Review: The Lost Saint

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Summary: A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace’s relationship with Daniel is put in danger – in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her – not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

My Thoughts: I have been waiting for this book for months – ever since I read The Dark Divine, which I LOVED enough to rate as one my 10 favorite books read in 2010! I could not wait to read The Lost Saint once it arrived. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I felt a tiny bit let down by this book. Don’t get me wrong, it was still awesome. Just not as awesome as I expected it to be. I wasn’t fully engrossed until about the last third or even quarter of the book. I suppose it’s the curse of the second in a series – whether we’re talking books, movies, or something else, that second in the series rarely lives up to the first. And, usually, the third is much better – often even better than the first. But now I am getting ahead of myself.

Getting back on track …

I was able to piece a lot of it what was going on together in my head. There wasn’t much that surprised me. I felt like Grace was just being an idiot at times – especially given that Gabriel, her father, and even Daniel had more knowledge, wisdom, and experience when it came to werewolves. Why dismiss them so quickly? I don’t remember Grace being this pig-headed or (sorry, but I have to say it) stupid in the first book.

I loved the ending. How everything all played out. It almost swayed me to give this a 5-star review. That said, I do have questions (and no, I didn’t lower the rating because of the questions). What’s happening with Daniel? And Jude? I so cannot figure Jude out. Is there hope for Grace and her family? How many books are planned? I cannot imagine this being satisfactorily resolved merely with a third book. There’s just so much I want to know. It feels too big for just one book to settle things.

Despite whatever issues I had with the book, they were quite minor. They didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the book. The Dark Divine blew me away, and I suppose it’s only natural that I’d be mildly disappointed by this one. And I hate using the word “disappointed,” because I wasn’t really. I just wasn’t as amazed by it as I was by the first.

Long story short: The Lost Saint was awesome, but falls a bit short of my expectations. But I cannot stress enough that it was fabulous! It’s a great continuation of the story begun in The Dark Divine, and I cannot wait to see where this series goes next!

Favorite Quotes: I don’t always do this, but felt compelled to do so this time.

But even though Dad’s spiels always made me want to bang my head on my desk, I couldn’t help believing the things he was telling us about waiting for marriage. It just seemed to go with the whole package, you know? That if I believed in Jesus, and believed in all those parables he taught, and believed in forgiving people – then what the Bible had to say about sex being sacred and special had to be right, too. ~ page 186-187 (ARC)

As a mother of three, two of which are girls, I am SO HAPPY to see this in the book! Soooo very happy. I couldn’t agree more! It is so refreshing to see a statement like this in a YA book, as there are so many out there where sex isn’t seen in this light. I wish there were more books for teenagers – especially girls – that not only showed abstinence, but did so in such a positive, logical manner! Thank you, Bree Despain, for doing this!

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: Get your own copy of The Lost Saint HERE. (This is an Amazon link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011, the 2nds Challenge (second in a series AND second book I read by Bree Despain), and iChallenges 2011.

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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