The Lost Saint (A Dark Divine Novel, Book Two)

by Bree Despain

Dedication: "In loving memory of Mildred Coy Rane. I don't know how much you cared for my fantastical stories of werewolves and demon hunters, but you were always supportive and proud. I miss you daily. You're granddaughter, Bree"

First paragraph: "'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 spayed out in front of him."

Review: If you haven't read The Dark Divine yet, spoilers lie ahead. Tread carefully if you dare.

Grace made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel. She became infected with the werewolf and lost her brother in the process. Now, her family is falling apart and the only thing she has to hold on to is Daniel and their love for each other. Unfortunately, Grace is desperate for the normalcy her life used to hold and she longs to see her brother again. As hopelessness starts to set in she meets and befriends Talbot. Clinging to Talbot's promises of the Hounds of Heaven and becoming who she was meant to be, the two grow closer; however, as her relationship with Talbot grows, her relationship with Daniel starts to crumble. Before she knows it she's losing herself and all she's been fighting for.

I was a bit harsh with the first book in the series. It seemed like a re-make of Twilight except with Werewolves as the main bad guys instead of vampires. I did enjoy the over all story but there were a few things that I couldn't quite forget about. Grace Divine's name being one of them. I still think that Despain pushed the irony/symbolism a bit too far with that one.

Anyway, as far as Book Two, The Lost Saint, is concerned - I loved it. It became it's own book. It stepped away from the Twilight parallels and branched out into something that could stand on it's own.

Talbot is a great character - you get to be with him from moment one of his friendship with Grace. It makes her relationship with him easier to comprehend, as opposed to the relationship she has with Daniel that was forged years before these books take place. Seeing the feelings and relationships develop right in front of your eyes makes them so much more real.

I was, however, able to better appreciate the Grace/Daniel relationship in this book. They're in love. We already know that when the book starts, so we just accept it. The events that transpire throughout the rest of the story are things that build or destroy a relationship and the reactions to those events were realistic. I approve of the direction Despain took it in. Especially considering the age of the main characters.

Finally, let's talk about the plot. It took me awhile to read the book but that was my own fault. Everytime I picked up the book I had a hard time putting it down, getting it open that was the hard part. Had I not been busy with other life stuff, I'm sure I would have had it read in 2 days. There are a lot of twists to the plot but you'd probably be able to guess what they are about fifty to seventy-five percent of the time. Despite that, I still found it very gripping and entertaining.

Until I read the last page.

Yeah, this book is one of "those" books. You know, the ones that end without actually ending. Pet Peeve of the century!

Book 3 comes out in December of 2011 and I've already added it to my list of books I'm anxiously awaiting. Thefore, I think it's safe to assume I would definitely suggest reading this series but I might suggest waiting until Book 3 has been released so you don't have to go, "WHAT!" as you read the last paragraph.

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