The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
A prodigal son
A dangerous love
A deadly secret . . .
I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”
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 blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.
As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel’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.
I was one of the people who loved Twilight at the start of its hype. I’m not really embarrassed to admit it – curiosity got me to check it out after reading a post by a blogger friend raving about the saga. I found it in a bookstore near where I work, bought it, and devoured it over a weekend. I admit to also falling in love with Edward Cullen and the romance, and then falling for Jacob and all his wolfish charms by the second book. I was never a rabid fan, but I liked the saga up until I read the last book. After Breaking Dawn, I turned my back on Stephenie Meyer for making an ending like that.
I won’t go into detail why I stopped liking the saga, but whenever I run into other supernatural romances, I can’t help but compare them to Twilight. Wait, a correction: whenever I come across any supernatural romances with vampires or werewolves, I can’t help but compare them to Twilight, probably because it’s the first book I read on that genre. I also blame it on all the hype the Twilight Saga gets.
So when I came across Bree Despain’s debut work, The Dark Divine, I wondered if it would be another Twilight-like novel…click here to read the rest of the review.
Rating:
2010 Challenge Status:
* Book # 29 out of 100 for 2010
* Book # 13 out of 20 Fantasy books for 2010
→ Get The Dark Divine by Bree Despain from Amazon.com
→ Bree Despain’s website
Feed by Mira Grant
It’s not often you see an elf in the middle of Brooklyn, let alone a tall, blonde, gorgeous elf in the middle of one of the most prestigious performing arts high schools in the country. And yet, that’s just where Zephyr Addler finds herself: smack dab in the middle of bustling New York City, worlds away from the woodland community she knows so well. But Zephyr knows that if she’s going to make the most of her talent, she has to figure out how to live in the world. And dress in the world. Thanks to a little friendly fashion advice from her new friend Mercedes, Zephyr starts to get the hang of Brooklyn. That is, until Zephyr raises the ire of the most popular girl in school, Bella Dartagnan. Now with Bella and her friends out to get her, can Zephyr out-maneuver the mean girls (and catch the eye of a certain cute boy) without losing herself?