Tour This or That List & Giveaway: Where it Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

I am participating in the tour for Where it Began and today author Ann Redisch Stampler is here to share her This or That list with us. 

I was lucky enough to get 2 ARCs of Where it Began so be sure to sign up below for the chance to win a copy! 

THIS OR THAT

Peanut Butter or Chocolate

Chocolate. Oh my God, chocolate. I just ate leftover chocolate raspberry birthday cake for lunch.

Coffee or Tea

Mostly tea. Irish breakfast and green.

Writing in quiet or Writing with music

Mornings, maybe music. Night, absolute quiet.

Organized or Cluttered

Aspire to organized. Not entirely successful

Spontaneous or Planner

With writing, in the beginning stages, it has to be spontaneous. No outline. Can’t force anything. Then when I have hundreds of pages of disjointed chapters, and vast numbers of disembodied sentences, lots of catch-up planning.

Beach or Mountains

Beach. I grew up in Santa Barbara. Beach!

Comedy or Horror

Comedy. There’s more than enough naturally occurring horror in the world without cultivating it.

Geek or Chic

I am so chic. Don’t laugh. (There are certain articles of clothing Gabby makes fun of in the book that I actually own.)

Adventure seeker or Couch potato

Adventure seeker. Aspirationally. Unfortunately, writing involves a tremendous amount of sitting on a couch. I actually write on a couch.

Early bird or Night owl

Insomniac. I’m just always up. 

 

Where it Began by Ann Redisch Stampler
Publisher: Simon Pulse (March 6th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 384 pages

Sometimes the end is just the beginning.

Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. But when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was a the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there.

And Billy's nowhere to be found.

All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.

It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.

Especially if it means everything changes.

Prize: 

• 1 winner will receive an ARC of WHERE IT BEGAN. 

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter. 
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends March 12th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter. 

 Website      |      Goodreads      |      Twitter       |      Facebook

Amazon      |      Barnes & Noble      |      The Book Depository

Cover Reveal: Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas

Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Date: November 13th, 2012

Series: Luminosity #1

Add it to Goodreads 

Summary: 

My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings. And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t been the same since.

The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the Dreamcatchers, but I’m finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.

But the enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I’m falling in love with him. He says they’re coming. He says they’re angry. And I think I’ve already helped them win.

Cover reveals are so much fun and here is another book I immediately added to my TBR list. What do you guys think? Are you excited for this one?  

Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon

Tour Guest Post: Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo

Kate Klimo is here to talk about her novel Daughter of the Centaurs. She will be sharing with us the journey she took while creating the world inside the story.

Daughter of the Centaurs took an incredible amount of world-building. Can you tell us what that process was like, how you organized the material, and what you hoped to capture when describing Malora’s world?

The fact that there were so few centaurs in the literature inspired me to want to tackle centaurs. World building is an exhaustive and exhausting process. Who knew? I’m sure some writers start from inside their characters’ heads and work outward from there to build up an external reality that’s an extension of the characters’ consciousness. I felt I needed to start from the outside and work in. 

The first order of business was to create a history leading up to the present action. In world building, context is everything and isn’t history the ultimate context? So I started by researching centaurs, in art and myth. Those results mystified and even slightly terrified me. Except for the wise centaur named Chiron who taught the healing arts to Hippocrates (father of modern medicine), most of the centaurs were pretty rough trade. They were rock-chucking, stick-wielding, meat-eating, booze-swilling lusty boors. Another mystery was that they were all dudes. There were no women and no children. These dudes were real pieces of work: wedding crashers who liked to run off, not only with the bride, but also with all the female guests. Real dream guests, right? 

