What did I think about The Dark Divine? Check yesterday's post. {link}
DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ
THE DARK DIVINE!
THERE IS NO WAY TO REVIEW A SEQUEL WITHOUT SPOILING THE FIRST BOOK/S! Unless you like being spoiled, then by all means go ahead. But don't complain to me! Now, if I spoil The Lost Saint for you, THEN you can complain. :P
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Title: The Lost Saint {goodreads}
Author: Bree Despain
Publication: 01 March 2011
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Source: Publisher for review
Age: 14+
Age: 14+
Pages: 410
My Rating:
Summary:
A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.
Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.
Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger - in more ways than one.
Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her - not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.
Bree Despain delivers sizzling romance and thrilling action in the heart-pounding sequel to the The Dark Divine.
My thoughts:
In fact, The Lost Saint thrilled me right from the beginning. Readers who have had to wait a year for the sequel will easily be able to relocate themselves in the mind of Grace; Despain reintroduces all of the characters and the situations at hand in a "In the last episode of..."-kind of way.
In the first chapter we have Grace and Daniel training together. If you'll recall, Grace got bitten by Jude, Grace's brother, at the end of The Dark Divine, and Daniel is cured of the wolf curse. The relationship between the two seems stronger than ever at this point, until it suddenly begins to weaken. Daniel avoids Grace, and as the reader I took Grace's side and was hurt along with her, wondering what happened. Despain's writing style allowed me to assume Grace's perspective while also being able to take a step back and see Grace's own faults and naivety.
All of the characters in The Dark Divine (that made it to the end) reappear in The Lost Saint. Grace remains a pretty genuine character that I couldn't help liking. Although a hypocrite and naive and whiny at times, I thought that her rationale was reasonable. She grabs onto her newfound powers, deeming her overly confident and dangerous. It was easy to understand her though. Daniel, however? I felt just about as uncertain and hurt as Grace did whenever he just wouldn't tell her what he was up to. Jude (spoiler?) just lets me down big time.
Redemption is the word though, as every character gains some opportunity to reclaim my trust at the end. Except for Jude. He's just pathetic in my eyes now. Hopefully in the next book he can gain some of his dignity back. Despain's new characters are just as interesting as her old ones and I found myself wanting to know more about them. I will leave them to YOU to discover, because a lot of the fun of this new book is the mystery revolving around those characters.
[SPOILER?]
I love the relationship between Daniel and Grace. Although half of the book was kind of just a runaround between the two, I loved them when they get together at the end. What a romantic revelation. Although it had potential to be sappy and cheesy, I just soaked it all in and even now it is one of the most momentous things in this book.
[/SPOILER?]
The Lost Saint brings on a new dimension to the werewolf and other creaturely mythology, one that is REALLY well thought out. Fact: I loved and enjoyed this even more than The Dark Divine. BY THE WAY!! THIS cover ALSO bears significance to the plot! And the title! Once I'd read the book, just like with The Dark Divine, I just thought OHHHHHH!!! Hehe. And I just can't wait to read on because there are so many loose ends and I just can't wait to see them unfold!
Quotes:
""Do what he wants, and you might survive," a harsh voice said into the boy's ear before he felt a sharp blow to the kidneys. He fell forward onto the concrete, his arms splayed out in front of him."
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THIRD BOOK TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT
I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.
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Links:
Official Site
THIRD BOOK TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT
I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.
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