Favorite Enemies
- A Little Sisterly Advice
- Cheeky Reads
- DRD aka Donna's Blog
- Gunner Marnee's Blog
- J.K. Coi: Living with Immortals
- Just Janga
- Killer Fiction
- Kimberly Killion
- Maggie Robinson
- Maureen O. Betita
- Megan Kelly
- Pam Clare
- Renee Lynn Scott
- Romance Bandits
- Romance Dish
- Scapegoat's Blogspot
- Smartass Romance
- Terri Osburn Writes Romance
- Tessa Dare
- Vauxhall Vixens
Blog Archive
Powered by Blogger.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
THE DIVINERS Is The Cat's Meow!
I've been a fan of Libba Bray's books ever since I read A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, which fortunately was the first of a lovely trilogy that was smart, suspenseful, evocative, and funny. The other two books in the trilogy were equally good. I'm seriously hoping there will be more books associated with this cast of characters in THE DIVINERS.
Here are my list of reasons why you should run out and read this book. Immediately.
1.) John Hobbes: he is the creepiest, nastiest villain I've read ever. I swear I felt he could exist now and it was almost a trial to sleep at night, wondering if John Hobbes was going to come through my door. But then again, he was associated with a religious cult, and I don't know about you, but serial killers with religious backgrounds ALWAYS creep me out more than the typical homicidal maniac.
2.) Evie O'Neill: a most hilarious young dame who is always looking for a good time. Her small town in Ohio was just...too tame for her, and through some fortuitous circumstance, she is sent to live with her uncle in New York City (at least until the scandal blows over in her hometown.) No sooner does she land in Manhattan than she starts new scandals. She's a pistol.
3.) Uncle Will: the sober uncle who runs the Museum of Creepy Crawlies (actually it's named something more formal, but everyone calls it the Creepy Crawlies...). This is an ideal place for Evie to live because she in fact is a special girl with special talents; and it's good she's in NYC because there are a lot of "talented" souls there, if you know what I mean.
4.) The Best Friend: Evie (or "Evil" as Theta calls her) can be a bit much, but her best friend Mabel is the breath of normality who balances out Evie. Mabel isn't in the current heel of fashion; she's not as rebellious or keen for adventure as Evie is. But like any good friend, she is right there with Evie when they go to jail.
5.) Jericho, Memphis, and Sam: the handsome heroes of the book. They've all got their own dark pasts, but you want to kiss them all. There's enough to go around!
6.) The New Best Friend (Theta): she's a Ziegfield girl and struck me as the glamorous Catherine Zeta-Jones friend we all have. She's more than just beautiful though--she's had a complicated life and watching it unravel in this book is a thing of wonder.
7.) All those dead bodies: You get to meet everybody--and you have a hard time figuring out where John Hobbes is going to go next or how the next "sacrifice" will be met. I found myself holding my breath at every killing, hoping against hope someone would get away.
8.) The spooky stuff: everyone's talents (many of them are diviners in some form or another), the story of John Hobbes, the cult, the haunted house, the widow of John Hobbes...there is spooky crap on every page. And you're going to want to read it as fast as you can.
9.) John Hobbes: I only mention him again because well, he shows up twice. The man will just not die. I told you this was spooky!
10.) Because I said so. And really that's the only reason you need.
Yes, it's another YA novel, but there's really nothing wrong with that when authors are writing YA novels as awesome as this.
Be warned: Evie (who's 17) is a bit of a drinker, and that might be a turn off if you're oh, a mother of a teenage girl...or an aunt who has nieces who are this age and probably just as willfully drinking at all hours. It's not that it's unbelievable, it's just that it's almost TOO believable.
Now I'm off to see if there will be more books to follow. I sincerely hope so!
What have you been reading lately that you're excited about?
Here are my list of reasons why you should run out and read this book. Immediately.
1.) John Hobbes: he is the creepiest, nastiest villain I've read ever. I swear I felt he could exist now and it was almost a trial to sleep at night, wondering if John Hobbes was going to come through my door. But then again, he was associated with a religious cult, and I don't know about you, but serial killers with religious backgrounds ALWAYS creep me out more than the typical homicidal maniac.
2.) Evie O'Neill: a most hilarious young dame who is always looking for a good time. Her small town in Ohio was just...too tame for her, and through some fortuitous circumstance, she is sent to live with her uncle in New York City (at least until the scandal blows over in her hometown.) No sooner does she land in Manhattan than she starts new scandals. She's a pistol.
