Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Blood Divine
Author – Greg Howard
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 271

Cover – Love it!!
POV – 3rd person, 1 character
Would I read it again – Yes!

Genre – LGBT, Mystery, Paranormal, Deep South, Slavery, Friends-to-Lovers, Biblical


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


Wow! This was so epic.

Say Paranormal Mystery to me and I'll say “Gimme!” That's when I knew I wanted to read this book. Add on the gorgeous cover, the hint of Old South plantation/slavery themes and the promise of a juicy potential romance and I'm there. No questions asked. First in the queue.

First off, we get hit with a massively intense, captivating prologue that made me desperate to read more. Learning all about Blue and Warfield was exciting and made me eager to learn more.

Then, we end up 20 years later and I'm still completely engrossed in the story. Cooper is a fantastic main character – he's cheeky, feisty and a little slutty at first, but the more you learn about him, the more you understand him. At first, I thought his easy-osey quick fix sex life was due to the secret he'd been harbouring for twenty years, then I learned that it's actually so much deeper and more profound than that.

To be honest, I liked Miguel. He was feisty and fun and I wished he could have stuck around, but I get why that wasn't a great idea. The mystery – and then eventually big reveal of Trevor – had me hooked from that first slip of the tongue, with only a mention of his name. From then on, I needed to know what the big secret was concerning Trevor and when I found out – God, that scene had me in tears!

Another one who took me by surprise was Stephen. From the moment he first met Cooper, my comment was “very interesting. Like him. Want to see more”. And, I do. I can't wait for the next book, so that we can see more of Stephen and watch him find who he really is.

Throughout, there are a lot of themes going on, but it never feels overwhelming. We have the natural Deep South plantation owner, slaves and all the history that comes with that. Layered on top is the biblical origin of Anakim and Divinum, alongside the paranormal aspect of – if you tilt your head and squint real hard – vampires and their half-breed doggies.

The concept of the Anakim and Divinum, along with the Jericho team was so original and brilliantly done. The writing alone, considering background, history, biblical references and the paranormal slant on the topics, was amazing. But the way they were so well weaved together with the stuff that seemed relatively normal was genius.

So, cons? Yeah, one or two really minor things that I don't care about. Once or twice there was a missing word that caught me by surprise and there was a non-recurring, sporadic (like, twice!) instance of the font being a slightly bigger size, which was noticeable. Other than that? No complaints whatsoever.

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Overall, there's not much I can say without giving things away and I don't want to do that. I loved it. That's the crux of it. I loved every minute, couldn't stop myself from reading and am absolutely desperate for the next book.

From now on, I'll be unquestioningly picking up anything Greg Howard writers, eager to explore familiar characters or a new world. Whatever he decides.

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Favourite Quote

“Part ghost town, part sanctuary, Warfield was both creepy and beautiful all at the same time. Like he'd journeyed to hell and felt right at home once he arrived.”

“Cooper's heart responded to the physical contact with a heavy thump, which he inwardly cursed. He'd spent his life riffling through a Rolodex of men in search of just one that measured up to this man. Gorgeous, sweet, straight Randy.”