This depiction baffled me. Since the days of cavemen, humans have enjoyed a close bond with horses. So what made this human-horse hybrid so repulsive and savage? Was it digestive difficulties that made the centaurs so rowdy? Seriously! Horses have very sensitive stomachs. A creature that ate like a human and digested like a horse might be permanently dyspeptic and downright surly. Maybe a steady diet of red meat and brandy made them nuts. So that’s where I started. I wrote the centaurs a shady, tumultuous history as rock-chuckers and rapists. It was the centaurs’ raid of one of the last human settlements of Kamaria that resulted in nearly wiping out the human race. Then a wise centaur named Kheiron (homage to Chiron) came along and converted the centaurs from savagery to gentility. No booze, no tobacco, no stimulants, no red meat. The converted centaurs erected a monument to the humans they had murdered and took over their town, calling it Mount Kheiron in honor of the patron. This gave the centaurs not only a religion but also a code of ethics and conduct. In order to stay on the straight and narrow, centaurs adhered to the teachings of Kheiron. They eschew stimulants, spirits, and the eating of meat and revere the works of the hand. All their efforts are dedicated to overcoming the Beast Within. I liked the idea of high-stepping, refined, fastidious centaurs. In early drafts, my editor said I was making the centaurs too effete. “They can’t all be that sissified,” she said. That gave me the idea of creating social strata within Mount Kheiron, with a working class that was more earthy and practical, as compared to the more leisurely patricians. The present action begins when Malora shows up. Not only is she a freak, a biped in a virtually quadrapedal society, but she is also a living (and uncomfy) reminder to centaurs of their less than savory past. 

Somewhere around the second draft, with the introduction of Honus the faun and the Leatherwings, it became clear to me that this was not a fantasy set in an alternative world inspired by our mythic past, as I had originally thought, but a far distant future world peopled by human-created hybrids who had turned upon and destroyed their creators, the humans. (Thank you, Mary Shelley!) I loved the variety of hibes that were possible. Like the Mos Eisley canteen scene in Star Wars, it offered a too-too tempting opportunity to play not just with human-horse combinations, but with other mythological hybrids as well, along with more freaky crosses, like bat-human, sheep-human, etc. As the second book opens up to the world outside of Mount Kheiron, these other hibes come more into play. 

At the same time as I was figuring out the centaur society, I had to figure out what it must be like to actually be a centaur. If humans have a mind-body split, how much more radical must centaurs’ be? How did it feel to be half horse? How did they go to the bathroom? What was their furniture like? Stairs would have to be shallow, doorways generous, and furniture very sturdy. I think I gave them the Twani, the half-cat servant class, because I thought they would need tiny, spry helpers, given that even the most graceful of centaurs would suffer from a certain ungainliness. The end result of all this thinking, I hope, is a world that is fascinating and unique.

Thanks for having me on your blog!

Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo
Publisher: Random House (January 24th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 362 pages
Series: Centauriad #1

Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.

Kate Klimo has masterfully created a new world, which at first seems to be an ancient one or perhaps another world altogether, but is in fact set on earth sometime far in the future.

 Website    

Amazon     |       Barnes & Noble

Follow the tour

2/20 Tynga’s Reviews

2/21 Insatiable Readers

2/22 Taking it One Book at a Time

2/23 Literary Escapism

2/24 Total Bookaholic

 

2/25 Livin’ Life Through Books

2/27 The Children’s Book Review

2/27 LitFest Magazine

 

2/28 Bibliophile Support Group

2/29 The Compulsive Reader

3/1 Sea of Pages

Tour Guest Post & Giveaway: Trafficked by Kim Purcell

Kim Purcell has stopped by today to share the scary statistics of human trafficking. Her novel, Trafficked, explores the life of a girl in one of these situations.


Sign up below for a chance to win a copy.

When I first learned about the scope of modern-day slavery, I knew I had to write a novel about it. I couldn’t believe that someone could do that to another human being, especially in westernized countries. So, I wrote TRAFFICKED, about a girl who comes from Moldova to America to be a nanny and ends up a modern-day slave.

People often want to know what the stats are behind modern-day slavery and sadly, due to the nature of this crime, it seems nobody knows. The stats vary greatly, depending on who’s reporting them. The biggest reason is that it’s such a hidden crime. Modern-day slaves are disposable. If they manage to escape, they have a lot of incentives to stay hidden. They fear their captors. They fear the government. Often, they come into a country illegally and they fear imprisonment and deportation. Maybe their family members have been threatened. Sometimes they’re ashamed. So they never come forward. This is why it’s difficult to get exact numbers.

In any case, here are some stats, which most people agree upon, though they have all been disputed by different NGOs and government organizations. 