3.) Uncle Will: the sober uncle who runs the Museum of Creepy Crawlies (actually it's named something more formal, but everyone calls it the Creepy Crawlies...). This is an ideal place for Evie to live because she in fact is a special girl with special talents; and it's good she's in NYC because there are a lot of "talented" souls there, if you know what I mean.
4.) The Best Friend: Evie (or "Evil" as Theta calls her) can be a bit much, but her best friend Mabel is the breath of normality who balances out Evie. Mabel isn't in the current heel of fashion; she's not as rebellious or keen for adventure as Evie is. But like any good friend, she is right there with Evie when they go to jail.
5.) Jericho, Memphis, and Sam: the handsome heroes of the book. They've all got their own dark pasts, but you want to kiss them all. There's enough to go around!
6.) The New Best Friend (Theta): she's a Ziegfield girl and struck me as the glamorous Catherine Zeta-Jones friend we all have. She's more than just beautiful though--she's had a complicated life and watching it unravel in this book is a thing of wonder.
7.) All those dead bodies: You get to meet everybody--and you have a hard time figuring out where John Hobbes is going to go next or how the next "sacrifice" will be met. I found myself holding my breath at every killing, hoping against hope someone would get away.
8.) The spooky stuff: everyone's talents (many of them are diviners in some form or another), the story of John Hobbes, the cult, the haunted house, the widow of John Hobbes...there is spooky crap on every page. And you're going to want to read it as fast as you can.
9.) John Hobbes: I only mention him again because well, he shows up twice. The man will just not die. I told you this was spooky!
10.) Because I said so. And really that's the only reason you need.
Yes, it's another YA novel, but there's really nothing wrong with that when authors are writing YA novels as awesome as this.
Be warned: Evie (who's 17) is a bit of a drinker, and that might be a turn off if you're oh, a mother of a teenage girl...or an aunt who has nieces who are this age and probably just as willfully drinking at all hours. It's not that it's unbelievable, it's just that it's almost TOO believable.
Now I'm off to see if there will be more books to follow. I sincerely hope so!
What have you been reading lately that you're excited about?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
16 comments:
Well, I just finished The Sherlockian...a mystery featuring Arthur Conan Doyle and his descendents. Not bad. Excited? Nah...but it was interesting.
This book you're read sounds like a cast of 1000s! Good thing if there are lots of bodies...
After your endorsement of 'Hunger Games' I trust you on this Hellie.
The audio books by Bray include 'The Diviners' and 'Beauty Queens' so I may have to toss a coin to decide. The cover of 'Beauty Queens' shows a gorgeous bikini clad beauty with a bullet belt hanging over her bosom .... God help any would be lotharios!
But then Evie in 'The Diviners' has a supernatural power which can help catch the killer.
Either sounds a suitable antidote to an excess of Christmas spirit!
I have a 2-audio book per month plan with Audible so this month I'm going with Robyn Carr's Christmas in Virgin River and one of Bray's books .... covers me for all possible moods. LOL
Thinking of Robyn Carr, I just bought 4 of her historicals which are on offer as e-books at the moment : By Right of Arms, The Blue Falcon, The Everlasting Covenant, The Troubadour's Romance.
Being a huge fan of her Virgin River books I'm quite excited to try these and at under £2.0 each they are irresistible
This book you're read sounds like a cast of 1000s! Good thing if there are lots of bodies...
Yes that is a bit worrying! Though remembering Mahler's 8th Symphony 'The symphony of a thousand', a large cast can work when controlled by a master! LOL
I've been trying to get Kiddo into Libba Bray but she's not biting yet. This weekend she decided she MUST read John Green. Another I've been telling her to read. Of course, she only decided to read it because her friends on Twitter and Tumblr talk about his books all the time.
I'm making her read this review tonight. Maybe she'll listen to Hellie since she won't listen to me. LOL!
I was fortunate to read Marn's first 50 pages and I also read Eloisa's latest Novella. Both well done! Finished Nancy Northcott's debut THE RENEGADE (which is AWESOME) and now I've started Tracy Brogan's CRAZY LITTLE THING.
Ha! Look at me. Readin' all sorts of stuff. ;)
*Wanders off to read first few pages of The Diviners* Looks promising! Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until I get it from the library or it's a deal. At $9.99 for the Kindle version, it's giving me sparky sticker shock.
Officially bailed (meaning it hit the Goodreads DNF shelf with a LOUD thud) on Life of Pi.
