Reviews

The Diviners by Libba Bray

whimzee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

manya_15's review against another edition

4.0

I feel too many things - I'm super scared and also super sad. Buying the second book as i type this. 4.5 stars (it would be 5 but it's too long and she chose the wrong guy)

midnightlibrarymouse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

techknitly's review against another edition

4.0

I was very impressed by this audiobook. The narrator, January LaVoy, was excellent! She really created different voices for each character from Blind Bill to Evie to the creepy Beast. The world of the Diviners that Libba Bray made is very complex. Yes, it's built on actual history set in 1920s New York, but the paranormal aspects are woven right in to the history seamlessly. I almost want to live in the Diviners except that it gets pretty darn scary at times, so, maybe not. I saw an interview with Libba Bray where she said her editor describes this book as "Stephen King meets The Great Gatsby" and I think that is a great description for the feel of the story and world it is set in. I can't wait for the rest of the series!

lyakimov's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 stars.

OKAY WHY WAS THIS SO FUN?? This book took me forever to finish but honestly it was so entertaining. I really want to read the rest of the series but there’s three more books and I don’t think I have that attention span right now.

But omg this was an amazing beginning to the series, it set up so many things for the future, and the foreshadowing is so well done! We love a murder mystery and ghost plot

eesh25's review against another edition

3.0

Finally! I did it! It took me a month, but I finally finished the book! It will take a lot to get me to pick up the second book, if it pick it up at all (big chance that I won't). But we can talk book 2 later.

This book is set in New York in the 1920s and revolves around a bunch of characters. The protagonist is Evie, who is a Diviner with the power to see memories of a person by touching one of their personal objects, like a ring or handkerchief, etc. After an incident at a party, her parents send her to live with her uncle in New York City for a while, where she gets involved in solving the case of a serial killer.

Now before I say anything bad, I just want to get it out there that Libba Bray is a great writer. Her prose is very good, and if I was interested in the America of the 1920s or Historical Fiction in general, I would've enjoyed this book a lot more.

And, if Evie wasn't such a pain.

As I said before, the novel has a bunch of characters and I liked, or was okay with, every single one of them except Evie. Which sucked before the major focus is on her. I didn't hate her; simply found her to be an unbearably annoying presence that I would rather not deal with. She had a tendency to be arrogant, vain, selfish and stupid, and wanted to be famous without actually doing anything worth the fame. The author, on many accounts, told us that there's more depth to Evie but that's the thing. She told us. We never saw it.

Evie is the main reason for me not reading the second book. I can't bear the though of putting up with her for another 600 pages.

The other characters were good. I really liked Memphis, Theta and Henry. Sam, I wish, had more of a role outside of Evie. He's an interesting character and I don't want him to simply be the 'love interest'. Speaking of love interests, Evie has two—as if she wasn't annoying enough—and the other guy would also do better solo.

The best character though, the villain. Well, the entire thing surrounding the villain with the orthodox beliefs and the rituals. I love plots with religious cults. It shows us how crazy people can get with the right amounts of fear, persuasion and self-righteousness. If you're wondering, they can go absolutely fucking wacko.

Anyway, while Evie is the main reason for not reading [b:Lair of Dreams|16060716|Lair of Dreams (The Diviners, #2)|Libba Bray|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560630223l/16060716._SY75_.jpg|21848181], she's not the only reason. The other is the pace. Because I had to drag myself though a lot of this book. To put it simply, it took 400 pages for me to reach a point where I actually wanted to flip to the next page instead of having to force myself to do it. Again, it I were more interested in 1920s New York, things might not have been so bad. But since that's not the case and the sequel is supposed to be slower... The likelihood of me reading it is lowering by the sentence.

Overall, I've already explained what would make you like the book and why I didn't like it much. It's not a bad read. Just not my ideal one. Maybe you'll have better luck.

sararose_cozy's review against another edition

3.0

Was good, intrigue at the end helped me get into it more. There were some (for me) unnecessary scenes throughout the beginning which made the story too long. Took me forever to read. But it’s a good story.

faeriesparks's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars
JUST. WOW.
The Diviners was such a complex book with amazing and complex characters. All I can think right now is WOW and OMG.

I absolutely loved Evie. She was confident (but not in an annoying way) and strong-minded and clever. I really enjoyed her banter with Sam and (of course) immediately started shipping them. I didn't quite like Jericho in the beginning of the book (more about my thoughts on him in the spoilery bit down below).

While a lot of the religious stuff went right over my head, I still enjoyed the plot and the mystery. And I can't wait to read more about the paranormal aspect in the following books.

Something else that positively stood out to me is that even though there were romance aspects in this book, they didn't overshadow the main plot. The romance was subtle but still enjoyable.

Spoiler

Even though I shipped Evie and Sam right from the start I think I may have actually switched ships towards the end. In the last 150 pages or so I started liking Jericho a lot more than in the beginning. And at first I wasn't sure why but then realised it might've been because we see a lot more of his feelings towards the end. In the beginning he seemed very distant and passive so I couldn't really connect to him. But then later on we find out he has feelings for Evie and we start seeing a different side of him and I really liked that.
ALSO THE EVIE/JERICHO KISS OMG
I was so glad Evie didn't suddenly realise she actually DOES love Jericho but just enjoyed kissing him in that moment. They're so adorable.
I do have a feeling I might keep switching ships though because I do love Sam hahah.

sarah_mitra's review against another edition

4.0

This would have been 5 stars for me but there were so many ideas and main characters. The atmosphere and dialogue were perfect for an October read, but the length and winding plot line felt like a soap opera at times. I want to know more about Memphis and Theta (together or separately) so I'll definitely read the next one.

balconyflowers's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75