This information can be found in more detail on two anti-trafficking organization websites: Stop Child Trafficking Now: sctnow.org and Free the Slaves: freetheslaves.net. If you’d like to learn how to help trafficked teens, go to my website: http://kimpurcell.com/Help-Trafficked-Teens

The Stats:

Child/Human Trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Child/ human trafficking is the world’s second largest criminal enterprise, after drugs. U.S. State Department
 
The global market of child trafficking is over $12 billion a year with over 1.2 million child victims. UNICEF 

The average age of entry for children victimized by the sex trade industry is 12 years. U.S. Department of Justice

Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50% are minors.  U.S. State Department

Research conducted with Free the Slaves found documented cases of slavery in over 90 cities in the US.

Human Slaves are cheap. In 1850 the average slave cost $40,000 in today’s money, presently a slave costs an average of $90.

In its 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade is estimated to have shipped up to 12 million Africans to colonies in the West. Free the Slaves estimates that the number of people in slavery today is at least 27 million.

600,000 – 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50% are children, most are female. Most of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade.  U.S. Department of State, 2004, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, D.C. 

14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. U.S. Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons 

Based on hundreds of cases that filter through their agencies, advocates estimate that domestic workers account for about one-third of the total. In other words, about 5,000 migrant domestic servants take jobs each year in homes where they are highly vulnerable to abuse by their employers.

There have been only 100 prosecutions for involuntary servitude or labor trafficking since the passage of the 2000 anti-trafficking law. US Justice Dept.

Trafficked by Kim Purcell
Publisher: Viking Children's Books (February 16th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 352 pages

A 17-year-old Moldovan girl whose parents have been killed is brought to the United States to work as a slave for a family in Los Angeles.

Prize: 

• 1 winner will receive a copy of TRAFFICKED. 

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter. 
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends March 10th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

 Website     |      Goodreads     |      Twitter      |      Facebook

Amazon      |       Barnes & Noble     |       The Book Depository

Interview & Giveaway: Eden by Keary Taylor

The wonderful Keary Taylor is here to share with us some news about her book Eden, the bind-up of her Fall of Angels series, and her newest book being released soon! 


She has also offered up a copy of Eden for one lucky winner!

1. You've had some fabulous news lately. Would you like to share that with everyone and tell us what your first reaction was after you heard? 

So, that fabulous news is that KK&P has acquired the film rights to my dystopian EDEN!  Mark Morgan, who produced The Twilight Saga is the producer as well as Kami Garcia, co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series!  It was amazing to hear from them and that they loved Eden!  It all just didn't feel real when they first contacted me and said they wanted it!  I kept waiting for someone to say "Just Kidding!", lol!  It's all an amazing time, and I couldn't be happier with how things have been progressing toward the big screen!

2. Your Fall of Angels series has been very popular and is now available as a bind-up of the entire trilogy. What do you think was the biggest key to your success?

Oh man, honestly I don't really know!  I want to say it's because I've written a fantastic story, but really it's my readers who have to say that!  I think I just published at a great time, e-readers have gone crazy and the genre I write in is huge right now.  And I just have some really fantastic readers who are incredibly supportive.

3. Your new book What I Didn't Say is very different from your previous novels. Can you tell us a bit about the book and the characters Jake, and Samantha? 

It really is a lot different for me.  I'll be honest, when I got the idea for it, I was terrified to actually write it.  It's a YA contemporary that's based on a boy who becomes mute after an accident.  It's a story that has to be handled very carefully because it is based on a lot of real experiences and stories, many of them my own.  It's also different for me considering it's told from the point of view of a 17 year-old boy, Jake Hayes.  He's a really great kid who has a lot of amazing support around him during this difficult time, and Samantha Shay is a part of that.  Maybe after all that's happened to him he'll have the guts to tell her what he didn't say before the accident ;)

4. Do you have any other projects you are currently working on?  

How do I answer this... umm... maybe?  Haha.  I have a few things that are really up in the air right now, depending on how things play out.  I'm afraid I can't say anything more that than.  How's that for cryptic?  But I do have an idea for a YA science fiction I hope to start on once I finish What I Didn't Say.  Not dystopian, but very hard core sci-fi.  Think along the lines of The Matrix.  I am beyond excited to start on it!  As of right now I'm thinking it will be a trilogy.

