Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Title: The Dark Divine
Author(s): Bree Despain
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 384
Publisher: EgmontUSA

The Summary: A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

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 really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel'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.

--Summary from author's website

The Review: I inhaled this in half a day, egged on by the fact that I had limited time to read this before ninefly left, taking her books with her. I'm glad I felt the pressure in finishing off this book, because this novel, as much as I love it, has some serious pacing issues, going too slow in some parts and too fast at other points, so I may have been tempted to slow down or even stop my reading before I got to the good parts.

What I was most amused by in this novel was how... very South Korean melodrama it was. Seriously, it was following the Kdrama formula to the letter, to the point where I was like, "hmm, if this were a kdrama I could basically see the general direction of the story omg it actually happened!!" I mean, we even got the adopted brother who's in love with the sister thing that Kdrama is so fond of, and disapproving in-laws! All we were missing (besides, ya know, starring any hot Korean celebrities), was some amnesia -preferably via car accidents- complications (though the missing or skewed memories thing came close) and a major character with terminal illness (interestingly enough, a minor character was very ill. Close, but no cigar) It almost made me wonder if our author here watches Kdramas but the likelihood of it is so minor that I'll just chalk it up to awesome, happy coincidence. This makes a possibly upcoming Chromatic Casting on this novel too easy. There was something terribly amusing about watching a very familiar storyline that I'm used to seeing on tv unfold in written narrative instead, especially from such an unexpected place.

The christianity allusions were basic enough and elaborated further in the novel for me to follow as a non-Christian, and I personally thought this aspect was handled nicely without banging our heads at the concept over and over. (Um, feel free to give me a different perspective on this. =D) I've seen some complaints about the reveal of the paranormal in the novel to be too sudden, but I dunno, I thought Despain did a fairly even job of dropping noticeable hints all around in the beginning. I do kind of see how we can criticize the accelerated paranormal reveals for being too fast as it is a sudden change of pace from the the first half, but as the second half of this novel with all its paranormal reveals was my favourite aspect of the novel, you aren't going to find me complaining about it here. =D I'd rather make the argument for sooner reveals! and more childhood flashbacks! instead. The story could have definitely been told in less amount of pages and be better off for it.

I love the characters and the romance not so much because they were strong on their own but more because of the fact that the type they represent just hits all my buttons. I'm a big, big sucker for childhood crush that gets separated and meet again in the future (I love kdramas for a reason, y'all). The characters by themselves were pretty much meh for me (I will admit, I was already making fun of the cast name from the first few pages alone. Grace Divine, really?), but slot them into this type of romance and toss in a few awesome paranormal reveals and you'll find me cheering for our characters with the rest of the fans. One thing I did like about it outside of the whole kdrama thing and the paranormal reveals was the whole skewed/missing memory thing Despain played with in the second half. Don't want to spoil it, but the reinterpretations of events past and present and skewed persepectives was a nice touch. The writing too was very nice. For instance:

It used to be a treasure box where Jude, Daniel, and I kept our special things like pogs, and baseball cards, and that strange long tooth we found in the woods behind the house. But now it was a small metal coffin -- a box that held memories I wish would die.

Simple imagery, but very effective, y/y?

Now, for some complaints beyond the pacing, lol. I wish that this novel showed us more of April, Grace's supposedly best friend. It's like, once April got hooked with a boy she completely disappeared from Grace's life. The book says they're friends but I rarely see them doing, you know, basic best friend things like sharing secrets or going to one another when they have problems. The only interactions I remember were just them oogling boys as potential boyfriends. So yeah, this book? Doesn't even come close to passing the bedchel test. It'd be nice to have more of these YA romance books wherein the girls don't ditch each other once they find the Love Of Their Lives. Also, this is one of those books with a "raceless" white default (as it, there's no explicit racial markers but everyone is described as pale, etc etc) but I really didn't expect anything less coming into this novel as YA paranormal romance set in some small white town with new kid in the block who may or may not have powers rarely bother trying to include diversity within the story narrative. Didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of this novel though, for what it's worth.

