BOOK REVEW: Divine Blood by Beck Michaels
Updated: May 19, 2021
Divine Blood by Beck Michaels
Author: Beck Michaels
Published by: Pluma Press on June 3rd, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Young Adult // Fantasy
*The author of this book sent me this paperback copy in exchange for an honest review, so don’t expect anything less than that. I will always give an honest review, be it a positive one or a negative one.*
SYNOPSIS
The Shadow demon nearly took everything from Dynalya Astron, and it would soon return for more. When she discovers a way to fight back, she must go on a perilous journey and risk it all for those she holds dear.
Along the way, she meets Cassiel, a Celestial Prince with magic blood and wings as black as his heart. He wants nothing to do with Dyna until he learns she could lead him to a place he has been searching for all his life.
But reaching their destination is not as easy as they thought, nor are they the only ones who search for it. With danger at every turn and harrowing secrets between them, the quest will require much more than determination. They must fight for what they desire—or die trying.
For fans of Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince, and The Lord of the Rings comes Beck Michael's debut novel with remarkable characters, a budding romance, and gripping action. Divine Blood is the first book of an Epic Dark Fantasy series that explores the depths of loss, acceptance, and the true meaning of courage.
The book is filled with different mystical creatures, you have faes, angels, witches, werewolves, mages, sorceresses, elves, and more. At first, it was too much for me and quite overwhelming due to the number of characters we were introduced to. However, after a while, you get used to it and it gets really interesting seeing how they interact with each other.
Divine Blood follows Dynalya, on her quest to leave her small town and go on a journey to find the hidden island where she will find the object that will kill the Shadow Demon and prevent him from killing her little sister and other children. On her journey, she meets her cousin Zev (werewolf), Celestrial Prince Cassiel (my bat baby who is an Angel) where they join her and protect her along the way.
WHAT I LIKED
Worldbuilding: I really liked how detailed the world was. I am into descriptive, and to point world-building and this book definitely delivered. Definitely no info dumps, everything is pretty well spaced out. There are a lot of names, and I’m terrible at names, so that did take some getting used to.
Writing: was also just really nice. At times, it was a little strange and I'd have to go back and reread a sentence or two. However, Beck does a great job at showing and not just telling. Which is something I always prefer in fantasy books.
Characters: I liked the relationship between Dyna, Zev, and Cassiel. Both of them are protective of her and try their best to protect her. Zev is hot-headed and a tough guy but turns into a softie when it comes to Dyna. And Cassiel...I have a lot to say but I don't want to spoil anything haha. But I really liked him and how he's fighting his attraction to Dyna.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE (why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5)
Multiple POV: There are A LOT of characters and points of view in this book which I really really struggled with. I would have preferred if the story follows our small gang of 3 but more and more kept joining and we keep getting their POV. I understand it is to understand the story from their respective but I felt disconnected from the story. Whenever I feel comfortable with a character, the POV switches to a different one. I wouldn't mind anyone from the gang but getting the point of view from a character they're going to meet in the future early on in the story? I didn't like that. Would have preferred if we meet this character from Dyna's POV maybe and then we get to know him more from his POV (am I making sense? 👀) But that's just my opinion.
Pacing: The pacing started out really good where it was flowing naturally and I was enjoying it. And then I don't know what happened, there were scenes where nothing happened and it was kinda boring. I would expect that the characters to be halfway through their journey but nope, they just completed their first step and they're out of the country only. I found out that the series will have 7 books in the series, so that explains the pacing and the direction of the plot.
Also a side note, I was kind of disappointed with the ending. Everyone who read this book and I mean EVERYONE, hyped up the ending. You would expect that someone died or a big twist happened at the end, but nope. Something really simple and expected happened instead. My fault really for falling into the hype and having high expectations. 😂
MY FAVOURITE QUOTE
"You were also unexpected. I did not know saving your life would bring me here. By all rights, we never should have met, but I see now that you are the key to everything. The key to this entire journey. The key to the map. And...the key that changed my life."
All in all, this was a pretty interesting read: great main characters, awesome world-building, but with slow pacing though still entertaining. I'd be interested in reading the second book.
Have you had the chance to read Divine Blood?
Let me know in the comments!
happy reading!
