The Diviners: Number 1 in series (Diviners, #1)

by Libba Bray

It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's the opportunity to party like never before.

For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be.

But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone.

Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.

• ISBN10: 1907410406
• ISBN13: 9781907410406
• Publish Date: 18 September 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 11 March 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: ATOM
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 592
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Some things I like when I read books:

- 1920s setting
- a ghostly, witchy feel
- people who are not what they seem
- multiple POVs
- a solid good vs. evil plot with lots of delicious twists.

And, that’s pretty much what I got from The Diviners! I already knew I enjoy Libba Bray’s writing after sparkling reviews for both A Great and Terrible Beauty and Beauty Queens. I expected to enjoy The Diviners, but that doesn’t make me any less impressed by the way she manages to build so many intriguing, different worlds that still hold true to her voice and make me fall for the characters. Especially secondary characters.

For example, in The Diviners, I loved Theta Knight. All the characters were good and I feel like at some point Mabel is going to turn into a villain because that would be a delicious twist… but Theta really brought it home for me. She was such a powerful character, but played just perfectly so she never outshone Evie, the main protagonist. Not a single character here was boring, so if you’re a character reader, expect to become invested.

I rarely discuss audiobook narrators unless they are really good or really bad, so I just wanted to point out that January LaVoy was a great choice to read this book. She captured the menagerie of voices effortlessly and it was a joy to listen to her. Also, I’ve had that “Naughty John, Naughty John, does his work with his apron on” ditty stuck in my head for days, so she must be doing something right in bringing this world to life.

In general, I didn’t feel the plot left much room for surprise. And this isn’t a complaint about the book or the plot, because I still enjoyed it, but we knew the villain before we knew the protagonists, and that never changed, not really. We added accomplices and methods and a little more depth, but I kept waiting for a surprise that didn’t come. And believe me, I was ready to hear that William was actually in on it because he seemed like just the type to be secretly nefarious.

As a rule, I enjoyed listening to this book. I liked it better than A Great and Terrible Beauty, but not as much as Beauty Queens. The pacing really dragged at the end, where the villain had been vanquished but things just kept going. The wrap up took a little longer than I would have liked, and I actually checked to make sure I wasn’t listening to a preview of book two. But other than that bit and the poor cat that was sacrificed for his intestines (I HAVE FEELINGS) this was a generally good book.

Judging by the Goodreads reviews, this series just keeps getting better, so I’m looking forward to reading Lair of Dreams.

[liz089]

This has been one of those books that I've had on my literal bookshelve FOREVER. I think I got it when it was released and I kept looking at it, knowing I wanted to read it, but never did.. I knew I would like it, I even got the second book recently to motivate myself haha.
But now it has finally happened, and to no surprise.. I loved it.

So much is happening in this novel, so much I am still wondering about a week later. What a great start for a series. And luckily for me, it is now a finished series and I can continue with the others !!

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

I LOVED this!!!!! RTC - On to Lair of Dreams!

[girlinthepages]

I tried the start The Diviners several years ago (I think in 2013 or 2014), checking it out from the library but quickly returning it unread as I was intimidated by its size. However, I really do love historical fiction and knew a lot of readers who adored the series, so when The Diviners Readalong was announced by some of my favorite folks in the book Youtube community, I knew it would be a great opportunity to finally commit! I decided to tackle these giant tomes via audio book and am so glad I did- it's really the best way to experience these atmospheric stories and the narrator is AMAZING! The stories themselves were really a mix of ups and downs for me, and my ratings were a bit all over the place, but I'm so glad I am in a place now where I am prepared for the fourth and final installment (even if it took me a lot longer than the original readalong schedule lol).



I adored the first book in the series, appropriately named The Diviners. A true paranormal murder mystery, it followed the story of absolutely extra Evie O'Neil as she gets banished to live in New York with her bachelor uncle who is the curator of a paranormal history museum (as one is). Throughout her time in the city she meets several other gifted "diviners" who eventually all get wrapped up in the mystery and murders being committed by a vengeful ghost. The novel definitely focuses on the paranormal but also dives deeply into religion, cults, American history and more, tying all of the elements together so seamlessly that it's easy to believe all of the paranormal stuff actually did happen. Everything about this story, from the plotting to the pacing to the structure was excellently done and I really felt like I was experiencing living in New York in the 1920s.





After ending the first book in the series on such a high note, I was eager to start book 2 (and even did so ahead of schedule). However, my excitement was short lived when I realized that this book was going to have a very different feel than the first one, and focus primarily on dream walking, which can be done by Henry and Ling-Chan. Now, I am REALLY not a fan of stories that just focus on the characters wandering around (a la Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows endless forest scenes) so I knew this book was going to be a tough one for me to get through. While there were some bright spots (I loved the look into 1920s radio with Evie's "sweetheart seer" show, learning more about Sam's backstory, and Henry's as well) most of the story really dragged for me and I found myself totally zoning out a bunch. Even the ending (which was really quite disturbing) bored me because I was just at the point where I was desperate to get through it (at over 20 hours on audio it's a real commitment). I think I'm probably in the minority here since a lot of people loved this book, but it really didn't have the elements of the first installment that I enjoyed so much.





