Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Divine Vices by Melissa Parkin

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I was sent this book to read and give an honest review of it, so here it is.
This book's synopsis doesn't tell much on the story, so I went into this book not knowing whether it was a fantasy or realistic book. This book had a very slow beginning for me, I didn't get very into the story until about 70% percent in. I was kinda of dragging my feet in it. I would give Divine Vices 7/10 stars. It was fairly well written, just the beginning didn't grab hold of me. I think this first book was for character a little bit of world building, so I'm guessing from the ending of this book that the next books will be a lot more interesting from the start. I'm thinking that this book is one of those you have to read the first few books or so to get into the series, since it does have some very promising things happening, it just doesn't happen until the end of the story. There were times in the book where the wording got me a little confused, like it would say that Cassie sneered, but she said something that I just couldn't imagine anyone sneering when saying it. Some other things left me really confused, like something will happen and I'm still confused about this now. Also, the world building seemed a little hasty, but maybe that's just me. There were also some pretty weird comparisons like Jackson's eyelashes were 'as long and dark as a cows' it doesn't exactly put a great image in your mind.
So anyway, this story is about a girl named Cassie. It takes place nine months after her mother and sister died and she and her father moved to a small town in Maine. She lives a fairly normal life, two best friends, goes to high school, all that stuff, but the new boy- Jackson Matthews- has taken particular interest in her, and around the same time Jackson shows up, a bunch of weird things start happening. Like a few girls being murdered and someone trying to break into Cassie's house but not leaving evidence. Who is Jackson really? And is Cassie the murderer's next target?
Yeah, like I always say, I suck at making a synopsis. I can't really say much about the story without giving the book away, which kind of makes summing it up a little complicated, don't you agree?
Well, here's the real synopsis:

Danger seldom leaves its victims unscathed in the ways of seduction, and this lesson is one that sixteen-year-old Cassie Foster now knows all too well.

Nine months following the traumatic accident that claimed the life of her mother and sister, this high school junior has at last found a fresh start in the quiet town of New Haven, Maine. In the company of her best friends, Ian and Gwen, she’s bracing the usual turmoil of adolescence and taking all in stride… until the new transfer student, Jackson Matthews, comes walking into her life. He’s arrogant, sarcastic, roguish, devastatingly sexy, and the very last thing Cassie wants to entertain. But when circumstances drive these two together, she finds herself a bit too close for comfort as their bond intensifies. Plagued by unexplainable events, a sudden string of disappearances, and even a cult-related murder, Cassie begins to fear for her life. Is it all just a coincidence that these happenings began when this Casanova strolled into town, or has she in fact fallen for a real lady-killer, or worse?

The first line of the synopsis rather confused me when I first read it.
This book is pretty new, it was published less than a year ago. Like I said before, this series looks promising, and I think that once you get past the first book or two that this series will probably be great. This first book was more about getting to know Cassie, Gwen, Ian and Jackson and who they are. If you plan on reading this book, don't expect to be pulled in immediately, you have to be patient, but when you get closer to the end it gets better, I promise. I'm looking forward to seeing what Melissa has come up with for book 2.
Boring parts? Some
Confusing? Yeah, there were some very confusing things happening, especially near the end
Romance? A little
Sad parts? Sort of, but not really
Was it hard to really get into the story? Yes, it took a while
Funny? There was kind of a sassy humor but nothing that really got me laughing out loud

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