Eden by Keary Taylor

Published: June 6th, 2011

Reading Level: Young Adult

Paperback: 408 pages

Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She's seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn't just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve's reality.

In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior.

The technology wants to spread and it won't stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.

Fall of Angels: The Complete Trilogy by Keary Taylor

Published: November 29th, 2011

Reading Level: Young Adult

Paperback: 752 pages

Plagued by nightmares of angels all her life, but left with the scars to prove they’re more than dreams, Jessica has hidden herself away from the world on the shores of Lake Samish, Washington. But when caring but almost too-perfect-to-be-true Alex, and beautiful yet terrifying Cole enter her life, everything about Jessica’s world is about to change. She’ll learn that the angels aren’t content to stay in her dreams any longer and they’ll do anything to drag her into their world. The lines between right and wrong will be blurred as she fights to cling to the life she’s built and the love she’ll find.

Prize: 

• 1 winner will receive a copy of EDEN. 

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter. 
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends March 7th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

Website      |       Twitter       |       Goodreads       |       Facebook

Amazon      |      Barnes & Noble      |     The Book Depository

Interview & Giveaway: Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

Debra Anastasia is here today to talk about her adult title, Poughkeepsie. I've read this book and I just gotta say...WOW! It's incredible! 

Debra has been kind enough to offer up a great giveaway (sign up below) for US and International readers.

Poughkeepsie has a very emotional plot. Can you tell us what inspired this story and the main characters?

The plot was very organic. Actually, I originally thought the whole story would take place on the train station platform. So it would have been centered on only the two lead characters. But when Blake takes Livia into his world, I knew we would meet some interesting people. Beckett was a scariest to write, I never knew what he was going to say next. Interestingly, the thought of a homeless hero harkened back to a trip to New York City with friends when I was a teenager. A homeless man approached us and asked for money for lunch. We walked past ignoring the beggar, as we were taught to do by our parents. I put my hand in my pocket and realized I had five dollars. I turned around and ran back and handed him the money. He looked up and smiled so big, it put tears in my eyes. When I got back to my group of friends they teased me for the rest of the day, but there was a connection when he had smiled at me. That gentleman made me realize that he was not something to avoid, but a person. So when writing a story about an impossible love, I remembered him and thought about that connection.

Did you have any images in mind when you were creating Blake and Livia or did you just start writing? 

I’m very visual when I write, so when I began writing about the train station, I picked the pretty one that is close to my in-laws. It’s the Rhinecliff station near Rhinebeck, New York. But when I thought about Livia’s commute, the commuter train doesn’t come all the way to Rhinecliff from the city – its last stop is Poughkeepsie. I was very relived when we drove by the Poughkeepsie station and I remembered how gorgeous it was.

The tattoo the three main boys have became a real symbol for their brotherly connection. I have two designs, one by Steve Zap and the other by Shannon Lumetta. I loved the tattoo so I was thrilled when it was placed on the cover of Poughkeepsie. Four readers have actually gotten the tattoo on their real bodies! I’m going to have to do something really special for them. I guess I’ll have to get it too as soon as I find my courage. One of the things I did for fun was have the tattoos made into temporary tats. So I’ve worn both designs, technically. I toss a few in as swag for anyone that gets their book or bookplate signed. (There are a few tats in this giveaway!)

The other huge symbol for me is the Cardboard Piano that Blake carries with him. I loved how a simple piece of cardboard could mean so much. When I was preparing to make the trailer, (with tremendous help from my author friend Carol Oates) I looked for pictures of a keyboard drawn on cardboard everywhere on the Internet with no luck. Then I decided to stinking make it myself. My husband drew the keys on and we took it to the train station for some pictures. Now, the piano is on a world tour! Readers are sending it to one another and taking pictures. It’s adorable and really fun.

So as far as actors in my head, I pictured Jonas Armstrong as Blake Hartt (the music clef in the tattoo). I fell for him in the BBC version of Robin Hood. He’s got a great, deep smolder:

For Cole Bridge (the cross), my tortured, would-be priest, I found Jesse Williams was a perfect fit. His eyes look endless and deep, just like Cole.