I'll admit, I was a bit weary going into the third book of this series, after I had a hard time with the second. I didn't need to worry though, as I actually ended up really enjoying it! In this installment the gang truly felt like they were a family and all of their story lines have started to become interconnected. The past also begins to merge with the present in this book as Evie & Co. begin to find out how they became Diviners and how they were all drawn to New York, and how Will plays into all of it. There's quite a bit of government intrigue that plays into the plot, and while readers are led to believe by the synopsis and the first half of the book that the setting is going to be an asylum off the coast of New York, the story is so much more than a creepy asylum tale. It's a story of found family, of unearthing the horrors of America (even the non-paranormal ones that actually happened, like eugenics and white supremacy). It's hard to say more without spoilers, but I feel like this book finally caught the series' stride from turning away from a paranormal murder mystery (which is what the first book reads like to me) and pivoting into a full-blown save the world saga.

Minor spoiler ahead, but there were also quite a few deaths at the end of this book, that all happened one after another like domino pieces falling. Perhaps I was naive, but I wasn't expecting that after the core gang has been intact for two entire lengthy books. There were two deaths in particular that really caught me off guard, and one of those was pretty upsetting, (but I hope it motivates the rest of the Diviners into action)! We also got quite a bit of Sam in this book which I adored because he's my favorite character after Theta (who grew so much in this book)! Overall I think Bray packed a LOT of trauma into the ending of this one to prepare for a more somber tone in The King of Crows.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[readingwithwrin]

Why did I put this book off for so long? So so good. Now to get my hands on the next one.

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

October 11, 2015

Further thoughts: After further contemplation, I decided to go with 3.5 stars. The narration definitely made this book a fair bit more entertaining. I loved the narration. However, the writing grated on me a bit. There's only so many times I can hear "positively" and "Not on your life-ski" without going mad. Then there was this whole list of main characters. I have no idea how many different ones and I still question the existence of Mabel.

That being said, the setting was very atmospheric and well presented. The plot kept me entertained, though the resolution felt a little short compared to the lengthiness that embodied this book. I'll most likely listen to the audiobook of sequel as well rather than read it in print because without January Savoy's narration, I don't know how far I'll get.

____________

October 10, 2015

Initial thoughts: I kinda liked it but somehow wasn't hooked. Not too sure if that's because an 18-hour audiobook's way beyond my normal range of 8–12 hours. I think I'mma have to sleep on it. My guess is I will end up rating it 3.5 or 4 stars but that's still up for debate.

[Kate (Blogging with Dragons)]

I wouldn't say that I hated The Diviners, but I definitely would say that I absolutely LOATHED the main character and the love triangle. I can't say that I really liked any of the side characters though either. I also felt like Libba Bray was trying to do too many things with her novel at once and many of them weren't at all fitting for a young adult book. The only thing that kept me going through this book was the supernatural aspect and that too was tedious at times.

After Evie's parents reach their limit with their daughter's partying ways, she is shipped off to live in her Uncle Will's home in Manhattan, which happens to be in the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, aka the “Museum of the Creepy Crawlies.” Yes, this book takes place during prohibition and our “heroine” is a flapper, but does she really have to carry a flask? If this flask and Evie's constant cravings for liquor, going to illegal clubs, getting drunk, and getting arrested along with almost always being hungover isn't enough to remind you that this book takes place during the Jazz Era, get ready for the author to beat you over the head with all kinds of lingo at any and every nonsensical opportunity, “and how!” Yes, it makes that little sense.

The author also makes it clear that Evie makes other stupid decisions that don't involve alcohol, like awakening ancient evil, betraying friendship, inserting herself in a murder investigation—the list is endless. From the first page of the book, Evie sets something into motion by purchasing a Ouija board and failing to follow its instructions for ending the ritual. It unleashes a monstrous creature named Naughty John—this is for once, a literal demon for Evie to wrestle with--that she and the other characters will face throughout the novel

Evie's other perpetual mistake is to reveal her special ability constantly. Evie has the ability to learn something about a person through an object. This “something” that she learns is a product of strong emotions too, so she doesn't just learn something like “I forgot to buy milk at the grocery store.” You'd think a person wouldn't want to risk bringing up such touchy subjects with people, but it's not like she reveals her ability to one person either—not Evie, who constantly needs to be the center of attention—she uses it on everyone at a party (actually it happens at more than one party in the book), and to accuse someone of less than proprietary behavior.