The Verdict: All in all, a very pleasant read of a good, if a bit flawed, debut book, and I can't wait for the sequel! Daniel/Grace is TRUE LOVE, TRUEEEEEE I SAY! ♥ I for one, am hoping for a more prominent role for April and more interactions that are totally unrelated to boys in general. (Er, hopefully I'm not hoping too much here, lol) And preferably better characterization and pacing next time. And, maybe a new book on just Jude's perspective? *coughs* Basically, what I'm saying is, WHERE IS MY SEQUEL. *shot*

Rating: 3/5
Enjoyment: 90% (loses some points for pacing issues)

Title and Cover Discussion: I do think the title is nice. I like the paradox between Dark and Divine and the alliteration. I um, just have to get over the whole Divine being the last name of a family of pastors, is all. *dies* But the cover just doesn't do it for me. It gives me a twilight-cover vibe, with the whole black background and the shiny bright object that doesn't correspond with the story at all. It'd be eye-grabbing if it weren't for the fact that there's already plenty of covers with this type of motif on the shelves. And it is another purple cover that seems to dominate the shelves this season without having anything interesting within the cover to make up for it. Also, er, her death-white (there's pale, and there's like, ash-white death looking pale) skinny legs kinda creep me out. Surely no legs can be that skinny unless you're anorexic? Instead of otherworldly imagery, the legs on the cover just look the legs of a sickly person who should be admitted to a hospital ASAP.

Title: B+
Cover: C

In My Mailbox - 02/14/2010

brief IMM post because I just got back from today's Chinese New Year celebrations. HAPPY NEW YEARS TO MY FELLOW ASIANS WHO ARE CELEBRATING! Also Happy Valentine's for those who celebrate that holiday, etc.

(meme by The Story Siren)



The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Thanks ninefly)
Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood (signed) + bookmark & letter (Thanks Tynga)
Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan (Borrowed from ninely)
A Million Shades of Grey by Cynthia Kadohata (Sent to me by Book Chick City THANKS SO MUCH.) *
The Serpent's Children by Laurence Yep
Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep
Mountain Light by Laurence Yep

Mwuahaha, I'm closer to collecting the whole Golden Mountain Chronicles series!! Also, haz The Summer I Turned Pretty. Also known as, ohmigawd it's Jenny freakin' Han. Same applies for Cynthia Kadohata, except, you know, amplified 10 fold.

* Finished it today. Soooooooooo good. And the saddest Kadohata MG story by far. (For those who know Kadohata, yeah, that is REALLY saying something)

In which I finally talk about that Dragon and the Stars Cover

You know, with the Lunar New Year coming up and everything, I almost didn't want to post about this because it hurts me and every time I work on my draft of this post it just comes out sad and angry and hurt and inarticulate, and I hate how just the sight of one cover can make me feel so small. But then, as it goes, I should try and clear out and clean up all the bad air before the coming of the New Years so.

There's a new anthology coming out called The Dragon and the Stars. It is suppose to feature SFF stories written by the ethnic Chinese diaspora. This is how the cover looks like. (I refuse to upload the image up here. Absolutely refuse.)

I can't - I can't even begin to tell you how much this cover hurts and frustrates me. WHY is a western dragon considered representative of a SFF short story collection of the Chinese diaspora WHY. I'm just so insulted that the cover makers thought that a stock western dragon will do because All Dragons Are The Same and of course if we had to choose between a "western" or an "eastern" dragon, a western dragon is gonna work better because obviously all western ideas can speak for cultures and people all over the world. FAIL FAIL FAIL. This isn't even like, the wrong dragon kind of problem (though that does piss me off. If we really needed a dragon to be on the cover, our dragons aren't good enough or something?), it's the whole notion that a stock image of a distinctively western cultural icon can be used to represent other cultures, that ASSUMPTION of its universality that angers and hurts me. Your dragons cannot take the place of our stories, and the thoughtless-ness of this decision to do so appalls and astounds me. I do not need stereotyped eastern dragon covers, nor am I asking for one. There are ways to make a cover that represents the Chinese culture reflected in the stories without resorting to stereotypes, like the cover of Ying Chen's anthology A Banquet of Hungry Ghosts, for instance.

