Review of The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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.

I didn’t like The Dark Divine by Bree Despain at first. I know, what a way to start off a book review right? To be honest, in the beginning it felt like a Christian fiction novel which is a genre I tend to avoid. I also did not like the love interest, Daniel, at first either. To me, he seemed like such an asshole and I immediately associated the word abusive with him.

Eventually, however, the Dark Divine won me over. I think when the book moved away from Grace, the main character’s religious background and into the real meat of the story, I began to become engrossed. Especially engaging was the backstory of Daniel’s family and the Urbat.

I thought the end of The Dark Divine by Bree Despain was perfect and left a decent wrap-up point with no real need for a sequel. I won’t spoil, and I know some will disagree with me, but I think the book ended on a great note, and I don’t really need to read about Grace’s new experiences.

Overall, Bree Despain’s writing is enchanting, and the Dark Divine is a piece of paranormal fun. It was a quick read, as in, I kept turning pages quickly. I liked her family, despite their myriad of problems. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book so much more if there was less of a religious aspect.

Although, reading the Dark Divine by Bree Despain makes me want to read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, just to see how they compare. The main characters of both books have the same name, Grace, and I feel like they share the same paranormal creatures. This is not to insinuate anything, I mean Grace is a lovely name, but I just want to see how they stack up compared to each other.

I would recommend The Dark Divine and a pumpkin spice latte. This is the second book I’ve recommended with a pumpkin spice latte, but it felt like such a fall type of a book, I just had to!

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Latest posts by April (Books&Wine) (see all)

• The Counselors by Jessica Goodman | Audiobook Review - May 13, 2025
• The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth | Audiobook Review - May 12, 2025
• Stay Awake by Megan Goldin | Audiobook Review - May 10, 2025