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hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
5.0
Gee Wilkers! What a scoop!
I didn't expect much from this book. I happened across it and my library happened to have it available so I downloaded the kindle copy and the audiobook (which is incredible).
The setting is in 1920's New York, but we don't start there. We start in Ohio. Where Evie, the protagonist, just doesn't seem to fit in with her peers or much of anyone. And we find out it's because she's different...in more ways than one. At first, I was thinking it was going to be another YA coming of age novel with a cool background, but boy was I wrong!
I honestly don't think I've read anything like this. I picked this up because of the broken pearl necklace on the front, which fills one of the requirements for the PopSugar challenge. I don't usually read anything fantastical like this, but this has changed my outlook on fantasy and I can't wait to read the next two books.
As for the writing style, It didn't feel like a simplistic YA novel, Libby Bray masterfully crafted this world to sweep us off our feet and transport us into the past. Into the land of speakeasies and listless misfits, magick, and demons, we are given a chance to look into the past with a commentary from a future voice.
In Evie, we find the defiant, headstrong female character who does not shirk at the sight of danger but revels in being part of the action. In Memphis, we find a boy, forced out of his childhood by the death of his mother, attempting to carve out his own dream from the rubble of his misfortune. In Jericho, we see a giant, seemingly staunch but inwardly kind. Even though the story revolves around young adults, their adulthood is emphasized. In that way, it can appeal to adult audiences, because it speaks to the misfit in all of us.
I enjoyed every minute of the ride.
Audiobook comments: January LeVoy is absolutely brilliant. I thought there was a whole cast of characters but no, just a delightful woman with talent and a microphone. It's an experience.
2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a criminal character
I didn't expect much from this book. I happened across it and my library happened to have it available so I downloaded the kindle copy and the audiobook (which is incredible).
The setting is in 1920's New York, but we don't start there. We start in Ohio. Where Evie, the protagonist, just doesn't seem to fit in with her peers or much of anyone. And we find out it's because she's different...in more ways than one. At first, I was thinking it was going to be another YA coming of age novel with a cool background, but boy was I wrong!
I honestly don't think I've read anything like this. I picked this up because of the broken pearl necklace on the front, which fills one of the requirements for the PopSugar challenge. I don't usually read anything fantastical like this, but this has changed my outlook on fantasy and I can't wait to read the next two books.
As for the writing style, It didn't feel like a simplistic YA novel, Libby Bray masterfully crafted this world to sweep us off our feet and transport us into the past. Into the land of speakeasies and listless misfits, magick, and demons, we are given a chance to look into the past with a commentary from a future voice.
In Evie, we find the defiant, headstrong female character who does not shirk at the sight of danger but revels in being part of the action. In Memphis, we find a boy, forced out of his childhood by the death of his mother, attempting to carve out his own dream from the rubble of his misfortune. In Jericho, we see a giant, seemingly staunch but inwardly kind. Even though the story revolves around young adults, their adulthood is emphasized. In that way, it can appeal to adult audiences, because it speaks to the misfit in all of us.
I enjoyed every minute of the ride.
Audiobook comments: January LeVoy is absolutely brilliant. I thought there was a whole cast of characters but no, just a delightful woman with talent and a microphone. It's an experience.
2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a criminal character
sklus's review against another edition
5.0
The Diviners is a really great book. It combines my third favorite time period with ghosts and demons and cults. It's a large book, but it's very quick moving. My only complaints are about the love triangle happening, though technically it's not a love triangle but a weird zigzagging line with the main character in the middle. I think they dealt with racism and homophobia in the time period really well. I'm really hopeful as to where the sequel is going!
carlisajc's review against another edition
4.0
I read The Diviners in anticipation of the sequel coming out this month! It has super good reviews and the description seemed so interesting to me. 1920s. Flappers. Ghosts. Serial murders. Paranormal powers. So I grabbed it up my library and started reading with high hopes–despite the monster that it is at almost 600 pages. And I was not disappointed by this book at all! I have never read anything like it before.
It opens with a chapter that is super good and intriguing. It kind of felt like one of those crime shows where they show the crime in the first scene and then move on to include the main characters and investigation. We open on these random people with a Oujia board who end up summoning a ghost–Naughty John (who is the creepiest ever). And let’s just get this straight right now. You don’t ever use a Oujia board people. Those things are the worst. I don’t really know if ghosts are real or not, but why go messing around with fate just in case. Good things are not going to happen. Just ask Evie and all her friends from this book. Okay, anyways. Rant over. Oujia boards = the worst. Back to what I was saying. Throughout the book, we got these interspersed scenes when Naughty John did his business, if you know what I mean. And it was very crime-show-y, which I liked. This book is like Criminal Minds with a Paranormal twist.
From the very beginning, I could see how unique and well-rounded Evie–the MC–was as a character. She has a personality all her own, that’s for sure. While she boisterous and loud on the outside, she still has insecurities on the inside that she kind of hides from everyone. Characterization is very important to me as I’m reading a book so I was glad to see that Evie actually had a personality and was her own individual person, not some cliché. I loved and marked this quote:
“‘Oh, Evie, you’re too much,’ people said, and it wasn’t complimentary. Yes, she was too much. She felt like too much inside all the time.
