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A review by tencutepuppies
The Diviners by Libba Bray
4.0
(4/5) This book was very good. I liked how generally creepy it was while still keeping the flamboyant aesthetic of 1920s New York. I think one thing that brought down the rating for me has to do with the fact that it took me so long to finish the whole thing, so I didn’t exactly get the pacing of it right. But it still worked for me.
This almost felt like...a prologue?? I mean, I know they had a run-in with the cult of the Brotherhood and everything, but a lot of the things that happened seemed to be there solely to build the foundation for the rest of the series. There’s nothing really wrong with that, it just made the story drag on a bit in some places and the characters were a little surface-level for me. But I can tell that now that the foundation has been laid, they’ll be fleshed out a bit more in the later books.
It’s kind of hard to voice my thoughts on this book because I feel like I don’t have that many. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just didn’t connect with me in that hard-hitting way that I seek out.
One of the main weird things I noticed was the way the story was written. It would be from Evie’s perspective one moment, then flip to what was inside Uncle Will’s thoughts. I’m guessing that was a stylistic choice, but I’ve never read a third person omniscient narrative style before, so it gave me a little bit of whiplash. However, I did like how the focus flitted from Evie and her crew to Memphis, to the old sisters, to the murder victims as they fell one by one. It made for a well-rounded story, but still managed to not give away too much information.
Evie was interesting to read about as our main character because she’s reckless and impulsive at times, which drives her to make decisions that other more bland protagonists would not dream of making. I liked to see the sort of warring sides of her: one that’s selfish and constantly seeking out thrill, and the other that is trying to stomach the loss of her brother and do her best to care for her family and friends.
I feel terrible for saying this because I do like Jericho as a character, but I want to see more of Sam, particularly in relation to Evie. Their banter is so good. I think Sam’s a lot deeper than he shows himself to be. I can see a love triangle brewing, but it seems like Evie is gravitating toward Jericho right now because he’s the safe option. Sam could be the person that helps her live life to the fullest while still being herself.
The best part of this book is definitely the worldbuilding and the overall aesthetic. It’s so creepy without being dumb, which I’m obsessed with. The murder mystery aspect of it was extremely well done, especially as it was developed to seem absolutely impossible to solve. Every part when they were in the “haunted” house was perfection and so eerie.
I think the hope that this series (and characters, especially) will develop further is what will drive me to read the next books. Overall, this was a great start that holds a lot of promise.
This almost felt like...a prologue?? I mean, I know they had a run-in with the cult of the Brotherhood and everything, but a lot of the things that happened seemed to be there solely to build the foundation for the rest of the series. There’s nothing really wrong with that, it just made the story drag on a bit in some places and the characters were a little surface-level for me. But I can tell that now that the foundation has been laid, they’ll be fleshed out a bit more in the later books.
It’s kind of hard to voice my thoughts on this book because I feel like I don’t have that many. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just didn’t connect with me in that hard-hitting way that I seek out.
One of the main weird things I noticed was the way the story was written. It would be from Evie’s perspective one moment, then flip to what was inside Uncle Will’s thoughts. I’m guessing that was a stylistic choice, but I’ve never read a third person omniscient narrative style before, so it gave me a little bit of whiplash. However, I did like how the focus flitted from Evie and her crew to Memphis, to the old sisters, to the murder victims as they fell one by one. It made for a well-rounded story, but still managed to not give away too much information.
Evie was interesting to read about as our main character because she’s reckless and impulsive at times, which drives her to make decisions that other more bland protagonists would not dream of making. I liked to see the sort of warring sides of her: one that’s selfish and constantly seeking out thrill, and the other that is trying to stomach the loss of her brother and do her best to care for her family and friends.
I feel terrible for saying this because I do like Jericho as a character, but I want to see more of Sam, particularly in relation to Evie. Their banter is so good. I think Sam’s a lot deeper than he shows himself to be. I can see a love triangle brewing, but it seems like Evie is gravitating toward Jericho right now because he’s the safe option. Sam could be the person that helps her live life to the fullest while still being herself.
The best part of this book is definitely the worldbuilding and the overall aesthetic. It’s so creepy without being dumb, which I’m obsessed with. The murder mystery aspect of it was extremely well done, especially as it was developed to seem absolutely impossible to solve. Every part when they were in the “haunted” house was perfection and so eerie.
I think the hope that this series (and characters, especially) will develop further is what will drive me to read the next books. Overall, this was a great start that holds a lot of promise.