The Diviners
by Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners #1
Pages: 578
Published on September 18th 2012
by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery
Format: Hardcover
Source: Gifted
Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
Also by this author: The Diviners (The Diviners, #1), Lair of Dreams (The Diviners, #2), Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners, #3), The King of Crows (The Diviners, #4)
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 he’ll 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 hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.
Whew, finishing this feels like an accomplishment. I’ve been promising to read this one for three years and I finally did it. I have reached a goal in my blogging life and was it worth it? Ehh, not really. Don’t get me wrong, I can see where the hype comes from and why people love it so much. I just didn’t. Unfortunately, The Diviners was only okay for me.
The Diviners is set in 1920’s New York and tells the story of Evie O’Neill. She’s sent to her Uncle in New York, who has an unhealthy obsession for the occult. What he doesn’t know is that Evie is hiding a supernatural ability that has only brought her trouble so far. When her uncle is asked to help investigate a murder, Evie’s ability might help them find the killer and so Evie jumps head first into this dangerous adventure in the city that never sleeps.
Where to start with this monster of a book? Yes, it’s a monster. Have you seen the hardback? I can knock someone unconscious with the thing! Reading this book is exhausting in more ways than one. My arms, wrists and fingers are sore from holding it up. I’m not big on historical fiction, at all, so this one was very challenging to me because of that. And that’s just the thing here. The fairly slow pacing made it feel so very loooooong. And while I can see how they connect to the story, I felt that some extra POV’s, like Memphis’s chapters, weren’t necessary. They could’ve been left out in my opinion. There was so much build up for hundreds of pages and they dragged on and on and then the big finale… it was over so fast! It felt really rushed all of a sudden.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. There’s not one character that I genuinely loved. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad characters. I just didn’t care about them. I didn’t like Evie at all, really. At times she was very annoying and just a very bad friend in general. That combined with the snail’s pace… it was a chore to get through this. Oh yes, I get the hype. The story is interesting, the writing is good and the world-building was fantastic, don’t get me wrong. It’s just really not my thing.
Overall, The Diviners is the perfect read for fans of historical fiction mixed with a paranormal murder mystery. And of course for people looking for a great work out for their arms. If you’re not either of these, I’d say: you can skip it, but you shouldn’t. Am I going to read the sequel? I don’t think so. It’s just simply not my cup of tea.
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I love this review since this is pretty much how I feel. I didn’t like Evie at all and I tried reading the second book to see if maybe that was bettt but never got past the first few chapters.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Ahww, sad you don’t like it more, but glad I’m not the only one. xD
This was is on my wishlist for the reasons you listed- historical 1920’s, paranormal and mystery. Glad you finally read it 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Hope you get to read it some day! 😀
I have been wanting to pick this one up for aaaaaaaaaaaages, but I still haven’t. I only read Beauty Queens by her and wasn’t really a fan, so …eh. Doesn’t sound promising at all to me, I think I’m going to skip it! Thanks for the great advice. I love your reviewing style!! You definitely earned yourself a spot on my blogroll.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Then you should skip it, yes.
I DID? THANK YOU! 😀 Such an honor. <3
Great review! 🙂 I love historical fiction mixed with paranormla but it’s either a hit or miss for me. If I had this book I would read it but I’m not going to go out of my way to order it or something now.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Completely understand that!
People looking for a workout lol. I already got a workout when I read Cress, I think I will give my arms a rest. I tried to read this book around Halloween but I just didn’t make it. I loved Libba Bray’s other books and just like you I have waited for years to read this behemoth but I still haven’t done it yet. As a history major I get really excited about historical fiction so I might enjoy this but I hope its not too scary. I don’t hate scary books but I always stay up late planning an action attack just in case something like that would happen to me. It’s the reason I stopped reading books about zombies. Anyway, Great Review!!!!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
If you’ve loved the author’s other works and you like historical fiction, you really do have to give this one a chance someday. 🙂
Twitter: The Infinite Limits of Love
Despite the hype over this series, I honestly can’t say it’s one that I’ve felt compelled to read. It just doesn’t sound like it would be for me and your review confirms that 100%. The slow pace would drive me crazy! I’m sorry this wasn’t all that for you! :/
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
I’m sorry too! 🙁 It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure.
This is totally one of those books I’ve been staring at on my shelf for literally YEARS, debating whether to read or not. I love paranormal, and I love murder mysteries… but I don’t realllllllly like a historical backdrop — and omg, that length is so off putting. So yeah. I don’t think these books are my cup of tea either, but then again — I guess I won’t know until I try.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Indeed! I suggest trying it. It may surprise you in the end. 🙂