The Lost Saint
Bree Despain
ARC provided for review by publisher

The Superficial: Gorgeous. Love the pop of that electric blue on a back background. I also like how the tulle wraps around the spine and appears on the back cover. The title font is beautiful, yet still legible. The placement of the legs is very pretty as well.

I also want to point out that we don’t see the model’s toes head-on…which made me laugh. I remember several reviewers commenting on (what I assume is) the same model’s square-shaped toes on the Dark Divine cover. I wonder if the designers wanted to avoid that this time around. :)

The Short of It: Pretty good.

The Long of It:

Overall, I liked The Lost Saint and feel that it improves on its predecessor. The story picks up nicely and Despain doesn’t waste much time getting readers up-to-date on the past novel’s events. We are quickly introduced to the newly-wolfenized Grace, who is struggling to use her newfound powers; and this will be what the core of the novel revolves around. Grace is being torn in two different directions: boyfriend Daniel says not to use her powers, as use will only allow the beast within to take control; newcomer Talbot, on the other hand, encourages Grace to use her gift to become a real-life crime-busting heroine. While Saint does fall back on a pretty big second-book trope (now that the couple is together and happy, tension is created when infedelity is suspected and the girl must find solace in another), this core concept of what each party stands for takes the story a little deeper.

Another interesting aspect of the book is seeing the Divine family deal with their fall from grace (pardon the pun). The way the family transforms from “holy do-gooders” to “potentially crazy band of liars” in the eyes of the community rings true and adds and extra layer of strife to the story.

I also liked how Despain dealt with betrayal in the novel. It is a common scene in many stories: protagonist is deeply betrayed by a close friend/family member/significant other, but in the end, the betrayer has a change of heart and helps the protag in a time of need. [MINOR HINT TO A SPOILER] I give props to Despain for avoiding this cliché and having a bad character stay bad (…at least, with the most obvious of character).

Despite the positives, The Lost Saint did have a few down points. I mention tropes and clichés a few times in this post for a reason: some parts of Saint just feel a little too familiar.  Several times while reading I think “Oh, that’s a lot like ___.” I know nothing under the sun is new, but reading several familiar storylines in a row can take a reader out of a book (”Werewolves named Grace and Ulrich…why does that sound familiar?”). Relying less on tropes and usual YA plotlines would really improve the Dark Divine series as a whole, in my opinion.

Oh, and a note to future authors: the ironic “girl involved with/who is a werewolf going to a party as Little Red Riding Hood” scene is played out. I get why you use it–who doesn’t love some irony? But it’s been done a lot lately (the movie Trick ‘r Treat, Once in a Full Moon, The Lost Saint) and I think we need to move on for a few years. May I suggest an evil stepsister dressed as Cinderella? Or perhaps a werepea dressed as a princess?

No? Oh.

Score: 7/10. If you liked the first book, you should love this one.

So, want to read The Lost Saint for yourself? Love nail polish? Well then you, my friend, are in luck. Stay tuned for the GIVEAWAY!