And you know, I may have carried on being angry and refusing to post, but then sometimes people are awesome and help heal wounds. Awesome, amazing people like Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who made a fancover for this anthology that made me smile and feel like I can try talking about this again and go, hey, here's a cover I'm willing to share with everyone:



DISCLAIMER: I did NOT make this cover allllllll credit goes to Silvia Moreno-Garcia

(I swear I'll have happy things to post about in this blog soon. Really! That giveaway post is comingggggg.)

Tuesday's Taste: A Girl Made of Dust + Guest Post on Justine Larbalestier's blog and other announcements

(Meme from Taste Life Twice)

lawl, I haven't done this in ages. But A Girl Made of Dust is turning out to be one of those books I keep reading over and over because the words are so deliciously beautiful. And I didn't get to shove in all the quotes I wanted to show in my review, so I thought I'd take advantage of this time to feature a nice select quote here in hopes of converting new readers.

I lay there listening to her. The brushing slowed to the speed of her song and blended into it. In the high parts, her voice was clear and wavered, but when she sang low, it came out rough and grainy as sand. It was a beautiful voice, and she was like a princess going round and round sweeping - round and round until one day something wonderful would happen, and then she'd sing all the time. (pg. 21-22)

GO. READ IT. I COMMAND YOU TO.

+

I didn't mention this before but the most esteemed Justine Larbalestier invited me to guest post on her blog. I wrote about The Importance of Diversity, and I put my heart out to write this particular post. Do consider checking it out, and I'd love to hear any and all commentary you wish to make on it.

+

Er, another thing I just realized I didn't mention on this blog. Susan, the mastermind behind Color Online has invited me to be CORA girl, aka a part of that blogging team! So I'll be there, posting stuff. Don't worry though, GAL Novelty is my baby and I won't consider abandoning this blog any time soon. Do check it out, and as today is Susan's bday, do considering going over here and wish her a good one! =D

+

According to my follower widget I now have 50+ followers!!! *throws confetti everywhere* I was thinking of ways to celebrate and then thought of a book giveaway contest that I'm really excited about hosting. Said contest will be up sometime this week, I promise.

In My Mailbox - 02/07/2010

(meme from The Story Siren)

I actually didn't buy any books this week, but two weeks ago I got books that I didn't get to post about because I was busy trying to finish off my January challenges, posting reviews and what not. Which I of course left all till the last minute and as January ended on a weekend I had to mass-write and post my entries and had no room to talk about the books I got. So I figure I'll remedy this error of mine this week instead! =D

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

"The Gift of Rain spans decades as it takes readers from the final days of the Chinese emperors to the dying era of the British Empire, and through the mystical temples, bustling cities,and forbidding rain forests of Malaya." In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton - the half-Chinese, half-English youngest child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families - feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who rents a nearby island from his father. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. As World War II rages in Europe, the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, and Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and he is forced into collaborating with the Japanese to safeguard his family. He becomes the ultimate outsider, trusted by none and hated by many. Tormented by his part in the events, Philip risks everything by working in secret to save as many people as he can from the brutality he has helped bring upon them.

I bought this solely on the recommendation of the most excellent Michelle. Besides, any book that takes place in Malaysia = MUST READ. ♥ I checked out the first few chapters and the writing was exceptionally lovely. Thanks for the rec, Michelle! =D

A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

A rich and beautiful novel set during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and based on the author's personal experiences of the conflict. Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling -- this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart. Ruba however has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her mother looks so sad that Ruba thinks her heart might have withered in the heat like a fig. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys -- and some of them have guns. When Ruba decides she has to save her father, and when she uncovers his secret, she begins a journey which takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. As Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, she realises that she may not be able to keep her family safe. This is a first novel with tremendous heart, which captures both a country and a childhood in turmoil.

I bought this on a whim and was hoping I could use it for the the January's theme of the Social Justice Challenge, which was Religious Freedom (... yes I was cutting the deadline reallyyyyyy close, but what matters was that I finished on time! =D). And it was AMAZING. Totally worth my money and I wrote up a long review for this novel, if anyone's interested. Or, of course, just go and buy it now. Trust me, it's worth it.

On My Wishlist - 02/06/2010 + Interview on Reading in Color

(Meme from Book Chick City)

Now, I usually just do Wishlist Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday, but some of these titles I'm way too excited about to bother waiting for next week to happen. So On My Wishlist it is!

