Item: Before the Devil Breaks You
Rating: 5.00
Author: girlinthepages

by Libba Bray

The Diviners are back in this thrilling and eerie third installment by #1 New York Timesbestselling author Libba Bray.

New York City.
1927.
Lights are bright.
Jazz is king.
Parties are wild.
And the dead are coming...

After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that early claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough of lies. They're more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward's Island, far from the city's bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten--ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.

With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over, and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them fact-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they've ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation--a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves.

Heart-pounding action and terrifying moments will leave you breathless in the third book of the four-book Diviners series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray.

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.

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This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

Before the Devil Breaks You (Diviners, #3)

by Libba Bray

Reviewed by girlinthepages on Jan 13, 2020

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