by Bree Despain Dedication: "For Brick-- Because we both know that you practically deserve a byline in this book. Thank you for always inspiring me. Always, Bree"
First paragraph: "He knew me too well. Read the writing on my heart. He knew exactly what it would take--For me to embrace this savagery."
Review: As always, since this is the third book in the trilogy, I'd suggest reading The Dark Divine first, quickly followed by The Lost Saint before reading any more of this review. Spoilers for the first two books lie below.
Grace, Grace, Grace. She's had quite a year--much more than any high school student should have to deal with, really. She finally cured Daniel just to lose him to the White Wolf. She's desperate for a cure and she's constantly battling with her inner wolf to stay the kind, good-hearted person she's always been. This book takes you through that journey and what a journey it is.
Oh, Grace. She's come a long way. Even still, first-half-of-the-book-Grace was driving me crazy; although, I think that was sort of the point. Luckily, she became a bit more tolerable and things went up from there. There were a few times I cringed at her behavior but, all in all, I can't say I'd react any differently if I'd been in her shoes.
Hands down, the worst thing about this book was the editing. Maybe it was just the ebook version (not sure how/if it differs from the print version) but it was awful. I would understand a few misplaced commas or a periods, that's fine. But this was beyond that--to the point where it hindered my immersion in the story. Someone really needed to do a better job. I guess that's a good thing for Despain though--the worst part of the book wasn't her doing.
On the opposite spectrum, in my opinion, the best part of this book was probably the character growth. Like I said before, Grace was driving me crazy for half the book but she finally came around and was able to make some changes. She became a better person, and in turn, a much more likeable character. Her growth throughout the series is easily seen and she makes a great female protagonist.
As I'd stated in my review of The Dark Divine, the story did still had a few minor parallels to the Twilight Series but it's separated itself enough at this point that I can say Despain really did go her own way and make it her own and, unlike the final battle in Breaking Dawn, [SPOILER .. sort of] ...... there was actually a battle. A fairly big one.
Finally, I just wanted to talk about about my love for the importance that Grace places in religion and how it tethers her to her reality. It's important to her and she never wavers from that. It's nice to have someone firm in their beliefs despite the things that are thrown at her--and there is a lot that's thrown at her throughout the series.
If you've read books one and two, you definitely need to go pick up The Savage Grace. If you haven't read those, get on it. Now that the trilogy is complete there shouldn't be anything holding you back!
Click here for Bree Despain's OFFICIAL The Dark Divine Trilogy website.
No comments:
Post a Comment