So why wasn’t she ever enough?” BOOM, right in the feels.
I also love how visual this book is. At 10% in, I made a note that I’d like to see this as a movie, because I think it would be so intriguing and just good. Bray describes everything so well that I felt like I was there, despite definitely not wanting to be there in person (did I mention serial murders committed by the creepiest ghost ever?).
Kind of going along with that, I loved the 1920s setting. I think if this book had been written as a contemporary, it wouldn’t have been nearly as good. And with the descriptions being so visual, I felt like I was there, in the 20s. I loved the flappers and the parties and just the entire atmosphere. Very Great Gatsby-esque. And the language! Libba Bray definitely did her research before writing this book. So much 20s lingo and vocabulary and I JUST LOVED IT. As an English major, language is something I cherish very much, and to see how they spoke back then…was just awesome. I wish I spoke like that. I think my favorite moment was this: “‘She is the elephant’s eyebrows,’ Evil whispered appreciatively.” Best. Compliment. Ever. But if I just said that, people would think I’m a weirdo (Hint: I totally am a weirdo).
I only had small issues throughout. One being that it is third person omniscient, and it would kind of just switch back and forth between character perspective willy-nilly (yes, I just said willy-nilly). So it would just be confusing sometimes, but that was a very small thought and didn’t bother me that much.
Another issue I had probably contains some spoilers, shoot. Okay, sorry.
But overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to starting the next one! It’s an overall creepy book that pulls you into its pages full-force.
NOTABLE QUOTES
“‘The line between faith and fanaticism is a constantly shifting one,’ Dr. Poblacki said. ‘When does belief become justification? When does right become rational and crusade become crime?'”
“‘There is no greater power in this earth than story…People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense–words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions–words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.'”
“That was how the world worked, wasn’t it? You set your sights on something, and life came along with a sucker punch.”
It opens with a chapter that is super good and intriguing. It kind of felt like one of those crime shows where they show the crime in the first scene and then move on to include the main characters and investigation. We open on these random people with a Oujia board who end up summoning a ghost–Naughty John (who is the creepiest ever). And let’s just get this straight right now. You don’t ever use a Oujia board people. Those things are the worst. I don’t really know if ghosts are real or not, but why go messing around with fate just in case. Good things are not going to happen. Just ask Evie and all her friends from this book. Okay, anyways. Rant over. Oujia boards = the worst. Back to what I was saying. Throughout the book, we got these interspersed scenes when Naughty John did his business, if you know what I mean. And it was very crime-show-y, which I liked. This book is like Criminal Minds with a Paranormal twist.
From the very beginning, I could see how unique and well-rounded Evie–the MC–was as a character. She has a personality all her own, that’s for sure. While she boisterous and loud on the outside, she still has insecurities on the inside that she kind of hides from everyone. Characterization is very important to me as I’m reading a book so I was glad to see that Evie actually had a personality and was her own individual person, not some cliché. I loved and marked this quote:
“‘Oh, Evie, you’re too much,’ people said, and it wasn’t complimentary. Yes, she was too much. She felt like too much inside all the time.
So why wasn’t she ever enough?” BOOM, right in the feels.
I also love how visual this book is. At 10% in, I made a note that I’d like to see this as a movie, because I think it would be so intriguing and just good. Bray describes everything so well that I felt like I was there, despite definitely not wanting to be there in person (did I mention serial murders committed by the creepiest ghost ever?).
Kind of going along with that, I loved the 1920s setting. I think if this book had been written as a contemporary, it wouldn’t have been nearly as good. And with the descriptions being so visual, I felt like I was there, in the 20s. I loved the flappers and the parties and just the entire atmosphere. Very Great Gatsby-esque. And the language! Libba Bray definitely did her research before writing this book. So much 20s lingo and vocabulary and I JUST LOVED IT. As an English major, language is something I cherish very much, and to see how they spoke back then…was just awesome. I wish I spoke like that. I think my favorite moment was this: “‘She is the elephant’s eyebrows,’ Evil whispered appreciatively.” Best. Compliment. Ever. But if I just said that, people would think I’m a weirdo (Hint: I totally am a weirdo).
I only had small issues throughout. One being that it is third person omniscient, and it would kind of just switch back and forth between character perspective willy-nilly (yes, I just said willy-nilly). So it would just be confusing sometimes, but that was a very small thought and didn’t bother me that much.
Another issue I had probably contains some spoilers, shoot. Okay, sorry.
Spoiler
At the end, it bothered me that Evie seemed to have NO psychological problems or emotional distress. Like she just came out of an investigation where she saw multiple dead bodies…mutilated dead bodies. And she literally wrestled a psychopathic serial killing ghost. There is no way she is just fine afterwards. But that’s how it was portrayed and that kind of annoyed meBut overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to starting the next one! It’s an overall creepy book that pulls you into its pages full-force.