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

+ Soooooo buying this. *marks April down on calendar* Seriously, this is literally the only YA debut novel with an Asian protagonist as far as I can tell. And that's pretty damn sad. (MG debuts fair a little better... As in, they have 2 titles instead of just one this year. Something tells me the other genres/categories of fiction isn't going to fair much better.) I could, you know, spend my time bitching about the lack of Asian representation, OR I could go and buy this novel. =D Besides, putting all that aside, there's mystery and LGBT content and it looks like this book will be epic. =D

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together.

+ I've been trying to avoid getting sucked into buying this novel, because I told myself, "Dude, you seriously do not need to get into epic fantasy right now. Epic fantasies suck out your soul." As in, once I get suckered in I can never leave. Such is the power epic fantasy wields over my being. But then I read her sample chapters on the author's site and got to the 3rd chapter and was like, "Damn, I can't say no to this novel anymore." SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 3: [I was a goner the moment our protagonist Yeine went up against a crazed god chocking another child-god and was like "Stop it!" and then the god's response was to eventually let go of the kid, and make out with Yeine. ♥ HOW CAN I SAY NO TO THAT?! Gawd, I'm shipping them already and the book isn't even out yet. *has a Thing for Messed-Up Star-Crossed Love*]. After reading the sample chapters, I was basically like "WOE, WHY IS THIS BOOK NOT IN MY HANDS RIGHT THIS INSTANT" and Feb. 26th can't come fast enough.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Jin Wang starts at a new school where he’s the only Chinese-American student. When a boy from Taiwan joins his class, Jin doesn’t want to be associated with an FOB like him. Jin just wants to be an all-American boy, because he’s in love with an all-American girl. Danny is an all-American boy: great at basketball, popular with the girls. But his obnoxious Chinese cousin Chin-Kee’s annual visit is such a disaster that it ruins Danny’s reputation at school, leaving him with no choice but to transfer somewhere he can start all over again. The Monkey King has lived for thousands of years and mastered the arts of kung fu and the heavenly disciplines. He’s ready to join the ranks of the immortal gods in heaven. But there’s no place in heaven for a monkey. Each of these characters cannot help himself alone, but how can they possibly help each other? They’re going to have to find a way—if they want fix the disasters their lives have become.

+ From the whole Amazon vs. MacMillan debacle (Scott Westerfeld has a good write-up of it here), I decided to comb through the YA POC books MacMillan published that I'd be interested in buying. And lo behold, this gem of a GN came up! I saw some of the strips online and it looks like a winner. Besides, I've been meaning to read some of Gene Luen Yang's comics for quite some time, and this looks like a good place to start off.

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

If Nina Khan were to rate herself on the unofficial Pakistani prestige point system – the one she’s sure all the aunties and uncles use to determine the most attractive marriage prospects for their children – her scoring might go something like this:

+2 points for getting excellent grades
–3 points for failing to live up to expectations set by genius older sister
+4 points for dutifully obeying parents and never, ever going to parties, no matter how antisocial that makes her seem to everyone at Deer Hook High
–1 point for harboring secret jealousy of her best friends, who are allowed to date like normal teenagers
+2 points for never drinking an alcoholic beverage
–10 points for obsessing about Asher Richelli, who talks to Nina like she’s not a freak at all, even though he knows that she has a disturbing line of hair running down her back
In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it’s possible to embrace two very different cultures – even if things can get a little bit, well, hairy.

+ Another MacMillan title I'd be interested in buying. If you read the excerpt you'll get what I mean. Very funny, from what I can see, and I heard good things in general about this novel. =D But don't take my word for it, read the excerpt for yourself.

ETA: lawl I almost forgot to link. Ari from Reading in Color interviewed me about this blog and you can read it here. I talk about myself in length, so I guess if you wanna know me a little better, you can go there. =D

Review: Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Title: Suite Scarlett
Author(s): Maureen Johnson
Genre: YA Contemporary Urban Comedy
Page Count: 353
Publisher: Point

The Summary: Her new summer job comes with baggage

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City, and Scarlett lives there with her four siblings - Spencer, Lola, and Marlene.

When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite in the once elegant, now shabby Art Deco hotel. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite, and a permanent guest called Mrs. Amberson.

Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler, and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps, and theatrical deceptions. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

--Summary from backcover

The Review: An amusing, addictive read, of the brain candy variant. I was bored and on the bus, so I figured I’d flip through a couple of pages to see where this novel was heading. Next thing I knew, my bus ride was over and I was practically running home so I could curl on my sofa and finish the last few chapters. I liked the narration and the one-liners. You know how there are some authors that strive to be quotable but end up just sounding like they’re trying too hard? Well, those authors must envy Johnson, ‘cause she makes her one-liner deliveries feel easy and natural, and sooooo quotable. Also, did I mention how funny it is? It’s one of those humourous books wherein the main character is the only sensible one, and dragged into adventures by crazy people (i.e. Mrs. Anderson and Spencer). Watching Scarlett stare at the crazies around her made me grin.

Which leads to my next point. I do like Scarlett quite a bit. She’s got this dry humour, and comes off as the sensible, no-nonsense one. However, as much as I approve of our Scarlett, the characters who stole the show for me were Mrs. Anderson and Spencer. I think this may because I have a weakness for the crazy. I was mostly fangirling Mrs. Anderson at first (she’s like, such a spoiled child and has OCD. Except she’s like, 50) but then Spencer just kept on being awesome and he went all valiant on Scarlett’s honour and thereafter millions of Spencer fangirls were born. (Those who’ve read the book will know what I mean. =D) All the characters in this novel were lively and charismatic, and fully developed to boot. Those who like their YA novels character-driven will lap up Suite Scarlett like honey. =D

I love the interaction between Spencer and Scarlett too! Their sibling banter makes me grin. Actually I just really like the whole family aspect in general. Not only are all the siblings are distinct and awesome, they also have this very real sense of sibling relationship going on too. It’s rare for me to find novels with more than three siblings in total (AND with all their parents intact!) and the fact that the sibling dynamics and rivalry felt so real was like icing to the cake. And what a glorious, sweet cake it was. Also, on the whole siblings note, I found the depiction of Marlene most fascinating. Marlene is our sickly, recovering-from-cancer youngest sister sibling of the lot. Normally, that would make Marlene our designated fragile, angelic and full of child-like innocence figure of the story. But no! Marlene is, get this, the evil one. How awesome is that? I love her. =D

Another interesting aspect about this novel was its strong sense of place. I felt like I was there with Scarlett in summertime New York City, and imagining the hotel the Martins (Scarlett’s family) owned came easy. ETA The direction and flow of the plot was seamless without ever missing a beat as we watched Scarlett's uproariously hilarious journey unfold. The novel ties up its loose ends fairly nicely, and I’m curious about how the sequel will pan out. As much as I enjoyed the family dynamics, we didn’t get to see Scarlett’s friends at all, so her return to the school year should be refreshing into the whole factor of introducing a different side of Scarlett’s life. ETA2: and hopefully the casting will be a bit more diverse. I'm closing my eyes a bit at the lack of diversity in this novel because it concentrated on Scarlett's family who was white, the crazy washed-up actress tenant and her love interest, who were both also white and I suppose any more major players in the cast would be a bit much. I can accept an all-white family cast with minimal outside-of-family interactions with only two other white people but if the SCHOOL is totally whitewashed and her friends are all white that would be a bit much. I mean, come on, this is New York City here. No excuse for lack of diversity. And speaking of the city, I’ll be interested in seeing how Johnson will choose to incorporate the city, autumn-style into the novel as well.

In short, a fun novel and the prospects for its sequels are pretty promising.

The Verdict: Fun novel with a cute premise, lively, colourful casts, and a breeze to read through. Recommended if you’re looking for a good laugh. I’m looking forward to the upcoming sequel and reading more about Spencer and Mrs. Anderson.

Rating: 4/5
Enjoyment: 100%

Title and Cover Discussion: The title is fun and sweet, and the cover, while at first just looks like your typical object cover, the NYC skyline on the key gives the cover that extra twist. It isn’t a cover that makes me go, “omg beautiful”, but it’d be interesting enough to get me to pick it up from the shelves and flip through a couple pages.

Title: B
Cover: B

Discussion Question for Readers: Who's your favourite character in this novel? Also, what are you looking forward to seeing in the Suite Scarlett sequel?