Currently reading Blood, Smoke and Mirrors by Robin Bachar. It's pleasant, but not exciting. Have a closure issue with Mark Halprin's A Winter's Tale. Been on page 67 for weeks, but haven't yet moved it to to DNF.
Picked up The January Dancer (space opera) by Michael Flynn and The Half-Made World (dystopic/steam punk) by Felix Gilman based on the first pages test (i.e., they passed). And they were deals, as with all the stuff on my Kindle.
Eagerly waiting for the second installment of a novel from a self-pubbed author I liked. But otherwise, low on the giddy when it comes to books.
I haven't read any YA lately and maybe I'm due for some good ones. I think I might check this out. :)
And thanks Ter, for saying that reading my first fifty made you feel fortunate. You're so kind (and generous). :)
I read a couple of Rachel Gibson's books. The Chinook Hockey ones. Pretty good. Ter made me feel like maybe I hadn't been reading enough good contemps a couple weeks ago. So, I dove into some. PRetty good stuff. :)
You know, Pat. Your comments alone are better than anything I've ever written. LOL!
But have you read WELCOME TO TEMPTATION?? I believe I made it clear that should have been next. :)
I gave Libba Bray to my daughter several years ago after reading so many positives reviews all over the net but she said it creeped her out. I still can't figure out where her reading tastes fall. At this point she's so busy reading "must reads" for school she doesn't have time for "fun reads".
I'm knee deep in Christmas books and novellas. It's always a hunt this time of year to find that one that gives me the warm fuzzies after reading it. I try a bunch of new ones and then inevitably go back to my Mary Balogh/Carla Kelly stash and re-read old favorites. LOL
Can't go wrong with WELCOME TO TEMPTATION, Marn! It's a good one. I was actually itching to re-read BET ME recently. I'll have to dig that one up.
"You know, Pat. Your comments alone are better than anything I've ever written. LOL!"
I seriously doubt that. (Tell your publisher to hurry it up with your book!)
I don't think the Welcome to Temptation comment was directed at me, but it reminded me that I need to read some mo' Crusie. Her weaker stuff is still loads better than some authors' best work.
Here's 2 Christmas ones for you, Irish.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe - http://tinyurl.com/b35ddtj
Christmas On Mimosa Lane - http://tinyurl.com/bxgspqj
Kiddo doesn't have much to read for school yet but I'm sure it'll get crazier when she hits high school next year.
Not til May, Pat. Trust me, it's killing me too. Good thing I have another book to write to keep me busy. LOL! And by all means, everyone read more Crusie!
I'd like another Crusie...maybe I'll peruse and figure out what I haven't read...
Bailed on Life of Pi, eh? Well, I remember when I was working in the bookstore and it came out and everyone was all agog. And I thought, eh. Interesting premise, but really, how to carry it off. The movie looks good, but part of that is the effects. Hell, this is me. Most of that is the effects!
Thanks, Ter. I was actually looking at CHRISTMAS ON MIMOSA LANE. It looked good and got a lot of good reviews.
You did mention Welcome to Temptation. I'm going to get to it. I found Crusie a little snarky for my wants and needs right now. I need it in smaller doses. *ducks, runs*
Run! Marn, run like the wind!
Guys, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to comment yesterday. I had Dad's last biotherapy treatment (chemotherapy-like), a few errands after by chance, and then a funeral visitation. I just sorta passed out by the time I got home, but thanks for making the blog chatter as much as it did.
@Mo, not quite a cast of thousands--there's a few people, but they're distinct enough you can keep them straight.
@Q, of course I vote for Diviners, but of course, see your appeal for Beauty Queens. (I tried to read that one and didn't get far. I think I prefer my creep-factor in a historical perspective than a contemporary one.)
@Terri, there are plenty of books you've recommended to me that I didn't finally read until someone else insisted--and VICE VERSA. *LOL* She'll probably come around, but I understand if Libba's voice isn't for her.
@P.Kirby, I did read my copy from the library. *LOL* Though I have been considering buying a copy for myself, but not sure yet. I'm running out of space to put books in my house.
@Marn, when I find contemporary books I like, I'm always so excited. It always seems easier to find historicals I like than contemporaries!
@Irish, Libba does write some creepy stuff. The Gemma stuff was particularly creepy. But then again, I sorta appreciate the thrill of the creep factor too. I won't watch horror films, but...
Post a Comment