Forget any of the other YA offerings depicting paranormal creatures that you may have come across before and make room for a fantastic and refreshing new author and her debut book, The Dark Divine.
This book is going to prove to be a hard act to follow as Ms. Despain has delivered not only a compelling and emotional read but developed a new and exciting world that gives us a new option for young adults and old to devour.

Grace Devine had been brought up in a loving, religious family where her father’s sermons always intoned the teachings that you should never turn from someone in need no matter the circumstance. When Daniel returns to their lives after his sudden disappearance, she must wage a battle within herself to understand why her family refuses his cry for help and forbids her from giving him the help he needs.

Daniel has his secrets and although he tries to stay away from the young woman who captured his heart as a child, he is drawn to Grace and the beautiful young woman she has grown into. His terror that his past might hurt her is overwhelmed by the fact that he senses that she might be in danger from someone else she trusts and keeps him close by to protect her.

The two dance around the fact that there is something drawing them together as they find themselves rekindling the emotions that they had shared before Daniel’s mysterious disappearance. Grace still had no more details than she did the night that Daniel disappeared and her own brother who was Daniel’s best friend came home covered in his own blood. Befriending him again brings discontent to the family as her parents begin to fight, her brother begins to date her best friend and hide away from her, and a family friend begins to act more abnormal than ever within his delusions. Hearing of the attacks and deaths of a few people in the community puts everyone on alert and throws even more chaos into the mix when her baby brother goes missing during Thanksgiving dinner. When Daniel must decide whether to help save the little one or reveal his secret to Grace, he must trust in their love for each other to do the right thing. Grace and her family must now trust in each other to reveal all of their secrets as well before it is too late to save the ones they love. The ultimate gift of self sacrifice will determine their future but will it be in time for everyone involved?

I was enthralled with this book; it captured me from the start and I found it hard to put down to join the real world again until I was finished. Ms. Despain deserves the accolades that will undoubtedly follow with this first book and hopefully give her the recognition she deserves. The characters are intelligent, emotional, and totally believable as they deal with the unknown paranormal disturbance in their community and their home. I can’t wait for more in the lives of the Devine family as they deal with their problem and Grace and Daniel learn to accept and cope with the differences between them.

Book Stats:

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606840576
• ISBN-13: 978-1606840573

To purchase a print copy of The Dark Divine from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of The Dark Divine from Barnes & Noble click here.

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