The Dark Divine

The Dark Divine
by Bree Despain

Grace Divine has felt anything but divine since a close friend and almost brother disappeared three years ago. So when Daniel comes back to town, she has mixed feelings. She still loves the boy she crushed on as a kid, but her real brother Jude has his misgivings and makes Grace promise to stay away from him. Her father, a pastor, wants to welcome Daniel back with open arms, but Grace has the feeling that there's more going on than what is on the surface.

Grace must figure out what it is about the new Daniel that draws her to him. Will she be able to keep her promise to Jude and stay away from him? Bad things start happening - her little brother James goes missing, an older lady is found dead and mauled by an animal, and small pets start dying by bigger animal attacks. But what does this have to do with Daniel's sudden reappearance and a set of old letters from a monk to his beloved sister?

I absolutely adored this book. I felt Grace was a really person - knowing her strengths and weaknesses - not too perfect but with enough spunk to give her a real personality. I like the viewpoint of the pastor's family - seeing the struggle with living up to her name and having to deal with the perfections expected when the daughter of a pastor.

And the romance.. well, there is definitely some sweet and heated scenes that will make the blood boil enough to make you say "mmmmm". Of course, it's no Harlequin teen novel so don't expect anything more than a tease.

The violence and plot twists kept me interested and my only real complaint is that I didn't pay enough attention to the breaks where it goes back a bit in time. So, I got a little confused at times, but that's me being ADHD and not the book.

The ending made me crave more. I want to know what happens next! *sigh*

5/5 Roses (for sure!)

Check out a sneak peak over at Romantic Times.