Reviews with content warning for War - The Diviners

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Diviners by Libba Bray

18 reviews

catbrigand's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is enchanting, atmospheric, and such a huge step up from Bray's Rebel Angels trilogy. Honestly the only reason it wasn't a 5-star for me is because it very easily could have been a standalone book and might have even been stronger for the excising of Memphis's subplot or SpoilerTheta's/Henry's abilities. The book could have been a really satisfying standalone if more had been made of their abilities or if Memphis's subplot had more closely intertwined with the main characters. So I'm cautious about the fact that it's going to ultimately be 4 books. I hope that the rest are as cohesive as this one and that the series doesn't stretch itself too thin.

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dianna_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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annakh16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A fun book that I got through surprisingly quickly. Great audio narration and great storytelling.

I really appreciated the diversity of settings and characters, and learning about their struggles. It greatly strengthened the historical element of the story for me.

The characters themselves were lovable - well, mostly. Evie had me po-si-tutely annoyed sometimes, but she grew on me, and I also think her behaviour is actually realistic for a teenager in her position, which was refreshing. (But yes: too much slang. I agree with everyone on this).
I also absolutely loved the different friend/sibling/family dynamics. Theta/Henry and Memphis/Isaiah have my heart.

I do think it was a shame that Mable was kind of dropped 3/4 through the story. It didn’t make sense, and I also just liked following her pov. Hope this gets remedied in the next book.

Regarding the ending,

I did think the final fight was surprisingly quick. It felt a bit anticlimactic.

Regarding the romance,

is it really meant to be romance? I think it’s very clear Jericho likes Evie. I think it’s also clear she just sees him as a distraction, with a bit of shared scary experiences/teenage horniness to sort the sexual tension. Will be interesting to see how this develops. Definitely think we have a love triangle incoming.

Overall a fun read. Almost too spooky for me. But looking forward to the next book.

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leastsquares's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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boydgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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queerseer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is thrilling, lovely, terrifying, sad, and diverse. It explores a society beyond the standard straight white rich viewpoints so prevalent early 20th century New York City, and has a lot to offer in terms of religious, supernatural and occult mystery and history. You’ll learn period-accurate slang, references and daily activities and it makes the setting that much richer. In fact, there’s SO much in the way of intrigue and fast-paced terror and brilliant characters…that I was kind of disappointed to reach the end and realize it was set up for a series. I, personally, feel exhausted from the adventure I just read and wish that the book had either been longer or gone differently to tie in all the backstory at once. Great standalone story, but not one I have any interest in learning more about afterward.

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trippalli's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A funny adventurous book about a murderous ghost set in a roaring 20s plus occult and individuals with specific powers, like seeing memories in touching an object or seeing glimpses of the future, becoming unseen temporarily... But I never thought I'd let l laugh so much while a serial killer is trying to be stopped. I loved all the very diverse cast and I wanted them to all be safe! They are so quirky, using their ability to pick pockets or make party games and sprinkled constantly with the 20s slang of the lead character, a girl who wants to party and turns detective and PR for her academic uncle's museum of the occult she is so sassy, spontaneous and friendly... All the characters are very vivid and unique and the world is fabulous. I have the first 4 books and am eager to read the next one!

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