Happy Thursday everyone. Today we have my review for DIVIDE by Jessa Russo and I have to say, this ones a corker. So enjoy and tell me what you think!
DIVIDE
by Jessa Russo
Summary (via Goodreads)
From senior class president to dejected social outcast, with just the flick of a match. After accusations of torching her ex-boyfriend’s home are followed by the mysterious poisoning of her ex-best friend, seventeen-year-old Holland Briggs assumes her life is over. And it is. But not in the way she thinks.As Holland learns the truth about her cursed fate—that she is descended from the Beast most have only ever heard of in fairytales—she unites with an unlikely ally, good-looking newcomer Mick Stevenson. Mick knows more about Holland’s twisted history than she does, and enlightening as it is to learn about, his suggestion for a cure is unsettling at best. Holland must fall in love with Mick in order to break the spell, and save their future generations from repeating her cursed fate. Having sworn off love after the betrayals of her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, this may be difficult to accomplish. Complicating things further for Holland and Mick, time runs out, and Holland’s change begins way before schedule. With Holland quickly morphing into a dangerous mythical creature, Mick struggles to save her. Should they fail, Holland will be lost to the beast inside her forever.
Review
"I was a monster. A beast."
This is, quite frankly, an epic retelling of our beloved Beauty and the Beast. I don't know about you but I can't get enough of reworked fairy tales at the moment but there are so many awful adaptations that it makes me a little weary when it comes to reading them. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favourites and Jessa has produced a truly enchanting book that captures the heart of the classic story while leaving her own literary fingerprint on it. It keeps you on your toes and has some of the most enjoyable dialogue I've read in a long time.
There's not much I can say about the plot of the book after the half way mark as I don't want to give anything away but this is what I can tell you. Holland is famous in her home town, although maybe infamous is a better word. It's said that when her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back Holland set fire to her ex's beach house. It's said she tried to kill them. Rumours suffocated Holland and she can't imagine a way out. Even with her protective 'little' brother constantly by her side she feels utterly and hopelessly alone. That is until Ro starts at her school, forcing Holland out of her solitude and into the arms of her big brother Mick. But Mick isn't what he appears to be. Mick has a secret of his own. A secret that will change Holland's life forever.
"We're actually descended from a Disney movie?"
This book is told from the prospectives of both Holland and Mick and OH MY GOD is it good! There's a very thin line between keeping you guessing and having no plot at all and I've lost count of how many times I've read a book that's fallen into the latter category. However, Jessa is a genius when it comes to dropping hints and setting up questions in the subtext. Questions and hints that all start to come together towards the last third of the book and what I liked was that there wasn't any questions unanswered.
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| A lot of moments like this towards the last quarter of this book. |
Okay so it had some moments where we hit a bit of a YA cliché snag but these were so small that if I wasn't being pinnikity I wouldn't even bring it up. For instance Holland has this unfaltering trust when it comes to Mick. Which in all fairness did work a lot of the time, but there was a scene or two then it was a little much. I would have maybe liked to have seen her question him and the whole notion of their joint destiny a little more. To really make him work for her trust, rather than her just giving it to him.
Also I'm a lover of the Epilogue and I think that this needed one. Just a couple of pages to satisfy my need for a happily ever after. But that's just personal preference!
Saying that though this was a really interesting and captivating take on an adored classic. It's cleaver and witty and the relationship between Holland and her little brother Cam had my smiling from ear to ear. Especially the bit where he flipped her! And to know what the hell I'm talking about you'll just have to read the book and find out because this is definitely worth the read. I'd recommend it to any YA reader.
Don't be put off by the fairy tale retelling genre lovelies. It's a magical and welcome corner of YA fiction and this little book is a wonderful addition to the ever growing bookshelf.
"I wasn't ready to concede to failing the one thing I was destined to do."
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| PS. Matt approves too |
**I received this book as an ARC from the author to read and review. This is a 100% honest review**
About Jessa
Jessa Russo believes in fairytales, ghosts, and Jake Ryan. She insists mimosas were created for Sundays, and that’s not up for discussion. She’s obsessed with the great city of New Orleans—where she’s collected too many beads to count, eventually married her sweetheart, and visited graveyards they don’t include on maps.
She’s loud, painfully honest, and passionate about living life to the fullest, because she’s seen how abruptly it can be taken away.
What began as a desire for reading and writing young adult paranormal has bled into stories of all kinds. From fantasy to pre-dystopian to erotic contemporary, Jessa’s stories always include romance, though she’s given up on pigeonholing her work into a category or genre box.
Jessa was born and raised in Southern California, and remains there to this day with her husband (a classic car fanatic), their daughter (a Tim Burton superfan), and a Great Dane who thinks he’s the same size as his Chihuahua sister.
