Before the Devil Breaks You
By: Libba Bray
I’m still surprised by how fast I jumped back into this series when it was years between reading book one and Lair of Dreams last month!
Book 3 in The Diviners series (they are basically 1920’s X-Men with a ghost problem) gives us some answers and a fantastic creepy ass haunted asylum.
I gave Lair of Dreams 5 stars I would probably go with 4.5 for this one. Mainly because one of the villains was just okay but I much preferred the more human one in this one and it does get a little convoluted at times going back and forth between our friends (now training) and the events that started this mess in motion.
While the ending tees things up for the final book and the big showdown I wasn’t big on the dangling threads for two of our characters but I’m more than willing to see where that story goes.
And speaking of the ending!!!
Damn.
The Diviners is a wild book with a ton of characters but I was impressed by how Bray brought it together to pull off a surprising (and I knew vague spoilers!) and very cinematic ending. (Seriously Netflix get on this! I should be in charge of buying book rights for some streaming company. Anyway all the momentum is there for King of Crows.
If Bray can land the ending (and after a heady run of two great books I have faith she can) I think the Diviners could stand as one of the best all around book series.
Recommend: Yes.
I do want to mention trigger warnings for domestic violence and attempted rape. Overall I actually found this book more in line with the first book in times of violence. So if that’s something that might put you off take it into consideration!