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.(Synopsis from Goodreads)
Review: 5 stars
THIS. BOOK.
OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD. If you haven't picked it up yet. WHAT. ARE. YOU. WAITING. FOR?
You know, when you start a book, you tend to read the back of the book to know what its about? Guess what mine said:
"A Restless wind sweeps the streets..Dashing along the Hudson river, past the crowded bars of Harlem, the air filled with smoke, laughter and jazz, it comes to rest outside a deserted Mansion. Something is stirring deep within its dilapidated walls..."
Wow. This is like the new Shadowhunters TV series teaser. Gave away DAMN too much. What was I supposed to make out of this? So, I jumped into this book without any forethoughts and what I found was indeed a treasure.
When I thought of reviewing this book, I don't know what was up with me. I don't KNOW how one can review a book like this. A masterpiece is an understatement, every praise will be fallen short as and when I keep remembering more events from this book. I find myself short of talent to be reviewing this. So if I leave out anything, I think I've written a pretty impressive apology.
Now, if you've read Libba Bray's previous works like the Gemma Doyle trilogy, you know that she is the queen of Historical Fiction Land. She puts all her heart into her characters and her scenarios, That it feels almost as if you are in 1926 New York City, living the life of a flapper girl. But this is where it twists. Gut twisting twists. Our amazing and powerful protagonist Evangeline O'Neil has superpowers. Where she can touch the belongings of any person, and its almost as it a movie is playing before her. She can find out anything about that person. Now that would be a cool superpower in another world. In this world, Its downright spooky.
A serial killer from 1800s is back again, through an Ouija board, of course. His name is Naughty John. Not scared? Imagine this: When you're watching a horror movie, all the characters and ghosts have been made and thought from a few people's minds and out on the screen. As far as their imagination goes, the characters go. But when you, reader, think of the possibilities and make up a Naughty John in your head, NOPE. SCARY SHIT.
And when the Naughty John tune plays? *Shudders*
This book doesn't leave poor Evie alone with her misfit superpowers. Nope. The thing is, There are WAY too many people in this book that half of the time you're confused where you actually are and whose life you're living. There is Memphis, a handsome (also was my first guess as Evie's gonna be guy) and gifted healer, Theta Jones, the quintessential flapper 20s girl with powers to yield and control fire, Jericho, with a secret that was so overhyped, but literally nothing, and Sam Lloyd, a rakish pick pocket with the power to disappear, but not in the way you think.
This book takes you through a series of oooohs and aaaahs and WTFs? But the creepiest part is, the characters and Naughty John just feel so real to you..I still shiver from the memory. I remember when I had finished the book and I had to switch off the lights to the main door at night. I'd literally dragged my half asleep brother with me taken by the absolute fear of Naughty John. The story keeps you guessing so much, and nothing you expected will even happen.
The end will leave you literally SCREAMING for answers coz this book raises SO MANY OF THEM!
Also, the second book's release date has been pushed 9 TIMES! NINE!
And also, Libba Bray had the Naughty John tune made out for the fans. Wanna hear? https://soundcloud.com/littlebrownbooks/thedivinersnaughtyjohn
Happy sleeping tonight!
