The Diviners Book Review - A series by Libba Bray

Book cover of The Diviners for book review

dark cover with purple accents. Broken strand of pearls on wooden floor

The Diviners (The Diviners #1)
By Libba Bray
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Recommended For: Ages 16+, fans of Cassandra Clare’s angel/demon type of stories, and lovers of history with a flare of magic.

SOMETHING DARK AND EVIL HAS AWAKENED… Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened…

The Hit List:

Immersive world building in the roaring 1920’s
Well-crafted characters with exceptional development arcs
Moderate creep factor, especially the villain (enough to make you shiver, but not scream in fright)
Slow start, but exhilarating ending
Suspenseful and eerie
Lack of romantic subplot until the end

The Book Review:

The Diviners is an immersive story of a young girl navigating New York City during the 1920’s at a time when fear is high due to a string of unsolved murders. It’s the type of situation a protagonist like Evie, a stubborn, selfish, manipulative and outspoken young girl can thrive in. But I don’t want to paint energetic Evie in a negative light. Yes, at times her character is annoying, but that’s because her personality is so well thought out and crafted she felt like an actual person who I might roll my eyes at. Plus, she has some redeeming qualities. She has a quick wit that brings levity amongst some of the darker elements of this story. And she exudes a self-confidence I could take some notes on.

The good news is, Bray does an incredible job with her character arc. The plot facilitates opportunities for Evie to grow and mature and realize the world doesn’t revolve around her. But we still see some of that Evie-flare all the way through to the end. Thank goodness, because she was a fun one to read.

When you have such a standout character like Evie, it can make the secondary POV characters feel lackluster. Unfortunately, this was the case for me in almost every other chapter not told in her point of view. The rest felt bland and didn’t hold my interest as well. And there were a couple I didn’t feel contributed to the overall plot much, or at all. However, by the time I finished the book, I could see how some might have been laying the foundation for a more significant role in future books.

Woven throughout the story from the beginning is a paranormal element. In the beginning, it’s just a brief glimmer. As the story proceeds though and the plot thickens, we start to see more and more magic. It’s a slow burn to build intrigue and still leave our interest sparked when it’s over. I know I’m dying to know more about the powers some of the characters possess.

If you like a creepy factor in your stories, my friend, I’ve found the book for you. There are quite a few moments that made me cringe a little (in a good way accomplished by a well-told story), but I appreciated it never got so graphic I had to watch puppy videos afterwards to lift my mood. So many scenes were thick with suspicion and oozed an eerie glow.

Throughout most of the book, I was wondering where the romantic subplot was hiding, especially since head-in-the-skies Evie seemed like someone easily attracted to a nice bad boy. However it never quite developed into anything substantial until the very end. I’m glad it was eventually there, but I would have enjoyed having more upfront to keep me excited throughout the book.

My most significant reservation with The Diviners, and the main reason for my 3.5 rating, is that it took a long time for the story to get revved up. It was a very slow, long start until the action picked up and the suspense really took hold. It’s one of those books you have to work for: slow start but a dynamic, heart-thumping ending that almost makes it worth it.

Buy The Diviners on Amazon