Scan barcode
megancmahon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Spoilers!
Hoo boy. Where to begin?
Hoo boy. Where to begin?
- MABEL. My poor girl. In the first two books, I didn't really like her that much - it felt like she whined too much about not being the shining star but spent too much time comparing herself to others and not enough time developing herself. But hey, she's 17! Who isn't like that at that age? In this book, I was expecting her to be so selfishly caught up in having her own thing that she sacrifices herself "to destroy the man" - but that wasn't what happened at all. She found herself and stayed true to it. I loved her by the end. Her death was heartbreaking.
- The asylum scenes were appropriately and gut-wrenchingly creepy
- THETA. My darling girl. I loved learning more about her past and seeing her development here. But I swear to god, if I have to read one more scene of a woman refusing to take revenge on her abuser "for her own sake" ONLY FOR THEM TO SWEAR REVENGE AND BECOME A MAJOR PROBLEM LATER?? I will go feral. That just felt kinda lazy, given that Bray is TOTALLY comfortable killing people off
- Will's death felt a bit of an anticlimax for me. We still don't really know much about him, and I really wanna know how Rotke died!
- The main draw of this book is its discussions of history. I swear, this has some of the best prose on the history of America that I've ever read. "For we live in a haunted house" gave me goosebumps. The idea of the dead not being dead, and the past not being past, is one of the reasons I love to study history, and why these books are so enjoyable
- Ling and Henry kinda fell to the wayside here, which is really too bad, because they got a lot of development in the last book
- Boy, I started out hating Bill Johnson and then, as time went on, really empathized with him! Bray's character building remains unmatched
- EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO JERICHO. my god. The character assassination of him that happened here just plain broke my heart. And it was lazy. If she really wanted to make Jericho unlikeable she could have just...had him sympathize with Jake Marlowe? But instead she turned him into an unwitting rapist?? In a way that was so clearly just meant to push Evie towards Sam
- Relatedly, I found the love triangle quite trying in this one. Also, Evie needed to make up her mind. I love Sam, but this read very much like she only picked him because she found out that Jericho was awful, and not because she actually really liked him. It felt forced to me
Other than my above gripes I still loved it and devoured it and stayed up late to finish it. I'm so glad I'm reading these as an adult. I can't WAIT for the fourth.
odurant8's review
4.0
This book was gut wrenching. Now I HAVE to read the last book. But I'm afraid to, because WHO ELSE WILL LIBBA CRUELLY KILL OFF????
tatooinesunrise's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
batmans's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
chelseatm's review
4.0
This was a great addition to the series. Libba Bray has matured very well as a writer and continued the story in a compelling way. She is handling the multiple characters more adeptly than in the previous book and nothing felt superfluous in telling their story.
The ending is surprising but powerful. I highly recommend this series.
The ending is surprising but powerful. I highly recommend this series.
ciarafarris's review
4.0
4 stars just because I have some complaints about the fates and developments of certain characters. No spoilers.
ksonnev's review against another edition
5.0
If the first and second books left any doubts, Before the Devil Breaks You only proved that the Diviners is going to be one of my favourite series ever. As much as I regret having let it sit on my TBR for so long untouched, I am really glad I waited until now to start reading the Diviners. I think that a lot of the nuances and things that I pick up on and appreciate in this series would have been lost on my younger self (i.e. all the commentary on social, racial, political, historical issues past and present).
In terms of the plot, I think Before the Devil Breaks You really kicks things into gear in terms of the overarching plot that was developing and being hinted at in the first two books. We finally start to understand what all these ghosts and spooky happenings are all about. We finally start to unravel Project Buffalo’s past and the Diviner’s abilities. It was definitely rewarding to finally have some of the (many) questions get answers.
But what really makes this series for me is the characters and setting. First, the characters. THE CHARACTERS! I love the whole crew, I really do - I can’t choose a favourite! Whats great too is by now, we know all of the main characters well at this point, so we can really start digging deeper into their arcs and backstories (Theta, for example, really shines in this book). But I also love the representation that Bray continues to bring. Its not a #ownvoices story, and I can only go off of what other reviewers have said, but it seems like Bray really tries her best to do all of her characters the justice they deserve. Also I have to giver her major points for the asexuality rep - I need more of that!
