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curseofachilles 's review for:
Before the Devil Breaks You
by Libba Bray
Before the devil breaks you, first he will make you love him.
Before the Devil Breaks You.
Before the Devil Breaks You…
Before the Devil…
Before the Devil fucking speaks, I feel the need to tell everyone that this title is so badass and it’s one of my favorite titles of all time.
I gave The Diviners 2 stars;
The second book, Lair of Dreams, 3 stars, because it got more interesting.
Well look at where we are now!
The main problem I had with the first two books of this series is because for a book so thick, they contain so little plot. Also, the plot aren’t even that juicy to begin with. It didn’t spook me and mostly I was just bored.
THIS ONE THOUGH! We are skipping the four stars baby! We’re going straight to five stars because of what the hell just happened.
Firstly, things happened inside this book. The plot is faster-paced, the stakes are much higher, everything went to literal hell. It jumps straight into conflict and don’t dwell too much on the descriptions and world building. I know some people like it better when the book builds up more of the atmosphere just like what happened in book one and book two, but I like this one so much more because finally it’s not that boring after all.
The characters are getting more lovable. I know I’ve said numerous times that Evie can literally go to hell but in this book; I wouldn’t say I love her yet, but she grew on me and for once doesn’t get on my nerves. In some parts, I even found myself relating to her, which is quite surprising.
SAM IS MY SWEETHEART BOY. He’s not irritating anymore. I AM SORRY. I take back all the bad-mouthing I've said about him. Now, I love him. Everytime he and Jericho had their funny (and kinda brotherly) banters in the beginning of the book, I gained one year to my lifetime.
So what do I find annoying? Almost nothing actually! Except that what happened to Jericho and Evie is such a shit move to resolve the love triangle going on. Let me tell you: I’m not a Jericho fan. In fact, I said in my review of the first book that I hope for the love of God they don’t end up together but I was hoping that Libba Bray would come up with a more… creative approach for the love triangle. It's a shit move because I feel like she's forcing us to hate him in this one and root for Sam instead. I don't know... when this happens in books, I get the sense that the author is running out of ways to keep up the romance and decided to end it in a cheap way.
I’ve always known Libba Bray has a knack for foreshadowing. That’s her style; her signature touch. She could turn the most mundane of things to be something crucial later on. But she really stepped up her game with this book. She had been doing this since book one. But in this one, literally all of the things I found either unimportant or I didn’t even notice at all, came back and be like ”Surprise! We’re actually very important details!” This book ties all the loose ends and it was very satisfying. I was thoroughly surprised by where she’s taking this series!
And the ending! Holy shit. She really did that. The nerve! I can’t say more, but big, crucial, brave things happened in this book; things that I didn’t expect would happen. It’s just… wow this book is haunting me. That stupid ending. I gave it 5 stars for that.
Now when I look at it, I feel like the first two books are just a really long prologue (because at this point we already know the big bad is the King of Crows and our antagonists in the first two books are just… pawns or something). The main plot of the first book doesn’t even touch what we are covering with this book (and what happened didn’t seem that significant compared to the hell we have now); it doesn’t have to be that long. The second book I like more, even though it also feels like a prologue but it covers more grounds and the background stories of our characters. It makes me a little uneasy to think that the main plot, like the main plot, happened in the third book… out of FOUR books. The King of Crows made his grand entrance and we literally just felt what a threat he is in THIS book. I'm so glad I stayed and didn't decide to just give up, but I can't help but think of all the readers who maybe feel the same way as I am with the first two books and then decided to give up. Maybe the series could've been more popular and reached more audience if the first two books were written a little differently. (And if you're one of these people, I am telling you to force through the first two books because this book is worth it)
But I quite like how Libba Bray planted clues here and there; even though I need to suffer through the boring two books to get it. The clues built the right suspenseful atmosphere for this book and I’m glad to say it worked and it wowed me.
Okay, you have seen me say a lot of shit over the first two books; it’s too slow. Too boring. Too much world building. Too many pages. Evie is annoying et cetera, et cetera. Do you see me complaining now? Yeah, you don’t. BRING IN THE FOURTH BOOK NOW!