Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (& an ARC Giveaway)

In honor of the upcoming (Dec. 28) release of Bree Despain's second Grace Divine novel, The Lost Saint, let's talk about the first one, THE DARK DIVINE...and at the close of the blog post, an ARC GIVEAWAY. 

THE OFFICIAL SCOOP: 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 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 boys' 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.

THE AUTHOR:  Bree Despain rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York.  She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Dark Divine was her first novel.

MY THOUGHTS: The Dark Divine is one of those Young Adult paranormals that makes me forget it's YA. It's just good storytelling about a group of characters I quickly came to care about, with high stakes and a satisfying payoff at the end. The suspense and play of emotions is intense without ever dipping into melodrama. I can't wait for the new one!

THE GIVEAWAY: I still have an ARC of The Dark Divine I'll give away to a commenter. (There's also still time today to win the ARC of Paula Brackston's upcoming release, The Witch's Daughter--see post below). As always, one entry for comment, +1 for blog follower, +1 for Twitter follower here @Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for tweet or retweet.