Besides prying into people's deep dark secrets, Evie isn't exactly the nicest person to be around. She lies so much, to the point that I was actually shocked, if she said anything honest for a change. She also betrays almost everyone around her, tells ongoing murder investigation details to reporters, tries to corrupt her innocent friend Mable, and thinks anyone that isn't similar to her is stuffy and immediately tries to change them to make herself feel better about her own choices.

What's more is that when she first meets Jericho, her uncle's mysterious assistant and the subject of her best friend's Mable's crush, she dislikes him immediately. But by the end of the book, she's throwing her friend's feelings to the wind and making out with him on a rooftop. At this point, I knew I shouldn't be surprised by her actions anymore, but I was! Their tryst and her betrayal of her best friend takes place after Evie's kiss and ongoing flirtation with Sam. It really makes her seem like even more of an unlikable jerk who enjoys playing with other people. Perhaps Evie is truly the real devil of this book?

To be fair, the one nice thing Evie does in this book (which does honestly feel like an exception to her character), is to try and solve the grisly satanical murders taking place in Manhattan. Implementing her special Diviner skill, she even goes so far as to break into a radical cult to try and touch an object of a suspect. But despite her attempts to solve the murder, I really feel like she inserts herself into the investigation simply because she's bored and that it's just a coincidence that it concerns herself and her ability.

With a character this flawed, Bray is forced to make the killer target Evie to make her look like anything remotely resembling a heroine. And Evie quickly undermines her success of thwarting the killer and moment of triumph for his many victims by selling out most of the people she cares about to the press and putting herself in the spotlight right afterwards! What a surprise!

Besides Evie's endless shortcoming, another thing the novel suffered from was Bray's attempts to do too many things at once—it really could have benefited from some more editing. I was shocked when Bray even brought the Eugenics movement into the book at one point. With supernatural murders, Diviners, cults, secret organizations, and steampunk elements, it was really just all too much—just like Evie's personality! Okay, okay, I'm sorry for that jibe.

Anyways, I really wanted to love this book, but I simply could not get past my hatred of the main character, Evie O'Neil, with her selfish, impulsive, look-at-me nature and her other self-destructive qualities like alcoholism and the stupid love triangle. I mean, really, is there some kind of prerequisite now for every book to have a love triangle? It's one thing if it is well-written, but it's another if it seems forced and like it's there to simply meet some kind of post Twilight quota.

Plus Evie and a lot of the other characters, as well as most of the situations read more like characters from adult books—frankly, they are all out of place in a young adult book. Initially upon reading the blurb, I wanted to lend it to a younger friend, but now I'm afraid that it's not age appropriate. I can't help but wonder if Bray was forced to make it a young adult book in order to appeal to her current audience.

Young adult book or not--regardless of being a 27 year old adult--the book still didn't appeal to me. I barely got through this book and if it hadn't been for the intriguing supernatural aspect, I would have put it down and never picked it back up.

[Linda]

Very complex story, with historical aspects from the '20s in NYC, magic, ghosts, weird powers, and many characters to follow on their creepy adventures.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

COYER scavenger hunt item #42: Read a book set in the 20s (3 points)

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I heard a lot of good things about this book and I loved Libba Brays Gemma Doyle series so I had fairly high expectations. The whole 20’s era threw me off a little because that’s not typically an era I read about but it turned out to be easier than I thought.

My New BFF

I really liked Evie, the main character. She’s a young girl in a time where girls don’t always have the same opportunities as men do. She likes to go out and party a lot but she’s actually a very independent girl. She’s brave and doesn’t really care about her actions, which could be a bad thing, but it makes her seem so much better as a character to be reading about.

My Crush

I don’t think I really have a crush in this book. Not yet anyways. I’m expecting more romance in the sequel!

Writing Style

I was really bored starting this book. I felt like there was no action or anything to get me hooked at the start. I basically had to force myself to read through it because there was just so much detail that I couldn’t stay focused. I was confused at first when the point of view first changed too. I felt like that could have been done better. I didn’t even realize that we were at a new character for a bit and I was even more confused. The plot was a little boring at times. There was a lot of setting up to do during this whole book which makes me think that the action will be in the next book. I just wish there had been something to keep me interested.

Closing Thoughts

I generally liked the book but it won’t be in my favourites any time soon. I’m a little disappointed because I know Libba Bray can do so much better than this. I feel like the characters were all pretty well done and a lot is going to happen with them but it was the plot that turned me off in this book. There was nothing keeping me interested so I ended up putting the book down a lot more than I would have liked. It got better at the end but the whole plot mostly consisted of the characters doing research and talking to people about their research. It just wasn’t much of an action book.

[tellemonstar]

Yeah, I couldn't get into this one, and I tried. I think I got about halfway and by then I had just started to lose interest. There was too much happening but not enough happening (or taking too long) for me to stay interested. Which is a shame because the overall plot was really interesting.