This is the final installment of the Dark Divine series. I just loved this series. Reading the last book made me want to go back and reread the first two books all over again. The reviews for the first two books are pretty short but I'll add those to the bottom of this review as well.
The Savage Grace by Bree DespainMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
*My original post about the cover of this book is at the bottom, after my review.
Wow, where do I begin? This was a great ending to a great series.
BUT... I'm a little on the fence about one thing. That one thing had a major impact on a few things.
I hovered my cursor at 5 stars but I couldn't do it, I couldn't give it the full 5 stars, because of this one thing...
I hovered my cursor to check my "favorites shelf" but couldn't. This is the first book in the series that is not on my "favorites shelf", because of that one thing...
I also hovered over my "loved it" shelf, which is reserved for books that I love but just not enough to deem them a favorite. But I couldn't even put it on my "loved it" shelf, because of that one thing.
I'm going to leave that thing for the end of my review though. First I just want to praise the book.
Bree Despain did such a great job of keeping this story moving. I don't think I have read 488 pages so fast in my life. I flew through this book. I loved that I didn't have to wait until page 400 for Grace and Daniel to reunite. I will say though, that for about the first 50 pages I would tear up just about every time she mentioned Daniel. But like I said, the story moved along quickly, the main focus was not getting Daniel back into his human form like I was SO afraid it would be. He actually came back a lot quicker than I was expecting. Another thing that I thought was cool, was how connected Daniel and Grace seemed to be. I loved that they could sense what each other needed. They had some sort of muted telepathy thing going on. I love that there wasn't anything in this book that came between Grace and Daniel. Their love was solid through the book. Well once Grace turned him back into a human, that is. I loved their bond, and you could feel their feelings for one another pour off the page whenever they had a chance to be alone together. It was refreshing to not have to worry about them splitting up, or question their loyalty to one another. Again, they were very solid.
I loved the new characters introduced. The lost boys. Loved all of them, and felt my chest burn when Brent died. I knew there were going to be casualties, but I really wasn't expecting Brent to be one of them. :(
Poor Jude. That guy just couldn't catch a break. I felt horrible for poor April who just wanted to love the kid even though he wouldn't really let himself fully love her back it seemed. I kept thinking that Jude was going to come back because although the spear was thrown out of hatred, Jude threw his body in front of it out of love. I was hoping that the final act of love would be enough to kill his wolf. :( But I guess it doesn't work that way, you can't be the one to skewer yourself, it had to be from the hands of someone who loved you. That part was just so sad. :( I didn't want him to die, I wanted Jude to be able to love himself again so he could love April who stood behind him throughout the whole series.
I kind of wish that there was an epilogue or something that skipped to Grace and Daniel's wedding day or something. It feels like there was still more to come. I didn't get a lot of closure with this ending. It just doesn't feel over for me. I got closure on most of their problems, but not on their relationship I guess. They were already engaged in the last book, so ending it with them getting engaged again just didn't do it for me. Maybe she is leaving it kind of open to write a novella, or possibly revisit the series later when Talbot decides to come back. I hope so.
Well since I seem to be winding down my praising, I guess I'll tackle the thing that has left me feeling unhappy.
That one thing that threw the whole book off for me was...
Nathan Talbot.
I'm so confused about this. Obviously I didn't want him to end up with Grace, I was definitely team Daniel. And I didn't want poor Talbot to join their pack and suffer every time he saw Grace and Daniel together, but dang it, I just hated what happened to him!
I could see it coming and I kept hoping I was wrong. I kept hoping that Grace would come to her senses and stop punishing him. I wanted Talbot to be forgiven, but she was so mean to him. And really, I didn't understand how she could be SO mad at him but forgive everyone else. She forgave her brother who turned her over to Caleb in the last book without showing any remorse at the time. Talbot tried to save her. He tried to prove himself over and over, he begged for Grace to give him another chance throughout the whole book and she just kept snapping at him and lashing out at him. Every time she did it I just wanted to hug the poor guy. The only reason I can think of, that Grace would feel his betrayal so strongly above every one else's is because she had feelings for him in the last book. She was attracted to him. Not like she was with Daniel, but maybe the fact that she did have romantic feelings for him made his lies hurt worse. I hate that Despain made us fall in love with him in the last book only for him to be the bad guy at the end of this one.
