and infused it with history, magic, religion, and the balance of good and evil. It gave depth to Daniel’s werewolf character. I’m not a big werewolf girl, nor am I religious, but I enjoyed the way the two unexpectedly intertwined and enhanced one another in this book.
Unfortunately, the characters were for me rather difficult to connect with, as most of them felt like types I’ve read many times before. Grace was an extremely passive protagonist who elicited little sympathy from me. The tension between Grace’s parents often felt forced and unexplained. Daniel started out as stereotypical, but as the plot finally built and his background was finally revealed, he turned into a much more believable character.
As for the romance, it felt like one that I’ve read many times before: good girls feels undeniable attraction with bad boy, who acts like a jerk initially but actually reciprocates the feelings, and True Love Ends Happily Ever After. The familiarity of the course of the romance was unimpressive and rather disappointing to me.
The plot was rather infuriatingly slow, which may put off more impatient readers, but it does eventually build into an exciting paranormal world with an action-packed, heart-stopping ending. It does take an inventive writer to pull off what Bree Despain has as the ending, and I found it believable, heart-stopping, and satisfying. Overall, THE DARK DIVINE was perhaps not the book for me, but fans of Twilight-esque true love paranormal romances will find it a great addition to the genre.
The best thing about THE DARK DIVINE was the way it rewrote the typical werewolf story and infused it with history, magic, religion, and the balance of good and evil. It gave depth to Daniel’s werewolf character. I’m not a big werewolf girl, nor am I religious, but I enjoyed the way the two unexpectedly intertwined and enhanced one another in this book.
Unfortunately, the characters were for me rather difficult to connect with, as most of them felt like types I’ve read many times before. Grace was an extremely passive protagonist who elicited little sympathy from me. The tension between Grace’s parents often felt forced and unexplained. Daniel started out as stereotypical, but as the plot finally built and his background was finally revealed, he turned into a much more believable character.
As for the romance, it felt like one that I’ve read many times before: good girls feels undeniable attraction with bad boy, who acts like a jerk initially but actually reciprocates the feelings, and True Love Ends Happily Ever After. The familiarity of the course of the romance was unimpressive and rather disappointing to me.
The plot was rather infuriatingly slow, which may put off more impatient readers, but it does eventually build into an exciting paranormal world with an action-packed, heart-stopping ending. It does take an inventive writer to pull off what Bree Despain has as the ending, and I found it believable, heart-stopping, and satisfying. Overall, THE DARK DIVINE was perhaps not the book for me, but fans of Twilight-esque true love paranormal romances will find it a great addition to the genre.