Book Review: The Savage Grace by Bree Despain *spoiler free review*

By: Bree Despain

Published by: Egmont USA

Released on: March 13th, 2012

4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It!

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Series: Book #3 in The Dark Divine Series

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything. With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion -quoted from Goodreads

Wow! What a conclusion to a great series. The Savage Grace is packed full of action, a lot of emotion, and the stakes are much higher for each of the characters in this book. With the dramatic ending of The Lost Saint, this book picks up right after that one left off. Daniel is still in wolf form, Grace is dealing with a lot of self-doubt, looking for a way to fix Daniel, help her family and the "lost boys" who left Caleb's pack and have now joined Daniel's. Though the first part of the book was a little tough for me to get through, because of all that Grace is dealing with and trying to find, the second part is jam packed with action, twists and a shocking betrayal. I loved the direction this story takes, the newer characters and their roles in this story, and the excitement from all that happens within this book.

Bree did a fabulous job with how she wrapped everything up. She answered questions I had from The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint, and still left a few questions unanswered which was extremely fitting given how this story ends. I loved the way the characters grew in this story, and though Grace becomes a strong character I had hoped she would be, Daniel and Jude are the two characters who surprised me the most with their transformations. Even a few of the secondary characters surprised me, like Slade. I am of course biased and I adore the character named after me, Katie Summers and the predicament she finds herself in. I loved getting to know the secondary characters more and the bigger roles they each played in The Savage Grace. Bree introduced them in The Lost Saint, but this time around it was nice to actually get to know them and see them in action. Believe me, some of these guys are hard not to fall in love with.

Being a wolf girl fan, I loved that Bree made her werewolves relatable. They're all flawed and trying to deal with the card they've each been dwelt. Being able to see how each character has had to learn to deal with their inner wolf vs their human side and learn when it was okay/acceptable to give to their true wolf side and when it wasn't, made them that much more realistic for me. Bree also provided some heartbreaking back stories for a few the "lost boys" that made it that much easier for me to sympathize with them, and understand all they had to give up from their human life and what drove them to be who they are now. That also it easier for me to accept them as followers of Daniel, vs the killers they were made to be in The Lost Saint. I loved the natural wolf hierarchy that is present in this story as well.

One of the things I really liked about this book is the action! There's choices certain characters have made through out the series that catch up to them in this book which lead to some deadly consequences for them. At the same time, this also allows for a couple of the characters to really shine and step into roles they might not have done other wise. I know I'm being a bit vague on that, but I don't want to giveaway any spoilers. I will say, I love the direction this story went in and how things ended. Huge kudos to Bree for not being afraid to kill off some of her characters, and believe me there's one that really shocked me. I respect an author who doesn't wrap up everything all nice and neatly at the end of a series. With all action and the big fight that takes place near the end of the story, there needed to be some casualties. This made all that happens feel realistic for Grace and Daniel's story.

There's also plenty of romance in this book and some fabulous kissy scenes between some of the characters. I loved that while the romance is apart of the story, it's not the driving force behind it. Love is really driving the force behind all that happens in this story. The Savage Grace is a fantastic conclusion to this exciting series and to Grace's story. It had everything I was hoping for and then some. I think fans of this series will be surprised at some of the twists Bree throws and will be satisfied with how it ends. Again, I'm trying to choose my words carefully so I don't give anything away. I recommend picking this book up today!

Don't miss my interview with Bree talking about The Savage Grace.