And for Beckett Taylor (the knife), the big ol’ pimp, I’ve got Daniel Conn picked out. Actually, he’s not an actor but a rugby player. Half of the images on Google have him with a bloody face, so he’s even more perfect. I would have never found him if it wasn’t for my friend Jess at Book Passion for Life! She showed me a picture and I was sold.

 Bookaholic ETA: "HOLY CRAP. He's hot!"

Can you share with us a few of your favorite lines from the book? 


Sure! I’ll find some clean ones for you.

“When you saw me? You saw me. And then you smiled at me like I was the same as everyone else on that platform.” (From Blake)

“It was like he’d just discovered fire, and she was the main ingredient.” (From Cole)

“Blake took her face in his hands. “You let me touch you. Kiss you. Your skin? It feels like piano keys. My hands know just where to go.” (Blake again)

“You make the rest of the beautiful things in the world cry for even trying at all. You make it hard for me to breathe.” (awww, from Blake)

Beckett’s quotes are too dirty for primetime, but he has some great one-liners.

Are you currently working on any other books we can look forward to seeing?

Yes! I’m currently writing my first book’s (Crushed Seraphim) sequel. Then I have a few I’d really love to get to. I have a superhero story and a hotel romance banging around in my head. I’ve had a few requests for a Poughkeepsie sequel, so I’m hashing out a plot for that one as well.

Thank you so much Jessica for having Poughkeepsie and I on your blog!

Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia
Publisher: Omnific Publishing (November 22nd, 2011)
Adult: 17+
Paperback: 384 pages

He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him—just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he’s homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day.

Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe.

When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she's surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it’s not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives.

Blake’s heart beats for Livia’s, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right? 

Prize: 

• 1 US winner will receive a copy of Poughkeepsie, 2 temp. tattoos, a train schedule, and a bracelet!

• 2 INTERNATIONAL winners will receive the ebook copy.

Rules:

• You must be at least 17 to enter. 
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US/International and ends March 5th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

 Website     |       Twitter     |      Goodreads      |       Facebook      |      Blog

 Amazon      |       Barnes & Noble      |      Omnific

Cover Reveal: Inbetween by Tara Fuller

Inbetween by Tara Fuller

Entangled Publishing (August 7th, 2012)

Paperback: 400 pages

Series: Kissed by Death #1

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left...his soul.

Wow, this sounds so good! I can't wait to get my hands on this one. What do you guys think?

Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Inbetween-Tara-Fuller/dp/1620610833/ref=lh_ni_t
 
Add to your Goodreads TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055677-inbetween

Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 22nd, 2009)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 372 pages
Source: Won from author
Series: The Dark Divine #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

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.

Review:  I don't know why I waited so long to read this. I'm a big werewolf fan and this is a book I have wanted to read for a long time. The Dark Divine is from Grace's POV. She is a "good girl" with a loving family and her father happens to be a pastor. But, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. 

Grace recalls the odd events that happened around the time her childhood friend Daniel disappeared. Suddenly, Daniel is back and he isn't exactly the same person who left 3 years before. Grace's family is desperate for her to stay away from him but she can't. She is determined to have him in her life and to find out why he went away. 

I will say that nothing in particular about this book blew me away; however, it was a very well-rounded story. I enjoyed the characters. I never wanted to put the book down and I had no idea where the plot would take me. Grace was a good girl but she took a lot of risks. Daniel was just fascinating. I was curious to find out more about him because he started off as being very closed off and sad. 

Another aspect of the story I really enjoyed was the fact that Grace's family was a critical part of the plot. That is often rare to find in YA books so I liked the fact that we get to know her father, mother, and older brother on a deeper level. It also allows the readers to see why Grace is who she is. 

With Daniel's arrival, a lot of bad things start happening around town and people are blaming Daniel. Grace knows something evil is out there but she just can't believe Daniel would be the one causing the problems. The plot in this story was very creative and mysterious. I honestly didn't know what would happen and I was completely surprised many times. 

Bree Despain is a fabulous author and The Dark Divine series is one that easily hooked me. Everything about this novel helped to bring the story to life and Bree's writing made me an immediate fan. 


Recommended: In case anyone hasn't read this so far -- paranormal/werewolf fans who like a good mystery.

 Website      |       Goodreads      |       Twitter      |     Blog

 Amazon      |       Barnes & Noble     |      The Book Depository