The Diviners by Libba Bray

Summary (from Goodreads): 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-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

 

Review: The Diviners was fantastic. Fantastic. Ok, now that I've established the awesomeness of this book, let's look at why it's fantastic.

 

1) The setting: 1920s New York City. Full of speakeasies, flappers and jazz clubs, the world of The Diviners is very Gatsby-esque.

 

2) The characters: There are a lot of them, but they're all fantastic. There's Evie, our main protagonist; her Uncle Will; Will's assistant Jericho; mysterious con-man Sam; Evie's best friend Mabel; Ziegfeld dancer Theta and her pianist friend Henry; and, last but not least, Memphis and his brother Isaiah. All of these characters are fleshed out by Bray and they all have interesting dynamics with each other.

 

3) Did I mention that most of these characters have special powers?: Because they do. They're like 1920s X-Men.

 

4) Extremely scary villains: Naughty John = legitimately terrifying. In fact, the whole Brotherhood is creepy. Read the book, you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

5) Satisfying conclusions, but enough open mysteries to leave you craving the next book: Which unfortunately won't be out until Spring of next year. Until then, I'll probably just sit here in a puddle of feels.

 

Bottom Line: Read The Diviners. It's historical/paranormal fiction by the amazing Libba Bray. If that doesn't make you want to buy this book, I don't know what will.

 

Summer TBR

Summer is officially upon us! I know that because all the traditional signs are here. My classes are done, it's ridiculously hot outside, and I've got my serious reading time face on. Summer is the time where I can laze around and get through the biggest chunk in my reading list. With that being said, here are the books I would like to get through this year:

Winger by Andrew Smith: This sounds like a humorous, thoughtful coming of age story set in a prep school. Think Looking for Alaska, but with rugby!

 



In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters: This is set in the early nineteenth century, when the Spanish flu and the first World War were having a major impact on people's lives. This novel seems to focus on the séance culture that rose up from all of the tragedy of that time.

 



 



The Diviners by Libba Bray: Continuing with my summer theme of YA historical fiction with a paranormal twist, this novel is set in the Roaring 20s, so I'm sure it's full of speakeasies, flappers, and GHOSTS. At least I'm assuming there are GHOSTS. That's what it seems like. This one is a bit of a chunkster (it's 578 pages to be exact), but longer reads tend to be perfect for the summer. Plus Libba Bray wrote it, so it must be amazing. Also GHOSTS.

 



The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson: We have now entered the YA futuristic/dystopian/science fictiony section of the TBR. This book has been on my TBR for a while. I can't wait to get to it. I've heard great things. I also have a copy of The Fox Inheritance, so if I like this book, I can immediately get into its sequel.

 



Wither by Lauren DeStefano: Again, an awesome dystopian trilogy that everyone has been raving about but I am late to the party for. I feel a definite need to get on this one in particular, and I don't know why. Is it the amazing cover? The intriguing premise? I don't know but it's burning a hole in my bookshelf so this will be read. Pinky promise.

 



Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: I really enjoyed Beautiful Creatures, so it would be nice to read the second book. I'm terrible with follow through, so actually finishing a series would be awesome, and if I like Beautiful Darkness enough, maybe I'll get the other books and actually finish the series this year!

 



Nightshade by Andrea Cremer: Werewolves. They always spice up the summer months. I also have a copy of Wolfsbane, so I can continue this series if I like it as well.

 



So those are my big reading goals for the summer. I plan on reading more than these seven books of course, but these are the definites. What on your summer TBR? Let me know in the comments!