Without spoiling anything, I would say that there is a sense throughout this book that something (sadly) needed to happen to one of the main crew. I had several theories throughout who was going to die, but when it happened (and how it happened), I was shook. I was listening to the audiobook as I was literally driving to pick up my dinner and trying to hold back tears as I went into the restaurant to pay. So be warned. The ending - its intense.
And the ways that the characters interact with their environments is what really sells it all for me! 1920s New York seems so glamorous, so cool, so Gatsby. And sure, it was - for some people. For a lot of other people, it still really sucked and I’m glad Bray didn’t just gloss over the problems of the time. She really engages with the racist, sexist, classist, nationalistic attitudes at the time that I have found other YA books to gloss over. Again, I am no expert to say that she did so perfectly, but I know that for me personally, she really had me thinking more critically about the truth of our pasts.
I haven’t even gotten to the ghosts - how could I have forgotten (get it? ;)) I am such a chicken but by now, I knew going in that this book would be creepy and not to be read late at night. I did anyways, because I often couldn’t put it down. If you are a chicken like me, just be warned: there are scenes throughout that will have you jumping at every little sound or feeling like you aren’t the only one in the room… but in a good way. I promise!
All this to say, Before the Devil Breaks You was a fantastic third instalment and I cannot wait to jump right into The King of Crows. 10/10 recommend!
In terms of the plot, I think Before the Devil Breaks You really kicks things into gear in terms of the overarching plot that was developing and being hinted at in the first two books. We finally start to understand what all these ghosts and spooky happenings are all about. We finally start to unravel Project Buffalo’s past and the Diviner’s abilities. It was definitely rewarding to finally have some of the (many) questions get answers.
But what really makes this series for me is the characters and setting. First, the characters. THE CHARACTERS! I love the whole crew, I really do - I can’t choose a favourite! Whats great too is by now, we know all of the main characters well at this point, so we can really start digging deeper into their arcs and backstories (Theta, for example, really shines in this book). But I also love the representation that Bray continues to bring. Its not a #ownvoices story, and I can only go off of what other reviewers have said, but it seems like Bray really tries her best to do all of her characters the justice they deserve. Also I have to giver her major points for the asexuality rep - I need more of that!
Without spoiling anything, I would say that there is a sense throughout this book that something (sadly) needed to happen to one of the main crew. I had several theories throughout who was going to die, but when it happened (and how it happened), I was shook. I was listening to the audiobook as I was literally driving to pick up my dinner and trying to hold back tears as I went into the restaurant to pay. So be warned. The ending - its intense.
And the ways that the characters interact with their environments is what really sells it all for me! 1920s New York seems so glamorous, so cool, so Gatsby. And sure, it was - for some people. For a lot of other people, it still really sucked and I’m glad Bray didn’t just gloss over the problems of the time. She really engages with the racist, sexist, classist, nationalistic attitudes at the time that I have found other YA books to gloss over. Again, I am no expert to say that she did so perfectly, but I know that for me personally, she really had me thinking more critically about the truth of our pasts.
I haven’t even gotten to the ghosts - how could I have forgotten (get it? ;)) I am such a chicken but by now, I knew going in that this book would be creepy and not to be read late at night. I did anyways, because I often couldn’t put it down. If you are a chicken like me, just be warned: there are scenes throughout that will have you jumping at every little sound or feeling like you aren’t the only one in the room… but in a good way. I promise!
All this to say, Before the Devil Breaks You was a fantastic third instalment and I cannot wait to jump right into The King of Crows. 10/10 recommend!
joana_stormblessed's review
5.0
I am going to keep this review short and simple because I do not want to spoil the first 2 books in the series. I will say that this book has been my favorite. We finally cracked open the bigger mystery and the characters are learning more and more about the threat to the world.
I loved the characters so much in this book and I urge you to pick this up
I loved the characters so much in this book and I urge you to pick this up