The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine, Book 1

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I had won this novel a long time ago when it came out, but I had let it get lost in the meanders of my TBR pile. Trying to put back the oldest novels I have on the front, I finally got into this first volume.

Grace has a quiet life with her family until her childhood sweetheart and her brother’s former best friend, Daniel, returns to town. Yeah, that’s when our heroine’s life will be completely turned upside down. Because Jude, her brother, seems to hate him with all his soul, and while Daniel has changed a lot, and is more enigmatic than ever, Grace’s feelings come to the surface. But something is wrong in town and everything seems to coincide with Daniel’s arrival. What to believe?

I had a good time with the novel and I was quite curious to find out exactly what was going on. I had a few surprises I wasn’t expecting and it’s always something nice. I confess that I don’t know if I’ll read the rest one day, but if the opportunity arises why not. It’s a pretty nice young adult novel anyway, even if it’s still classic in its genre.