NOTABLE QUOTES
“‘The line between faith and fanaticism is a constantly shifting one,’ Dr. Poblacki said. ‘When does belief become justification? When does right become rational and crusade become crime?'”
“‘There is no greater power in this earth than story…People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense–words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions–words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.'”
“That was how the world worked, wasn’t it? You set your sights on something, and life came along with a sucker punch.”
beforeviolets's review against another edition
I'm definitely in the minority here in that even though I liked this book, it didn't entirely work for me, and I'm unsure if I'll be continuing on in the series.
The largest success of this book is its mystery. Mystical and filled with tension, I found the plot unique and captivating, and it was largely what kept my attention. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of The Magnus Archives and Thistlefoot in terms of its atmosphere and charm.
On the other end of the spectrum, this book's weakest point is its characters. They either have extremely exaggerated characterization or practically none at all, and the book constantly feels off-balance because of it. Not to mention, there is pretty much no growth in a single character from the start of the book to the end.
I also really enjoyed the 1920's setting and ambience but holy smokes is it heavy-handed. This book is a little too obsessed with constantly reminding its audience of its time period, with 3-4 references per page whether they be exaggerated lingo, shoe-horned in mentions of events of the time, or even whole lists of figures living in the 20's name-dropped just because. Some of these references would be fine, great even, but the text is just drowning in it and it suffocated the story at hand.
I also found this obsession with staying overly present in the 20's inhibiting the narrative's intentions. At its core, The Diviners is about the corrupt eugenicist ideals that motivate American society and religious fanaticism. And of course, these ideals and systems have not only never been dismantled but have continues to spin their webs into modern-day America, which is what makes this story feel urgent today. So I feel that it would've been to the story's advantage to allow in moments of timelessness, to help bridge the gap between then and now, rather than digging its heels firmly into the 20's. I really loved these messages and themes but felt they wasn't quite supported in their delivery. Maybe this gets better over the series.
I can appreciate a book that functions best within the context of its series, but I felt this one struggling to make its own mark.
CW: murder, dead bodies, human sacrifice, blood, alcohol, fire, sexual assault, emesis, hallucinations, cults, claustrophobic, drugging, eugenics, self-immolation (past), illness (past), death of sibling (past), war (past, recounted), death of mother (past), animal death, grief, domestic violence (past, recounted), rape (past, recounted), abortion (past), gun violence, suicide (past), injury detail, police brutality, hospitalization (past), medical content (past), child abandonment (past), needles, xenophobia (brief), racism (brief), antisemitism (brief), homophobia (brief)
The largest success of this book is its mystery. Mystical and filled with tension, I found the plot unique and captivating, and it was largely what kept my attention. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of The Magnus Archives and Thistlefoot in terms of its atmosphere and charm.
On the other end of the spectrum, this book's weakest point is its characters. They either have extremely exaggerated characterization or practically none at all, and the book constantly feels off-balance because of it. Not to mention, there is pretty much no growth in a single character from the start of the book to the end.
I also really enjoyed the 1920's setting and ambience but holy smokes is it heavy-handed. This book is a little too obsessed with constantly reminding its audience of its time period, with 3-4 references per page whether they be exaggerated lingo, shoe-horned in mentions of events of the time, or even whole lists of figures living in the 20's name-dropped just because. Some of these references would be fine, great even, but the text is just drowning in it and it suffocated the story at hand.
I also found this obsession with staying overly present in the 20's inhibiting the narrative's intentions. At its core, The Diviners is about the corrupt eugenicist ideals that motivate American society and religious fanaticism. And of course, these ideals and systems have not only never been dismantled but have continues to spin their webs into modern-day America, which is what makes this story feel urgent today. So I feel that it would've been to the story's advantage to allow in moments of timelessness, to help bridge the gap between then and now, rather than digging its heels firmly into the 20's. I really loved these messages and themes but felt they wasn't quite supported in their delivery. Maybe this gets better over the series.
I can appreciate a book that functions best within the context of its series, but I felt this one struggling to make its own mark.
CW: murder, dead bodies, human sacrifice, blood, alcohol, fire, sexual assault, emesis, hallucinations, cults, claustrophobic, drugging, eugenics, self-immolation (past), illness (past), death of sibling (past), war (past, recounted), death of mother (past), animal death, grief, domestic violence (past, recounted), rape (past, recounted), abortion (past), gun violence, suicide (past), injury detail, police brutality, hospitalization (past), medical content (past), child abandonment (past), needles, xenophobia (brief), racism (brief), antisemitism (brief), homophobia (brief)
miaruthdp's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this! This has so much potential. Lovely writing. Some scenes really spooked the hell out of me! Will definitely read the rest of the series. I hope they won't disappoint. I'm still craving for so much more!
I love how we get a diverse set of characters and how we all see how each of their individual stories unfold. Really want to know more about everyone!!
I love how we get a diverse set of characters and how we all see how each of their individual stories unfold. Really want to know more about everyone!!
jessab's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
mjlb's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
0.75
mollyrpates's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
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