The Diviners by Libba Bray

                                                           

Goodreads summary:

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.

             First of all, I was quite excited to read this soley based on the time period. Not exactly because of the twenties, but for the fact that the story was taking place somewhere other than the future. I liked the change in tempo and it was interesting to get a different perspective. 

I have never read anything by Libba Bray, but I had kind of high expectations because I had heard good things about her writing. Thankfully, she did not let me down! I did end up liking this book. The only thing that kept me from absolutely loving it, was the nightmares it gave me. I guess I didn't think about the fact that I really despise scary things. And this book is slightly scary. Like serial killer ghosts and creepy whistling scary. Despite this, I did really enjoy this book. In the daytime. 

One thing that did make me happy was the fact that romance was not the main focus of this book. There were hints of it towards the end, but nothing completely overtaking. The book's main importance was the mystery. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice happy romance as much as the next person, but it was nice to get away from that for a little. There are too many stories about love triangles out there right now. I absolutely hate love triangles. With a passion. Though there is probably going to be some love triangle tendencies in the next book, Lair of Dreams. That comes out in August.

Back to the story, I liked pretty much all of the characters, though they all had their flaws. I can appreciate their flaws, as long as their not too overwhelming. And annoying. The one character I loved was Sam Loyd. He is a pickpocket who has some other special powers. He is witty and charming and cheesy and I couldn't help but smile when he talked. He was full of clever lines. I absolutely loved the banter between him and the main character Evie. 

Overall I liked the style of writing, though it did annoy me at times that the stories switched back and forth between characters. Right when you would get into one, the story line would switch to a different character. And then you just spent that whole chapter wanting to get back to the other story. Slightly frustrating.

All in all, I really liked this book. It wasn't really like anything that I have read lately. 

I'd give it four out of five stars. The only thing weighing it down, was the fact that things could get a tad confusing at moments, and I got a little too scared to turn the lights out behind me at night. I would definitely recommend it.