I just wanted Talbot to get a second chance and be forgiven. And so THAT is the reason I could not love this book, I can't say it is a favorite and I can't give it 5 stars. Because my heart broke for Talbot. I even hoped that at the end when he threw the spear, that Grace would have jumped up and shielded Daniel. I thought that was what was going to happen before Jude jumped in the way. I didn't want Grace to die, but I thought if Talbot saw that he almost killed her, maybe that would have been enough to break him of his hatred. Talbot could have thrown the spear, Grace stopped it with her body, and then as Talbot is crying because he thinks he just killed the only person he loves, Grace forgives him for everything and apologizes to HIM for the way she has been acting the past 2 weeks. That is how I would have liked for it to end. With Talbot being loved, even if it was just a friendship.
So now, Talbot is her nemesis, and there was absolutely no closure there. What happens next? Because it's left open in a way that makes me think there must be more to come because not everyone was defeated. Not that I want Talbot defeated. :( I want him to be happy too. Even after everything he did in this book, I still have a soft spot for him. GAK! I just hated this part of the story!
Alright enough. Moving on.
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FAVORITE QUOTES
"Okay," I said. "I think Katie's had enough partying for one night." I motioned for Slade to pick her up. "Take care of her, will you?" I asked him.
Slade looked down at Katie, still clinging to his legs, and then back at me. A stricken look crossed his face. He leaned toward me and whispered, "Um. To be clear, are you asking me to kill her and dump her body?"
~Grace and Slade
haha I loved Slade. I would have liked for him to play a bigger role. Oh well.
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(First review of cover before book was released. Posted November 2011)
First impressions of the cover
WHAT?! NO NO NO NO NO! The cover is all wrong! I loved the covers of this series. They were all so pretty, but this one is so wrong. Shall, I make a list of all the things so wrong with this cover? I think I shall.
~There is too much of the body showing, it's supposed to be from the hip down.
~The body is the wrong color. She is supposed to be pasty white, not peachy flesh-toned.
~The font is wrong. It's supposed to be a curly cursive and it shouldn't touch the body, it should be in the black.
~Bree Despain is supposed to be at the bottom and should be printed in the same color of the tulle.
~Speaking of color, that color red doesn't go with the other two books. It's the wrong color palette or something, it just doesn't match.
~Also, it looks like she is running away rather than laying down. I don't like it. I liked the uniformity of the other two books. This one just ruins it.
~The toenails are supposed to be painted NOT the fingernails.
Ugh, I know this is just a book cover, but this is really bothering me. I'm assuming that all these changes are supposed to represent Grace's growth or something in this last book. But I don't care. I would have liked the cover to have stuck to the guidelines set by the first two books. :( grrrr
Here are the first two books.
The Dark Divine by Bree DespainMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. I loved the mystery. It had me guessing through most of the book. I liked Grace, I liked that she laughed and joked. Too many times I think that authors forget to add a humorous side to their main character. But Grace made fun of herself and actually cracked some jokes throughout the book.
I also loved how Daniel was so patient with her after she learned the truth about him. I felt so bad when she kept telling him to leave.
I definitely will read this book again.
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OK I have a favorite quote from this book too.
"I tried to forget you," I admitted. "I tried to forget everything about you."
"You hated me that much?"
"No." I grabbed a branch and pulled myself up, my back still to him. "I missed you that much."
~Grace and Daniel
The Lost Saint by Bree DespainMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well at first I was not enjoying this book. It was moving kind of slow and I was so ready to find out what was going on with Daniel. He was very elusive and secretive, just like the first book. But the end saved the whole book for me, I loved it. When Grace and Daniel finally were honest with each other, it made the rest of the book worth the wait. I loved it. I also loved Talbot's part in the whole book. Despain made you like him, but question him through the whole book, and I just loved who he became at the end of the book. I also love that, although Grace was attracted Talbot, she never acted on it because even though her relationship with Daniel was a little rocky, her love for him never weakened. Now I can't wait to read the next book!
The good thing about this series is how Bree Despain doesn't let you get comfortable with their relationship. In the end of the first book Grace and Daniel end up together, but she didn't let you get comfortable with it in the second book. Loved it!
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