The Lost Saint by Bree Despain: Review

The Lost Saint
By: Bree Despain

Format: Hardcover, 404 Pages
Published: December 28, 2010; EgmontUSA
Source: Purchased E-Book
Challenge: 2011 E-Book Challenge

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Summary (from Goodreads): A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger - in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her - not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Bree Despain delivers sizzling romance and thrilling action in the heart-pounding sequel to the The Dark Divine.

My Review: Bree Despain was on panel during Life, The Universe, and Everything all about writing sequels. And it's apparent that she knows what she's doing with The Lost Saint.

There were a lot of things that were done very well with this book. The absolute meltdown of Grace's mother, and the desire of her father to try and reconcile his family are heartbreaking and very real. The life that looked so perfect from the outside in The Dark Divine crumble and show how thin the facade was.

Daniel and Grace's relationship develops, and along with the excitement of a new relationship, there are boundaries that are defined, and a lot of betrayal of trust. So much so, that there were times where I found it just a little bit frustrating that they were in a relationship and yet unwilling to share important details about their nature and whereabouts with one another. Given the situation that Daniel and Grace are in during the second book, it seemed out of place that they would just not tell each other what they are up to.

While many of the events of the book were pretty predictable, the one that absolutely threw me was the interaction between Grace and Jude. Without getting into the details, it absolutely threw me. And I loved the surprise.

I wasn't in love with the cliffhanger ending, but all in all, I thought that it was a solid second installment to the trilogy, and I'm excited to read the third.

My Rating:

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain Book Trailer

Have you all seen the newly release trailer for The Lost Saint?  I have been very impressed with the trailers for the two books.

You should all read this series. (And I don't just say that because my name is mentioned in The Lost Saint). Okay, maybe I have a little bit of an ulterior motive.

Funny story about my name being in the book though. I told my husband that my name was mentioned in the book. He asked to see it. So, I flipped through the book and showed it to him.  He then picked up the book and said, "Hey, my name is in here like a hundred times."

His name is Daniel. Did I mention that before?

If you've read the book, you'll know why that's funny. If you haven't, forget I said anything and just go read the book.

But not until you've seen the awesome trailer.

In My Mailbox 5/23

Slim pickin's this week folks. Narry a book was to be found in my mailbox. I guess because it's BEA next week, people aren't sending out much stuff. Can't say I blame them! But, I did pick up this beauty at Border's this week:

 The Demon's Lexicon

Ugh, I'm trying so hard not to judge this book by it's cover. I'm sorry, I'm just not a big fan of the puffy lips. But, I've heard the book is simply mahvelous, so I'm going to read it anyway. (And, my cover does not look like that, thankfully).

I also got some SWAG from Bree Despain and Kristin Walker to give away at the Armchair BEA Twitter party this Thursday. Don't forget to follow us with the hashtag #armchairBEA. We're going to have such a blast this week!

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren

Friday Faves (4)

BEA is next week which means I'm going to shut off my google reader for the next month so as to not feel totally jealous. Just kidding. But, I am participating in Armchair BEA, and I hope you all are going to as well.  Next week's posts will be all about Book Expo America. I've got interviews, dream schedules, ARC's to watch for, and the crowning jewel, the Twitter Party on May 27 from 8-10 pm EST. If you are not following me yet on Twitter, please do so you can win some awesome prizes.

Speaking of BEA, you should check out Pam's post on Bookalicio.us about sellings ARC's. (In a nutshell, big no-no). Pam is going to be our on-site correspondent for Armchair BEA. Can't wait to see what she has to show us from the big show!

And.... I'm going to be in a book! I helped with Bree Despain's street team for The Dark Divine last year and early this year. Besides being a totally awesome and fun experience in book promotion, I was rewarded with a character named after me in The Lost Saint

You've got until May 22 at midnight to enter my bookcase giveaway. So, if you haven't done it yet, get on it!

If you're here from the Book Blogger Hop, welcome!

Baby Update

I know all of you are anxiously awaiting the announcement that the baby has arrived. Believe me, I'm just about as anxious as all of you.

I wanted to give all of you whose date guesses have passed another chance. If you would like another guess at when this baby is going to come, all you need to do is spread the word about the contest. There are several ways you can do this.

Twitter: If you use Twitter, go ahead and tweet about the contest linking the original entry and using my handle @eellsworth

Facebook: Post a status update or just link the contest entry page to your wall, either way.

Blog Link: If you have a blog, either put up a post about the contest, mention it in a sidebar or something.

Anything else you can think of! Once you've done that, make a comment in the ORIGINAL entry here, and tell me what you did and make a new guess.

Best of luck to you all!

The Great Baby Giveaway!

 
No, I'm not giving away my baby...

But, I'm certainly getting anxious for her arrival! And I wanted to invite you all to join in on my antsy-ness. So, I decided to host a little giveaway in celebration. Here is some information that may help you in your prediction.

I am due February 25, 2010. Also, as of today, I'm not currently in labor. So, if you guess February 17, you probably won't win. If you guess March 25 I'll punch you you'll lose.  The latest my doctor will let me go is March 5.

I'm having a girl. Girls are generally smaller than boys. Also, you should know that many people comment on how small I am. So, a 10 lb weight guess is not only very mean, but will probably be very wrong.

Here's how it works:

1.  Leave a comment with your prediction of the day of baby girl's arrival as well as the height and weight. Also leave some way for me to contact you after the contest is over.

Whomever is closest to the actual day of arrival will win! If more than one person correctly guesses the date, the height and weight will be used as a tie breaker.

Here's what you'll win:

1.  Grand Prize: An ARC of "The Dark Divine" by Bree Despain, and signed by her as well. I also have stickers and bookmarks and all sorts of awesome things that will be included.

I may have some other ARC's and prizes that I'll want to give away. It just depends on how many people enter.

GOOD LUCK!

Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine

By: Bree Despain

Release Date: December 22, 2009 

Read the First Chapter on Bree Despain's Website

From the Back Cover:

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Review:

I think I'm liking paranormal romance more and more. Really, it can be awesome when it's written well and has other plots besides the romance.  I really liked the main character Grace. She was smart, and exceptionally kind.  That was something I think that was really missing from other paranormal romances that I've read lately. Grace has a drive to help those around her, even when it makes her uncomfortable.  Grace has a good relationship with her family, even though they have their problems.

Daniel was an intriguing character. Some of my favorite parts of the book were taking glimpses into his past and what he has done to overcome his difficulties. Bree does an excellent job of taking a problem like family abuse and giving it an alternate explanation while at the same time not making light of the very real emotional disruption these problems bring into a person's life.

I had only two notable problems with the story. First, I wasn't satisfied with the way things ended with the other love interest in the story. It seemed a little hurried and unfinished. The story may have been better without him in it.

The second problem is purely personal preference for me. I'm not a huge fan of the main characters in paranormal romances being teenagers. I know that that's the target audience for the book, but I guess I just don't feel like high school students generally have the maturity to experience emotions like true love.

If you like paranormal romance at all, you'll love this book. In fact, this would be a great Christmas gift for those on your list that are looking for something to read after Twilight.

Rating:

I gave this book a solid 4.5 stars, and rounded up to 5

Profanity: Pretty much non-existent. I mean, the main character is the daughter of a pastor...

Drugs and Alcohol: Mild. It's mentioned I think once in the story.

Sexuality: Extremely Mild.

Violence: Mild. There are a few murders in the book, and sometimes the descriptions are a little graphic, but nothing alarming.

Book-a-like: Twilight (cringe), Hush, Hush, Shiver